[MR] dogs at events

[sharon doherty]

That would actually not be a bad idea.  I am lucky that my dog is great around people, as long as he is on a leash.  He is still just a puppy, and I am fully aware that when he has gotten off his leash, he tends to scare people, especially kids, because of 1) his size and 2) his preference for small children.  It's an asset for children that want to come up and pet him while on lead, but scary when off lead, for children who aren't used to monsters such as him.  He has never intentionally hurt anyone or anything, but just his size and exuberance can cause harm off lead.  I really miss him when he's not at events with me.  My first Borzoi attended my first event with me, and it just seems like part of my SCA experience to have my hound with me.  Of course, now my daughter kind of takes over, but that's good experience for her.  And she is learning where to take him and where not to take him.  Because he is so well-behaved, he is welcome in a lot of places where dogs may not
 be welcome.  
  Now, the next question....who would be responsible for overseeing this new system?  And how would you judge the advancement of the dogs?  
  Kellia
Barbara Miller <celtdragonus at yahoo.com> wrote:
  
I attend few events because it's hard enough
finding
someone to care for my aging parent let alone also
finding a kennel for the dog. And adds huge
expenses.
Responsibilty for the dog, is the owners. If we
want
to come and enjoy an event we should be honest
about
our dogs' personaility. Some dogs are not well
socialized and can not cope with the stress of
lots of
strangers. And given I have a long haired dog, we
will NEVER be out camping at a summer event. 
I do think it would be nice to add "awards" for
the
dogs to encourage owners to make their dogs as SCA
friendly as possible. A fencer gets different
colored
scarfs for advancing in skill- maybe different
colored
collars or leads? 1 for a brand new to an event
dog
(easily seen by others so they are aware of what
it may not know) and different ones for showing good
behavior, traning ect. 
My dog is a period documentable breed, that I feel
would be a wonderful assest for demos. He is a
herding breed and being able to do some herding
demos in garb would be awesome. 
But like all things in large groups, comprimise is
required. No one wants to ruin anyones enjoyment
but not having the fluffmonster with me is a real
pill.

But he is taking classes in obedience and herding-
and will hopefully become a considerate member of the
SCA in the future.
Liamhain Aodhagan


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