AKC MATCH, AGILITY COURSE & OKTOBERFEST – 10.31.2010

Orso had a lot of new experiences today; so did I for that matter!  Our day started VERY early.  We were in the Jeep driving to TY Park in Hollywood by 8am.  Orso barely had time to digest breakfast, so I spent the greater part of the ride worrying that he would get car sick; thankfully, he was fine.  We met up with Sheila at the park at 9am and went through all the logistics of getting Orso entered into his Junior Puppy Class.  The event was organized well and there were many tents set up by rescue organizations.  It was great to see so many well-behaved dogs in one place!  We met a fellow Cane Corso owner named Marcos who had a 5 month old puppy that he had purchased from Red Rock Canyon Cane Corso in Las Vegas.  This handsome fawn male puppy was in the same class as Orso.  We also met a few other people who were there with their Cane Corsos!  It was so cool to see a group of people at the event who own and love Corsos! 

On the other hand, there were MANY people who did not know the breed, so we had the opportunity to introduce and educate them about gentle & loving breed.  It was interesting to see how many people have a misconception about the breed and would state with conviction how it is an aggressive fighting breed.  We were smart (and patient) enough to recognize that they were confusing the Cane Corso breed with the Presa Canario breed.  We respectfully, but sternly, cleared up any misconceptions that were thrown in our direction. 
Orso’s puppy class finally went on late in the morning.  Sheila was wonderful and handled him for us.  I am so grateful that she did because I needed to watch and learn today.  Orso was up against the other Corso puppy that I mentioned earlier.  As expected, Orso didn’t trot as needed, but he definitely did not disappoint the spectators with his lively gallop and struggle to show the judge his teeth.  The judge was Dr. Cindi Bossart, veterinarian and owner of Animal Hospital of Ft. Lauderdale.  She was very patient and sweet with Orso and even helped him out in the ring.  Thanks, Dr. Bossart for your kindness.  Orso took second place and we all enjoyed the experience immensely!

Most importantly to note is that we are very lucky that Sheila Lieberman has taken such a genuine and personal interest in us and we thank her for being so generous with her time and knowledge!  Sheila owns Loving Obedience Dog Training in Miami. 

Once we were done with the AKC Match, we walked around the event grounds and visited some booths.  Our favorite booth was the “A Joy Wallace Catering” booth where we indulged in the BEST pulled pork sandwiches we have ever eaten!  They were amazing!  With our bellies full, we started making our way toward the Jeep.  We almost made it, but were distracted by a ton of commotion coming from what looked like an agility & obstacle course.  As we approached it Orso went nuts!  Dogs were taking turns, one-by-one, chasing a plastic bag attached to a string on a track that would guide them through the course.  Being a farming & hunting breed, this was right up Orso’s alley!  This boy has some huge prey drive!

Once we got close enough to the ring, we realized that the person in the ring with her dog was Mary, who will be working with Orso for 2 weeks in her home in December!  We were so excited to see her!  She finished her rounds and came out of the ring where she very subtly convinced us to give it a try.  We didn’t need much arm twisting on this one!  I spoke to the guy running the course and asked him to take it easy speedwise since Orso is only 19 weeks old and he agreed to cooperate with our little guy’s age limitations.

Orso and I were allowed to “walk the course” before our actual runs.  Orso didn’t seem too phased by any of the obstacles at all.  When it came time to do it for real, he was a riot!  I have never seen this dog move so fast!  It was unreal!  He got to do the course twice and was awesome!  Mary also stuck around to video for us!  Thanks, Mary!  To visit Mary and Bravo Dog Training online, click here or go to  http://www.mybravodog.com/. 

Orso was simply exhausted after all this craziness and truthfully, Gus and I were ready to get out of the sun.  We loaded Orso into the Jeep and headed back down to Miami for a snack at Scotty’s Landing in Coconut Grove.  We were there only long enough to have a few beers and fish dip before heading next door to The Chart House for oysters.  Luis, our waiter, and Diego, the executive chef, were very hospitable and allowed us in despite their no dogs rule!  As always, Orso was a perfect gentleman throughout his celebratory lunch!  See below.

Below are some of our favorite photos of the day.  In a separate entry, I will upload a video compilation of Orso in the show ring with Sheila and a video compilation of Orso in the agility ring with me.  Enjoy!