Canine Country Club

This is just a reminder that the Porter County Fair starts on Thursday.  Our long term members know that this always means extra traffic on both Sturdy and Division roads.  This year's traffic promises to be particularly heavy since 49 is down to 1 lane with exits blocked and so forth, and there are signs up on west bound 30 advising drivers to take Sturdy to get to the fair.  This 10 day fair time is the most dangerous time of the year on Sturdy road. PLEASE LEASH YOUR DOGS FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY ! Our dog Jake's mangled foot came from a trailer being pulled down Sturdy road during fair week, 11 years ago. It's a bad decision we all live with every day.... please keep your dogs on leash outside the park.

We made a quick trip to San Diego this Memorial Day weekend to see our lovely daughter and celebrate her birthday with her. 

As you can see, our daughter is expecting our first grandchild in several months!  We just wish that she and her husband weren't 2000 miles away!  On the flight, I reviewed several articles and books I've collected regarding dog park etiquette and behavior.  I'm working on a flyer that I hope all our members will read, especially the many new members that we've acquired over the past month or so.  The more dogs and people that we have in the park, the more important observing the park rules and being vigilant of our dogs' behavior becomes.  Although I've not responded to everyone who has contacted us the past few weeks, rest assured that I am aware of several rule infringements, including occasional babies and children being brought into the park, and have addressed the "offenders" directly whenever possible.  I'm sorry to say that we also noticed the big pile of poop in the parking lot the week before last!  That sure makes a good impression of the CCC, doesn't it?  I ask everyone; old members, new members, and visitors, to please assist us in keeping the grounds clean by pointing out poops to those people who don't notice or ignore these bio-souvenirs that their dogs are leaving.  Please keep letting us know of folks disobeying the rules, or of dogs whose behavior is out of line.  We need and appreciate your helping us keep Canine Country Club a safe and fun place to play with our dogs.

Other than weather reports and ground conditions, that is.  Bob & I have learned that we're going to get our first grandchild in September! Our dear daughter and favorite son-in-law have made us very happy.   I hope you've noticed the stone we've had put down in the park, and that we've tried to improve the drainage system.  The trees we planted last week are some we saw advertised on TV.  They're supposed to grow as much as 6 feet per year!  We thought we'd give them a try, so we planted some for wind breaks on the north side of our yard, where we lost several trees last winter, and then the 2 in the park are shade trees, which hopefully one day will provide shade for both the main park and the training yard.  We spruced up the agility equipment and got classes underway last week.  Agility classes are Tuesday nights, and Obedience classes are held on Monday nights when the park is usually closed.    I'd like to encourage all our members to consider taking our classes (or classes elsewhere),  especially our new members with puppies or young dogs--obedience training is very important for all dogs, and is mentioned in our rules.  Please see the "Classes" section of our web site for class descriptions, requirements, and bios of our instructors.

"Canine and Human members and visitors of Canine Country Club are expected to behave with common courtesy and respect for this property as well as the park users. Dogs are expected to have basic obedience training and respond to voice commands. Owners are expected to control their dogs, and to encourage and supervise them as they move around the park. "  I

I'll have to continue this another day.  I'm up too late, once again!  Goodnight...

As the snow melted today and combined with the melting ice, a world of trouble was revealed.  There is water running down the street, into our basement, and into the dog park.  It does NOT seem to be leaving the park, however.  Once again the entrance to the training yard is flooded.  There are puddles where we've never seen puddles before!  While we go through this rain to snow weather pattern once AGAIN, the park will be closed.  It's supposed to get cold again, so the best we can hope for is that the water will freeze and enough snow will fall to provide safe traction on the ice!  I know those of you that were here, today especially, know what I'm talking about...  It was worse than we'd hoped... I guess we had a false sense of optimism.  It's going to be another rough month, I'm afraid.  We'll be closed Tuesday for sure.  Once again, I'll keep the phone message updated as well as the web site.  I just don't think there's going to be an easy way out of this situation.    

OK, who's the artist who did this lovely sculpture on Friday?  I love the tennis ball eyes!  Unfortunately, it has been decorated with some yellow snow, but what else do you expect in the dog park, right?  We're hoping for a nice weekend, although with the sun and higher temperatures it is going to turn slushy out there.  I'm afraid there's no other way to GET RID OF the snow and ice....  Wear your boots, and please, be careful out there!

We'll be in the office on Saturday from 10-4.  We'll keep an eye on the comings and goings out there.  The park WILL be closed as usual on Monday.  I can't BELIEVE the weather forecast!!!

I just watched the Oscars and then the news and weather--unbelievable!  The guy I watched said 6-9 inches of snow after some freezing rain!  Here we go again!  As I reported in the "news" section this afternoon, we rigged up something to cover the unbreakable unmeltable ice in front of training yard entry.  It ain't pretty, but its best we could do.  We had a few visitors this afternoon and are planning on leaving it open tomorrow, since the past few weeks have been so bad and now this week sounds awful too.  This is very discouraging...  Remember, we usually don't get plowed until mid-late morning...  We'll keep the site and the phone message updated.

Talk about the dog days of winter!  What we have out in the park is frozen ground covered by frozen water covered by frozen slush!  Even in our yard, on grass, every step is treacherous.  We can not and will not risk the injury of any of our members, human or canine, on CCC property.  So for now, the park will remain closed.  We are very sorry for the inconvenience, and appreciate your patience and understanding.