Garden Dogs: Dog Fun at the County Fair

This weekend was the 102nd Multnomah County Fair. The fair was held at Oaks Park along the Willamette River. This fair is a lot smaller than the surrounding county fairs and is the first fair of the summer season. This year there was a whole section devoted to dogs and dog sports. There were wiener dog races, a fly ball demo (that I missed!), and an agility demo.

Display of ferns and other garden foliage

Display of flowers

The wiener dog races were interesting...not really what I had expected. Each dog had two handlers, one to load the dog into the starting box and another to cheer/coax them across the finish line. At the start of the race the boxes were opened, I had expected a mad dash across the finish line...a few dogs were reasonably quick to get to the finish, but the others seemed to have no idea what they were supposed to do. Everyone seemed to be having fun though! A dog with a good solid recall would excel at this sport.

Run to the finish Line!

Harley, one of Berry's school friends, was at the Fair to demonstrate his Agility moves. It was fun to watch him on the course.

Jump Harley! Jump!

There were vendors with dog items. I was especially pleased to see the Critter Beds booth, they make great dog beds. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of their pretty stacks of colorful beds. The man of the house says the dogs have enough beds, so I resisted the urge to splurge.

There were all of the usual fair activities, carnival rides, curly fries and elephant ears, farm animals to pet; and exhibits of crafts and botanical displays. It was a great family event.

Petting AreaCavys