Huntington Beach Surfing Dogs USA

The coolest canines in California showed their wave skills, at the 5th annual Surf City Surf Dog competition, held in Huntington Beach.

Love surfing dogs? We sure do, and one of the premium surfing dog festivals is held each year at Huntington Beach California. This year, the 5th surfing dog event held at Huntington, Haole, Tillman, Abbie Girl, Bentley, Kona Kai and Hanzo/Kalani wibthe top spots in the six dog surfing divisions.

Surf City Surf Dog participants competed in weight class categories, and were judged on a variety of skills, including the ability to complete the entire ride on the surfboard.

Hanging 20 is not easy, but riding backwards and performing tricks is even harder. The Surf City Surf Dog showed there are new stars in the making.

Boards were equipped with mounted GoPro cameras. Levels of performance are increasing, every year.

"We want to see him having fun with all the other dogs and coming up for a day on the beach," says Tina Walters, owner of Stickers.

Loui has been considered the "Crowd Pleaser", while the Sugar scored the "Best Wipeout".

5th Surf City Surf Dog Results:

XL: 1. Haole 2. Hanzo 3. Turbo Large: 1. Tillman  2. Louie 3. Libby Med: 1. Abbie Girl 2. Sugar 3. Beans Small: 1. Bentley 2. Kihei 3. Toby

Tandem: Dog/Person: Kona Kai Dog/Dog: Hanzo/kalani Crowd Pleaser:  Loui Best Wipeout:  Sugar Best Grom/Newbie:  Beans

For more surfing dogs, check out Australia's own Surfing Dog Spectacular held in Noosa each year.

Simple First Aid and Emergency Care for Dogs and Cats

Every dog owner should have a simple first aid for dogs book at her fingertips. We've just been given a copy of a great new Kindle Book called The A to Z of First Aid and Emergency Care for Dogs and Cats, for review and overall we were impressed.

This straightforward dog and cat first aid book is organised simply, with each topic kept in Alphabetical order. What we particularly liked was that in almost all catagories, there was a short list of "What to Do" and another, perhaps just as important, list of "What not to do" when it comes to first aid for dogs.

This First Aid for Dogs Kindle book also had some handy checklists, to help you prepare a dog first aid kit, record a dog's "Normals" and more.

Now days it seems that every second person has a Kindle or other eBook reader, and by including a pet first aid guide in your electronic library, you're increasing your ability to respond to a pet emergency incident. For all Kindle readers, we recommend you check out he A to Z of First Aid and Emergency Care for Dogs and Cats.

Available at Amazon.com for $8.99: The A to Z of First Aid and Emergency Care for Dogs and Cats (2013 Ed)

Assistance Dogs Australia launches PAWS

Assistance Dogs Australia will be bringing together parents of children with autism to explore the potential that a pet dog might have within the family. The PAWS (Parents Autism Workshops and Support) program has been running successfully in the UK and the Netherlands for the past two years, and Assistance Dogs Australia will be seeking parents in Northern NSW to attend tailored workshops for existing and future dog owners.

The special chemistry shown between a child and dog through Assistance Dogs Australia’s work providing assistance dogs for families with a child with autism, has led ADA to realise that whilst for some children there will be a clear need for a fully trained assistance dog, a well-trained family pet dog can also have a massively beneficial impact.

For parents of autistic children who are considering getting a pet dog, the workshops will cover the pros and cons of getting a dog to help the child and the family. The workshops are designed to provide parents with the information and long-term support for sourcing, choosing, handling and training a pet dog specifically to benefit a child with autism and the family as a whole.

“We are very excited about this program, and are sure the families who attend the workshops will benefit from the advice about selecting and training a pet dog. The PAWS team will offer ongoing support to families after attending the workshops with telephone support and an online discussion forum” says Assistance Dogs Australia K9 trainer Carri Hoare.

Assistance Dogs Australia is a charity that trains Labradors and Golden Retrievers to give freedom and independence to people with physical disabilities. Assistance Dogs do everyday tasks for their recipients that people with physical disabilities find difficult if not impossible to achieve like opening and closing doors, pressing the button at the traffic lights, retrieving dropped items and even getting the phone. Each dog takes two years to train and is worth an investment of $27,000 but are placed with recipients free of charge.
For further information about how you can help and details about the PAWS Program please call Assistance Dogs Australia on 1800 688 364 or view the website at www.assistancedogs.org.au (PAWS – http://www.assistancedogs.org.au/pages/paws-program.html).