Pets, owners come out to play, learn

Shelby wagged her tail and got a treat.

Many pet owners let too much time elapse between trims, Ms. Gaburri said. One of the Maltese she saw had not had her nails trimmed for two years.

Lure coursing

Whippets and Pharaoh hounds chased white plastic garbage bags that stand in for rabbits, demonstrating the sport known as lure coursing. Both breeds are sight hounds — dogs that track and hunt prey with their eyes ratherthan their noses.

Pharaoh hound owner Meredith Wille of Economy patiently spent hours helping dogs run the course for the first time. Her efforts were a resounding success.

Airedales, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, Boston terriers and many tiny toy breeds tried the course and loved it. But the biggest crowd pleasers were the heavy-bodied bull dogs who ran as fast as they could, although not nearly as fast as the other dogs.

The short legs of Duke, 3, and puppies Valentina and Marilyn Monroe churned as they ran the triangular course. Crystal Bennett of Bridgewater said her bull dogs “can’t wait to lure courseagain.”

Meet the breeds

Sunny, 2, is a search-andrescue dog who was not allowed to try the course. “I train him to stay away from prey,” said owner John Osheka of Conway.

The president of the Greater Pittsburgh Golden Retriever Club was happy to share information about the breed and about volunteering in search and rescue.

Boston terrier Freddie, 5, a retired show dog, is owned and bred by Joyce and Tom Davis of Midland. Boston terriers are the first breed developed in this country, and they’re known as the American Gentleman because of their white tuxedo chests on black or brindled bodies, said Mr. Davis, a professional handler at American Kennel Club shows.

Britt, a 22-pound dog with curly black hair, attracted a lot of attention because she is cuteand she’s a pumi, a breed most people have never seen. Bred in Hungary to herd sheep, pumi are high-energy dogs that “need a job” to keep them busy, said Ms. Wille. Pumi need active and experienced dog owners. Their “job” could be attending training classes and competing in canine activities.

Rescue dogs

There’s always a good rescue story or two at canine events. This time it was Tobias, 3, a Bernese mountain dog.

“The first time I saw him I cried,” said Elayne Swift of Brighton. “He had no hair. He spent the first five months of his life in a chicken coop with chickens.”

“He’s 135 pounds, but he’s not fat. He’s big,” she said. “The vet said his hair wouldn’t grow back.” But it’s now very black, very thick and very glossy.

She took him to training classes, and the duo moved on to canine competitions, although she’d never done that before. Tobias is a certified therapy dog, has two Canine Good Citizen titles from the AKC and has a Rally Novice title.

“I’m a registered nurse, and I like the fact that we both have “RN” after our names,” Ms. Swift said.