Camp Gone to the Dogs!

Over Memorial Day weekend, my dogs and I had the pleasure of attending Camp Dogwood about an hour northwest of Chicago. The experience was both invigorating and exhausting! We arrived Friday afternoon to find an honest-to-goodness camp setting, complete with woods, cabins, campfire circle, beach, dining hall, and plenty of bugs for the dogs to chase. I felt like a kid again!

The first night was a little rough as I was in charge of three large dogs without my husband to help. (We had signed up together but he took a new job within weeks of camp and could only get away on Sunday.) I settled in as best I could and met my roommates – seven humans and eight more dogs. That’s right, we had 11 dogs under one roof! There was little privacy or space, but I couldn’t have asked for nicer roomies, both human and canine.

They were especially accommodating of my oldest Dalmatian Darby’s wariness of new people. I asked them to please allow her to come to them rather than approach her directly and they all helped her feel at ease. The camp provides orange bandannas for anyone whose dog needs extra space or a proper introduction to people and/or other dogs. I worried that fellow campers might give Darby a wide berth or assume she was aggressive, but for the most part, people were very considerate and gave her attention on her terms.

The dogs and I didn’t sleep well that night due to a thunderstorm and an annoying emergency exit sign that kept the tiny room well lit. Plus, my dogs or my roommates' dogs barked at every little sound. For the remaining nights, I opted to commute from my house every day, which was only a 45-minute drive. I hated having spent so much money on a room I didn’t use, but getting a good night’s rest for both me and my dogs was priceless. 

Saturday and Sunday offered a full schedule of activities from which to choose. Camp instructors led seminars on aromatherapy, canine nutrition, photography, thunderstorm/firework phobia, treat-making and more. My pups enjoyed agility, beach games, dock diving, lure coursing, rally obedience, swimming, tracking, you name it! I was especially excited when Darby grew so confident during dock diving that she jumped off the pier repeatedly and whined when she had to wait for her turn.

If I had to pick my favorite activity, it was the herding clinic on Sunday morning, in part for the sheer novelty of it. (Having lived in the city or the ‘burbs, I had never seen it in person.) Any dog with a herding-breed background (purebred or mixed) was eligible for the Herding Instinct Certification (HIC) test. As far as we knew, our rescue 10-year-old Catahoula Leopard Dog, Desoto, had never even seen a sheep before, but we thought it’d at least be fun to try.

So bright and early, we joined a caravan of cars traveling to Magic's Legacy, a stockdog training farm just over the border in Genoa City, WI. Instructor Shannon Wolfe (gotta love the name!) first demonstrated herding with her amazingly quick Border Collie, Minnie. To help us fully appreciate Minnie’s talent, she then asked us humans to attempt to herd the same flock. What a mess! We had sheep running all over the place or standing stubbornly in a corner of the field. It was jaw dropping to see that 12 people couldn’t even come close to accomplishing the work of one little dog.

When it was time for the HIC tests, I felt a little nervous. Would Desoto completely ignore the sheep or would he try to eat them? The moment he entered the pen, he went into a kind of trance, crouched down and started moving the sheep. It was amazing to see him instinctively know what to do. He easily passed the HIC test and did such a marvelous job that my husband excitedly yelled out, “Good job, buddy!” which earned him a glare from the tester. (The owner is supposed to be completely silent and let the dog focus on the task at hand.) We always thought Desoto was special, but as we drove back to camp, we were simply in awe of him.

Unfortunately, my youngest Dal, Jolie, swam a little too much and sprained her tail, known to many a Lab owner as “swimmer’s tail” or “dead tail”  (Sporting Dog Health). The injury limited her activities for the remainder of camp, which was disappointing. Of course, I was relieved it wasn’t something more serious. I decided not to bring her back on Monday so she would take it easy. Knowing your dog’s physical limits was key to making the most of camp. Despite thorough safety precautions on the part of camp instructors and participants alike, dogs will be dogs; there were at least two bite incidents of which I am aware. Also, a greyhound required several stitches to his leg after taking a tumble during lure coursing, a high-speed sport.

Considering how many dogs were at camp and the number of athletic activities, I think everyone did a remarkable job of putting health and safety first.      

If you have any questions or comments about attending dog camp, please post in the “Comments” section. I'd love to hear from you! – Julia Kamysz Lane