Shikoku Booth at Pet Expo

We got the approval for the Shikoku Booth (#1341, near building 12) at Pet Expo ( www.petexpooc.com ) in Costa Mesa, CA. If you are planning on going, please stop by and see us -smiles-. I'll be there all weekend with my dogs. Those of you near enough by with Shikoku of your own, please contact me if you're interested in working the booth Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday with your dog. Your Shikoku must be able to handle crowds and not a threat to people who may stop on by for a visit. It's "okay" to tell people though not to run up to your dog. And it's "okay" if your dog doesn't have any manners (i.e. jumps up on people), just make them aware of this, lol. I took Shoushuu (Kei) last year when I worked the Southern California Obedience Council booth at Pet Expo. I had a lot of people wanting to pet him, especially little kids! Sometimes this can be very overwhelming for a dog to meet so many different people in 1 day. If you would like to volunteer to work the booth on either day, whether you have

Comments

  • edited November -1
    Have fun and good luck! I just did this with Kuma at the Pet Expo in Reading PA. I worked the Berks Co Dog Training Club booth for 3 hours 2 days in a row. Yes the crowds are immense and lots and lots of kids. I am lucky in that Kuma is very calm with new people, especially kids, so he is well suited to this type of event. But it is tiring the non-stop talking about the dog and breed.
  • edited November -1
    Yep, I should be there on Saturday from 10am-2pm - maybe longer. I'd love to meet some of the locals and their nihonken!
  • edited November -1
    Romi,
    Not sure we can bring our dogs since the expo is explicitly asking us not to bring them (ironic huh). When I do go, I'll likely be dog-less. :(

    Jesse
  • edited November -1
    Awww...its ok Jesse - I'll be dog-less too...Probably for the better...Ninja would raise hell up in there! lol
  • edited November -1
    -bump-
  • edited November -1
    I would help you out on Friday but honestly, I'm horrible at explaining things and I don't consider myself knowledgeable with the shikokus enough to be much help.
  • edited May 2009
    A little late, but still...here's an update of past ongoings:

    The Shikoku booth took very well. It was located in an area where there wasn't too much traffic. Which I greatly appreciated. Especially since it was Kotomi's first time. We still got a lot of people coming through. Kotomi got swarmed by a group of kids TWICE. She actually did better then I thought. As she is a bit "head-shy" at first. She HATES being pat on the head by strangers (she doesn't seem to mind so much with people she knows). So I had everyone feed her treats and pet her under her chin or on the side of her face. She allowed this much. She had very good manners and was the idol of the booth. She doesn't really like this kind of thing, but she tolerates it. She was a much better pup by the end of the Expo.

    Shoushuu did excellent as well. He has horrible manners as far as jumping up on people and licking them on the face. I was taking advantage of this expo to teach him some manners. Gave people treats and told them to feed him while in the "sit" position. I also gave the "okay" so long as he wasn't jumping up them. Anywho, he totally blew me away with his SUPER AWESOME obedience and attention spand, lol. I was certain he'd ignore me, but NO...he was totally focused on me and ignored everyone else while I tossed out obedience commands - GOOD BOY! It was great, I was able to show Shikoku trainablity while talking about the breed. He's quite the smoozer (while off command). To be honest, I think Shoushuu actually LOVES this kind of thing. He is a very strange Shikoku indeed but a wonderful ambassador for the breed.

    So the booth got a lot of attention from "the fans". We got mostly admirers of the breed, people who were taken by their super cuteness. People discovered a "new" breed. And surprisingly, we even got people who had heard of Shikoku. A few who were actually searching for us.

    [I was very impressed with this little girl in particular. Her and her family were in search of a dog to adopt. The little girl (looks to still be in elementary and no older then junior high) had actually been doing her research on the breed. She was spitting out information she had discovered on the internet. I wish more kids were like her. She had researched other breeds as well, but after meeting Miss Kotomi. It looks as if their research had come to an end.]

    So yeah, lots of interest in the breed...I had about 10-15 people sign up for further information on Shikoku. Perhaps a few potiential new members to the club. All in all everything went smoothly. It was a long weekend but it was great for us to get out there and interact with the public.

    We have been invited to do a booth again at the Pet Expo next year. So everyone who is interested in coming to Costa Mesa, CA in April of 2010...mark your calenders! Whether it is to volunteer with the booth or visit us. This year we had one 10x10 booth. Next year I'm asking for two 10x10 booths.

    Unfortunely, I didn't get very many photos of the booth or the expo. However, I did get some. I'll post those up sometime this week hopefully.

    Anyways...I hope to see you all next year!

    The Beikoku Shikoku Ken Aikokai (BSKA) will again be hosting the "Shikoku Ken" booth.

    - I want to thank Brad for the awesome breed overview flyer on Shikoku.
    - I also want to thank Romi for helping me out on Saturday.
    - And Jesse for stopping by to visit!
  • edited November -1
    Sounds like all went well. I know that our PEt Expo was super busy and I wished we were in a quieter area at times (this was for the dog training club).

    I thought it was a super experience to really get the dog used to lots of people, luckily my boy is like your boy and handles (even enjoys) the crowds of people and likes to show off his obedience skills.
  • edited November -1
    That's awesome that Shoushuu was showing off and doing his focusing/obedience also. Glad to hear Kotomi is taking his lead.
  • edited November -1
    Some Pics:

    Shikoku Ken Booth

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    My Pack Resting In Crates

    Kotomi
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    Shoushuu
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    Lynxiene
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    Outside & Away From the Booth

    Alaskian Klee Kai Puppy
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    Siberian Husky
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    Kittens!
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    Pot Belly Pig
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    Korean Jindo
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    German Shepherd
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    A cool looking Pigeon!
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    I appolygize for not being more camera-savy. Please enjoy the above pics!
  • edited November -1
    Very nice pictures there I really wished I had the money to fly over and help with things maybe one of these years I can do it. =)

    That Alasken klee kai puppy is so cute and your shikoku booth looks very nice.
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