Photo Gallery
September 14, 2024 Annual Meeting and Fun Day in the Park
A few photos from our fall picnic and meeting. We also had a program presented by Anne Hennessey, a professional canine fitness instructor and AKC certified Fit Dog evaluator. Considering the required owner efforts, it should also be called a Fit Person program. It is always nice to some Airedales and their people.
July 28, 2024 Virtual FIT DOG Level I Class
Virtual Classes via Zoom
This class is a repeat of the FIT DOG level I class held earlier this year from January 28 into March. The sessions are held virtually via Zoom and taught by Anne Hennessey, a certified AKC instructor. In the last class, we had three Airedales participate including ones owned by Corally Burmaster with Chaos, Debra Bohle with Justice, and Lynn Nelson with Alex. Other breeds participated with their owners including a Border Terrier (Jamie), an Irish Setter (Rogan), a Corgi (Hazel), and a Siberian Husky (Symon). There are ten exercise behaviors tested in this Level I training program and the dogs must pass at least eight of the exercises.
The good news was that many owners have trained some of these skills already with their dogs such as a tuck sit, nose touch, shake a paw (left and right), and cookie stretch to the left and right. Some new skills for some of our less experienced dogs were learned during the weekly training sessions including front paw targeting, spinning in a clockwise and counterclockwise circle, a fold back down, walking over 5-6 Caveletti poles, and pivoting on an object by having the dog move its rear legs. Since we were allowed to lure our dogs with treats, all of these new skills were relatively easy to train. As a result, all of us passed the test of these behaviors at the end of the class and earned points towards a FIT DOG title.
June 9, 2024 Congressional Cemetery Tour
Congressional Cemetery Tour The American Kennel Club FIT DOG program is designed to provide a structure for dogs and their owners to be active together through titles. A core component of the FIT DOG program is walking with your dog. The Airedale Club of Metropolitan Washington DC sponsored a walk and tour of Congressional Cemetery on Sunday, June 9. Debo West joined us for the tour along with seven others along with their dogs including the following:
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Juno (Mary Morningstar)
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Tucker (Karen and Jeff Miller)
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Huck (Jeanne Esmond)
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Alex (Lynn Nelson)
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Jamie (Bill Nelson)
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Kris (Anne Hennessey)
The tour of Congressional Cemetery was very interesting, and we all learned some new facts about the cemetery and the people that are interred there. We didn’t realize that the cemetery had been on the decline until a few years ago when some canine owners persuaded the trustees to allow dogs on the cemetery grounds, essentially turning it into a dog park every day except Saturdays. Fees are collected for the dog registrations and that source of revenue amounts to over a third of the cemetery’s budget. As a result, the Cemetery now has enough funds to keep the grounds manicured and staffed to regulate entries to the grounds.
The cemetery is the resting place for many senators, U.S. Representatives including a former Speaker of the House, a Vice President, a Supreme Court Justice, and many veterans from every American War. Also interred there are other famous Americans including J. Edgar Hoover, John Phillip Sousa, Cokie Roberts, Mathew Brady and many others. The Matthew Brady memorial was quite extensive and included photos taken by Brady of the Civil War and notable celebrities.
These are the etched in granite photos of some of Brady’s more famous works, including some that were made into stamps and even the Lincoln penny!
We are considering other walking opportunities for the Club members and their canines. If you have any suggestions, feel free to submit them to me directly at bnelson@grf.org and I’ll see if we can arrange it. Bill Nelson ATCMW President
Annual Meeting and Fun Day in the Park, 10 September 2023
2022 Annual Picnic
2018 Scottish Walk Christmas Parade
2017 Fun Day & Picnic
2016 Scottish Christmas Parade
2015 Scottish Christmas Parade
2015 Picnic Frying Pan Park
2014 Barn Hunt at Frying Pan Park
2013 Picnic Frying Pan Park
Misc. Photos