Having fun with your corgi:

• Corgi Meet-ups – in recent years, meet-ups have become more common; some driven by social media groups. Corgi breed clubs will also sometime offer corgi celebration events offering games, demos, grooming tips, raffles, etc. These are great ways to meet breeders, make new friends, and just have fun with other corgi folks. It is VERY IMPORTANT your corgi is fully up to date on vaccinations and leashed for safety’s sake.


• The GGPWCF has an annual "Corgi Faire," in November near the Bay area, where corgis and their owners come from miles around for performance and grooming demos, games and the ever popular Costume Contest! (NO FLEXI-Leads Please!) Check our calendar for times and dates.


• Conformation Dog Shows celebrate and help preserve the distinctive features of different breeds and provide a forum in which dogs are evaluated for future breeding programs. Handlers enter the show ring with their dogs so judges can evaluate the dogs’ conformation, or how closely their physical structure conforms to their breed standards (official description of the breed).


• Junior Showmanship offers children between the ages of 10 and 18 years of age an opportunity to develop their handling skills, learn about good sportsmanship and learn about dogs and conformation dog shows.


• Juniors are judged on their ability to present, or handle, their dogs as they would in the breed ring.
• Juniors are welcome and encouraged to compete in any dog performance/competition event.


• Therapy dogs – refers to various services using animals to help people with specific physical or mental health conditions. The dog may be able to provide comfort, alert others if someone is in danger, or even perform direct actions to help a person’s condition when they are in need. It is a type of complementary or alternative therapy. It should enhance but not replace other treatments. The goal of animal assisted therapy is to alleviate or help people cope with some symptoms of various conditions where possible.



• Agility blends training and athletic ability, creating challenge and excitement for every breed. Dogs demonstrate their ability to negotiate a complex course of physical obstacles together with their handler. Competing in agility requires proper training, as it is a game of physical skill, control, patience and, most of all, teamwork between a handler and dog.


• Obedience trials promote better canine-human companionship by encouraging basic good behavior in dogs. Obedience competitions test a dog’s ability to perform a prescribed set of exercises. Competing in obedience requires preparation, as it is a game of control, patience and teamwork between a handler and dog.


• Rally Obedience – dog/handler teams must complete a course made up of 10-20 signs describing specific obedience exercises to perform. Unlike traditional obedience, handlers are allowed to encourage their dogs during the course.


• Fast-Cat/ Lure coursing – If you’ve ever wondered how fast your dog is, these tests are for you. They’re timed runs where your dog chases a mechanized lure around a course that simulates the unpredictability of chasing live prey. Training for these tests helps improve your dog’s focus, agility and sportsmanship.


• Herding, Farm & Ranch Dog – In these sports, your dog uses his innate herding abilities to move sheep (or other animals) around a field, fences, gates, or enclosures, while taking direction from you.
• AKC Farm Dog Certification: Your dog responds well to commands at home and in public, but how would he respond in a farm environment? There’s an easy way to find out: Sign him up for a Farm Dog Certified test. Open to all breeds of dogs, this test involves your dog performing a series of 12 exercises that are typical for a farm environment such as being in close proximity to livestock (who are always penned to avoid any altercations); jumping and staying on hay/straw bales; walking on unusual terrain; and jumping over logs. There is no herding involved. Instead, the goal is to assess his aptitude as a working farm dog by exhibiting self-control, confidence and trust with you or his handler. The American Farm Bureau Federation also holds a Farm Dog of the Year competition.


• Scent Work/ Nosework - mimics the task of working detection dogs to locate a scent and communicate that the scent has been found both indoors and outdoors. It’s a positive, challenging activity that gives your dog the opportunity to use his strongest natural sense.


• Treibball is a positive-reinforcement, competitive dog sport which originated in Germany and entered sanctioned competition in 2008. The dog must gather and drive large exercise balls into a soccer goal. The balls have been referred to as "rolling sheep" in recognition that this sport stems from herding for dogs who do not have access to regular sheep.


• Tracking tests evaluate a dog’s ability to follow a trail by scent. The dog must find and indicate articles left on the track by a track layer. The handler must show all articles to the judges at the end of the track. Some of the most difficult tests challenge a dog to follow human scent across various surfaces and through changing conditions.


• Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball.


• Barn Hunt –rats are placed safely in tubes in a hidden maze, and the dog sniffs through the maze in search of the rats in a timed event. The sports tests the dog’s smell abilities and their speed, agility, and obedience. Once the dog sniffs out the rat, they will alert their handler.


• Dock diving is a thrilling water sport where dogs jump from a dock into a pool or body of water, showcasing their athleticism and natural abilities. There are different types of dock diving competitions including distance jump, vertical jump, speed retrieve, and air retrieve, each with its own set of rules and challenges.


• In the competitive world of Bikejoring, a team consists of the rider along with one or two dogs. The dogs will pull out in front of the bike. Competitions take place on off-road, soft dirt trails that are relatively flat and free from problematic obstacles. Most races involve individual time trials. These allow the competitors to negotiate the course without worrying about others in their way. This is a fast-paced sport, and not for the faint-hearted!


• Canincross is the sport of cross country running with dogs. Originating in Europe as off-season training for the mushing community, it has become popular as a stand-alone sport all over Europe, especially in the UK, and the United States. Canincross can be run with one or two dogs, always attached to the runner.


• Trick dog – a competition in which the dog learns a short routine (4–6 minutes) of unique tricks that are then evaluated by a team of judges. The routine can involve multiple tricks and props, music, and costumes. There are various levels at which the dog can compete, depending on their experience.


• Dog dancing, also known as canine Freestyle, is choreographed trick training set to music. You’ll recognize some traditional obedience moves, such as heel position, but the overall goal is to get creative and put your dog’s best paw forward.


• Disc dog (commonly called Frisbee dog) is a dog sport competition where dogs and their human flying disc throwers compete in events such as distance catching and somewhat choreographed freestyle catching. "Fetch" on steroids anyone?


• Corgi Races: The race is 100-feet, held as a recreational event usually at a horse racetrack. The setup is generally simple since the Corgis aren’t trained athletes. The Corgis wait at the starting line alongside their owner and race toward the finish line to another family member waiting for them. Competing Corgis run in heats with the winner of each heat advancing to the championship where the top three finishers will race for the gold, silver and bronze medals. There's no betting and it's just a lot of fun! Check out this amazing YouTube video of some Corgi Races!
  


• Dog swimming/ surfing/ skateboarding - when the dog learns to swim or ride on a surfboard or skate board. It’s a lot of fun. [Link to shredding Skateboarders!]
  And meet JoJo, the famous surfing Corgi!
  


• More? We’re sure you have lots more ideas on activities to do with your dogs!