• Dog Scouts of America
• Agility gear
• Vermont's Camp Gone to the Dogs
• Nevada's Camp Winnaribbun
• North Carolina's The Dog's Camp

Dog Days

We live in a dog-eat-dog world, right? Not necessarily. There's at least one little corner of the earth where it's more like dog meet dog.

At Dog Scout Camp, any Rover can become a Benji.

"I started this camp with the idea that we'd help people bond with their dogs," says Lonnie Olson, 52, the dog trainer who founded Dog Scouts of America (DSA) in St. Helen, MI, in 1995.

With three sessions every summer - two 6-day ones and one weekend camp - Dog Scout Camp is an adventure where both the four- and two-legged learn new tricks: Among other things, they learn about agility, water safety practices and gear, and hiking and biking alongside their owners. Just like in the Girl or Boy Scouts, pups earn badges for accomplishments. Here, any Rover can become a Benji.

Jill Moore, a financial supervisor from Lowell, MI, adopted her border collie, Payton, with dreams of turning her into an agility competitor. But Payton had other plans. "I'd ask her to do something and she'd race away from me as fast as she could - flipping me off in canine language," says Moore.

Their breakthrough came during a painting session a few days into camp. "We were supposed to teach our dog to bring her foot up and swipe it over a canvas. I was honestly thinking of cramming Payton's skinny little leg into that paint pot, dragging it across the canvas, and saying we completed the exercise when, all of a sudden, Payton picks up her foot and swipes it down on the canvas. I scream 'yes!' and reward her. That was the beginning of our creating a partnership." Moore has now attended camp sessions with eight of her dogs. "I've owned dogs my entire life. I was simply a dog owner. Now, [I see that each dog is] a true partner and a friend."

Dog camps, all with different philosophies, can be found across the country. From Vermont to Nevada to North Carolina, there are plenty of places to have - dare we say - a doggone good time.

Posted on March 27, 2006