St. Marys Library Funday Friday goes to the dogs

Mary Silverthorne calmly greets one-year-old Scrambo, the Idaho shag sheepdog, as part of the training demonstration by Jenelle Miller during Friday’s show.

By Wendy Lamond

Every Friday, the Library Summer Reading program is hosting Funday Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. where participants can listen to guest speakers, enjoy hands-on activities and a lot of fun.

This past Friday, July 10, the entertainment went to the dogs from Four Paws Flying Entertainment. Jenelle Miller has been training dogs since 2004 and entertaining at events and shows since 2014. The excited kids who were on hand to watch Jenelle with her dogs, Bongo, Niche, Scrambo, Basil and Sprocket, were enthralled with the Frisbee, rope jumping, hoop jumping, dancing and many other tricks that were performed.

Along with the tricks, Miller shared ways to help train dogs and how to redirect their attention to avoid bad behaviour. The dogs that performed were aged from one year to 11 and a half years old. It was evident to see the care and time Miller and her family have put in with these dogs by the trust and respect the dogs and trainer had for each other.

Miller, who has won awards in disc and agility training, says it typically takes about a year for a dog to learn an assortment of tricks. Miller and her dogs perform at a variety of shows and competitions.

It was fun watching the audience cheer on the dogs and be in awe of what they could do. After the show was over, Miller brought all of the dogs out to interact with the crowd and willingly answered any questions that came up regarding training and care for the canines.