Woofing it up at Vermont canine camp
All right, who's the most like Lassie?
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 (Globe Photo / Steve Surfman)  More on Vermont More on New England
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From Boston, Stowe, Vt., is 208 miles or about 3 hours. Take Interstate 93 north to Interstate 89 north to exit 10 for US Highway 2, Waterbury/Stowe. Nine miles later, turn right onto Route 100 to Stowe. |
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Under a broiling sun, Macaleer stubbornly refused to sit. I was dripping with sweat -- it could have been either the heat or the approaching judge. My hands were smeared with bacon grease, but my canine campmate wasn't fooled. He cocked his head and didn't see or smell his usual reward, a biscuit, so he rolled over. Unfortunately, this was not a class on tricks. As the judge arrived to say we were not going to pass the Canine Good Citizen test, he sat up and preened for her. Too little, too late.
My 1-year-old Bernese mountain dog and I had traveled to Stowe, Vt., to attend Camp Gone to the Dogs, started by Honey Loring in 1990. We joined 111 fellow campers and 145 other dogs for a week of dog-related activities. Most of the campers and activities were at Mountaineer Motel. We stayed across the street at the Anderson Lodge. It was quiet, and most days, I had the pool to myself. It's not a high-tech place; if you want a phone, ask for a room that has one.
Of the 20 or so activities offered each day, I had chosen some I wanted to try, and the 8 a.m. obedience class headed the list. Some classes are at the same time all week, others are offered a couple of different times. All are open to drop-ins and dropouts. After a pancake (with maple syrup tapped from a nearby tree) and fruit breakfast, we set off. Having asked for directions, I followed them to the letter and wound up in the middle of Beginning Agility class. Agility is basically an obstacle course for dogs; they jump over short fences, and go up and down a seesaw and through tunnels. I never thought about taking Mac to agility; I thought it was for retrievers and other overachievers. He loved it. Lesson number one at camp: Never assume.
We also enjoyed Real Life Fun and Games. Under a shady tree, we sat and played charades, sometimes with a doggie theme, sometimes not. Run by the hilarious Sue Sternberg, who quickly became one of my favorite instructors, the two teams tried to guess movies, books, and diseases. One of the games was to determine the dog who acted most like Lassie. You staggered around and fell down, then your dog would run over to you, licking you and barking madly. The dog that scored highest on the applause-o-meter won. A new friend leaned over. "I'm not doing this," she murmured. "I'm happy with the delusion that my dog would win easily."
Most afternoons, we went for a wade in the creek that runs behind the Mountaineer. We met folks here whom we wouldn't have met otherwise because they were in Beginning Freestyle Dancing, Recall, or Frisbee class. The water is clear and cool, and it's a good place to find out if your pooch is a swimmer. Mac likes to wade out until his belly is wet, then he stands in blissful peace. As do I.
Even for the most devoted owners, there is a limit to the 24/7 dog activities. Stowe is a town brimming with activities, and a group of us rode the gondola up Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. Dogs are welcome and 4,393 feet up, we were rewarded with a glorious and much cooler view. On the way back, we visited the Trapp Family Lodge, started by the von Trapps of "The Sound of Music" fame. This resort has swimming, tennis, and horse-drawn carriages.
If you just cannot escape being a dog owner, go to Gracie's Gourmutt Shop on Main Street. They have great dog-related gifts. The namesake was rescued from the animal shelter and the lovable Airedale went on to give her face and name to this shop and restaurant.
The food at camp is buffet style, plain, recognizable, and filling. The cook has a good idea of what people want to eat. The vegetarian option is spicier and worth the trek to the kitchen. I loved the cumin in my mushroom and eggplant meal, while others enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.
At night there were lectures. Sternberg's "Can puppies be bad dogs? The nature vs. nurture debate revisited" was quite moving. As an animal shelter owner, she is a strong believer in temperament testing for puppies. Videos of her demonstrating how a temperament test works were fascinating. Some shelters routinely euthanize certain breeds -- Akitas, pit bulls, Dobermans -- sometimes believing these breeds are temperamentally unadoptable, sometimes for time and space reasons. This is flawed reasoning; all Akitas don't bite, and a sweet-looking cocker spaniel may. The best test for understanding which dogs are safe to be placed in homes is a temperament test. If a pit bull can be tested and found to be safe, i.e., trainable, that puppy deserves as much of a chance as any other dog. And what about a no-kill shelter? Should dogs spend their lives there? This brought up a lot of discussion and food for thought.
The instructors are available for questions, and you can be sure that whatever the problematic situation, they have probably heard it before. I received a couple of suggestions, and later in the week was asked how I was faring with them.
Remember, it's still supposed to be a vacation, so take those lazy walks, relax in the hot tub, and eat dessert. We met all kinds of dogs, from Javert the Poodle, to Kitty the schnauzer to Jakob the Doberman. Most were well behaved and a pleasure to meet. One night as we pushed away from dinner, one woman snuggled with her Alaskan Eskimo, Coyote Blue, "This," she sighed, "is what camp is all about."
