4RK9s

11/23/2023

11/17/2023

On Saturday, November 18, 4RK9s will be 30 years old! Over the last year, club members and other fans have provided recollections, photos and documents, the beginnings of an archive for the club. We've enjoyed looking back and now eagerly look forward to all the future may hold. Happy birthday, 4RK9s!

10/12/2023

The November 18-19 4RK9s NADAC Trial is now open for registrations. Information can be found on the Events page of our website. http://www.4rk9s.com/Events/ This trial falls on the club's 30th birthday! 🎂🥳

We are a dog training club for agility, obedience and other fun canine activities.

10/01/2023

Hello Everyone,

Come and join us for the 4RK9s Obedience and Rally Trial held at the 4RK9s building on November 3rd - 5th starting at 9am.
The premium for the trials and the Reservation sheet for the Obedience Trial Dinner catered by Biaggi's Restaurant is on the website: http://4rk9s.com/Events/

Please direct any questions you may have about the trial or dinner to Michele Hartzler or Karen Abben.

Thank you and hope to see you there,

Karen Abben

We are a dog training club for agility, obedience and other fun canine activities.

09/02/2023

4RK9s will turn 30 in November. We've been collecting the memories that club members and others have provided to create a little video celebration. This is "last call" for that project -- what else would you like to say or have included? We would like to have everything by the end of September, in order to put something together for the club's November 18 birthday.

You can see everything I have so far here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1R0WLoc9f1E6n8Cp_W7z7TwFwrmm5D_fr?usp=drive_link

You can upload items to that Google drive, comment with them here or email to Kristi Murdock [email protected]

A few prompts that might help:
* Tell us what you think about as you consider your own relationship to 4RK9s over the years. How has the club made a difference in your life?
* Tell us about a dog of your own that benefitted from the classes and/or competitions at 4RK9s.
*Tell us about your volunteering for 4RK9s throughout the years. What roles have you filled? Why were you willing to undertake all that work?
*What is your advice for someone that might be considering taking classes or joining 4RK9s?
*What are the most treasured memories you have of 4RK9s or the people and dogs you associate with the club? This is your “time capsule” entry – what one 4RK9s memory do you want to seize and keep forever?
*What are your hopes and wishes for the next 30 years at 4RK9s?

08/12/2023

*****Volunteers Needed!!*****
The UKC Nosework Trial is right around the corner. Please let me know if you would be available to volunteer. The positions available are listed below. On the job training available, AND... WE WILL FEED YOU!

Saturday 9/23
Gate Steward
Judges Steward - Tricia Tanner
Hall Steward
Clean Box Steward
Ribbons - Renee Powers
Food - Robin Abney

Sunday 9/24
Gate Steward - Diana Pesek
Judges Steward - Tricia Tanner
Hall Steward
Clean Box Steward
Ribbons - Renee Powers
Food - Robin Abney

👻This will be a Fall/Halloween theme, so we will be looking for some spooky decor. If you have any fun items we could borrow for our searches, please let me know.👻

We will be gathering at the club Friday 9/22 to set. Times to come and all are welcome.

08/09/2023

The Premium for the 4RK9s Fall UKC Rally Obedience Trials to be held in conjunction with the Iowa Kennel Club's UKC conformation shows at the Poweshiek County Fairgrounds in Grinnell, Iowa, on September 23 and 24 has been uploaded to the website:

We are a dog training club for agility, obedience and other fun canine activities.

08/02/2023

The 4RK9's premium is now posted for the September UKC Nosework Trials! Our opening date is Aug 14th, and the trials will be held on Sept 23rd-24th at the 4RK9s building. We have the fantastic Iowa Judge, Beth McDonald lined up, the awesome Becky Gilchrist is set for Trial Secretary, and Courtney Timmerman will be hosting as your Trial Chair. We are looking for five volunteers, so please reach out to Courtney if you are interested. Hope to see you in September!

We are a dog training club for agility, obedience and other fun canine activities.

06/15/2023

Congratulations to all the teams in Lisa and Aria’s Beginner Obedience class who graduated last night.

06/15/2023

Congratulations to Robin and Mike’s Beginner Obedience class that finished up their session last week!

06/06/2023

It's been a busy month, but now Westminster, Obedience & Rally Trials and Nosework Trial is in the Rearview and it's a few weeks until the Agility Trial, so hopefully y'all have a moment to address your first History Project assignment for June. You may not remember where you were 15 years ago today, but one week from today is June 13, and I'll bet you remember where you were on THAT day 15 years ago, the day the Cedar River crested in Cedar Rapids during the flood of 2008.

I'm SO grateful someone got pictures of the flood cleanup at 4RK9s. What a monumental task that cleanup was! But now you need to record what you remember about the flood, the cleanup, any of it!

You can access the flood album pictures online at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Qoy4BE-xJuYxr9wsIlKAH3pgqCMeZsUq?usp=drive_link Once at that folder, you can click on a picture and it should come up like the example below. See the little yellow arrow-like thing? That plus sign allows you to add a comment. Once you click on it, it will ask you to select an area of the photo. This is a "highlight" request, holding down your left mouse key to draw a square over what you want to select. I just picked the whole photo, more or less. Then a box opens for your comment.

Would love to know who the people are in the comments. When was the cleanup? What do you remember about the process? What had to go that you miss? We do have pictures of the new matting installation in another folder.

The real flood album is in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet now.

06/05/2023

Photos from the June UKC Nosework Trial have been posted. You may review and purchase by following the link below.

06/05/2023

Thank you all for joining us at the June UKC Nosework Trial! It was a great weekend with AWESOME judges, FANTASTIC volunteers, and very TALENTED pups!

A special thank you goes to our friends at CTW Photography for capturing our weekend! A link to all photos will be shared once edits have been completed.

Thanks for the great weekend, and let's do it again this fall!

Courtney Timmerman
Trial Chair

05/25/2023

Beginning 6/1/2023, Liz Drexler will be leading drop in training for rally and obedience. Set-up for rally will begin at 8:00 am. From 8:30-9:30, master and excellent level rally courses for AKC will be available. If the courses are UKC, there will be master and RO3 level courses. From 9:30-10:30, advanced and novice courses for AKC or RO2 and RO1 courses for UKC will be available. This will not be a traditional class. Liz will be available to help anyone with signs or training. But, if you want to “drop in” and run some courses that is fine, too. The only requirement is that you must help with either setting up at 8:00 am, or help with course changes during the morning or help to put away at the end of the morning. If participants don't step up to help, Liz will discontinue the training.
From 10:30 to noon, the building will be available for drop in obedience training. Two rings will be available. Again, not a class but the building will be open for training.
Questions? Contact Liz at ldrex69 [at] netins.net

05/23/2023

Congratulations to Laurie Lee, recipient of the 4RK9s 2023 Rilda Fish Volunteer Service Award! We are very grateful for Laurie's years of service to the club, going above and beyond to support 4RK9s and thus honoring Rilda's memory.

05/23/2023

Congratulations to Susan Haupt and Lucy who earned the Rally Master title and won Rally High In Trial, High Combined, AND High Triple!!

05/23/2023

Congratulations to Julie Burgin and Stitch for earning both their UKC CD title AND High In Trial on Sunday.

05/23/2023

Congratulations to Robin Abney with Sailor and Lou Ann O’Malley with Tully for earning the UKC Beginner Novice title this weekend!

05/23/2023

Congratulations to Betty Hruska with Alina and Julie Burgin with Stitch for earning the UKC CD title this weekend!

05/23/2023

Congratulations to these UKC Rally Competitors this weekend: Shelly Hansen with Casper got her 2nd leg in Rally 1. Chelsea Madson with Obsidian, Robin Abney with Sailer, and Lou Ann O’Malley with Tully all earned the UKC Rally 1 title.

05/19/2023

Congratulations to everyone who played in Obedience & Rally today! Q or not, you got to spend Quality Time with the Best Dog In The World! The only thing that could be better is two more days like this one.

05/03/2023

Guess who was most excited about her new class at 4RK9s….Poppy and her owner, Christine! I got a message after class saying they both ❤️ it! And that’s why we teach!

05/01/2023

I am so late posting these from our last beginner obedience class. Most of the class didn’t make it to graduation but, congratulations to Munson and Scout and their owners for doing a great job! And thank you to Robin Abney and Mike Woodring for teaching last session!

04/06/2023

Now that basketball & weather are in the rear view (for the moment!), it's time for a History Project prompt. This is challenging: Tell us about a special dog you encountered at 4RK9s, ONE THAT WASN'T YOURS. Maybe it was a dog that helped you understand more about dogs, dog training, or maybe just the world in general. Or maybe it was a dog with whom you fell in love. Don't worry, YOUR dog(s) is/are a future assignment (but if you just can't help yourself, we understand, and it's all good!)

Remember that you can find ALL the contributions thus far at https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1R0WLoc9f1E6n8Cp_W7z7TwFwrmm5D_fr You can upload your memory directory or post here!

03/29/2023

Our obedience classes are so much fun that students just can’t wait to get in the door! 😂

03/29/2023

UKC has recently released statistics on dogs receiving Nosework titles. The highest title available in Nosework is the Nosework Grand Champion. These dogs also earn lifetime recognition in UKC's Nosework Hall of Fame. Nineteen dogs have earned this title since its inception in 2020. Four of the dogs (20%!!!!!) are owned, trained, and loved by members of 4RK9s. In order of their achievements:

#5 Nugget (Labrador Retriever) - Jeff Hartzler
#7 Jeep (Dalmatian) - Beth Haley
#8 Fi (Pembroke Welsh Corgi - Johnnette Ulch
#15 Lily (Beagle) - Beth Haley

We are SO proud of our Grand Champion Nosework Teams!

03/28/2023

If you are in the current session of obedience classes, please note that Beginner will now start at 6. Advanced will begin at 7:15.