International Puppy & Trainer Conference

iPup 2009 Wrap Up
by Cosmo Jetson

The International Puppy & Trainer Conference held at the Sterling on September 25-27, 2009 was a success! We had a record attendance from the past few years.

The first night, we met out at the Dallas Eagle's new bar and got to socialize with the natives and Beyond Vanilla participants. The bar had a "nicely busy" crowd so there were plenty of people to mingle with yet not so crowded you couldn't get around. Some of us pups on the patio noticed that a neighbors dog was trying to talk to us, so we barked and howled back. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering where all the dogs were coming from.

The presenters did a great job providing the classes and workshop and were scored well by the evaluations the attendees filled out. While I was too busy to sit in on them this year, the reviews were very good!

The puppy parade was a big hit! Never had the pups been so noticed over a weekend. Usually we are more quiet and in our own classroom, but this year, we spiced up the weekend by having a parade of pups flow through the crowds and the vendor mart during the break between classes. Being led by the "ring master" and the band (a nice guy walking in line, holding a boombox to play the marching music), the pups filed through and seemed to be the hit of the weekend. Later, people were asking "Where'd all the pups come from?" I guess we should do this more often so they will always know that we are there.

The mosh pits were exciting and busy! We had so many pups, but thankfully we had plenty of handlers show up as well to help to us from getting into too much trouble. It's a good thing the PupOut mats are 18' x 19' as we put them to the test. Both mosh pits were well attended and we even had some spill-over onto a secondary mat that was nearby. While a few handlers end up getting tackled down into the mosh pit with a puppy pile on top of them, the most memorable moment was when Master Nitemare ended up down in the mosh pit with a cake on top of him and the pups ate and licked it off.

As if that wasn't enough fun, most of us went on to the dinner and games at the Main Event. Master Roy, owner of iPup, was generous and bought everyones' dinner. After having a nice meal, 12 of us used our game card provided by iPup to play a game of laser tag. This was my first time and I had a blast! The staff split us and others into two groups of about 10 people. We had iPup people on both sides. Then you are led into this large two story maze where you try to attack your opponents as well as their base. Of course, the other team is doing the same. Surprisingly, it is easy to tell who is on what team in the low light but it still makes for a blood-rushing, heart-pounding fun as you try to get others without them getting to you. Fortunately, I ended up on the winning team.

We returned to the hotel for a movie night. About a dozen people showed up and we had brought in some of the mats as well as blankets, sheets and pillows. Some showed up in awesome jammies (even Doctor D's). It seemed unanimous that the movie picked was Bolt! We all cuddled up together, some with our legs resting ontop of others. I think I was the only one to fall asleep, but then if you were resting your head on a hot top's butt, you'd probably be too comfy to stay awake too!

The final day seemed to go fast. The workshop rounded out. The raffle went off and one lucky participant ended up with the iPhone 3GS, two others ended up with a puppy basket of goodies, another got a puppy bed and a final person got the Dog-opoly, Pup-opoly and a couple of sculptured dogs.

The only main hang up was that the hotel did not have the restuarant open, nor the bar in time for lunch, so those of us hanging out ended up having pizza ordered in by yours truly.

In all, I have to say that this was the most fun iPup that I've participated in. But... just wait until fall 2010!!! I have great plans and with the help of Master Roy, Vic Silverpaw and the iPup comittee, i plan on our 2010 - TENTH ANNIVERSARY - being even better! Keep your ears perked for details.

Stay tuned!