Recap: The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge

(Published, June 2014)

This weekend was amazing.  I had the chance to be a part of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, one of the biggest, most fun dog competitions in the country.  And I got to be behind the scenes 🙂

Pro Plan invited us to be VIP guests at the event, which took place in Huntington Beach, CA.  It was a perfect day – 72 degrees and sunny.  I really had no idea what to expect because the map seemed to show the event being held right on the beach…and it was!  If you walked 10 feet behind the bleachers, you were standing in the sand.

When we arrived, we parked right next to the event, which was great because we didn’t have to walk far.  I gathered all my stuff, put Wynston in the stroller, and we were off to see the wizard.  Well, not the wizard, but our first mission was to find the VIP tent.  Once we found it, Cory from Pro Plan greeted me and introduced me to some other Pro Plan staff.  At that moment, I felt so incredible.  It was such a tremendous opportunity to meet the friendly, smiling faces behind Pro Plan.

The VIP tent was quite snazzy.  Each table had a gorgeous floral centerpiece, and they supplied endless water, soda and juice.  When it came time for lunch, we ate a gourmet meal (and I definitely shared with Wynston…2 paws up from him!).

After getting settled in and meeting my new friends, we decided to go get a seat for agility.  We were able to sit right up front.  I had never watched an agility competition live, so it was a wonderful experience.

Since Wynston is training to compete in agility, I paid very close attention to every move of the handlers and the dogs.  It helped a lot to be able to watch these professional agility runs, while I actually new what was going on!  Now I am that much more motivated to keep working hard at agility.  Wynston starts his new class tomorrow by the way – “jumping and independence.”

After watching agility (and working on my tan!) we wandered over to the Pro Plan tents.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Pro Plan?!?!  They are so generous and they were giving out a ton of free samples for everyone.  I got a fantastic new Pro Plan tote bag and filled it with goodies.  I always love having samples on hand because when I talk to my friends about Pro Plan, I can give them some to try.  I would seriously be an amazing Pro Plan salesperson…

I also bought a fantastic new shirt.  It’s an “active wear” material so it’ll be perfect to wear during our agility classes.  It says “Purina Incredible Dog Challenge” and on the back it lists all of the competition events.  I am really excited to wear it tomorrow!

We spent the rest of our day watching the events, talking with everyone and enjoying the festivities.  They also had a super cool Instagram booth.  If you posted a picture on Instagram using #incredibledog, the photo would print and you could pick it up for free!  Yes, I totally did that to try it out and I thought it was a really cool concept.  Many memories go along with that picture!

I had 2 favorite parts of being at the Incredible Dog Challenge.  The first was watching the competing dogs interact with their owners.  The bond that these people have grown with their dogs is absolutely…incredible.  It seriously brings tears to my eyes because I wish more people would have such strong bonds with their canines.  You can tell the dogs truly love competing in their respective events.

My second favorite part was meeting the people behind the Pro Plan brand.  I want to make a shout out to Cory and Nick who have been following me through Twitter and made it possible for Wynston and I to have such a wonderful experience.  Everyone I met was so nice and generous, and I had such a fantastic time getting to know them.  It’s great to know that the staff whom represents a company like Purina are just normal, loving, passionate people.  It’s just one more reason why I love Purina and Pro Plan.  I wonder if they are hiring, I think I would make a valuable addition to their team, just sayin’! Hahahaha.

In the meantime, we are settled back in at home.  Today I got news that my sister adopted 2 rescue Huskies…and she’s never lived with a dog in her life.  I am being as supportive as I can but I am really nervous that she doesn’t know what she just got herself into!  Luckily she has an experienced husband and a nice backyard for them.  Guess who got Pro Plan samples from me…did I mention I’d make a great Pro Plan salesperson?!?!

Wynston is exhausted, not only from our 6 hour road trip, but also from getting so much attention this weekend!  He got his picture taken a ton and lots of love from our Pro Plan friends.  He also has almost 1500 likes on his Facebook page now!  I am so happy that my Wynston is so loved.  It makes me one happy mom.

If you haven’t followed us on social media yet, please do so!  You can find the links at the top of my page!  I have lots of catching up to do this week and I will also be posting fun agility pictures, as well as a product review!  I also want to thank everyone for your continued support – without my readers and Wynston’s fans, none of this would be working out so well!  Thank you!