Dog lovers unleashed

Luis Pena

More than 7,500 dog lovers attended the I Love Dogs Expo at the

Orange County Fairgrounds this past weekend.

Expo founder David Lena wanted to have a dog show that would be

inclusive, not just for pure-bred dogs, said Laurence Cohen,

advertising and promotions director. The expo has sporting, working

dogs, shopping events, dog rescuers and seminars for the public.

“The primary mission of the I Love Dogs Expo is to advocate

responsible dog ownership,” Cohen said.

Brian Crosby of Crosbear Kennels in Riverside said he trains

English springer spaniels because they are a very affectionate,

devoted, pleasing and fun to work with type of breed. English

springers flush game out so that the dog handler can shoot the prey,

Crosby said.

He came to show the public how an English spaniel is trained. The

dog shouldn’t be overworked because it loses interest in what it is

being trained for, he said. A dog should be trained for a short time

so it will retain the desire to do the activity, he said.

And a dog will learn faster with positive reinforcement, Crosby

said.

“Rather then yelling at the dogs in the field, we train them to

work off whistles,” Crosby said.

One toot from Crosby’s whistle means to stop and sit. Two toots

from the whistle means to change direction, and three or more toots

from the whistle calls the dog back.

Staci Oswald of Small Wonders Rescue came to the expo to find

homes for the Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes that were saved from

animal shelters in the city and county of Los Angeles. One of the

reasons that her group was started was the increasing number of

Chihuahuas that have been placed in shelters because of the Chihuahua

dog craze that was started by the Taco Bell Chihuahua ad campaign a

few years back, she said.

“We save a lot of dogs with medical problems and injuries, and we

rehabilitate them,” Oswald said.

Small Wonders Rescue spays, neuters and vaccinates the dogs and

implants microchips so that they can be tracked if they are ever

lost. They also work on behavioral problems that the Chihuahuas may

have, and they screen potential pet adopters before a dog is released

to them.

The best homes for Chihuahuas are the ones without small children

and large dogs, Oswald said. The dogs are temperamental, they don’t

get along well with small children chasing after them, and large dogs

can attack the Chihuahuas.

“They are very loyal and very loving, and once they bond with you,

they bond for life,” Oswald said.

Mike Meyers of Irvine came to the expo because his children are

dog fans, he said. He thinks they are cute, furry and lovable, too,

he said.

“You have a bad day at work, and it’s stressful. That dog doesn’t

know anything about your lousy bad day,” said Jeannie Conklin of

Laguna Hills. “You walk in that door, and all [the dogs] do is kiss,

love, wag their tails.”

“[Dogs] love you no matter what,” said Susan Douglas of Costa

Mesa.

* LUIS PENA is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].