Cramahe staffer trains amazing canine athletes

Daisy shows her jumping style in one of her competitions.


Keisha the Shih Tzu and Daisy the poodle mix are both nearly 12 years young. What makes these two little dogs so special is the fact they have been performing with the Hot Diggity Dogs Flyball Club since its very first season in 2000. With over 115 performances under their belt....er fur, they are mainstays for the club’s public performance season.

Starting their 10th season is an incredible feat for the duo. Not only are they great athletes but they are two of the smallest dogs with the 28-dog club. When the other dogs compete in the 51 foot long course, it may be a walk in the park but with Keisha’s little three-inch legs jumping the hurdles to retrieve her ball and return, it is not surprising the crowd explodes with cheers of encouragement.

Daisy fares a little better having a couple more inches in leg length than Keisha. Keisha competed in her early days in sanctioned competitions. Failing eyesight has limited her activity to the public performances where the bright daylight still allows her to still have fun and race.

Daisy continues to race on the sanctioned tournament circuit. At these indoor competitions Daisy races in the Veterans Class plus still lends a hand to her other Hot Diggity Dog team members. Proud owner Irene Doucet (Keisha) and Cramahe Township Chief Building Official, Natalie Cornell, (Daisy) look forward to their little dogs having another fun year in 2009.

A big year for club

This active group of canines and handlers is in for a big year as the recreational Hot Diggity Dogs celebrate 10 years of providing flyball entertainment to the Quinte and surrounding area.

Flyball is a relay race involving teams of four dogs, four jumps and a box which tosses a ball. One at a time, the dogs race over the jumps to trigger the box, retrieve the ball and return over the jumps. The next dog then starts its run. Two lanes of dogs race side by side. The first team to have all four dogs complete the course wins the heat. It is exciting, fast action and a real crowd pleaser.

The handlers are involved as much as the dogs and everyone has a great time. The Hot Diggity Dogs troupe is hard to miss with their fluorescent green uniforms. They have been bringing their fast action show to many local festivals and fairs for years.

Some local events have booked them every year since 2000. The club is best known locally but that hasn’t stopped them from travelling to places like Port Hope or Brockville to perform.

Hot Diggity Dogs also participates in sanctioned flyball tournaments. Taking as many as three teams, the club has travelled as far as Michigan, Vermont and Quebec and many Ontario locations to compete.

Hot Diggity Dogs started in November 1999 when Natalie and Denny Cornell brought the idea of a Belleville-based club home after belonging to a Kingston flyball club for 18 months.

Originally they used the old Napanee boiler works building for a practice venue. When the recycling business squeezed them out of their borrowed space for their new-found hobby, they found that the Sir James Whitney gymnasium in Belleville was available.

For the next six years the sound of happy dogs practicing their sport could be heard every Sunday afternoon.

A popular event of those early days was the Hot Diggity Dogs “Spring Showcase”. The doors were open to the public, usually during the March break, and an afternoon of flyball racing was hosted. The bleachers were packed, as fans clutched their printed race programs, some winning door prizes. There were racing awards for the teams performing before standing-room-only Sundays crowds.

In 2006 a career move saw the Cornells relocate to the Frankford area. Not willing to leave the Hot Diggity Dogs without a home, they chose to share their dog exercise building they built on their property with the club. It was full steam ahead for the club.

What was thought to be a detriment by changing location actually opened the doors to a whole new group of members. People were now coming from the Norwood and Cobourg area to play with their dogs.

Firmly established in the Quinte West area, they wanted to support the community they lived in. To bring people to the area, if only for a weekend, the Hot Diggity Dogs host a sanctioned tournament every May.

Flyball teams come from as far as Michigan and Montreal to compete at what is proclaimed by competitors as one of the best venues ever at the Trenton Community Gardens and Centennial Park.

The club’s community involvement even extends to McFarland Nursing Home in Picton where it puts on a show every Mothers Day for the seniors and their families. It is a good opportunity for the Hot Diggity Dogs to try out new acts for their show.

In 2008, puissance (dog high jump) was added after the racing portion of the show.
Encouraged by the announcer to chant, “Jump, jump”, the crowd was wowed as some of the best jumpers cleared up to 5 bars.

The club tries to help with a fund raising event in the community every year. In 2008 the Big Brother/Big Sisters Ribfest in Belleville booked them to entertain. The club was more than happy to perform in the city where they first took root. The Big Brother/Big Sister organization has already rebooked the Hot Diggity Dogs again for 2009.

So what is in store for the Hot Diggity Dogs and handlers this year? “More of the same fun and entertainment people have come to love and enjoy”, quotes Natalie Cornell. “We constantly change up the show and make sure people have a good time watching the dogs have fun”.

They want to add a 10th anniversary component to the show. “Maybe everyone will have to learn a special 10th anniversary trick,” she smiles. For more information about the Hot Diggity Dogs call 613 398-0002.