Classes and Events
Halloween Dog Photo Contest
3rd Annual Halloween Dog Photo Contest! 🎃
Celebrating Pendleton dogs and the people who love them!
Our 3rd Annual Halloween Dog Photo Contest is back! This time it’s bigger than ever with more local businesses sponsoring prizes and picking the winners. Entries open Friday, October 9th at 8 AM and close Friday, October 30th at 5 PM.
catagories to enter
👻 Dogs in Costume. Show us your dog's Halloween look! Silly, spooky, sweet, or wonderfully creative—we can't wait to see it.
🍂 Dogs in Spooky or Autumn Settings. Costumes aren't for every dog, and that's perfectly fine! Capture your dog enjoying the season in an autumn or Halloween-inspired setting. No AI enhancements or digital backgrounds please!
Each photo category will have three winners based on age:
Puppy: Under 1 year
Adult: 1–7 years
Senior: 8 years and older
That means six winning dogs and six prizes!
How to Enter
Choose your photo category: Dog in Costume or Spooky/Autumn Setting.
Complete the entry form below with your dog's name, age, your name, and contact information.
Upload your favorite photo.
Tell us one thing you love about your dog! We think that's the best part!
Prizes From Our Local Business Partners
A huge thank-you to the Pendleton businesses helping us make this year's contest possible!
Six winning entries will receive prizes donated by our local business partners, including gift baskets, gift certificates, and other goodies. Special thanks to Herbal By Nature, our 2026 prize pickup partner! All six winners will collect their prizes there.
How Winners Are Chosen
Our local business partners will judge the entries based on creativity, personality, and Halloween spirit! Winning dogs will be featured on the Blue Mountain Canine website and social media pages!
We'll select one winner in each of our six categories: puppy, adult, and senior dogs in costume, and puppy, adult, and senior dogs in spooky or autumn settings.
Each dog may win only one prize, even if entered in both photo categories. That way, six different dogs get to share in the Halloween fun!
Winners will be announced by 2 PM on Halloween, Saturday, October 31!
A Few Friendly Contest Rules
Entries must be submitted between October 9th at 8 AM and October 30th at 5 PM, 2026.
Entrants must be Pendleton residents or live close by. Prizes will only be available in Pendleton.
Each dog may have one photo entered in each of the two photo categories.
Photos must be genuine photographs. No AI-generated enhancements or digitally added backgrounds, please.
Dogs must be entered in the appropriate age category.
By entering, you give Blue Mountain Canine permission to share your submitted photo, your dog's name, and what you love about your dog on our website and social media.
Winners will be contacted using the information provided in the entry form.
Ready to Show Off Your Dog?
Whether they're dressed as a tiny pumpkin, exploring a golden autumn afternoon, or looking delightfully spooky, we'd love to see them!
And most of all, we can't wait to hear what makes your dog so special to you.
Submit your photo using the form below.
Happy Halloween from Blue Mountain Canine and our wonderful Pendleton business partners! 🎃🐶
Puppy Power Essentials
Puppy Power Essentials
A four-week class for learning how to navigate puppy life together
Four-week, in-person puppy class
Begins: Sunday, October 11 at 3 PM
Duration: Every Sunday through November 1st
Location: Pendleton Recreation Center next to City Hall
Investment: $199
For puppies: 4-11 months
Raising a puppy thoughtfully can be wonderful yet also comes with a lot of pressure. Don’t let them jump. Don’t let them pull. Don’t let them bark. Make sure they listen. Make sure they behave around people and other dogs. Before you know it, especially when it counts, you can feel embarrassed, frustrated, anxious, or unsure of what you’re supposed to do.
You may find yourself saying “no” constantly, repeating cues that don’t seem to work, or even find yourself yelling to get a handle on things. That can lead to blaming yourself or your dog when both parties are doing their best in our modern world.
But what if control wasn’t the measure of success? Our Puppy Essentials class will show you how communication, collaboration, and learning to meet each other halfway makes for healthier relationships between dogs and humans. We’ll absolutely practice useful skills! But we’ll also help you understand your puppy’s body language, learning, genetics, environment, and individual capacity so you can make more thoughtful choices about how to support them and yourself.
What you and your puppy will learn
Over four weeks, we’ll build practical skills while helping you develop a better understanding of the puppy at the other end of the leash.
Week 1: Understand Each Other
We’ll start by building a shared language. You’ll learn reinforcement basics, explore puppy body language and consent-based touch, introduce cooperative care, and practice sit and down. We’ll also introduce two frameworks to help you cope and understand your puppy better.
Week 2: Stay Connected
What happens when the world becomes more interesting than you are? We’ll practice attention, name response, recall, and fun games to improve recall response and the relationship. This week we teach the #1 skill to help you and your puppy communicate better as well as introduce our protocol for helping you find clarity in a “ruff” moment.
Week 3: Navigate Everyday Challenges
Jumping. Nipping. Waiting. Settling. Leaving things alone. These everyday puppy moments can create a lot of friction. We’ll practice useful skills for navigating them while exploring ways to respond with compassion rather than making control the goal. We’ll also look at genetics and why this puppy may do that.
Week 4: Enjoy More Comfortable Walks Together
Walking together is about more than keeping a leash loose. We’ll practice loose-leash foundations, contextual heel and heel switches, outdoor safety, advocacy, and meeting people. The goal is to help you and your puppy navigate the world with more communication, confidence, and connection.
Learn useful skills. Understand your puppy. Meet each other halfway.
By the end of this class, instead of getting stuck in “What am I supposed to do?” you’ll become more comfortable asking: What’s happening here? What might my puppy need? What do I need? And what could help us move through this together?
That’s our thoughtful approach to raising dogs—and building a joyful life together. We can’t wait to be on this journey with you. If you’re ready to sign up or want to learn more, please fill out our form below.
Tea and Tails
Join Blue Mountain Canine and Morningstar Blends for Tea & Tails in Pendleton, Oregon—an evening of tea blending, connection, and thoughtful conversation about life with dogs.
Walking Together: Real-Life Skills for Real Dogs
Whether you’re navigating pulling, distractions, crowded sidewalks, loose dogs, or simply hoping walks can feel calmer and more enjoyable again, these workshops focus on practical real-life skills — not perfection.
Pet Partners Therapy Team Evaluation
Pet Partners Therapy Team Evaluation Day
Pendleton, Oregon
Blue Mountain Canine is hosting a Pet Partners Therapy Team Evaluation Day for handlers and their animals who are preparing to become registered therapy teams—or renewing their registration.
Evaluations are conducted by a licensed Pet Partners Therapy Team Evaluator and are required as part of the Pet Partners team registration process. Teams will demonstrate skills that support safe, predictable, and comfortable visits in environments such as hospitals, schools, libraries, and community programs.
This evaluation opportunity is open to new and renewing teams.
Pet Partners welcomes a wide variety of therapy animals, including:
• dogs
• cats
• horses
• rabbits
• guinea pigs
• rats
• birds
• miniature pigs
• llamas and alpacas
(and other species with prior approval through Pet Partners)
Evaluation appointments are limited to four teams total, scheduled hourly between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
Registration must be completed through the Pet Partners Volunteer Center.
Evaluation fees are set and collected by Pet Partners directly.
Event Details
Date: April 25
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location:
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
(next to the cafeteria)
Registration required through Pet Partners Volunteer Center
Tea & Tails
Tea & Tails offers a unique blend of herbalism and dog training, designed to support calmness for both dogs and the people who love them.
Created in collaboration with Blue Mountain Canine, this cozy gathering invites you to explore how environment, routine, and your own nervous system can influence your dog’s well-being.
Together, we’ll create a custom herbal tea blend to take home — crafted with ingredients that support relaxation and balance for both humans and dogs.
While this event is designed for the humans (please leave dogs at home), the focus is on deepening your understanding of your dog and discovering simple ways to foster calm, connection, and ease in everyday life.
Come enjoy a warm cup of tea, thoughtful conversation, and a space to slow down, reflect, and connect.
Price: $30. Register by clicking here: TEA & TAILS EVENT
Be a Tree
🌳 Be a Tree: Dog Safety for Kids
At the Children’s Museum of Eastern Oregon
Join us for a fun and engaging dog safety program designed especially for kids and families.
This one-hour Be a Tree workshop helps children learn how to understand dogs’ body language and make safe choices around both familiar and unfamiliar dogs. Through interactive activities, movement games, and simple visual lessons, kids learn practical skills they can use right away in everyday life.
The Be a Tree program is part of an internationally recognized dog bite prevention education initiative developed by Doggone Safe, and is taught locally by a Certified Dog Bite Prevention Educator from Blue Mountain Canine. These lessons help children build confidence around dogs while supporting safer relationships between kids and pets.
During the workshop, children will:
• learn how dogs communicate through body language
• practice what to do if a dog feels uncomfortable or too excited
• play interactive “Be a Tree” safety games
• become “dog detectives” who notice what dogs are telling us
At the end of the session, children will have the opportunity to meet Dottie, a friendly therapy dog, and practice their new safety skills in a guided and supportive way.
This program is ideal for elementary-age children and families who want to help kids feel more confident and safe around dogs.
📍 Event Details
Location
Children's Museum of Eastern Oregon
400 S Main St
Pendleton, OR 97801
Date & Time
April 17
3:30–4:30 PM
Cost
$8 museum admission (includes access to the museum before and after the program)
Helping children understand dogs doesn’t just prevent bites — it helps build lifelong respect, confidence, and safer relationships between kids and the animals they love.
Whine & Wine
Banner image for Whine and Wine with Cerebella Winery and Blue Mountain Canine
Online Halloween Canine Costume Contest
Contest is now over. Thanks everyone for participating!
🎃 Blue Mountain Canine Online Halloween Costume Contest! 👻
Get ready for a tail-waggin' good time—our Online Halloween Costume Contest is back, and it’s bigger and more boo-tiful than ever!
Whether your pup loves to rock a costume or prefers to just enjoy the fall vibes au naturel, this contest is all about celebrating our dogs in ways that feel good for them.
🧡 Here's How It Works:
📸 Snap a photo of your dog in one of the following categories:
Small But Spooky – Small breed pups in costume
Medium & Magical – Mid-sized costumed monsters and cuties
Large & Legendary – Big dogs with even bigger style
No costume – Real Fall or Halloween background (no digital backdrops, please!)
🎁 Each category will have a Grand Prize Winner and a Runner Up!
🏆 Prizes Donated By Our Amazing Local Partners:
The Studio. Spooky Pup Family Friendly Paint & Sip Night on 10/25 @ 5pm.
Winners will be announced on Halloween day—so keep an eye on our social media for the big reveal!
📅 Important Dates:
Photo Submissions Due: October 30th by 5:00 PM
Winners Announced: October 31st (BOO-tiful timing, right?)
💬 Why We Do This
At Blue Mountain Canine, we believe in celebrating dogs for who they are. Not every dog loves a costume—and that’s okay! This contest is about having fun while also honoring your dog’s comfort, communication, and consent. 🐾
📥 How to Enter
Fill out the form below with:
✅ Your name
✅ Email address
✅ Phone number
✅ Your dog’s breed size (Small, Medium, Large, or No Costume)
✅ Your dog’s name & sentence or two about what you love most about your dog
✅ Your dog’s photo (using the file uploader)
We can't wait to see your spooky, sweet, and spectacular submissions!
Just fill out the form below!
📸 Photo Submission Disclaimer
By submitting a photo to the Blue Mountain Canine Online Halloween Costume Contest, you agree that:
You are the owner of the photo and have the right to share it.
You give Blue Mountain Canine permission to share your photo on our website, social media, and promotional materials related to the contest.
Your photo may be used to help educate others about dog body language, consent, and seasonal safety in a positive and respectful way.
We will always celebrate your dog with kindness and never share content out of context.
If at any time you’d like your photo removed from our platforms, just reach out—we’ll take care of it right away.
Puppy Life and Social Skills for Small Breeds
Understand your puppy better while having fun learning life and social skills for a lifetime of adaptability and enrichment.
Puppy Class for Medium & larger Dogs
Medium & larger breed puppy guardians rejoice! Here is a class just for dogs like yours! This class focuses on key skills that will set your puppy up for a lifetime of safety, manners, and fun with an emphasis on addressing the needs of larger dogs. Skills we cover includes sit, down, come with collar grab, stay, name, heel, body language and handling, jumping, calmer walks and more.
Proof of recent vaccinations are required.
Halloween Canine Costume Contest
It's time for Blue Mountain Canine's 1st annual Canine Costume Contest.
Defensive Walking Maneuvers Workshop (2 Days)
Almost every day we face challenges when we walk our dogs. Learn tactics in this 2-day workshop to keep you and your dog safer while cultivating calmness in motion.
Class Includes:
Online discussion and learning in the comfort of your home
Hands on skill building at a park
Manual for ongoing learning wherever you are
Schedule:
Friday Night: We discuss canine body language, park pitfalls, how to deal with insistent strangers, blocking/distractions, cultivating confidence, moves to keep you and your dog more safe.
Saturday Morning: We work in groups of two at 9 or 10am, practicing hands-on skills and observation skills at a local park.
Price: $150
To Register:
Email info@bluemountaincanine.org or call 503-810-0386