1-31, Santa Paws! Christmas Critter Trees. Pick your Santa Paw ornament with a wish list item from Nevada Humane Society Critter Trees located at businesses throughout the area. Proceeds benefit the society. For information call the society at 775-331-5770, or log onto www.nevadahumanesociety.org for tree locations.

3, Raising Puppies and Children Together. The Canine Club, 1818 Frazier Avenue, Sparks, NV. 1:00 to 2:30pm. Free Information Sessions: Dogs and children can be a wonderful combination, or can be fraught with difficulties. Find out how to make training a puppy with your children a positive experience for everyone. Call 775-331-0667 for more information.

3, Community Cats’ 2nd Annual Fundraiser. Healthy Tails, 3890 Mayberry Drive, Reno, NV. 10:00am to 3:00pm. Santa will be there for pictures with your pets, so come on down and help Community Cats in their efforts to support the animals. For information call 775-720-8067, or e-mail at feralrescue@aol.com

3, 19th Annual Sparks Hometown Christmas Parade. Victorian Square, Sparks, NV. Noon to 5:30pm. Look for many of our local pet organizations. A full day of vendors, Santa, food, and stage entertainment.

4, Multi-dog Families: One dog is a friend, two dogs are a pack. The Canine Club, 1818 Frazier Avenue, Sparks, NV. 1:00 to 2:30pm. Free Information Sessions: Dynamics in a multi-dog household can be tricky, even among the best dogs. This session is designed to give the humans living with a dog pack some management tools for a happier home. Call 775-331-0667 for more information.

4, Pug Sunday. Rancho San Rafael Park Multi-use Area, 1595 North Sierra Street, Reno, NV, 2:00 to 4:00pm. An informal get together and an afternoon of fun and play. All breeds are welcome—you just need to love pugs. For more information call 775-771-0196.

7, A Puppy for Christmas? Healthy Tails Training and Wellness Center, 121 Woodland Drive, Suite 100, Reno, NV. 6:00 to 8:00pm. Tips on the best way to bring a new puppy home, setting the stage for creating a wonderful relationship with your new pup, preventing problems from beginning, addressing housetraining, biting, chewing, and more. This clinic is for people only, no dogs! $25. Jeanie Collins, CPDT, jeanie@beyondobedience.com, or call 530-400-3647.

8, Is My Dog Normal? The Canine Club, 1818 Frazier Avenue, Sparks, NV. 6:30 to 8:00pm. Free Information Sessions: Q&A session about your dog’s behavior. Is it normal for my dog to growl when playing tug? Should I play tug? Why does my dog scoot on the floor? These are only a few of the most common questions people have about their dogs. Come and ask yours! Call 775-331-0667 for more information.

8, Home Alone. Healthy Tails Training and Wellness Center, 121 Woodland Drive, Suite 100, Reno, NV. 6:00 to 8:00pm. Learn how to teach your dog or puppy to cope when left alone, or how deal with current problems of being left alone which may include excessive barking, chewing, destructiveness, house soiling, etc. This clinic is for people only, no dogs! $25. Jeanie Collins, CPDT, jeanie@beyondobedience.com, or call 530-400-3647.

10, 2nd Annual Holiday Open House. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Northern Nevada, 840 East 5th Street, Reno, NV. 10:00am to 2:00pm. Bring the excitement of the holidays to a furry friend through the Holiday Giving Tree. Come share the holiday spirit of giving to animals in need by donating food, toys, and at the same time, enjoy hot cider, cookies, and great company. SPCA will attach your photo to an ornament for your donation and hang your friend’s picture on the Holiday Giving Tree for everyone to see through early January. Call 775-324-7773, or visit their Web site at www.spcaofnn.org

11, Happy Housetraining. The Canine Club, 1818 Frazier Avenue, Sparks, NV. 1:00 to 2:30pm. Free Information Sessions: Find out how to help your dog become completely house-trained and why some dogs take longer to train than others. Help your dog learn where to potty. Call 775-331-0667 for more information.

15, I Have a Puppy—HELP! The Canine Club, 1818 Frazier Avenue, Sparks, NV. 6:30 to 8:00pm. Free Information Sessions: Helpful information for dealing with all of the normal problems you’ll run into when you have a puppy. Call 775-331-0667 for more information.

TBA, Feisty Fido. For dogs that get excited, frightened, or aggressive when they see another dog on walks. Learn to gain control and regain comfort when you are out together. This multiple-level class is scheduled as needed; anyone wishing to enroll in this class must schedule an in-home consultation one week prior to the start of class. Class size is limited, and taught by two CPDT instructors. For information call Jeanie Collins at Beyond Obedience at 530-400-3647, or Alissa Edmands of Oh Happy Dog at 775-742-2298, or go to jeanie@beyondobedience.com

14-15, 2006 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. More than 160 breeds will compete for cash prizes totaling more than $225,000 at the Tampa Convention Center and St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL. The renowned international event will also include the AKC National Agility Championship and the AKC National Obedience Invitational and will be aired by Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel starting at 8:00pm EST both nights. For more information, visit www.topdogshow.com