Alex and his dog Link, the skateboarding Corgi
Casual, early afternoons at the Denton skatepark, located off of 288, became ritualistic in the later part of 2018. In and out of day jobs, endless searches for employment near the house and the occasional lack of food (snacks, fruits, vegan meals) contributed to my stress. Instead of wasting time being hypnotized in front of Call of Duty Black Ops 2, I became a regular at the skatepark. The afternoon sun is always kind to skaters as it perfectly highlights the obstacles in front of us. From there, we take it upon ourselves to enjoy our freedom and attempt to pull off difficult tricks by hauling ass and leaping into the air with our fancy foot work. Failure to succeed a trick only results in physical pain for some and frustration for others, but nonetheless we enjoy (maybe not “enjoy” but ultimately deal with) the scrapes and bruises given and laugh it off. More than likely we get back up and try again. In those moments, we are living the essence of life.
It was a quiet Thursday afternoon, I was cruising around the skatepark by myself, practicing the kickfilp backside 50-50 grind. Thirty mins passed me by as I noticed a small pickup truck parking near the gate, adjacent to the park. A skater and his adorable little dog hopped out of the vehicle, I assumed he was there for the same reason I was, to skate. I also assumed that he was going to tie his pup’s leash to one of the poles near the seating area or to one of the picnic tables. Without paying much attention, I skated on to fail again at the trick I was practicing on. After I’ve gotten up from the ground and wondered why I started skating to begin with, I turned my attention to what was going on behind me. My heart melted instantly as my brain was processing what my eyes were presenting to me; a brown and white dog on top of a skateboard, pushing his way towards his owner. I thought that was the cutest and coolest thing ever, a skateboarding dog. Granted I’m fully aware of other skateboarding dogs worldwide but seeing one up close and personal was a different story. It was only right to figure out who the skateboarding dog and his owner were; Alex and his dog Link.
“You have two types of breeders”, he explains, “ some breeders are just in it for the money, other breeders truly love and care about their animals.”
Alex, full name Alexander Kahanek, was born and raised in Massachusetts. A lot of his family originated in Texas, his mother moved to Massachusetts with her husband before Alex was born. “The people there are a lot more rude”, he says, “ and it’s definitely colder. Shoveling snows sucks”. Along with three step sisters, his family was very animal oriented. Alex grew up with all kinds of pets; cats, dogs, even a fish or two . He mainly grew up around boxers, so he was used to having a high energy dog. He skated in middle school and early high school and was pretty decent at it but hasn’t picked back up since then. In April 2015, he moved to Denton to pursue his studies in mathematics, as opposed to previously being in the medical field. In the later half of the year, started his journey in find a dog. He wasn’t able to get a boxer because his apartment complex considers them a bully breed, which is prohibited. Getting a corgi was the next best thing; they have similar energy levels, small and compact. He ended up dedicating a lot of his time searching for the right breeder. “You have two types of breeders”, he explains, “ some breeders are just in it for the money, other breeders truly love and care about their animals.”
In early September, Alex took home an eight week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi from a breeder he was satisfied with. As he was waiting to take the corgi home, he ran across a little trouble in deciding what he wanted to name his new puppy. Considering that he is a huge Nintendo fan, (he has an Mario cart leg sleeve from the knee down), it was no surprise that the name “Link”, from the popular Nintendo game Zelda, popped into his head. It was love at first sight and the two have been inseparable every since. At 9 weeks old, Alex decided to enroll Link into puppy class. It was good for helping Link get use to other environments since he was still so young for the world. At the class location, there was a small board with 4 wheels attached to it that was able to turn and spin in every direction. Out of the group of dogs, Link was the last one to step on to the board but unlike his classmates, his first try was successful. Instantly, Alex knew that Link was going to be a skater dog. Two weeks after puppy class, Alex went on Craigslist and brought a $20 skateboard and that’s when Link’s new hobby began.
The process of teaching Link how to skateboard seems simple enough. I assume the only hard part, if any, was acquiring a certain amount of patience needed to teach a young dog a new trick. As I watched, Alex used treats and clicker to help Link learn each new step into skateboarding. In the beginning process, Alex got Link prepared for skating by getting him familiar with the skateboard; flipping the skateboard over multiple times, spinning the wheels and making loud noises on the board so Link could get used to it. The next step was getting Link comfortable to jump on the board. He started out inside the house by putting the skateboard on carpet it wouldn’t move as Link began to place his paws on the grip tape. Even though it was a slow process, one paw on the board eventually became all four paws on deck. With every new step Link achieved, Alex would reward him with a treat, but he wouldn’t continue to reward him until Link achieved a new step. He trained his adorable corgi to sit, stand and turn around on the board to make sure that he stays on the board 100% of the time. Afterwards, it was time to get off of the carpet and start rolling on concrete. Link started off by staying on the board as Alex pushed him on the board little by little at a slight angle to make sure he was moving. Next step was to get Link to jump on the board and stay on by himself, one of their hardest steps. With the board in front of him, Alex would ask Link to put two paws on the board while Alex pushed the board to the left or right. He would then get in front of Link, allowing him to follow on the skateboard by pushing with his back legs. One thing that helped the process was having loose trucks on the skateboard so it would help Link turn easier. Patience kicked in as Alex repeatedly asked Link to push and jump on the skateboard while moving. While receiving treats for every new step achieved, Link eventually started pushing with one leg only. The clicker that Alex used was to mark every new thing Link learned during the process, since it’s difficult to give him a treat with moving. For every step Link did wrong, Alex would reset the clicker, so you can imagine how many times the clicker would reset in the beginning. Over time, the number of times the clicker would reset decreased as Link continued to progress. Currently, he’s riding a old street cruiser with mini logo wheels that lacks a nose. Link likes to stand on the front part of the board, that prevents him from riding a modern skateboard as it would cause him to flip over on himself. He’s getting a board customized just for him: an classic cruiser with the tail shaved off to prevent flipping over in either side of the board.
Outside of skating, Link is high energy dog that gets anxious when he’s not outside. He’s loves to socialize with people and other dogs and he goes on walks, hangs out a restaurants and even chills at bars from time to time with Alex. He’s also pretty photogenic, every time I snapped a shot of him, he wanted to make sure he was looking directly at my camera lens. Corgis are meant to be herding dogs and since they are Texas residents (considering all the land and cattle in this state), Alex is thinking about enrolling him into herding classes. Agility classes was something in mind but not anytime soon, as he is too young right now.
Check out Alex’s and Link’s Instagram below
