Advanced Socialization Seminar: Saco Maine!

Finish Forward Dogs presents…

Pack to Basics™ Advanced Socialization Solutions
with Chad Mackin!

When: Saturday April 26 & Sunday April 27, 2014

Where: 30 Spring Hill Rd. Saco, ME. 04072

Contact: Shannan Nutting, Jay Jack, and Amanda Buckner
info@finishforwarddogs.com
207-251-2296

Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (Both days, may run slightly longer.)

Fee: $349 per person/dog

*All spaces are on a first-come-first-serve basis, and space is limited.

A system that builds dogs’ social skills to balance their lives…

The key to Pack To Basics is to use the dogs’ naturally strong social behavior to reduce stress and fear; build confidence and language skills, allowing for many common behavior problems to slip away. This is an approach like none other! No punishment and no traditional training is needed to radically improve a dog’s behavior in and out of the home.

Dog aggression? Reduced or resolved in a couple of hours in many cases.

Rambunctiousness? Dogs quickly learn to moderate their own behavior.

Excess energy? Drain your dog of the frustration that causes destructive chewing, anxiety and much more.

Pack to Basics is a comprehensive approach to canine socialization, specifically geared towards dogs with known socialization issues. It includes everything from the initial evaluation to pre-training dogs before they can enter the social arena and preparing the questionable dogs to safely enter the socialization classes.

Pack to Basics is an advanced socialization process that focuses on the dogs that are typically excluded from doggie daycares and other socialization venues. Because of this fact, Pack to Basics offers us an opportunity to help dogs that otherwise might not be able to ever run with other dogs.

Our Pack to Basics classes are revolutionary in their approach and in their results. By allowing dogs with difficulties getting along with other dogs to interact with the right kinds of dogs, they learn not merely to control their aggressive behavior, but to actually enjoy getting along with other dogs.

The two day Pack to Basics workshop is a fun and informative workshop designed to enable dog trainers to share the benefits of Pack to Basics socialization with their clients and their dogs.

Pack to Basics is a unique system for socializing dogs who otherwise might not be allowed to socialize in dog parks and doggie daycares because of anti-social tendencies. We have seen amazing results in hundreds of dogs who have been labeled dog aggressive or dangerous by other dog professionals.

Included in your Pack To Basics Workshop:
• The causes of aggression, the number one reason dogs fight, and how to quickly stop a dog fight. • How to recognize true dog aggression versus bad manners and poor social skills.
• How to evaluate dogs, and their owners prior to the class.
• How to prepare dogs and clients who need some work before socializing.
• How to safely run a class, and how to recognize trouble brewing before it becomes trouble. • When to let things go and when to step in, as well as how to safely step in.

We use a combination of videos, live demonstrations, active socialization sessions, and discussion to reach all students. While the workshop is designed for dog professionals, many dog owners have attended these workshops over the years and all have learned a lot and had a great time. Running Pack to Basics classes is the most valuable thing I offer my clients and it allows me to quickly solve problems other trainers take months or even years to solve.

What is Pack to Basics?
Pack to Basics is the best answer to the socialization question. It is more than merely letting the dogs run together. It begins with proper evaluation of the dog, continues through pre-training dogs who aren’t ready to socialize off leash, and finally it ends with safely socializing dogs who are ready. Workshop attendees can expect two informative days about dog aggression, canine body language, canine socialization. Each day will include lecture, practical work, and video presentations. Every workshop is different because the dogs at each workshop will be different.

Who should attend P2B workshops?
P2B workshops are open to any adults who want to attend. While the workshops are geared for professionals, there is usually one or more dog owner attending who just wants to understand their dog better. The feedback from them is always positive. The program avoids a lot of jargon and instead relies on plain English to communicate ideas so people of all backgrounds can usually follow. However, the material is best-suited for those with dog experience.

Are you a dog trainer?
Learn how to cure your clients problems quicker than ever before possible in a way that will be fun for your owners and their dogs. Bring clients back over, and over again into your business by offering occasional social classes. Your services will be so unique that you should expect more referral business than ever before.

Own or work at a Doggy Daycare?
Learn how to evaluate dogs to determine who is safe to play and who is not. You’ll immediately benefit as you avoid damage to your clients’ dogs. By offering a solution for problematic dogs, you’ll turn unacceptable dogs into your customers…and those people will bring their friends. Also, bring your key staff members. Help them learn dog handling and dog safety rules for dogs at play. Keep your staff and your investment safer.

Are you a pet sitter or dog walker?
Know what to look for when socializing dogs together in your environment or theirs. Make progress with dog behaviors that the average sitter or walker will never understand. You’ll become the “go to” professional in your location.

Can I bring a dog?
Please do! While the workshop could be done without any dogs (we have enough videos to make up the difference) there is a real benefit to having dogs there for practical demonstrations and practice. Any kind of dog will be useful. Some dogs are not suitable for socialization sessions, but they are valuable for the workshop nonetheless because their evaluations are the most important. However, all dogs should be crate trained, attendees will need to provide their own crate.

Can I see video of what this all looks like?
You can see a video at www.packtobasics.com. The focus of the video is a dog named Ringo who was in danger of being euthanized by Southeast Texas Lab Rescue because of his aggressive behavior towards other dogs. After a little less than two weeks we shot the video of Ringo running with a group of other dogs in an 2,000 square foot room.

Who is teaching the workshop?
Chad Mackin will be teaching the workshop. Chad has been training dogs professionally since March of 1993. He developed Pack to Basics after being introduced to Large Field Socialization by Dick Russell. Chad immediately recognized the value in what was happening and set about finding a way to make it work in smaller spaces. Chad brought all his years of experience with difficult and aggressive dogs to the problem and over time Chad developed the program presented in workshops today. Chad is a former President of The International Association of Canine Professionals, as well as the current Director of Training for A+ Dog Obedience in Webster, TX. He has presented on Pack To Basics at the IACP Conference in Hutto TX, and at National K-9 school for dog trainers, as well as private facilities across the US and in Canada.
Please see his website for more information: www.PacktoBasics.com You can also join his on-line community at: www.facebook.com/Pack-to-Basics and www.twitter.com/PackToBasics

Will I receive a Certificate of Attendance?

A Certificate of Attendance will be provided!

When: Saturday April 26th & Sunday April 27th, 2014 Where: 30 Spring Hill Rd., Saco, ME 04072
Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (Both days, may run slightly longer.)
Fee: $349 per person/dog

To Register – Mail Check & April2014 – Socialization – Maine to:
Finish Forward Dogs Inc.
30 Spring Hill Rd.
ME 04072

For more information, please contact Jay Jack:

Email: 3badbullies@gmail.com

Phone: (207) 712-5955

Fun Pull Pics/Vids!!!

Got the pics/vids from the Fun Pull last weekend! Check it out-

Milo Making it look easy! (ok it was a warm up run, but still):

A few Shots of Mabel in Action-

Here is Mandy handling-

And here we pull out the “Big Guns” and bring in Grandma to handle!!!!

She LOVES her granddaughter!

And yes Mabel’s weights are super light, but……..

A. It’s about the experience, not “winning”.

B. She had double TPLO surgery about a year ago, so we think this is DAMN impressive!

Last but not least…. Bella:

Fun Pull Quick Report!

Yesterday was a BLAST at Finish Forward! They had both a Competition Pull, AND a “Fun” Pull, for dogs ad handlers with no experience. We pulled 3 of our 4 Bullies (jax is out with an injury), and they all did GREAT!!!

As we’ve said before…. Weight pull is pretty much amazing for both the dogs, and the relationship with the handler.

We will have a full report up ASAP with pics/vids.

Stay tuned!!!

In the mean time Check out Finish Forward’s Tuesday nights Weight Pull Class. Mandy is there for pretty much every one! Introduce yourself.

Oh, and…… Want you dog to pull, and don’t have the time? Give us a call…… We’ll work them out for you!

New Toy For A Maine Winter!

Oh yeah! I got me some sliding snowshoes!!!!!

These bad boys are a cross between Backcountry skis, and Snowshoes.

In my zeal for bad ass dog activities under ANY circumstances, I’ve run into some snags with the tapering period before and after the snow season. My kicksled, is awesome for when it’s been snowing regular. But, if you hit patches of thin cover you’re carrying that rig. Not fun.

Oddly enough, the kicksled sucks in fresh deep snow too. The runners are are only about two inches wide, and so they just sink into fresh deep powder. Come to think of it, the kicksled is really only awesome on packed trails. Now, that said, on a packed trail, it’s about the coolest thing in the world!

But, I’ve run into problems on un-groomed trails. If it’s real deep, the sled sinks. Snowshoes don’t help, at least not for a pulling scenario!

The obvious answer is for big, backcountry skis!

Sure. But, here’s my issue with that. I wind up getting out of the skis, a ton during an excursion. To walk to the trailhead. To walk through a dry, or rocky patch. Or, even ditch, or ravine crossing.

The trail by my house is a perfect example. There’s two ways to access it. A 3/4 mile walk on the road, that even when the trail is beautiful, the road can be dry, and no good for sliding. Or, through a deep un-groomed field about 2 blocks long, and a ravine crossing.

Both options suck bad with a sled. And aren’t much better in ski boots.

Enter the “Sliding” snowshoes!

They are fat, and short like backcountry skis, so they’re great for breaking trail in deep snow. Plus, they’ll SLIDE like skis….. Which is good if there’s dogs pulling you! But the reason they’re way cooler than regular skis, is that they work with my regular boots! Which means, I can throw them on my back, and hike it, if there’s not enough snow! That means, there’s no risk in picking the wrong equipment. If there’s enough snow, we “skijor”. If there’s not, we are Canicrossing!

Bring on the snow! Or not, doesn’t matter.

BTW, if all that sounds like too much hassle for you, but you’d still like your dogs out on the trail…..

Give us a call. We’ll pull em for you.

Snow, or not.

What The Hell Is A Flirt Pole!

Flirt Poles are awesome!

They are a fantastic way to exercise your dog! And not just in that “screw it, just get em tired” kind of way. But, in a way that can help establish rules, boundaries, and bonding.

It’s just like tug. Literally. It’s just an extension of your arm. You can make them cover more ground, and have exciting near misses in between your actual tugging bouts.

If they have reliable “outs” you can just play tug with the pole like you’re fishing for dogs! If their “outs” aren’t solid yet, you can just hand over hand down to the tug, and immobilize it to encourage the “out”. I’ve recently become a fan of the -P method of corrections!

In this way it’s just a higher energy draining version of tug.

But I’ve used it with a few dogs that didn’t have any desire to play tug. It’s been a great bridge to get to tug as a new activity.

One of them just wasn’t that excited about about the “prey” I was holding. I just couldn’t move it enough, or in a fashion to trigger her interest. But, with a flirt pole, I was able to draw her out. Literally, like fishing. I would throw it out like casting. She would sort of ignore it. I would make very small movements. After a minute or two she FINALLY got a little interested. When she bothered to give it a sniff, I made it jump and run away from her. It took about two of those for her to go absolutely apeshit chasing it. When I let her get it, I gently tugged “fishing pole” style. I am not going to start “outing” her for a few more sessions. I don’t want to discourage her drive in any way. If I can get it away from her, it means she’s not really gripping it. Which means her drive isn’t high enough. Once she can grip that thing and I can’t get it back from the pole I will transition into teaching the “out” and possibly switching to straight tug.

On another dog I was working, they had trust issues. They had a TON of prey drive, but….. If you tried to engage them in tug, they would just let you have it. They didn’t want to “challenge” you for this thing that you obviously wanted. Sometimes, you can just tug less vigorously to help build their confidence. But in this case it was bad enough that I had to use a flirt pole so that the toy didn’t seem “attached” to me. They could chase, and chase. When they caught it, I would tug “fishing pole” style, and praise a lot. Then once they are into that, when tugging, I will slide down the line and tug holding the line. I’ll get closer and closer until, I can actually tug while holding it. Once you can use the pole to engage rounds of hands on tug play, you may be able to just switch to straight tug.

Anyway, flirt poles are bad ass! Use them to build trust, or drive for tug work, Or just use them to wear you little one down. Cause, even though I am a HUGE proponent of obedience work, if a dog is tired, it’s hard for them to be bad!

So, Buy one. Make one.

Or call us…. We’ll bring ours!

Missed Thanksgiving Because Of The Dog

Listen, I’m not bagging on you. I was you. Hell, I AM you.

We can’t leave town. Not unless we take an RV and put all five dogs in that bad boy!

Look, I know there are a lot of people out there who are totally bummed today because they had to tell their family they couldn’t come to Thanksgiving……. Because of the dog.

It’s a brutal situation. You can’t take Sparky to the boarding place cause he get’s pissy with people he doesn’t know. Especially if they act scared. And, you can’t ask anyone to come over and watch him because when you aren’t there, he just paces, and barks, and drives everyone nuts. Of course, he does like your sister….. But she’s going to Thanksgiving.

So, here you sit, with your piece of shit Hungryman turkey dinner.

And your dog.

Who you love…… And, who you’re really, really annoyed at.

Next time call us. We’ll come over and handle you’re little bundle of difficult.

And you, can see your family.

Happy Thanksgiving.

New Toy!!!!

Yes!!!!

3 Bad Bullies just got our hands on a brand new Kickbike Cross Max!

These things scream to be pulled by dogs. They are stable, and have shocks like a mountain bike. So, they can totally handle off road rough housing. But, they’re super easy to step off of if things get squirrely….. Which, with dogs pulling you off road, can sometimes happen. That’s the main difference for the dog sports. Bikes are hard to get off of at speed. But these are a little less sketchy feeling.

Anyway, We just added one to our arsenal of Canine Exercise Therapy equipment.

If you want to get your dog in on the action….. Give us a call. We’ll run ’em for you!

 

3 Bad Bikjoring Bullies

We officially adopted Jackson (the little brindle/blue bull with cropped ears you see in a lot of our photos). And, because I plan on doing a lot of sledding/skijoring this winter, I need to get him up to speed!

Off to the trails we go!

Oh yeah!

There’s about 3/4 of a mile of a deep sand shoulder on our road, that intersects with a snowmobile trail right next to our house! How’s that for convenient?

Bella was out with Mandy and a clients Hyper pup. But with the addition of Jackson….. I still had a 3 dog crew!

This clip was at about 1.5 miles of the pull. As you can see, Jax is not running on his neckline, which is letting him squirt around a bit. As new as he is to this, the neck line pulling him forward can set off his opposition reflex, and make him put on the brakes. So I let him get comfortable.

Once he got going good (about a 2/3rds of the way today), I stop and attach his neck line to get him acclimated. As you can see the front dogs don’t have a neckline on. But, that’s because they’re pretty experienced, and don’t stray much. I only run them on a neck line when we’re going to be in a distracting environment, and I need the “group” movement to encourage each individual to stay with the flow. They’re fine with the neckline, so it wasn’t important to add it, like with Jax. As you can see in this clip, he’s on the neckline and doing just fine!

Of course, they’re noticeably slower in the second clip. That’s because A- they’re tired, it is about 3 miles in. And, B- That is the sandy beach of a shoulder. And they’re pulling about 250 lbs between me and the mountain bike! So you’d be slowing down too!

Welcome home little buddy. You’re the fourth bad bully!

I’ll keep posting his progress. I’m REALLY looking forward to running a kicksled with a 4 dog bully crew, on a packed snowmobile trail!!!!

That….. Will be an adventure.

 

Winter Dog Sports

I was born and raised in Louisiana. So, I find very few redeeming qualities about snow, and winter. My kicksled is my attempt at the whole lemons/lemonade thing. Running a sled with dogs is damn near the only thing that gets me through winter! Here’s some inspiration I was looking at to get me through this grey, grey Maine morning.

Now, when snow hits, and your dog is amped beyond belief, and needs an outlet, and you can’t seem to get yourself out in that snow….

Call us, we’ll come take them sledding!!!!!

 

 

Vet’s Sing The Praises Of Exercise!

Vetinfo.com has published an article pronouncing the benefits of exercise for your dog. It’s definitely worth a read. As always, we’re here to help you give your “difficult” dog the workouts, and experiences they need.  This excerpt is taken from the article “The Benefits Of Dog Exercise”. Check it out.

Minimize Unwanted Dog Behavior

Dogs like to chew and dig. Most of the times, they do these activities out of boredom and because they have plenty of energy to spend. If you focus your dog’s energy towards exercise, he will no longer chew or dig. Make sure the activities you offer are challenging so that your dog doesn’t get bored. A dog that performs daily exercise will bark less and will not be hyperactive.

Build Up Confidence

As with humans, regular exercise will improve your dog’s confidence and reduce his anxiety. If you have a shy dog, you can help him by offering the right amount of exercise every day. He will start being more outgoing and happy.

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

The amount of exercise a dog needs varies according to the size and the breed of the dog.

Larger breeds need a lot of motion-at least 40 minutes of moderate to intensive cardio a day (though you shouldn’t push an old-aged or overweight dog beyond his limits). Walking is healthy, but larger dogs also need some more alert movement.

READ MORE…….