It's hard to believe that it's already been a full year since we first opened our doors. With so much change, so much growth and such a bright future we are grateful to have had the opportunity to bring Finish Forward Dogs to life!
Since our Grand Opening on March 7th, 2010, we have marked continued growth on a monthly basis. Our training team has grown to include 8 area trainers, plus several guest speakers and instructors. Our pet dog and specialty class menus continue to grow and our dog sport options have expanded to include agility, breed handling, rally, weight pull, freestyle, tricks and nosework just to name a few. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with area AKC and UKC dog clubs, hosting multiple events in rally and obedience, in addition to holding a total of 10 APDT Rally Trials, over 2 weekends! In July of this year we will extend our event hosting to include sanctioned Conformation shows.
It's been a pleasure working with local businesses and non-profit organizations like Chase Away K9 Cancer and most recently, The Community Spay-Neuter Clinic of Freeport to raise money for low cost neutering. We have numerous events coming up that are always open to the public, including our Dog Walk to End Canine Cancer and our American Temperament Test Society Test in late April. Between Show & Gos, Run-Throughs, Fun Days and special events, we've been busy planning activities for the local dog community.
The past twelve months have been remarkable, thanks to our trainers, the public and our dedicated clients. One thing is clear to us - success comes from surrounding yourself with like-minded people who share a commitment to all things dog. Our goal for 2011 is to continue expanding our services and options for all of Southern Maine's dog loving community!
And now with a new addition to the Finish Forward Dogs family on the way, we're gearing up for even more exciting change - watch for 'Making Room for Baby' classes, coming soon!
Thank you for your support!
Jason & Shannan
Brina, Maverick & Deucey-B
Monday, March 7, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Aggressive Dogs...
I've been innundated lately with calls and emails from clients facing aggression in their dogs. Listening to each dog's recent history, I hear the all too familiar pattern of behavior unravel and feel for the owners as they describe accounts where their dogs have bitten house guests, attacked other animals in the home or threatened the safety and well being of their devoted families.
Living with an aggressive dog is an all around exhausting experience - both physically and mentally draining, leaving family members on edge, fearing the inevitable and requiring them to live constantly 'on-guard'. Progress is slow and it requires well over 100% commitment to the program, which includes all members of the family be on-board. Even still, sometimes the challenge is far more than a family can handle, at which point, the toughest decisions must be made...
Although I accept cases of this nature on a case-by-case basis, I am all too familiar with the risks, the dangers and the tremendous effort that is required in 'rehabing' an aggressive dog. I've shared my own home with dogs of this nature and it is a choice I would not recommend to anyone, if given the option up front - which is, wherein, the problem exists...
What I find most alarming is that the vast majority of these dogs are newly acquired family members adopted from shelters and rescues - dogs with no previous record of aggression towards people or other animals. I understand first hand that it is often times unlikely that an animal will exhibit his or her full 'repertoire' of behavior prior to being placed into a family due to a number of factors, but this is no excuse for non-disclosure. The tools that are available to rescues and shelters are designed to evaluate the liklihood for these tendencies to develop, in order to determine an animal's safe placement. But these tools are only as good as the professional utilizing them, if at all utilized.
It is as heartbreaking for me to watch a family struggle with aggression as it is for the family to stuggle with their options, torn by the feelings of commitment and fear and love for their animal. What I find most frustrating in all of this is the thought that regardless of what happens in the long-run, this animal will exist as a 'happily-ever-after' for the organizations that placed them in the home, whether or not they anticipated the final outcome.
We, as members of the community, depend on our local rescues and shelters to place safe animals into the homes of our neighbors and friends. With the marked increase in phonecalls and emails in regards to aggressive dogs, I am forced to wonder what tools are being utilized and what protocols are set in order to assure that this is occuring...
Living with an aggressive dog is an all around exhausting experience - both physically and mentally draining, leaving family members on edge, fearing the inevitable and requiring them to live constantly 'on-guard'. Progress is slow and it requires well over 100% commitment to the program, which includes all members of the family be on-board. Even still, sometimes the challenge is far more than a family can handle, at which point, the toughest decisions must be made...
Although I accept cases of this nature on a case-by-case basis, I am all too familiar with the risks, the dangers and the tremendous effort that is required in 'rehabing' an aggressive dog. I've shared my own home with dogs of this nature and it is a choice I would not recommend to anyone, if given the option up front - which is, wherein, the problem exists...
What I find most alarming is that the vast majority of these dogs are newly acquired family members adopted from shelters and rescues - dogs with no previous record of aggression towards people or other animals. I understand first hand that it is often times unlikely that an animal will exhibit his or her full 'repertoire' of behavior prior to being placed into a family due to a number of factors, but this is no excuse for non-disclosure. The tools that are available to rescues and shelters are designed to evaluate the liklihood for these tendencies to develop, in order to determine an animal's safe placement. But these tools are only as good as the professional utilizing them, if at all utilized.
It is as heartbreaking for me to watch a family struggle with aggression as it is for the family to stuggle with their options, torn by the feelings of commitment and fear and love for their animal. What I find most frustrating in all of this is the thought that regardless of what happens in the long-run, this animal will exist as a 'happily-ever-after' for the organizations that placed them in the home, whether or not they anticipated the final outcome.
We, as members of the community, depend on our local rescues and shelters to place safe animals into the homes of our neighbors and friends. With the marked increase in phonecalls and emails in regards to aggressive dogs, I am forced to wonder what tools are being utilized and what protocols are set in order to assure that this is occuring...
Monday, February 7, 2011
Visual Match to Sample: Progress!
It's been almost a week since I introduced Maverick to his new trick - Visual Match to Sample. Today we progressed from indicating the correct object on cue (me pointing to an item and him targeting that item with his nose) to actually making directed matches out of a sample of one.
1. I started by holding up the 'match' item and marking him (Click/Reward) as he looked at the item held in my hand.
2. After a few minutes of that exercise, I moved to introducing the new cue for Maverick to indicate the 'sample' item, done by me holding up an identical item and introducing the new cue ('what's this?), followed by the old cue ('target' and pointing to the 'sample' item for Maverick to indicate).
A few more sessions of this and we may be clicking and rewarding for actually making matches out of a larger sample. We'll see about that, but he's off to a good start! I'll post a video of his progress if I can get to it tonight.
1. I started by holding up the 'match' item and marking him (Click/Reward) as he looked at the item held in my hand.
2. After a few minutes of that exercise, I moved to introducing the new cue for Maverick to indicate the 'sample' item, done by me holding up an identical item and introducing the new cue ('what's this?), followed by the old cue ('target' and pointing to the 'sample' item for Maverick to indicate).
A few more sessions of this and we may be clicking and rewarding for actually making matches out of a larger sample. We'll see about that, but he's off to a good start! I'll post a video of his progress if I can get to it tonight.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snowy days call for trick training
We've been spending many of our cold winter afternoons searching for and learning new pet tricks. Some are silly tricks, like wave, spin and roll, but others have more practical uses, like balance, backup, flip and retrieve. Needless to say with all these snowy days, we found our latest trick a welcomed challenge (thanks to Marie Finnegan of K9 Solutions Dog Training for finding this one, taught by Dee Ganley to a group of her latest students).
Today was day one of this trick: Teaching a Visual Match to Sample - watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG12rqPaIdc
1. Maverick has a strong 'place' (or mat) behavior, so we spent a few repetitions just refreshing that particular behavior (clicking and rewarding for backing up and sitting on the mat, especially between reps).
2. After this, I jumped right in with reinforcing the indication behavior, which I decided would be a nose target because he does this so deliberately. I began using a target stick to direct Maverick to the object I wanted him to indicate, but we quickly did away with that because he has a stronger reinforcement history with targeting the stick - this was more of a distraction. Instead, I pointed and turned my head towards the object I wanted him to indicate and said 'target', which to Maverick means 'touch this object with your nose, then look at me).
By clicking and rewarding his correct targeting responses, Maverick quickly learned that the game was about waiting on his mat until released to nose target the indicated object in order to earn a reward.
Because this was our first session and we have a lot to cover before putting the whole behavior together, we kept the training short and light. Although Maverick likes to work, he can become easily discouraged (especially if he startles at an unexpected noise during a training session). I anticipate that we'll stay at this level for the next few sessions before moving forward.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Happy Birthday, Brina-Bean!
Today was Brina's 8th birthday, so I baked her a cake. Here's the recipe (thank you Kate and Johann):
BOW WOW BIRTHDAY CAKE
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 cup Margarine, softened
1 Jar strained beef or liver baby food (2 1/2-ounce)
4 Eggs
3 Strips dog beef jerky, crumbled (optional)
Plain yogurt or cottage cheese, for icing
*I added shredded carrots and zucchini and used low fat cottage cheese for the icing.
1. Sift flour and baking powder together; set aside.
2. In large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, cream margarine until smooth.
3. Add baby food and eggs; mix until smooth.
4. At low speed, gradually beat flour mixture into beef mixture until batter is smooth. Fold in beef jerky.
5. Pour batter into well-greased and floured 8"x5"x3" loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 325F oven 70 minutes.
Let cool on wire rack a few minutes before removing from pan to cool completely. Ice each slice with yogurt or cottage cheese. Yield: 1 (8") loaf cake
It's a funny thing, an aging dog. It seems that it's always right when you think they've begun the decline from their peak that they prove you've got it all wrong. Brina may be 8, but she's still full of spunk. So I guess 8 isn't so bad afterall...
BOW WOW BIRTHDAY CAKE
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 cup Margarine, softened
1 Jar strained beef or liver baby food (2 1/2-ounce)
4 Eggs
3 Strips dog beef jerky, crumbled (optional)
Plain yogurt or cottage cheese, for icing
*I added shredded carrots and zucchini and used low fat cottage cheese for the icing.
1. Sift flour and baking powder together; set aside.
2. In large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, cream margarine until smooth.
3. Add baby food and eggs; mix until smooth.
4. At low speed, gradually beat flour mixture into beef mixture until batter is smooth. Fold in beef jerky.
5. Pour batter into well-greased and floured 8"x5"x3" loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 325F oven 70 minutes.
Let cool on wire rack a few minutes before removing from pan to cool completely. Ice each slice with yogurt or cottage cheese. Yield: 1 (8") loaf cake
It's a funny thing, an aging dog. It seems that it's always right when you think they've begun the decline from their peak that they prove you've got it all wrong. Brina may be 8, but she's still full of spunk. So I guess 8 isn't so bad afterall...
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