Today I’ll be talking about training and especially training with Redline Shepherds.
So here is something you may not know about me but I take being a dog owner seriously. Let me explain, I think that it’s good, time to time, to go and refresh my memory and gain new skills at various workshops when available especially given the type of dogs I own. That being said, early this month we had a chance to participate in one at Redline Shepherds workshop part 2.
Yes there was a small fee which covered the training, facility rental and food. With the admission price you get breakfast and lunch besides training. And no it’s not one of those where you get one cup of coffee and a bun with some cheese and that’s it. NO, we had coffee, muffins (and not the small ones lol) pops, water and the best sandwich one could wish for at a k9 workshop and more!
At first I was impressed by the staffs knowledge and skills, and then the working dogs started to poor in. I got one word for you WOW!! These dogs behaviors are something we’re not used to seeing regularly (very well behaved for the most part).
This workshop was divided into 3 components:
- Discussing the exercises that the group will be doing throughout the day & Group obedience (all dogs out at the same time) over, under and through obstacles which will help build stronger bonds between the handler and canine which will be useful for component
- Canine team will work amongst other canines and their perspective teams and assisting each other throughout these exercises. These obstacles will be moving (no matter how big or small the canine is) with many distractions going on and the handler must remain calm and communicate what they expect from their canine to get through the exercises successfully.
- Protection training, Controlled bite work in real life scenarios. Canine team will distinguish between a threat and a non-threat. The handler will communicate through the canine when to be deployed for the purpose of protection. Canines will exercise situations when handler is in distress and requires canines assistance, the canine will be deployed on command.
The first component was great and really informative, we got to go over what they were expecting out of the handler and the dog and it allowed us to meet the staff in charge of that component. The obstacle course if I may say was so much fun. We got to bond with our dogs while guiding them through exercises they were either not comfortable doing or not familiar with. It was a fun challenge and a great warm up for the other components ahead.
The second component was even more fun (for me at least). We got to go over some unusual obstacles like dogs, 6 picnic tables stacked on top of each other, moving tables and barrels. I don’t know if you can imagine my reaction when I was asked to take my un-neutered male over a bunch of other intact males, surprised for sure and a tad unsure. After listening to the instructions we proceeded with the exercises and to my surprise it went without a hiccup, thanks to the guidance of Mike (a k9 police handler). This is by far one of the most memorable exercises we have done with this particular dog. So much fun!!! I do have to say that being my first time attending this workshop I didn’t know many people but when I left I felt as if I had a chance to meet most of the attendees and staff.(Great people)
Protection training! Now that was something else, we were able to watch the more experienced owners work on the bite suit and we even got to participate with other similar events. I can honestly say that I was really impressed by the control these handlers had over their dogs and also tones of respect for the poor guys stuck in the suits. This component is great for people with all skill levels and I can’t stress how responsible the Trainers were with the dogs and handlers. Let me give you an example: Our 12 month old puppy got to participate in agitation work. Being that it was the first time we trained this discipline it was hard for us to read some of the signs our dogs was giving us. Guess who was reading all the dogs signs, yep the staff! They politely explained that it was time for our pup to get some rest and water and to put him away for a while for him to cool down. We followed and returned when they called us back to work some more. Like they like to say “this has to be fun for the dogs” and you know what, it was!
Another great thing about this workshop is that you’re not forced to do anything, if you’re not comfortable doing one exercise just pass it and continue the next one once we get to it! I definitely recommend giving it a try! All in all this was a great experience and we will be attending other workshops hosted by Redline Shepherds in the near future.
How would I rate my experience? 10/10
Great dogs, great staff, good vibe, awesome time!
Oh and don’t forget to get professional pictures taken by Sean Scott Images, he does take stunning pictures!
Thank you for reading and feel free to drop us a note!
Posted by: Kevin Uhindu
