When we opened our dog doors here at Beyond Obedience, We had ideas for what we would offer the local dog community. A nice comfortable place to board their dogs when they had to go away. A fun place to drop your dogs off for the day for daycare. A relaxing grooming salon, to allow dogs to actually enjoy their day at the spa, and of course a different take on traditional "training" by offering people help in their home on issues they deal with everyday. Well in doing all that I realized perhaps what we offer is all that and alittle more. Recently, we started offering the opportunity to join us in pack walks. We always walk in packs due to the number of dogs we have to walk, so we take this for granted but the pack walk is so beneficial. What I didn't realize is for people with anti social dogs or I should say dogs labelled anti social, there isn't many options open for rehabilitation. Those dogs are not welcome at off leash parks and trying to find neighbours and friends to help you out is sometimes difficult. But often what is standing between an anti social dog and his road to recovery is the opportunity to be with other dogs in a structured setting. Take our newest honoury member of our pack Tonka. A 4 year old lab/ boxer mix with tons of energy and spirit! His owner Lynn has done a fantastic job teaching Tonka basic obedience and it shows! Tonka has attended obedience school as well as had in home training through another company. He is obedient and very smart. But Lynn was still struggling with his social behaviour. After setting up an appointment to meet, Mariah and I set out to Dunrobin. Our walk with Tonka proved that he was not an aggressive maniac that he had been labelled, but an exhuberant excited guy that maybe sending off the wrong signals. After discussing the importance of getting him out with other dogs Lynn honestly said she was at a loss because there was only one other dog in the neighbourhood that Tonka was allowed to be around. It was at that point I invited Lynn to walk with my pack at Beyond Obedience. And what a walk! Tonka and Lynn did so well that we signed Tonka up for some daycare as well. Since coming for some socialization Tonka has been doing much better at home. Lynn says he is even listening to commands better and just generally happier. See, pack walks are like group therapy for your dog, and a whole lot of fun!
Anyone interested in learning more about Pack walks feel free to contact me
Walk on
Tracy (and the whole pack at Beyond Obedience!!!!)
