Redline Shepherd's Protection Workshop Part 2 - Review

Hey everyone,

Today I’ll be talking about training and especially training with Redline Shepherds.

Sean Scott Images

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 behavior was 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.

Yes both I and the Wife took turns during the workshop,  raising a pup is a team effort!

Michelle From FitaBull bonding with a new dog over some obstacles. 

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!

Harley working! When he's not he's the sweetest!

Sean Scott Images

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!

Sean Scott Images

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!

-Kevin
www.Big-Paws.com

Hey everyone, its Kristina here from Big Paws Inc.

Today we’ll be doing our very first product review, The Drypet towel.

To give you an idea I usually wash a Cane Corso (mastiff) and a Rottweiler, yep two heavy weights, so needless to say we do go through a few towels during bath time.

We discovered Drypet towel at a trade show we were attending and I can honestly say that we were impressed instantly when they showed us how effective it was. We purchased one and went home and gave it a try.  We were all impressed by its drying ability and water retention.

The Drypet towel comes in two different sizes, small and large. As you can imagine we first purchased the large format due to our dog’s size. After taking it out of its packaging it was now time to put it to the test.
 

 

We washed both dogs (one at the time) and to our surprise we were able to effectively dry both dogs with a single towel in record time. It does help that our dog’s favorite part of the whole process is to get dried, big surprise. After washing the first dog, I was surprised to see him dry but also that pretty much half the towel was still dry enough to do the other dog. Once I finished drying them, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that the towel wasn't leaking and not adding to our already messy situation. Not only were my dogs dry but I managed to drain the water out of the towel effortlessly and all that was left was for the towel itself to dry, which it did fairly quickly.   
 

 

So what makes the Drypet towel so efficient we asked? Well the answer was simple. The towel is made out of microfiber, a very absorbent material with great water retention ability.

We are now the proud owners of a large towel and three small towels. The large one is used for bath time, while the small ones are placed by the front and back doors, as well as one being in the big paws mobile.
 

Speaking of The Big Paws mobile, being that we do take the dogs out rain or shine, I can definitely appreciate having one in the car. I can now wipe the mud off their paws with one half of the towel and use the remaining half to clean up the rest. I’ve kept it in the car for a while without having to wash it and once washed it seems good as new.

I can honestly say that there is nothing negative I could come up with in regards to the Drypet towel as they work as advertised and really does save time. We have XL breeds as you now know and the towel is big enough to dry both of them so again the product in my books performs as promoted in terms of sizes and are affordably priced

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All in all a very great product to review and the same goes to using it. We can happily say that we are glad we got them and we will definitely continue using our Drypet towels. 

Thank you Drypet for making a great product we can all enjoy.

To find out more about Drypet towels, visit www.drypet.com  

-Kristina

www.big-paws.com

Winston -Kristina-Stella 

Welcome to our blog spot!

Welcome to our blog spot!

My name is Kevin and I’ll be blogging to you about various topics from nutrition to training, tricks & tips, reviews and much more with the help of our team here at Big Paws Inc.

In this blog spot I’ll be answering some of the questions we've received or have been asked frequently. That being said, if you have any topics you would like to discuss or have us blog about, please feel free to let us know.

I will also be doing some product reviews with the help of our team.  We’ll be reviewing some of the products we use and some that we’ll come across this year and provide you with a review.
I’ll be discussing a variety of dog breeds, origins and purposes as well as tackling some of the questions new owners may have in regards of picking the right breed or simply how to pick a puppy.

I encourage you to submit questions or simply post your opinion on our various topics.
All in all this blog is about dogs, the topics surrounding them and us as dog owners.
Let’s blog!

-Kevin