Fidelco client SSgt Michael Malarsie, USAF (Ret) with his Fidelco Guide Dog “Xxon”

Heroes will again be honored at the fourth annual Ride for Independence to benefit the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation in Bloomfield, Connecticut on Sunday, July 20th. This family-friendly motorcycle fundraiser celebrates the freedom and independence that Fidelco Guide Dogs bring to men and women who are blind across North America, especially blinded military personnel.

The family-friendly event begins and ends at Fidelcos beautiful Bloomfield campus. Riders enjoy a scenic, police-escorted 50 mile route through the Farmington Valley and return to Fidelco for a gourmet barbeque lunch by Black Eyed Sallys, a live concert by the Southern rock band SHOVELHEAD and more. Non-riders are encouraged to attend to cheer on the riders and enjoy lunch, vendors, entertainment, on-site K-9 demonstrations and Fidelco puppy visits.

The 2014 Ride for Independence Grand Marshal is a blinded military hero and Fidelco client, Staff Sergeant Michael Malarsie, USAF (Ret). Malarsie was blinded in an IED attack while serving in Afghanistan in 2010. One year later, with his Fidelco Guide Dog Xxon leading the way, Michael returned to work as the only blind airman on active duty in the Air Force.

Fidelcos Field of Flags — a tribute featuring more than 500 American flags planted in honor of fallen military heroes, first responders, veterans and personal heroes — will be on display. For a $ 10 donation, a flag will be added to the Field of Flags on the day of the event or online at http://www.fidelco.org/honoryourheroes.

WHO: Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, blinded military hero SSgt Michael Malarsie (interviews available) WHAT: 2014 Ride for Independence motorcycle event to benefit Fidelco WHEN: Sunday, July 20, 2014; Registration 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; ride leaves at noon, lunch served at 1:30; K-9 demos all day Day-of registration: $ 40/bike (includes passenger) Non-rider: $ 15 each (includes lunch) WHERE: Fidelco, 103 Vision Way (formerly Old Iron Ore Road), Bloomfield, CT 06002 WHY: To support Fidelcos mission of promoting increased freedom and independence to men and women who are blind, especially blinded military personnel, by providing them the highest quality German Shepherd Guide Dogs

ABOUT SSGT MALARSIE: On January 3, 2010, in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, then-Senior Airman Michael Malarsie was blinded and severely wounded by a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) that killed four team members and blew him off a bridge. Blinded and broken, Michael stayed in the fight loading ammunition for his comrades. He was later awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for heroism on the battlefield.

Exactly one year later, following months of determined rehabilitation and painful facial surgeries, Michael was partnered with his Fidelco Guide Dog Xxon. Michael returned to active duty status as the only blind airman serving in the United States Air Force, leading a Wounded Airman Recovering Mentorship Program to help other wounded veterans transition to civilian life.

About Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bloomfield, CT. Fidelco is an internationally accredited organization and an admired expert throughout the world for its highly valued German Shepherd Guide Dogs.

Each Fidelco Guide Dog takes two years, 15,000 hands-on hours and $ 45,000 to produce. They are given to clients at no cost. Fidelco provides 24/7 client support for the entire working life of its guide dogs typically 10 years. Fidelco relies solely on the generosity and financial support of individuals, foundations, corporations and civic organizations to help Share the Vision.

Fidelco has trained and placed over 1,350 German Shepherd Guide Dogs throughout North America in 41 states and five Canadian provinces. Fidelco pioneered In-Community Placement in the United States a process that allows all guide dog users to be trained in the communities where they live and work.

Fidelco also has placed hundreds of its German Shepherd Dogs with law enforcement agencies, first responders, search and rescue, and missing child recovery organizations to help protect our fellow citizens and keep our communities safe.

For more information, please visit http://www.fidelco.org or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/fidelcoguidedog

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Schutzhund is a form of dog training or dog sport foundered in Germany over a century ago. The word Schutzhund actually means protection dog in German and was used to assess German Shepherds to determine if they were suitable for police work.

Although it was initially just German Shepherds, testing now occurs on dogs of many different breeds. The test is both rigorous and demanding, so the numbers of other breeds that pass are limited.

Schutzhund Basics

Enrolling your dog into Schutzhund training may still prove difficult, however if you are keen to learn the techniques and principles behind this training method, there are many DVDs that can be purchased or acquired. It is important to understand though, that the training is highly specialized, very strict and very structured, which means you will need to maintain this consistently for your dog to learn. For this reason, it may not be the best form of training if you have a young family.

The training will over time teach your dog the skills of obedience, tracking, protection, sniffing and retrieving, and will commence when your pup is just a few weeks of age. Of course, you may not be able to commence your training until your pup is 8+ weeks of age when you bring them home from the breeder.

Schutzhund Training Principles

Although it is possible to get specialized training DVDs that focus on a specific principle, you can expect your Schutzhund training DVDs to cover the following areas:

Clicker Training – This is a form of positive reinforcement that is gaining popularity with trainers around the world, even if it isnt associated with Schutzhund. It involves using a little clicker button whenever the dog is good. First you will need to train your puppy to know that the clicking noise equals a good job.

Obedience – This is the core of any training method and is the first test in Schutzhund, covering a set of 11 basic commands. The commands however may use multiple instructions in one, such as sit, down and stand. In addition they cover instructions like focus and attention, targeting, retrieving, motion exercises, pointing out an object and heeling. To pass this test, your dog must be able to execute all 11 commands perfectly.

Tracking – Leveraging from the obedience commands to target and find an object, which has been pointed out, the dog will learn to track all sorts of items and people. The training will teach the dog to remember a scent when provided to them and then to pursue that until they are called off.

Protection – Using more commands the dog is taught how to identify potential threats and how to attack them. Police, guard and attack dogs are taught using this method. Another form of protection is where the dog is taught that it must protect a person or object; this is then done without commands.

Schutzhund training is designed to give a dog an education to enable it to be a specialized working dog. Although this may not be the aim with your dog, the training DVDs can provide useful instruction on training and assist in developing your dog understands of commands. As stated earlier, there are a number of different courses, so it is best to research the types of training courses first before purchasing them. Understand the success rates and the philosophies they employ and whether they are likely to be useful for your breed of dog.

Garmin/Tri tronics PRO 550

Dogs Unlimited is excited to introduce 3 new products from Garmin that are sure to light a spark in the world of hunting dog trainers and dog training enthusiasts.

The recent purchase of Tri-Tronics by Garmin has ushered in a new lineup of advanced electronic dog training collars. These three new collar designs–the PRO 550, PRO 70, and PRO Trashbreaker–are based on Tri-Tronics’ iconic Field and Pro Series systems, and use proven Tri-Tronics technology. But Garmin has added its own twist to make them an even better dog training tool than their predecessors.

A new feature that Garmin has added to this class of dog training collar is the built-in BarkLimiter, a no-bark collar built into the Dog Device collar itself. The BarkLimiter is activated by the Dog Device and features Autorise technology which automatically adjusts to the appropriate correction level to help stop unwanted barking.

Alan O. Davison, owner of Dogs Unlimited comments, “Garmin just upped the ante with its recent introduction of these three dog training collars. It’s absolutely ingenious of them to include the BarkLimiter. It’s something that our customers have been asking for. When it comes to their customers, Garmin listens.”

While similar in appearance, these electronic dog collars are actually very different in their overall functionality to the user. Below is a brief description of each collar’s features:

PRO 550 – 1 mile range, train up to 3 dogs at once, total of 21 levels of momentary and continuous corrective stimulation, vibration and tone correction, the ability to activate available accessories from the transmitter, and an LED Beacon Light on the Dog Device that can be seen up to 100 yards. PRO 70 – 1 mile range, train up to 6 dogs at once, 6 levels of continuous corrective stimulation, tone correction, and an LED Beacon Light on the Dog Device that can be seen up to 100 yards. PRO Trashbreaker – 4 mile range, train up to 9 dogs at once, 6 levels of continuous corrective stimulation, tone correction, and an LED Beacon Light on the Dog Device that can be seen up to 100 yards.

Garmin is always on the cutting edge of whatever they do, and electronic dog training collars guarantees to be no different. Proven Tri-Tronics technology and the addition of exciting new features show that Garmin is serious about taking electronic dog training collars to the next level of performance.

Dream Come True K9, LLC (DCTK9), one of the nations leading dog training, rehabilitation and walking services since 2010, has opened a new training center in New York City. DCTK9 has been providing assistance to dog owners ranging from everyday struggles to severe dog behavioral challenges by offering the knowledge and support for long lasting results.

The two-floor space serves as a training area and a boarding area for the dogs to learn proper socialization and co-existing skills for the real world. Since 2010, I have been providing my clients with our services by making house calls, traveling and using my home for stay in clients. Now that the center has officially opened, I will continue to travel, but will be able to help more dogs in need and offer additional classes with the extra room the new facility offers, says DCTK9s Founder and CEO, Blake Rodriguez.

The dog training center is open Monday through Sunday from 8am-8pm on 174 Attorney Street in Manhattans Lower East Side neighborhood. To find out more information about DCTK9s dog training programs or dog walking services, visit http://www.dctk9.com or call 917-709-4087.

About Dream Come True K9 Since 2010, DCTK9 has offered dog behavior training, conditioning, rehabilitation, and walking services nationwide. Our overall goal is to create a genuine communication and understanding within the human dog relationship. To learn more about our dog training programs and walking services visit http://www.dctk9.com.

Training dogs is basically a reflection of how obedient a dog is to it master. If you get to train your dog and if your dog allows itself to be trained, then there goes the sign that you have a very obedient pet. It may seem so easy, but having your dog to obey you is not as easy as asking your maid to get you a glass of water. Simple words won’t make a dog follow your command, because it’s a fact that dogs are dogs, and there is no way that they are humans. Thus, to establish the connection between dogs and humans there is clicker training for obedience that you can use so that it will be easier for you to make your dog follow your every command.

Clicker training has been an effective innovation as far as training one’s dog to be obedience goes. What makes it innovative is that it is grounded on scientific and psychological studies that support the idea behind this kind of training, and in the past years that this is being used, trainers have been always ready to attest that this kind of training is really effective if you want your dog to follow you. Aside from training dogs, this kind of training has been used for almost all sorts of pets ranging from a bird to a horse and even a dolphin. That only shows that this effective training tool is also very versatile in terms of training animals that even if you are not a professional trainer you can easily make use of this training formula to have an obedient pet. Clicker training does improve the obedience of an animal to a staggering rate, and you will be surprised that your pet can do things it has never done before.

Obedience is one of the issues between masters and pets. At times, this results to massive headache for the master who doesn’t know how to tame his pet or who doesn’t know how to make his pet follow. With clicker training for obedience, there will definitely be no more headache for any pet owner, for every pet owner can easily make his pet follow his every command.