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

###

Pets are always special to us. Dogs are the most wonderful pets that a person can have. There are certain qualities in this animal which attracts our attention and makes us love them more.

When you decide to keep a pet in your house you need to make sure that you train him. Without proper training the dog would not be able to perform his tasks and might even make your home dirty.

There are certain commands for the dogs which helps them to understand what they ought to do at that point of time. Your dog might be a good and obedient pet who listens to all your commands. But one day suddenly he might pretend to turn deaf to your commands and start ignoring you.

It can be quite frustrating to deal with a dog that is unruly. People who love their dogs more than anything might also find it quite irritating when the dogs start ignoring all his words and only stares at him.

At this point of time you need to find a plan which will help you turn your dog to the obedient pet once again. First of all it is important to find out the reason why your pet is ignoring your commands.

Some of these reasons are intentional while others are unintentional. People who want their dogs to be obedient cannot tolerate the ignorance of the dogs and hence they get angry and scold them.

This can have an adverse effect on the dog and he might turn out to be more disobedient. Your dog might refuse to hear your command just because he does not understand them.

If you want to teach a command you need to repeat it in short training sessions. Always make sure that he has grasped a particular command before you move to a new one. Once he gets one command right give him some rewards.

You need to make sure that your voice is firm while giving the command and it must not vary every time. Some of the common commands for dogs are sit, come, and play and so on.

One of the most important training which must be given is to go out for toilets. You can start the training with the command sit and then move over to lie down and finally over to the tough ones. Try not to begin with the tough commands.

Do you have a new puppy or dog that you want to make sure is well behaved and obedient? I’d like to recommend that you get started the right away by following one of the excellent on-line video dog obedience training courses. If you like to learn best from watching and listening to an expert teach you, rather than trying to learn something new from a book, you will really benefit from getting yourself a copy of an on-line video program.

By starting to train your dog with the expert advice you can get through a great dog obedience training program, you will be getting started the right way-that way you can avoid the mistakes nearly everyone makes, which make it much more difficult to train their dogs themselves. Avoiding the mistakes of bad training techniques is almost as important as teaching the exercises themselves as far as getting quick and long lasting results. By watching an expert training a dog on a good dog training video you can really get a good feel for the training, and how you should go about training your dog.

By listening to the expert’s voice on the video, you will find that the tones of voice you use, as well as your body language, are important tools in your training effort. You will learn that you must use an upbeat and cheerful voice and lots of praise to get the great results that positive conditioning creates. On the other hand, if your dog isn’t behaving properly, you will learn what tones of voice to use to correct your dog-and why raising your voice to yell at your dog is a big mistake that will set back the training. In a book you are told what tone of voice to use, but with a dog training video you can actually hear the right vocal tones.

Dog training videos are great for those of us who seem to learn better by watching and listening than merely by reading or through just a vocal explanation. I know that I learn best when I can actually see how something is done, as well as listen to an explanation, so dog training videos really appeal to me.

I like to watch the dog videos on the Internet for good ideas and also for the entertainment. If you have watched some of these you can see everyone seems to have their own way of going about it. I have noticed that all the best trained pups and dogs were trained with positive training techniques.

However, I wouldn’t recommend trying to learn everything you need to know about obedience training and raising your dog from watching homemade Internet dog training videos. Anyone who wants to learn to train their dog using dog training videos as a guide really needs a complete program of step by step dog training videos that take you on a logical course from puppyhood basic training steps, and then through all the more advanced tricks as the puppy matures enough to absorb further training.

Ashley Starling – Owner

In an effort to better serve his current clients and dog owners throughout San Luis Obispo County and beyond, Ashley Starling, owner of Canine Tutors, a local dog training company, is pleased to announce the launch of his new company website. The new site, caninetutors.com, is more responsive to the latest advances in technology and therefore allows visitors to peruse dog obedience training videos and additional information on their Smartphones, iPhones, tablets and more.

It was time to update my site to allow more dog owners the ability to view information and videos wherever they may be on the go, while traveling instead of only through their laptop or desktop computer, said Starling. The new site allows me to add more training information and, most importantly, allows dog owners access to a wide variety of important topics that are pertinent to their particular needs.

Cleaner, less cluttered, more information, 100+ videos, and easier to navigate these are the advantages that Starling points to when discussing Canine Tutors Dog Trainings new website. Having the ability to share his dog training techniques in a simple, easy-to-follow fashion is key to his success, according to Starling. Its the way he teaches clients in person and now, with even more videos available on his site, a way to connect with dog owners who want to know more about his methods.

When a client puts my techniques into practice, they see immediate results, said Starling. For those who may be curious about what I have to offer, the website is a way to get a lot of valuable information. I can almost guarantee that they will want to know more and thats when it is time to give me a call and set up an appointment for some one-on-one training.

And when that time comes, Starling offers a free evaluation and consultation to dog owners throughout San Luis Obispo County to help them decide if Canine Tutors Dog Training is the right choice before deciding to enroll in classes.

It has always been my belief that people appreciate true knowledge when they see it, said Starling, and that is what they will see when they view the videos on the Canine Tutors Dog Training website. I dont hold anything back what you see online is what really happens when I introduce my methods of dog training. I also offer the first training lesson at no cost that is an added bonus.

The caninetutors.com website will be updated frequently with new dog obedience training videos and tips, according to Starling. In doing so, Starling says he wants to show dog owners just how easy it is to get results.

The way I train, and this comes through in my videos, in non-punitive, said Starling. I keep the dog happy and I get results that work in real world settings. I love what I do and I love sharing my knowledge with others. Every dog has the ability to be a well-trained family dog and I can make that happen.

Check out the new Canine Tutors Dog Training website at caninetutors.com for more information on private training, upcoming seminars and how to arrange for a free first lesson of dog training. Contact owner and dog trainer Ashley Starling at (805) 400-8309 or through the websites online contact form at caninetutors.com.

Press release by Access Publishing, a San Luis Obispo web design and SEO company specializing in small businesses throughout the county. Access Publishing is located at 806 9thSt. 2D, Paso Robles, CA 93446. (805) 226-9890.