Salty Dogs Obedience and Adventure

25/11/2024

New girl Maya, a recent adoption from our friends at the SPCA of Hancock County, joined Maine Canine Academy today 🥰🥰 She had a blast playing and training with new friends!

24/11/2024

ALERT!!!

We had a last minute spot open up in a Level 1 (basic obedience) class starting tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:30! Message us to snag the spot, this is our last opening of the year!

23/11/2024

JOIN US! A seminar with everything you need to know about the sports of Bikejoring and Canicross. Lead by Jasmine Pratt CBATI-KA, CPDT-KA, who has trained dogs in sledding, biking, and running and is so excited to share her knowledge with folks looking to get started.

We’ll give you the basics on each of these fun sports and discuss what equipment to use, safety considerations, and how to train your dog to pull you! These sports are about connection, fun and exercise for both you and your dog!

Send a message to reserve your spot! (Humans only!)

21/11/2024

New dogs to our training school Maine Canine Academy! Jamie and Rupert are with us for some confident building around other dogs and out in the world, while Maple has joined our group to work on her basic skills and manners like leash walking, greetings, and recall. Three great new additions!

17/11/2024

UPCOMING SEMINARS!

We have so many opportunities for you to expand your knowledge of living with dogs! Starting with Intro to Bikejoring and Canicross:

We’ll give you the basics on each of these fun sports, what equipment to use, safety considerations, and how to train your dog to pull you! These sports are about connection, fun and exercise for both you and your dog! Perfect for high energy dogs, canicross is a fun way to exercise your dog in any environment, city streets, forest trails, climbing mountains. With your dog safety attached by a bungee leash to a waist belt, you get that added momentum of them pulling to carry you forward! This can be done while hiking, walking, jogging or running. Bikejoring is an exhilarating way to exercise your dog and move faster! With your dog attached to the front of your bike, they are powering your way forward through the trail. This sport is suitable for biking trails, not pavement or uneven terrain.

Get all the info and handouts to take home with our Pulling Sports Expert, Jasmine!

Send us a message to sign up!

17/11/2024

Salty Dogs. You’ve gotta get your dogs out. Your home and the immediate area around it are not enough. All the food puzzles and lickimats in the world won’t cut it if your dog spends all day alone waiting for you and then gets a 15 minute walk around the block. It’s causing more problems than you know, and more importantly: it’s not fair to your dog.

This is probably offending some, and I try really hard to avoid that online, but I’m worried about these trends that I see where our beloved dogs, who are living in captivity (and yes, no matter how much we don’t like that word it is appropriate), have no outlets to be dogs. No time in the woods, no time to dig or practice social behaviors or run or learn or sniff or just be in nature.

Start small. Get a long lead and find a new quiet area to walk your dog. If you need help handling a long lead, if you’ve been afraid to let your dog off leash, if you haven’t trained them, we are here to help.

13/11/2024

This week we started Maine Puppy Academy with Maggie, Nellie, and Ryder! Our MPA pups spend their days training, socializing, playing, learning about all the weird rules in human world (no biting?? no jumping?? p*e where??)

This early time in each dogs life is so. precious. Associations and perceptions they form now can last a lifetime. We can help set your pup up to be their best, and teach how to move through the world at your side as your best friend.

We have more spots open at Maine Puppy Academy. Send us a message for more info!

10/11/2024

NOW IS NOT THE TIME: It’s definitely not the right time to stop rewarding that recall. Colder temps, falling leaves, animals moving, new smells. That’s a recipe for a half learned recall to fall apart. Remember that when you reward your dog for coming back to you (hint: use something other than just praise) you’re not just rewarding that singular repetition, you’re building a *reinforcement history* so that when you really need it, you’re gonna get it. Don’t stop rewarding. Definitely not now, and I would say, even better if you reward it forever.

09/11/2024

CLASSES START NEXT WEEK! Surry and MDI options! Join us for:

Level 1 to work on building important skills like walking on a leash without pulling, coming when calling, sit, down, and stay, attention around distractions, and impulse control around people and new dogs.

🔸Tuesday, 11/12 5:30pm NE HARBOR
🔸Wednesday, 11/13 5:30pm SURRY
🔸Sunday, 11/17 10:30am SURRY

WILD Things to work on distractions, polite greetings and not jumping, impulse control and connections around people and new dogs, and settling on a mat.

🔸Tuesday, 11/12 6:30pm NE HARBOR
🔸Saturday, 11/16 10:30am SURRY

Send us a message with questions or to save your spot!

08/11/2024

Peace Ridge Sanctuary really knows how to put together an event! We were so honored to be a part of helping make matches. Thank you to all the adopters who came out and thank you to all of my staff for their time helping!

06/11/2024

New classes! We have training options for every age, every ability, and every goal with classes starting soon!

Whether you need to work around distractions, brush up on house manners before the holidays, or solidify your recall, we can help. AND we have options for MDI students as well as at our Surry location!

Send us a message for more details or to sign up!

04/11/2024

Have you heard??

Salty Dogs and Maine Canine Academy have a new, bigger, better, amazing home! We are so excited to share this space and grow our community here (still in Surry!)

Date for a fun winter open house coming soon!

01/11/2024

Today is your last chance! Please consider filling out an application to be matched with one of the amazing dogs available at Peace Ridge Sanctuary. We will be there tomorrow from 12-4 to talk with potential adopters about the dogs and how to provide them with training and support to be successful in their new home. PLUS each dog adopted from this event comes with free training support from us!

Hope to see you there!

Taking a moment to dress up two of our special needs dogs always makes a Halloween happy!!

Whether or not you celebrate we hope you get a kick out of these cuties. 🥰

If you're looking to adopt we are still accepting applications all the way to tomorrow night for pre-approval! So if you are looking to adopt a new best friend, consider putting in an application for our pre-approved adopters event this Saturday November 2nd from 12:00 to 4:00.

There will be lots of cuties- just like these two little stinkers!!!!

29/10/2024

IMPORTANT: orange season is upon us! We’ve got hats for you and bandanas for your favorite Salty Dog. Message us to pick up at class, meet up around town, or have us send one!

Hats: $25
Bandanas $20

24/10/2024

I am so so so SO PROUD of these three teams earning their Canine Good Citizen! Congratulations to Will and Russet, Elle and Timber, and Jen and Straya! 🎉🎉🎉 we are lucky to train and play with you all ❤️

24/10/2024

A beautiful fall Adventure outing with Collette!

22/10/2024

SOPHIE! New reactive dog day training superstar ✨✨

We offer so many options for training, from classes to private lessons to trainer led outings to Maine Canine Academy. Regardless of which option works best for you and your dog, our goal is efficient solid training that sticks. Fun for your dog, easy for you, noticeable progress.

New Surry classes for the winter are on our website (with MDI classes up soon!)