THE RUFF BREAK

SKIJOR 101 BEGINNER TRAINING SEMINAR

wpadmin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:35:08 +0000

SKIJOR 101 BEGINNER TRAINING
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012 AT 1:00PM
AT ESSEX PARK in NW Rochester
TRAINING PROVIDED BY THE MIDWEST SKIJORERS

In this class you will learn the basics of training your dog for skijoring success. Meet up with other skijoring enthusiasts while training your dog for this winter’s skijoring fun! We’ll provide all needed equipment for you to use for the day, and two certified skijor trainers will guide you through everything you need to know to get started. Our proven pawsitive training methods give you results quickly while alleviating stress for your pet during the process.
$20 will cover class costs.

Please email midwestskijorers@comcast.net
or call 763-218-5956 to register or for more information.

Ruff Break proudly sponsors the “New Leash on Life” 5k dog run

wpadmin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:16:05 +0000

Join Paws and Claws, Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center, The Ruff Break and others on Saturday, October 1, 2011, at Silver Lake Park to help celebrate a New Leash on Life. Demonstrate your commitment to improving the health of people and animals in our community by joining us for this exciting 5k dog run/3k walk fundraising event.

For more information visit: New Leash on Life
or to register visit: New Leash on Life Registration

Hope to see you out there!

PCHS Exercise Volunteer Class

wpadmin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:48:25 +0000

Paws and Claws Humane Society (PCHS), located here in Rochester MN, is one of the most forward looking animal rescue shelters we have ever known. We have been volunteering with PCHS for many years, and along the way have formed lasting bonds with their staff, fellow volunteers and of course the dogs. We approached PCHS with an idea for an exercise volunteer class a few months ago. A class where volunteers would learn how to exercise shelter dogs using bicycles, which allow dogs to run as fast as they desire, in a controlled manner. PCHS thought the class would be a great addition to their already generous volunteer program and so we trained the shelter’s first exercise volunteer a couple of weeks ago. We shot some video of the class showing a volunteer and Kiaha, an actual shelter dog with no experience running next to a bike, go from walking to running carefree next to the volunteer on a bike along one of the many trails connecting PCHS to the community.

p.s. Kiaha has since been adopted!

Here is the link in case the video plays too slowly: PCHS Exercise Volunteer Class

The Lathams

wpadmin — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:25:14 +0000

Ruff Break,

Thank you so much for going through the blizzard and piles of snow to take care of Auggie and Champers!

The Ruff Break Clinch

wpadmin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:12:24 +0000

The Ruff Break Clinch is a unique leash grip we came up with to use when teaching dogs to run next to bikes and roller blades.

Details to follow… with a short instructional video.

Biking 101 with your dog

wpadmin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:08:48 +0000

Biking is a great way to exercise your dog. Teaching your dog to run next to a bike has great benefits.

Your dog can run as fast as it desires!
Your dog is under your control during the entire ride
Your dog can truly relax after running for miles
Your dog will get into great shape.
Its fun!

Biking with your dog, even at high speeds is surprisingly safe, but there are pointers and areas of concern I would like to discuss below before you get started.

TRAINING: Your dog needs to be comfortable around a bike before it will run at full capacity. To this end, you should take as much time as your dog needs when training these initial steps.

Setup your bike so that it leaning on a wall, pole or car without the kick stand engaged. The bike should be in such a position so that when you walk by it you can simply grab the handle bars with one hand and continue walking in the same direction leading the bike with one hand and your leashed dog in the other hand.
After your bike is setup in the proper location, then leash your dog and go for a short walk.
Walk back and forth closer and closer to the bike until your dog completely ignore the bike. (It may ignore it right away… it may be bored of walking back and forth… thats ok)
Timing is key and cannot be explained, but when you feel your dog is ready, grab the bike with one hand as you pass it.
Walk with the dog in one hand and the bike in the other hand for a while.
Once the dog is comfortable, i.e. not looking at the bike and not concerned about it, then start to up the antes by bouncing the front tire, wiggling the front tires, etc. The point is to make the bike as noisy as possible. Initially your dog will be concerned, but will soon realize nothing bad is happening when the bike is making all those noises.
After a while (when the time is right) put one leg over the bike and on the pedal so the pedal with the foot on it is at the bottom, or closest point to the ground. Now you are skipping along with one foot on the pedal and one foot on the ground. Keep this up until your dog gets comfortable with this new level.
Slowly and when the time is right, make the transition to two feet on the pedals. No need to pedal fast at this point or even at all. Let the dog go at what ever pace it wants too. If the dog is jogging or running with a loose leash then it is comfortable with this new activity and will likely grow to like it more and more with practice.

NOTE: If during any of the steps your dog starts to really pull away from the bike (to the side) then go back to the previous step until it is truly comfortable with that step before progressing again.
NOTE: Initially you want to hold the leash in one hand while you control the bike with the other hand for the steps above. Eventually you want to transition your dog to being leashed to the bike. That is by far the safest way to bike with dogs.

BIKE SETUP: Your bike needs to be setup properly in order for you and your dog to be safe.

Attach the leash to the seat post or bike rack (if available) or use one of those commercially available dog biking attachments.
If attaching it to the seat post simply pass the end of the leash (the collar clip) through the handle around the seat post, then wrap the length around until you reach the desired length. See the next point…
Regardless of how you attach the leash, the end of the leash (the part that attaches to your dog’s collar) should not go past the center of the front bike tire. If it can reach beyond that then your dog will likely be able to cut in front of your bike (to chase a squirrel or another dog) and likely get hurt. This is KEY!
Likewise you don’t want to have the length of the leash too short. If its too short your dog’s running stride will be compromised. An ideal length is between 2.5-3 feet give or take a few inches depending on your particular bike setup.
Attaching the leash to a bike rack (over the back tire) is generally better than directly tied to the seat post because the angle of the leash from the bike rack will not interfere with your pedaling. When the leash is attached to the seat post only, the leash will likely rub your calves with each pedal revolution. Not a big deal with pants on, but can be annoying if riding in shorts.

SAFETY: Keep the following points in mind when biking with your dog:

Wear a helmet, especially at night when biking on uneven trails
Bike on sidewalks or biking trails as much as possible
Slowly accustom your dog to biking on pavement (streets and sidewalks). Your dog’s paws need time to develop callouses.
Despite your having tried to train your dog to be comfortable running next to a bike, it may still want to pull at a 45 degree angle way from the bike. If you are biking on pavement (street or sidewalk) this angle will likely wear out your dog’s foot pads and may cause them to bleed. Either switch your dog to different sides of the bike periodically or try to run it on the grass while you bike on the pavement.
If you encounter a loose dog during your biking, if you keep your dog moving quickly in one direction, 9 times out of 10 the loose dog will eventually lose interest and give up the chase. This is not theoretical! It works. We at the Ruff Break have encountered this situation many times.
Some situations require you to get closer control over your dog. There are several techniques. Reach down with one hand and grab the leash to pull your dog in closer to your bike while you pass a distraction. Similarly, you can use your foot and leg to “reel” the leash in closer to you and the bike temporarily. This is a great technique and enables you to stay in control with both hands even while your dog is trying to lunge at something that it should not be lunging at.

HYDRATION: Especially during the warmer month, you dog can become overheated quickly if its not running in the shade. Stop every 15 to 20 minutes to let it rest, pant, and drink some water

DISTANCES: Every dog is unique and every dog’s physical capabilities are different. Sure there are some averages that can give you a ball park range of how far to go with your dog but nothing beats tracking your dogs individual abilities. At the Ruff Break we regularly measure the dogs we exercise. See Measuring performance for details. When your dog is new to biking, you don’t want to over do it. This means a mile to a mile and a half is generally ok at relatively slow speeds. Once a dog has been biking comfortably for a while, its not uncommon for them to run between 4-6 miles at an average speed of 6-10 mph. Higher drive, higher intensity dogs generally run at speeds averaging 11-16 mph and covering distances of 8-10 miles or more.

I hope to see you on the trail… with your dog!

Arlen and Amy Carey

wpadmin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:40:12 +0000

The Ruff Break is wonderful! The service provided by Bert and associates is phenomenal–both in terms of the type of service offered and in terms of the quality of service provided. We love our dogs; Charlie has been with me for over 10 years, and I’ve had Gini for about 7 years, and they are important family members. The Ruff Break staff treats our dogs as if they were well-loved members of their family. Amy and I recently married and traveled to a remote part of Central America for our honeymoon. One of the more difficult decisions we had to make while planning our honeymoon involved caring for our dogs while we were far away and out of contact. We’ve boarded our dogs with kennels in the past, and we’ve always found kennels that ensured our dogs were fed, watered, and in from the cold. But boarding Charlie and Gini has never felt like a great choice because of the standard kennel environment of a concrete-floored pen surrounded by countless, chronically-barking dogs. Also, Charlie and Gini seemed to be treated just like two dogs by kennel staff. During warmer months, we’ve asked some friends to let the dogs in and out of our house during our absences, but we didn’t want to impose on others during the cold holiday season to care for and play with our dogs several times a day. We have never found a pet-sitting service that seemed to be professional, reliable, reasonably priced, and really concerned about the welfare of our dogs. When I ran across the website for the Ruff Break, it looked like it may be the perfect solution. With The Ruff Break, Charlie and Gini could stay in their home, get some great exercise, be cared for and played with by responsible adults who love, appreciate, and understand dogs. Bert, the owner, came by to meet our family, he asked great questions about the dogs and our expectations, he spent some time getting to know our dogs and their routine, and he and the dogs quickly bonded. Bert let us know that bringing in our mail and making sure everything stayed fine with our house were included services. Our great initial meeting with Bert allowed us to enjoy our time away having full confidence that our dogs were being well-cared for. We returned to find our dogs happy, healthy and resting in their home. Bert filled us in on how the experience went for Charlie and Gini, and it was clear that he was truly invested in their well-being and happiness. Our house was in great shape, too. We appreciated The Ruff Break so much that we’ve used their services on two subsequent out-of-town weekends. We intend to be long-time customers. If you love your dogs and want them to be well-loved and well-cared-for while enjoying all the comforts of home while you are away, The Ruff Break is the way to go! I also want to mention that The Ruff Break is an economical choice. The wonderful services they provide cost less than standard boarding–and one doesn’t have to worry about drop-off/pick-up. Your dogs can be enjoyed until the moment you leave home, and they are there to welcome you upon your return. We are delighted that we found The Ruff Break, and we strongly recommend their services!

Jennifer and David Brogan

wpadmin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:36:40 +0000

The service has been exceptionally reliable and flexible. We have really appreciated your ability to work with our crazy schedule and the emergencies that have cropped up this spring. The dogs seem to really enjoy the exercise and it is good for them to be social with other people. Thank you for being so great!

Dawn Francis M.D.

wpadmin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:18:11 +0000

Ruff Break is the best discovery we’ve made in Rochester. They have completely
changed our lives. Our dog had spent a good bit of time in an animal shelter
prior to our adopting him. As a result, he is traumatized being kenneled, no
matter how nice the facility. Ruff Break provided a ready solution by coming to
our home and caring for him. Now we feel comfortable leaving our dog home when
we go on trips knowing that we will return to a happy and healthy dog. Not only
do we trust the Ruff Break staff with our dog, we also trust them to bring in our
mail and leave lights on for added security when we are away. On one occasion,
we forgot an important file on our computer and called Bert who kindly
agreed to go over to our house, find the file on our computer and e-mail it to us.

Good help is hard to find, and Ruff Break is the real thing!

Tiffany McCormick

wpadmin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:15:25 +0000

Bert and the Ruff Break team are the best! The Ruff Break team takes great care
of my two Shiba Inu’s Brandy and Bailey, and I would highly recommend them to anyone
who is looking for someone to take care of their dog’s while at work, or for help
in managing their dogs behavioral issues. I am a Registered Nurse and work long
shifts; it is a huge relief to know that Brandy and Bailey are getting to have a
potty break and be exercised while I am at work! The Ruff Break team is always
available to provide my dogs with a break, even on short notice and when I am
working night shifts. It is hard for me to imagine any other dog-care provider
that is so committed to their clients that they will exercise your dogs at 11 pm
at night, even in the middle of a freezing cold Minnesota winter! In addition to
providing my dogs with a much needed break while I am away, Bert has helped me to
work with my dogs and correct some of their behavioral issues. My Shiba Inu’s are
a somewhat stubborn and dominant canine breed, yet with Bert’s help I have been
able to better control their behavior and become the “alpha” in the household. I
have been a Ruff Break client for nearly a year, and feel that I have healthier,
more well-balanced dogs as a result of their interaction with Bert and the
Ruff Break team! I can not recommend them higly enough!