About Camp Ruff Ruff

Camp Ruff Ruff works out of 174 Sand Lane, near the Fort Wadsworth end of the East Shore, and describes itself as a canine education and care provider that pairs certified force-free training with cage-free boarding. The training half of the business is behavior consulting first: the site lists house training, loose-leash walking, excessive barking, separation anxiety, fear and aggression, confidence around triggers, puppy and remedial socialization, basic and advanced obedience, crate training, clicker training and targeting among the issues it takes on.

Who runs it

The owner introduces himself on the site as Vinny, an animal lover since childhood and a certified behavior consultant and professional dog trainer. The published credential list names CPDT-KA through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a professional dog trainer certification from Catch Canine Academy, a Certificate of Excellence from Dr. Susan Friedman's Living and Learning with Animals program, the BAT instructors course, and evaluator status for Canine Life and Social Skills. The CPDT listing is independently confirmed: Vincent T. Olito of Staten Island appears in the CCPDT certified-trainer directory.

Method

Everything published points the same way. Training is described as force-free, science-based and built on evaluation before instruction, with the dog's temperament, history and triggers assessed first and the program recommended afterward. Behavior Adjustment Training 2.0 gets its own service page, described as a technique that leaves the dog in control of its own decisions in the environment while staying under threshold to known triggers. The site is explicit that it will not use force or confinement, and that owners are coached alongside their dogs so the work continues at home.

Boarding and the second location

The boarding side is cage-free and hosted in the owner's home rather than a kennel, marketed at owners who want their dog living as part of a household while they travel. The business lists two cage-free boarding locations, one on Staten Island and one in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, and says both follow the same force-free, enrichment-focused approach.

What it costs

Rates are published rather than quoted privately: training and behavior consults start at $100 per hour, a three-session package takes ten percent off, a half-hour phone consultation is $40, and in-home boarding starts at $70 per dog per day with a $10 per night surcharge over major holidays. Pick-up and drop-off is $15 on Staten Island and $45 to New York City, Brooklyn or New Jersey. The site also notes the business is fully insured.