About Timber Ridge Farm

What they offer

Timber Ridge Farm is a German shepherd kennel and horse and dog boarding farm on Working Dog Drive in Saco. Its owner is president of the Maine Schutzhund Club, and the farm offers dog training for all breeds alongside its boarding.

Lessons and boot camps

Private lessons cover tracking, obedience and protection, and family dog obedience lessons are taught by a qualified instructor. Week-long boot camps, offered year-round for most breeds, combine boarding with intensive training, an exit lesson and continued support, and include intake and outgoing sessions with the family. The farm also teaches dogs to swim and to walk on a loose leash.

Classes

Six-week classes cover trick training, puppy and basic to advanced obedience, AKC STAR Puppy, Canine Good Citizen and the advanced community and urban Canine Good Citizen titles, dog reactivity walks and store sessions, scent work and therapy dog preparation, all combined with AKC Fit Dog work, socialization and distraction training. Dogs with a reactive history may be asked to take a private lesson first.

Method

Training is described as motivational, based on operant conditioning with positive and negative reinforcement.