This week’s Richmond Pet Lover is Josh Rickey of Canine Adventure, and his two dogs (and frequent co-workers), Marshall and Cisco.
Pet’s names: Marshall, 11 year old Plott Hound. Marshall was named after a friend of mine who was on a climbing trip where I got him. I found him chained to a tree in Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. Apparently he had been there for over a week, living off of scraps from the nearby pizza shop and kindness from some of the locals. Nobody wanted him, though. He was a useless old hound dog (about 7 when I got him). I think my friend Marshall was a little annoyed at the fact that I named this crazy old dog after him, but he’s over it!
Cisco, 6 year old German Shepherd. Cisco was an owner-surrender who came from Colombia (in South America) and was picked up by ADRATI (a local rescue organization I do some work with www.adrati.com). He was named Army when I handled him at an adoption event. He was a big hit, and I had him hanging out with all shapes and sizes of dogs and people during the event. He proved to me how well mannered and responsive he was, despite having his recent life change. I asked about him and a week later, he was terrified to enter my house! No worries, we got over this, christened him “Francisco” which I never call him, and he fell into his job at Canine Adventure nicely as our “play dog.” He loves to play with many of our client dogs, and that’s his main job description!
Nicknames: Marshall is Marsh, “Wild Man,” “Seal” (because he sounds like a seal when he barks) and “Big Guy.” Cisco is just Cisco, but he’s been called “Wild Man” also (I call lots of dogs “Wild Man”). They both have many other things I call them, but I wouldn’t use these in polite society!
What are your pets’ best tricks? Marshall’s best trick is diffusing a touchy situation. He is my “gets along with everybody” dog. I think he was raised with lots of other dogs and has really good “dog manners”. He’s particularly good at helping nervous or anxious dogs come out of their shell with his easy going nature and acceptance of almost every dog he meets.
Cisco is very good at teaching dogs to play, and will get spun up on command (he also stops and calms down on command, which we always practice at the dog park). He loves to chase, wrestle, bark, and swim and does these things masterfully!
What are your pets’ most endearing traits? Both of my boys are vigilant in their loyalty. We’ll go camping and Marshall will go “hunting” and exploring by himself for hours (sometimes days). He always comes back and seems quite proud of himself when he does! He went off on one of his solo “adventures” once on a Saturday afternoon (I was camping with my brothers and some friends at the time). Sunday evening, when we had to break camp and head home, Marshall was nowhere to be found. We left without him. Cisco and I were pretty sad to have lost a pack member. I was able to come back to our campsite on Monday afternoon, he was sleeping in the sun right where we had been and was very excited when he woke up and Cisco and I were there to get him!
Cisco also likes exploring a bit, but stays close. He doesn’t know what to do with himself if I’m not around to give him direction. I never have to worry about losing him because he’s too concerned with losing me! I think this is a good sign, that my dogs don’t run away. They may run off for a bit to chase an animal or explore something interesting, but they ALWAYS come back.
Another endearing trait… (and this common to most dogs) my guys are always enthusiastic about life in general. They love everything we do and make it clear that, no matter what’s on the schedule, they want to be by my side doing it! They show how excited they are to wake up in the morning, meet other dogs, meet people, ride in the car, go to the bank, walk around the block, hang out in the yard, literally everything we do they love it, as long as they are part of it! We should all be this enthusiastic about our lives.
What would your pets say is your most annoying habit? I’m not a morning person. They wake up excited about life, and I wake up annoyed and rushed. This is when I use the nicknames I won’t disclose!
What is a typical day (if such a thing exists) like for you at Canine Adventure? On a typical day, I’ll have a mix of dog walks and office work. I’ll show up at our client’s house (sometimes with one or both of my dogs all excited in the back of the car), we’ll pick up our client dog, take them to a local park, then hike, swim, explore, take photos, and generally have a good time. After dropping them off at home, usually there’s a short neighborhood walk or two where I’ll show up at the clients house, take them for a jaunt around the neighborhood, then take them home and leave them with fresh water and a treat. I’ll do some accounting when I get home, send follow-up emails to clients that I serviced that day, touch base with my employees and clients, do some items from “my list” (I have a weekly list that I make every Sunday, stuff I need to do to keep the business going in the right direction), do general paperwork, and call it a day. You’d be surprised how quickly the days go by!
There are plenty of atypical things during each day as well. You never know what is going to happen next when you’re working with dogs, whether you need to carry them across water because they’re scared, do leash drills and simple training, facilitate introductions with other dogs and people, clean up drool (and other things the come out of dogs), treat minor wounds, wrangle snakes, get lost in the woods, break up fights, etc…the list goes on and on, and I have to be ready for literally anything!
Tell us a little bit about Canine Adventure: Canine Adventure really started with my dog, Marshall. He was a bit of a handful when I brought him home. When it was clear that he needed some real focus doing something he understood, we began hiking at the river. Our hikes would take us many miles, and he would howl with excitement as soon as I suggested that we go on an “Adventure Walk.” Once he was sufficiently exercised, we began to really connect and his training started taking root. No more accidents in the house or torn up bedding, broken windows, or incessant howling whenever I left. Some friends started commissioning me to take their dogs out as well and offered to pay me. The idea of Canine Adventure was born, and Marsh showed me the way!
I started Canine Adventure in October, 2008 and was working by myself. Some of our first (and most loyal) clients have been local rescue organizations who have foster dogs that need some extra attention. This helped me become a very well rounded dog-handler in addition to helping the dogs become more socialized, more relaxed in their current life situation, and ultimately more adoptable. As things began to take shape, I was quickly working a full schedule (often 60+ miles of hikes each week) and I had potential clients contacting me on a regular basis. As a response, in September 2009, I decided it was time to make sure that all of the dogs who needed Adventure Walks (and other services) could get them from a reputable, professional, reliable handler, so I found some excellent employees and we started expanding. Right now, I have two full time employees and one part-timer, all dedicated to providing dog-style fun to our expanding client base. We strive to be excellent dog-handlers, and also geek out to photos of the dogs we work with. We’re all decent photographers, and our clients love seeing photos of their pets in action!
For more information on Canine Adventure and how your dog can participate in an Adventure Walk, check out the Canine Adventure website.
