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Here's what campers have to say about Camp Unleashed...
Camper Testimonials
The Jewish New Year with "GOD" Spelled Backwards blog post by Lisa Spector, Sept 27, 2011, about Camp Sequoia Lake.
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Unleashed and Love at First Sniff blog post by Judith Massey, Sept 15, 2011, about Camp Berkshires.
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Lessons Learned from Camp: Knowing your dog blog post by author Nancy Chwiecko, Sept 12, 2011, about Camp Berkshires
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Watch this video of the June 2010 Camp Unleashed Berkshires made by Pat and Elaine, and starring Bailey.
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One of the most profound weekends of my life. By allowing dogs
off-leash in the company of other creatures Camp Unleashed creates an
environment that leads to discovery. — Prof. S. Sokuvitz
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I cannot express how grateful I am for this experience — my dog and I
have bonded more than ever. — D. Bartlett
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Thank you for making our doggie weekend away a most memorable and
fulfilling experience! We both enjoyed the many activities as well as the
beautiful surroundings . . . The camp and the freedom it allows our dogs is the
way it was meant to be for our special friends. What a joy to see them roaming
free and interacting with other dogs and their people! — D.
Corcoran
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I loved that my dog got to act as part of a pack! I got to see that I
could trust him to return to me and I got to watch him RUN and PLAY! It was
heartwarming. — C. DiMarzio-Richards
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Great bonding experience! I also learned to trust my dog so much more
off leash! — J. Rosenbaum
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It was great to be able to spend 24 hours a day with my dog. Having
her welcome everywhere was great. Everyone was extremely friendly. The care and
love for the dogs was especially obvious. — P. Connagher
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I can't remember Sadie and Roo ever having such fun...a three-day
"walkie!" It took them about two weeks to settle down afterwards.
Things have returned to normal but I bet they dream about those three glorious days
and all their new canine friends running free. — K. Lynch
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Thanks for your wonderful selection of lecturers. I have started
making my own dog food and have been doing massage and Reiki on my 11½ year-old
Elkhound. She is bouncing with health and happiness! — L. Sassman
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Through camp I gained a better understanding of who my dog and I are,
and how we are together. Before camp my understanding of Pansy was MY
experience with other dogs. But in reality she's nothing like any dog I've even
known. I've become very aware of how she reacts to me, and my feelings, and how
I react to her and hers. — J. Pierce
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We can't thank you enough for the wonderful time we had at Camp
Unleashed. It was really a dream come true for all of us — the two- and
four-legged participants! Our dear dogs, Miss Paws and Lillie smiled from
arrival to departure. When we returned home both slept soundly while dreaming
of their great trip and running in their sleep. We all went to bed with smiles
and great memories. — L. Blick
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If you want to connect to the funniest, sweetest and coolest parts of
yourself, go to Camp Unleashed. And as an added bonus, see yourself laughing
with your favorite pal, Your Dog! — T. Rosen
What do you do at Camp Unleashed? by Mary Gilbert, from Camp Unleashed Berkshires, June 2011 on Vimeo.
A letter from Meg and Makush
Dear Annie,
I want to take a minute to write to you personally about our camp experience. As I look back at my expectations and anxieties preparing to come to camp I realized that all my expectations were met and more. I learned something really important about myself and about Makush, and our relationship. I know I could not have learned these things without the unleashed experience. Its not that Makush has never been
unleashed, we have a huge play yard, he plays often with friends, but you of all people must know there is something very different about the experience of being unleashed at camp. Something that is not easily put into words. But here is my best try.
unleashed, we have a huge play yard, he plays often with friends, but you of all people must know there is something very different about the experience of being unleashed at camp. Something that is not easily put into words. But here is my best try.All of my training and time with dogs has always been so structured and people directed. Sit when I tell you, come when called, down when directed. I came to camp with a thought just kind of floating in the back of my mind, not fully developed or processed, that maybe Makush could, for once in his life be in control of his own life and make his own decisions for just a few short days. I really believe that we all, humans and canines, look for this in life. For him to be able to do this though it was not really him who had to change, it was ME! I had to be able to let go, not just of the leash but of so many human concepts about what a dog is and about how humans and dogs relate and live together.
There is so much emotion all mixed up in bonding and attachment to another being. When its a being from a different species I think things become even more complicated. I could not help but worry about him. Will he get lost without me directing him? Will he be safe without me right by his side? I could not help but worry about the strength of our bond. Does he love me enough to stay close? Does he love me enough to come back? I could not help but wonder about how the world would see us. What will other people think of my dog? Will they judge me and him for "misbehavior"?
During the weekend as I considered my worry over these questions, I began to think what might my boy be thinking? what might his perspective be? Of course the best I could do was imagine his questions from a human standpoint. Will she really unclip my leash? Does she know how much I love her? Does she trust me enough to keep myself safe? Does she know how great I am in the woods, that I am the one who will not get lost? Does she trust me to come back? Does she know that in the dog world eating food that is available is not a felony crime, its actually normal?
The first couple days were really hard for me. I was in tears several times. I am so grateful to [staff member] Kristin Neal for talking it through with me Saturday morning.
Sure I had unclipped the leather leash and that was the first step of the process, but unclipping the invisible, yet far more powerful mental and emotional leash on my dog was truly what I had to do.
I don't think it was until Saturday when I went on a solo hike with Makush, after talking with Kristin,that I realized that something really really amazing was happening for us. I was beginning a new way to BE with my dog. I know it will be a process that I will consciously have to work to develop not only with Makush but will all my dogs.
You know that saying: If you love something set it free, if it comes back to you its really yours, if not it never was? Well, camp has helped me to see more clearly than ever that no being can ever really be owned by another. My love for Makush is stronger now than ever. I am more able to see him in the world a free spirit, an independent being. I just have to allow him that. I am the person lucky enough to share in his life. That he came back to me by his decision, not by my control of him, makes me feel sure that not only have I chosen him but HE has chosen me. No real relationship can exist if BOTH beings are not actively choosing each other.
For this new awareness, I cannot thank you and Camp Unleashed enough. Kristin was so supportive to me at a time when I really needed someone to help me along the path, so please tell her woof once again from Makush and I.
— Meg and Makush