It’s not just the kids that are waiting at the bus stop this month! Local pups are hopping on the bus to head to day camp at Adirondack Sniffari, and well, could they be any cuter?! We caught up with owner Caitlin Stedman to find out more about a day in the life at camp, renovating the bus for the pups, and more…
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi, I'm Cailtin! I am the owner and camp counselor at Adirondack Sniffari. I have always loved animals and have felt a strong calling towards dogs in particular. After beginning a training journey with my pup Vinny, I became driven to know all that I could about dogs and how to deepen our relationships with them. I am always taking courses and workshops to broaden my knowledge and hone in on my personal philosophies surrounding dogs. The courses I have taken that have been the most impactful for me are My Dog Camp, Happy Rescue Dogs, Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations and Training Between The Ears Level 1.
On Starting The Business
Adirondack Sniffari is an outdoor adventure camp for dogs. I started working with dogs in the fall of 2020 when I was lucky enough to be hired by Mallory Stark at Lucky Dawg. I was really inspired by her work ethic and connection to her clients (human and dog). I've always wanted a job where I can spend my days outside but I felt like with traditional dog walking, I spent a lot of time in the car. It wasn't until I found my mentor Rhonda Bilodeau on Instagram that everything clicked. I took her intensive online course called My Dog Camp and shadowed her in Vermont. Through Rhonda, I found dog camp to be the perfect mix of hiking, training and just letting dogs be dogs. Adirondack Sniffari welcomed its first campers in April of 2022. I still look to other graduates from the My Dog Camp course and Rhonda for advice and information weekly. It's been a wonderful community and resource!
A Day At Camp
My partner Tom Appler and I pick up our campers each morning and ride to our fenced in space in Queensbury that we call The Serengeti. Here we play, dig, dip in the kiddie pool, go on the agility/playground equipment and take lots of breaks for relaxation. Then we load up on the bus and head to the private land which is off Route 149 just inside Adirondack Park. It's about 13 acres that the owners Donna and Dave graciously allow us to hike on. Throughout the entire day we are practicing a calm mindset, impulse control, proper play etiquette and fluidly moving from prey drive to social drive. Camp lasts at least 2 hours with an additional 1 to 2 hours of drive time.
On The Bus
We have a few dogs in camp who really like their personal space which I totally understand! It didn't seem fair to me to crowd dogs together in my car for a lengthy drive time. Also, it can be very overwhelming for new dogs coming in. I saw dog buses on Instagram and TikTok and loved how the dogs could be harnessed into their own seat for added safety. I thought this would be perfect! I put a post out on Facebook and saw a bus for sale at the Head Start just around the corner. It felt like kismet! I got a great deal on it and it has only needed a couple minor repairs.
Renovating took a few months. I worked on it with my Dad and Tom. Vinny, my dog, supervised of course! We started by taking out seats, then took off all the lights and stickers. After that we sanded which by far took the longest! Primer and paint went on smoothly. The blue color is pulled from our logo. We had our lettering (and logo) designed by Advokate and it was installed by M&M Digital Printing. They both did an amazing job! The interior is still a work in progress. This fall we are painting the interior walls and removing some leftover sticker residue.
Most of the dogs took to the bus right away! We have a couple of nervous pups but they are getting the hang of it. The dogs would pace and sometimes try to play in my car but in the bus they just hangout in their assigned seats! I think they really like the extra space to decompress and the security of the harness.
On The Future
We are adding in new campers right now and it is so exciting! I love watching the dogs blossom out at camp. They come in happy, excited but a little confused and then they pick up new skills, meet new friends and just have a blast. I feel that we ask a lot from our dogs on the daily. The world is structured to make dogs fit into the human way of life and camp provides an outlet where they can safely be dogs doing dog things!
