A New Leash on Life - Graduation

This morning I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. The reason was the graduation of the second group of Carolina P.A.W.S. dogs in the "New Leash on Life" program. I wasn't able to attend the first one, so this was going to be a new experience for me. The whole day I felt like a mom who is going to her kids recitals. My kids were just a little different - the dogs and their handlers. Of course, I was hoping that they would "perform" well and impress everybody attending! To add to my nervousness, the program coordinator at the prison, Donna Miller, told me yesterday that she had put me on the program for remarks. Yikes!!! What would I say. I tried to work on my speech last night and failed miserably. This morning the time ran off with me, hence I had to work on it during the car ride to the prison. Thank god, Juergen was there - he drove and at the same time listened to all my ideas and gave me a lot of helpful input. Apparently, my speech went well. I only can't remember anything about it, because of my jitters. Did I mention that this time also Fox News and a reporter from Charlotte Living Magazine attended?!? There were also representatives from Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Control present, as two of the graduating dogs came from there. This was certainly not the time to fail!

It is evening now and I am still exhilirated just thinking about it. I hope this day is as thrilling and exciting for the families, who took home a new family member today.

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/new_leash_program_120409

LOUIE - when he entered the program, he thought the world was one big playground for him. For the first week, his nickname was 'the child from h..." He has become a great dog that enjoys to work.

KIRA – Kira is the typical Husky. When she entered, she thought that she needed to be in charge of everything.

SUKI - she entered shy and co-dependant on her sister Bonna. There is not one inmate that didn't fell in love with her. She has become the greatest teddy bear.

BONNA - she has still some way to go, but the people she trusts now, she just adores!

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't believe that it is already the end of November! Checking my blog I realized that I had been absent from blogging for a while. At the end of September my grandmother passed away and I traveled to Europe to be with my family. A couple of weeks later I traveled again, a trip that was planned for at least 6 months. So, it seems like I kind of missed out on October!

Thanksgiving - this is a great day to "stop and smell the roses." That is exactly what I did this morning. My life has drastically changed over the last few months. I went from working full time as an employee, to working on starting up my own business and doing a lot of volunteer work. I had a lot of fun helping with the Patriot Gala, which raises funds for injured soldiers and for survivors of fallen soldiers. And a big bulk of my ongoing volunteer work is devoted to - guess what? - DOGS! Carolina P.A.W.S. and the "A New Leash on Life" program keep me busy. It's too bad that I can't live of my volunteer work!! I am not complaining about that, it is actually quite the opposite. I am very grateful for being able to do what I enjoy. I am also very grateful for all the support I receive from my husband (who has been very tolerant of all the dogs coming and going), my friends (who still come into my house although they never know what to expect) and my family (who believes that I can't fail at anything).

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Speak Dog

My husband and I discussed how to best try to explain how influential a dog owner's emotions, body language and attitude are, when working with your four-legged friend.
After receiving this great article below (don't know yet who wrote it), I decided not to re-invent the wheel.

"Dogs live in the moment, not in the past. It is human nature to reflect on our past, but we have to be careful not to get bogged down by previous failures or negative experiences. As hinted, allowing ourselves to be hindered by past failures can only impede future growth and progress.
Also, this calm and assertive leadership role plays a part in how we handle our money, clients, business partners, and more … it doesn’t necessarily have to be restricted just to dogs.

Remaining calm or cool under pressure makes it easier to look at things from a more rational or objective viewpoint. On the other hand, becoming overly anxious or worried can lead to irrational decisions (whether it’s with money, business policies, etc.) – emotions cloud clear thinking.

Remaining calm is not enough. We must also intend things to happen. This demands that we take action, so an assertive role must be coupled with the calm energy. Notice that this is not calm-passive energy or calm-aggressive energy. Being passive implies taking a more uninvolved, unresisting, or unassertive role … very little action, if any. Being aggressive, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of being passive … this can imply being overly forceful, intrusive, threatening, and even warlike (think “road rage” or “Gaza strip”). While aggressiveness may appear to have its advantages, it often creates tension.

Assertiveness is the fine balance between passiveness and aggressiveness. The Oxford English Dictionary equates assertiveness with confidence and forcefulness, two fine qualities for a pack leader. Be confident in your vision, and follow through with forceful action to make that vision become a reality. By coupling this assertiveness with calm energy, this creates a powerful combination that can yield desirable results."

"Sierra a.k.a. Killer"

When I went to the shelter earlier this week, I couldn't believe my eyes. There in this smallish kennel, I barely could spot my future foster dog. She weighs 2.6 lbs. at 4-years-old!!!!
The most amazing part to me was that she came from a puppy mill. Obviously, she must have had at least a couple of litters. I can't even imagine what size the puppies were.
Unfortunately, after only having her for a couple of days, I already had to go to the vet with her. As I'm writing this blog, she is getting her leg bandaged. In her spunkyness she fractured (hairline) her front leg.
A PHOTO WILL FOLLOW.

"A New Leash on Life"

I can't understand why I haven't blogged about the program called "A New Leash on Life" yet - it seems like I rarely talk about anything else!
I got the chance to oversee this program for Carolina P.A.W.S. My responsibilities are ranging from finding the right dogs for the prison, to making sure they have everything imaginable they might need during the 8 weeks that the dogs stay at the prison. To be honest, I was taken back once I realized how many little things dogs need during that time period - food, crates, collars, leashes, treats, bowls, training aids, toys, heartworm prevention, cleaning supplies, miscellaneous medication, ...
Well, but these are only the first two steps. Then the dogs and supplies need to be transported to the prison - a task I would never have been able to do on my own. Last, but certainly not least we need to find a forever home to adopt those dogs, so that they can go there right after "graduation."
Even though my expectations about my involvement were much lower, I couldn't be more excited or happier that I have the opportunity to be a part of this. Funnily, it actually seems to be even the opposite!

A Dinner Party with dogs - Do you have an "OUT" command?

If you are just a bit like Juergen and I, you consider your pets as a part of your family. Therefore, when we have a dinner party they are allowed to mingle. As with everything else concerning dogs the key lies in practice and preparation.

For example last night - we had several people over to celebrate a friends birthday. All of them have been to our house before and know our two own dogs. Additionally, we have Anka, a beautiful German Shepherd, staying with us right now, who nobody had met yet. But this is not a problem at all. We first took the three of them on a long walk (nearly 2 hrs.) in the morning, so that they were nice and relaxed for the rest of the day, while we were cooking. When the first people arrived we put the dogs in the garage, because we were afraid that Anka would dash out the door, given the chance. Once eveyone was at the house, we allowed our "babies" to come inside and meet and greet. To me the important part there is that somebody should always keep an eye on them until the first excitement is over. I certainly don't want them to tear up nice panty hose or put dirty paw prints on a white skirt, etc. It usually is pretty easy, especially because our dogs are used to this routine. While we serve dinner, the dogs are not allowed in the kitchen or dining room and can only come back once we have arrived at coffee and dessert. At that point they are allowed to receive all the attention with which they usually get showered by our guests. This routine works really well for us.

A very helpful command your dog to know in order to be able to try is "OUT" - it means that they have to leave the room and are not allowed to come in until they get permission. It is something I would practice first just on your own and then start adding distraction to it. Please be clear with your friends and guests that when you tell your dogs to go out of the room that they should stay out and should not be lured back inside and then given affection. Often we have more "trouble" with the people than the dogs. :)

Although, we do have our dogs around at dinner parties more or less all the time, whenever we have a guest that is terribly afraid of dogs, we DON'T allow them to get near that person or sometimes even to come into the dining room at all. I would not be happy, if somebody would make me sit next to a spider or a roach and serve me dinner!!!

To have toys or not to have toys?

Toys are great for dogs of any age. But, when do you give them the toys? Should they always have free access to toys? The more the better? Questions, questions, questions, ...

Toys have a number of ways to improve your dog's happiness and welfare:

Distraction - If a dog is busy with a toy, it is more likely not to start chewing on the chair leg. However, dogs are just like little children. If they have access to all the toys at all the time, they get bored of them. Only take out their favorite toy(s) when you are leaving and take them away upon return. This way, the toy(s) will stay interesting. Another way to keep things interesting is using toys that can be filled with cookies or peanut butter and challenge them to work on it.

Training - I love playing fetch with my dogs. Although it is a fun game, it reinforces obedience training. You can practice come, bring, sit, stay, release, seek or whatever else you can imagine. A tennis ball was the biggest help we had, when we started off lead training with our Weimaraner. She couldn't care less about any other dogs around or the rustling of the leaves, when she saw the ball.

Calming - There are several toys that keep a dog mentally busy. In combination with physical exercise the mental stimulation, creates a happy and well-balanced dog.

Leader position - I don't know how it was in your house when you grew up, but when I grew up we were not allowed to have candy or sweets, without our parents permission. I always got very excited, when my mom would open up the cabinet and gave us a piece each. Because is treasured it so much, I would try to eat it as slowly as possible. I wanted to savor every moment.

It's not completely the same with your dog, but does bare some similarities. When you are in charge of the toys and the dog doesn't have free access to them, he/she will see you as the keeper of the treasure. I would think that should be quite an incentive to see you as the leader.

I don't think that there are any toys that are good or bad. It is a very individual thing - my dogs tear every squeaky toy apart in no time and get bored of them very quickly. I have seen other dogs that keep them for months. Some dogs love rope toys, some couldn't care less. Some dogs need a little bit more support in cleaning their teeth and rawhide helps and with some it doesn't. I guess you see the point. Find out what works for you and your dog(s).

HAVE FUN FIGURING IT OUT :)

What would we do without great dog walkers?

"Experience is what you get while looking for something else."

Federico Fellini

I have to admit, that over the last 4 years I have received great support from our friends. Although I walk our dogs in the morning, and they sometimes come along to work, they still get visits from our "personal" dog walker 2-3 times a week. Charley is a great kid from our neighborhood, who diligently comes to our house after school to let our dogs out. And when his mom, Fran, comes along they even take their own dogs as well as ours out for a nice walk or a visit to the coffee shop down the street. Have I also mentioned the play time they get?

Albeit being very grateful, I guess I unwillingly became accustomed to the situation and always knew that Charley and Fran where just a phone call away. Another bonus is, that the they are first close friends and only secondarily "dog walkers". Therefore we never worry or even give it a second thought if our dogs are in good hands - we know that! With Charley getting older and graduating from High School it really dawned on me how spoiled I had become.

I am aware that we are in a very lucky position and not everyone has the same opportunity and that is where a trusted dog walker comes into play. I met Kim Hollis from See Spot Run LLC, a few weeks ago and I started to think more about all the benefits of having a trusted dog walker. She helped me out last week, when Charley was in graduation stress and wasn't able to come. Besides coming home to two relaxed dogs I was impressed with the little note she left telling me about the visit and to check out her blog. Guess what I found there? Honey & Luca :)

This was a very nice touch and I felt even better about having had her come to my house. But, if you know me, this is not were my brain stops - the wheels in my brain started turning. Unfortunately, I am already running late so I will have to continue this post tomorrow...

Hurt Feelings

Everyone who knows our Weimaraner "Honey" can confirm that she clearly doesn't consider herself a dog. The other evening we had 2 Dobermans, 2 Weims and a German Pinscher in our backyard. The four 'humans' set down on the steps of our deck and Honey decided that she needs to be one of the "girls" - she sat right in between us and wouldn't leave her spot for the whole time. I hope this preface to my story "Hurt Feelings," will make my experience/dilemma a little bit more comprehensible.

Just about a week before our evening on the steps, I was about to pull my hair out. As the pictures show, we have started about five weeks ago with our kitchen remodel. We thought it would be to easy, if we would just change the cabinetry and appliances. Ergo, we tore down two walls, took down all the drywall,... you get the picture. In order to protect the rest of our house from clouds and clouds of dust, as well as to protect our four-legged babies from injury, we sealed of that part of the house. Obviously the last few weeks, including weekends, were spent working on our dream kitchen. Adding to my hectic days, Honey started to become defiant and destructive. She stole food (including chocolate) from the table a couple of times, even though we caught her in the act and reprimanded her. She opened up the door to the guest bedroom and pulled out a bag of chocolate and ate a bar of dark chocolate. I put one of those child safety plastic thingis on the door knob - guess what - she took that one off and opened up the door and stole a bag of Hazelnuts. There were a few more things within a 48-hours window, which brought me to tears. Usually, when Honey gets antsy or nervous she needs a good obedience training and her sense of accomplishment makes her a happy camper. Not so this time!!!!!!

Nothing I tried helped. I then had an idea and was surprised that I hadn't thought about it right away. I am running an awful lot of errands right now, I go to Lowes, Home Depot, electrical supply store,... The next day after the ominous 48 hours, I put Honey and Luca in my car and had them riding around with me on my errands. Of course, they spent the most time waiting in parking lots - but it did the trick! Honey is back to being herself.

ALL IT WAS, WAS HURT FEELINGS!

Big dogs and a landscape backyard

Our dogs, Honey and Luca, are very energetic and can play hard. The picture of Luca's back, our black & tan Doberman, is a great example of how dirty my dogs can get after playing outside for an afternoon. But, can you imagine my backyard??????? Having hundreds of pounds running, jumping, pouncing, dashing, falling, and sliding through the yard, leaves severe mutilation of our grass and a number of other plants. To avoid having my tomato plants trampled I built a raised bed. It did work for our dogs, but not for a couple of visiting dogs. After having our pond liners torn up twice, because chipmunks found that it would be the perfect spot to build a den, we filled them in. However, the junipers that were planted there, were now in the way of a great "sprint route" to the fence. I couldn't believe it, but they got killed by constantly being run over by dogs. This spring I was so happy that my Hostas came back, and then I could watch Emily go ahead and just bite off the young tender leaves. At this point I was willing to give up on ever having a decent looking backyard. It was bugging me though, especially after my husband having finished a wonderful outdoor kitchen and a beautiful deck. I was so frustrated until I found an e-book on how to create a dog friendly yard. I can't implement everything that is suggested, but I got some great ideas out of it and had some aha-moments. I'm now newly energized to tackle my backyard again. The only thing holding up my plans right how is that I have to wait until my tendonitis in my shoulder and elbow heals. :-))

The e-book can be found on Maureen Gilmer's website: www.moplants.com

Fostering dogs

I apologize for the not writing in quite some time. A lot of things have happened over the last month and I was pretty scatterbrained. There were a couple of serious medical emergencies of family and friends in Austria, we started our kitchen remodel project and last but certainly not least I decided to make my passion my profession. I switched to working part time. I plan to do so for the next couple of months and meanwhile figure out how to best start up my own dog training business! My plan is to have everything in place by June - so don't forget to mention my name to everyone you know that might need a dog trainer :-)

So, finally getting to the topic that the header promises: Fostering

I frequently get the question how we can stand it to adopt out any of our fosters and if we never are tempted to just keep them. There are several reasons that we are able to "give up" our fosters, no matter how cute, intelligent or beautiful they are (sometimes that's an added bonus). We have already two dogs and a cat and somebody else could give them more attention. Sometimes timing is crucial - these are the cases where if a dogs doesn't get fostered by somebody, it will be euthanized. Samantha and Emily were such cases and I just makes me so grateful for being able to be part of their journey. There are also some sadder instances, where dogs are physically and mentally in such a bad state that I feel it is better for the forever home not to see that. It is hard to get over the feeling of sorrow if you have seen a dog being emanciated, fearful, sick, ... A dog will not be able to reach his or her full potential if the owner dwells in the past and therefore I truly believe that it is much more beneficial for the new forever home and the foster to not have such "memories." I saved the very best for last. There is no greater feeling than when the "perfect match" has been found and it fills me we pride and happiness, when I get positive updates. Of course, it is not quite as easy as I want to make it to sound - every adoption is bittersweet. Thank goodness usually the "sweet" outweighs the "bitter" so our tears are drying fast. :-)

In the case of our latest foster, Emily, who now lives at the beach, Carolina PAWS received the following emails:

"I just wanted to give you an update about Emily. She seems to be adjusting well and has completely taken over. I cannot express how much I love Miss Emily and she has already become an island icon ... There are so many new smells and people to meet and still hasn't met a stranger yet. Her manners are the most impressive I have ever seen ..."

Emily's new owner, Southport, NC

"Oh My Gosh!!!! She is absolutely stunning! ... I appreciate so much all you have done for both of the girls I saved from the gas chamber. It just blows me away that these two babies were one day going to the gas chamber and now look at the lives they have. We do make a difference, even if it's one dog at a time some days, in the lives of not only the dogs who need us to stand for them, but in the lives of their new families and all the people they will bring joy to.
I get HILARIOUS updates on Samantha all the time. I LOVE her family and honestly, there is no better home for her in the world. She is so happy and loved beyond anything I could wish for for one of my dogs."

Marci, Chicago , IL

(Marci is a rescuer in Chicago and spotted Emily and Samantha at the Gaston County Pound and asked Carolina PAWS for help with them.)

A tired dog...

I guess we all agree that a tired dog is a good dog. Dogs that are tired physically as well as mentally don't get into mischief.

Our Weimaraner has endless energy and we are not able to physically tire her out. It doesn't matter how often I would throw the tennis ball for her in our backyard, she would want more. We realized very quickly that we had to think of something, so that she wouldn't get into trouble. My father-in-law, one of the best dog trainers I ever met, suggested obedience training, giving her "jobs" around the house and teaching her tricks. He told me that all these things would give her a purpose and it would make her a much happier dog. At first I was skeptical about the "happier" part. I knew an obedient dog was easier to take along and I also knew that I didn't want the embarrassment of being dragged around in public. I followed his suggestion. It was an amazing experience. When I got home after one of our first training sessions my husband asked me what I did with our Weimi. He said that she was walking around looking like she was extremely proud and happy. Then after her dinner, she was so tired and went to sleep!! Once we were done with the obedience training, we taught her tricks and jobs around the house. When she turned five I thought that her age probably had calmed her down and I gave her less things to do around the house and didn't practice obedience (she knew all the commands). This proofed to be a mistake. She became destructive. Whenever I left for work I had to stow away my books on the night stand and make sure the remote control was up high. She went through at least half a dozen of covers of my books and three remotes. We realized that she had become bored and I started with training again. The change was immediate.

This experience has taught me that our dogs need their mind and body in balance just like us. I now put a high value on walking dogs. Walking takes care of three things at the same time. One is that it gets me up and going in the morning and I get some exercise. The second one is the physical exercise for the dogs. And the third, and for me a very important one, it keeps them mentally stimulated. They get some "sniffing time" and they have some "obedience time" when we walk. They get so excited when they are inspecting the trails and learn which animal has walked them the night/day before. There are rabbits, chipmunks, birds singing, ... After that they have to concentrate and pay attention to me and we work on obedience. Once we get home the energy in the house seems much more relaxed. Although a dog gets physical exercise running around in the backyard, after a short period of time there is nothing new left to explore and they get bored.

Fostering dogs

I get asked from time to time how I can stand it when one of our foster babies is leaving or if I wouldn't want to keep them. Although I fall in love with every single one, there is no happier day for me as when a dog goes to his or her new forever home. There are a lot of things I love about fostering and every dog is different, so it never gets boring.

As I mentioned I fall in love with every single one of our foster babies, but there was one, where we both said, that if we wouldn't already have two dogs, we would consider keeping her. It is just not fair to our "family" as well as it is way to much to ask from our dogsitter who comes in three times a week. Samantha was a mixed breed female that came to us from the Gaston County Shelter. A rescuer in Illinois, found her on the Internet and was convinced that she could find her a good home. The only problem was, that she was said to be too timid and the pound would not adopt her out and she was already set to be euthanized. In cases like these only local recognized rescue organization can pull an animal. The rescuer from Illinois got in touch with Deborah from Carolina PAWS, as she would have no way of getting the dog out and time was of the essence. The dog stayed with us for about ten days, until her transport was arranged. She only was shy for the first day and then she turned out to be just and absolute sweetheart. Everyone who met her, fell in love with her.

One time we had a Jack Russell Terrier with us for a few weeks. When he first came to our house, he stank so badly that I couldn't even walk him outside on a leash without getting nauseated. Don't even think about knowing any manners! After giving him three baths right away, I couldn't afford to let him out of my sight even for a split second. He would seriously attack our cat (the only one ever), bite and chew everything in grabbing distance or mark every possible object in the house. Settling down, was even more foreign to him. After employing every bit of patience and determination I had, he started to transform and became a great dog. He is still a handful, but he is happy as he could be at his forever home (that also has a cat :-) and his "mom" just loves him. What would have happened with him if Deborah wouldn't have convinced me to be a part of his journey? If he would have been at the pound, he probably would have been deemed dangerous and would have never had a chance.

Emily, our current foster, was skin and bones when she came to us. She shivered when we only looked at her. Going for a walk was a scary thing for her. A couple of weeks later, her coat is shiny and she behaves like a puppy her age should do - full of confidence and mischief.

Well, there would be more examples, but there is only so much time :-)

With all the foster dogs we had so far, we were able to witness something like a metamorphosis. We see the dogs change, not just physically, but much more so emotionally and mentally. So, if we would have kept any one of those dogs, we couldn't have taken in the next one after that, or the one after that, etc. That actually would be much harder on me. Now, I get updates on what great lifes our former fosters have and how much they have integrated in the families and that is the best gift in the world. I also think that in some cases it is better for the forever home not to see the "before." It is much harder for us to forget the past than it is for a dog, and if you always feel sorry for the poor little thing that came to you, it is actually more a disservice than a service. Once a dog is happy and knows where it belongs, it doesn't worry about the past anymore!

Maybe something we should try once in a while!

What is the motto of the boy scouts?

The other day I was out on my usual early morning walk. I had Honey and Luca with me on a Flexi-leash (Yeah, yeah I know. They are very bad for obedience). A friend of mine was nice enough to take Emily, our little foster girl, so that I wasn't walking three dogs. It was around 6.15 am and started to dawn. We were walking along, chatting up a storm and suddenly Honey starts barking and takes off in full speed, running towards the street we just had crossed. Did I mention that it was really cold? Like in the low 30's? With her amazing speed and the added leeway of the Flexi-leash she gained so much momentum, that she pulled me around 180 degrees and ripped the leash out of my gloved hand. Feeling like my arm just got torn out of my shoulder and being afraid that she would run into the street, I couldn't help myself and I started yelling. This of course got everyone else excited. Little Miss Emily ran between my legs and I tried not to trip over her. Of course, it had also stirred up Luca and in his excitement he circled around me, wrapping his leash around my legs like butcher twine around the Sunday roast. At that moment I realized that I had lost all my composure and wasn't sure anymore if I should laugh about myself or start to cry. Both options didn't seem too inviting, hence I resorted to get mad. Fortunately, Honey had stopped in her tracks when I yelled at her, but still hadn't stopped barking. I hadn't seen them, but two joggers had come running around the corner with a dog and I guess Honey thought that it was of utmost importance to protect us. At this point I am not only mad but also embarrassed and I am apologizing profusely. I can't help myself but to think that they must hate me. Can you imagine, you are jogging along minding your own business and suddenly a dog comes charging at you????? I finally untangle myself get Honey's leash and everyone involved seems to calm down. However, I am so upset about the whole thing that I have to take a few deep, deep breaths and remind myself that it is actually my own fault. I always advice everybody else to make sure to watch your dog and look out for any signs and BE ALWAYS PREPARED. Apparently, I didn't take my own advice. I guess I had become too comfortable or some may say too cocky!

Hierarchy - it's a dog's way of living

Last Sunday we had a visit from Molly's two brothers Milo & Madden. Their new forever family didn't own a dog in a while and wanted to make sure that the puppies would have the best start possible and become revered family members. As I am watching Milo & Madden romp around, interact with each other, with my dogs and with the family, I am wracking my brain on how I could explain that dogs understand and actually prefer living in a hierarchy. My goal was to come up with an easily comprehensible explanation. I didn't want it to sound like dictatorship is the only way to go, but I also wanted to clearly convey that a dog gets nervous and anxious, if it doesn't know his ranking. I used the expression "dominance" and I realized that it could make a lot of people feel uneasy. Once the family had left, I discussed my dilemma with my husband and he came up with an analogy I really like.

Think about your home like it would be a business with you being the owner and your dog being your employee.

• An employee has to work in order to be compensated -> no freebies. Your dog has to 'earn' his rewards (treats & affection) by either obeying a command or with a behavior you appreciate (i.e. cuddling with you or being quiet when YOU ask him for it).
• An employee can't come in whenever he wants, sits down wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. Usually, employees have designated desks or offices, as well as designated tasks. -> The same is true for your dog. I.e. you decide when the dog needs to lay down, where and for how long. (designated spots are very helpful)
  
• It is expected that an employee has manners, especially when dealing with management. -> That means for your dog no 'talking back' or ignoring you (includes all of your family and friends that come to visit).
• An employee will receive a raise according to his performance. -> Your dog can earn 'privileges' like getting more freedom around the house, free access to his toys or extra cuddling. However, don't forget that 'privileges' can also be taken away again.
  

Although there would be more examples, I believe that these bring the point across I was trying to make. I truly believe that it is easier for a dog to behave as expected, if he has clear guidelines. This way he knows what you want from him and will hopefully strive to make you happy in order to earn treats and privileges.

PS: The dog in the picture is our newest foster dog Emily. She clearly is a supermodel - long legs and skinny as a rail. She is a very sweet puppy and is 14 weeks old. Emily loves nothing more than to cuddle. The moment she is on Juergen's lap she falls asleep and couldn't be any happier. She was supposed to go Chicago, but Carolina PAWS will now try to find her a home in the Charlotte area. Her foster mom in Chicago takes in a lot of puppies and finds them terrific homes. Unfortunately, the last puppy she took in had Parvo and therefore she now can't bring puppies into her house for a while.

You just got a puppy - now what?

Before Molly left last night I tried to think about what I wanted to tell the family regarding puppy training. I quickly realized that there would be too much commotion, because of all the excitement and it just would be too overwhelming. Therefore, I decided to write down some of my thoughts.

First - be prepared and have all the basic needs covered. It is also necessary to allot extra time to the puppy for the first week. It is no different for your family or the puppy, everyone needs to get used to the new situation.

Second - figure out, what your expectations are. Do you want the puppy to be a companion, a therapy dog or a hunting dog? Do you want to participate in a puppy class? Do you want the puppy to be able to come along on family outings? Do you want your puppy to learn cute tricks? Are there certain areas in the house you don't want the puppy to be? ... (While pondering over this, please keep in mind that puppies get older and bigger and annoying behaviors are easier to prevent than to change after the fact.)

Once you know what your expectations are, have a family meeting and discuss the rules with your children. It is important for the whole family to send out the same message. It will be less confusing to the puppy and the puppy will be able to pick up on wanted behaviors much faster.

PS: The puppy in the picture is a Labrador Retriever puppy named Edward. He is 6 weeks old and is looking for a new home. He is listed on www.petfinder.com

Molly

Molly is our latest foster dog and is leaving us tonight to go to her new forever home. However, I just couldn't let her go without bragging about her first. She came to us about 10 days ago and the vet estimated her age at 11 weeks. Within the short time she stayed with us, she showed us that she was not only cute and adorable, but also very intelligent. Molly will go to her new home, with already knowing a good set of basic obedience commands!

She knows sit, down, wait, go potty and "night night" (going to her bed at night).

During her stay with us, she visited a lot of different places and she met a great number of people and dogs alike. Molly is one of the many great dogs I'm grateful to have met over the last years. Many of them have proved, how wonderful a dog can be, no matter where they come from or what their past was.

Molly's departure is bittersweet. I am very thrilled about her new family, they sound like the perfect fit. What else can you want as a puppy, than having a 13-year-old and a 4-year-old boy to play and romp?

Our Family

To the astonishment of my parents and my siblings my husband and I enjoy that our little family consists of two- and four-legged members. Our "babies" only rarely get the chance to just relax and curl up together. Our house sees a lot of coming and going from two- as well as four-legged visitors. Although all three of them think that they are the only ones who deserve our attention, they do accept all the fosters and visitors (however, not without grumbling :-)).

Honey, now 8 years old, came to us as a little puppy. Knowing that Weimaraner have a lot of energy and are very smart, she received obedience training, hunting dog training in Austria and last but surely not least she is a certified therapy dog. Even with her being the "eldest" of our pack, she shows no sign of slowing down. Furthermore, she honestly doesn't think that she is a dog - surely I don't belong outside with these dogs! One look from her can tell you more than a thousand words.

Luna, our 6-year-old American Shorthair, is our "special" child. She loves food more than anything else and visits all the surrounding houses in hope to find an extra snack. She is definitely the most independent member of our family. She holds her ground against visiting children as well as visiting dogs of all sizes and doesn't know the meaning of backing off. One time she stalked a visiting German Sheperd and jumped right in front of him so many times, that we had to lock the cat away - not the dog. Poor 65-lbs.-Drake was trembling.

Luca, has opened up a door to a different world for us. As far as we can tell Luca is a purebred Doberman Pinscher and is circa 5 years old. He is a rather tall boy, with quite an impressive chest. He was found wandering the streets and Carolina PAWS (Pet Adoption and Welfare Society) rescued him. After several months in three different foster homes, he ended up in our house. We had no intention whatsoever to get a second dog - especially not a big dog! Well, we felt sorry for the guy and when we met him in person, we just fell head-over-heels for him 4 years ago. After some difficulties, among them, holes chewed into our walls, Luna being terrified and Honey insanely jealous, we now could not even imagine living without him. He is a gentle giant in the truest sense and has become very popular with everyone we know. Some friends even asked us if they could be put into our will as his guardian, should something happen to us :-)

The adoption of Luca, was the start of a wonderful friendship with Deborah Pandis from Carolina PAWS. With this friendship, we learned a lot about pets in need and ever since then dog rescue has become an important cause in our life.