The Good * The Bad * The Ugly

The Good

Last week I received great updates on a couple of former foster dogs and A New Leash on Life graduates. They are doing well in their new homes and the parents couldn't be any happier.

The Bad

Sometimes you have to walk away from a dog you see at the shelter, due to lack of resources. (no foster home available, no money available for medical treatments, ...) In those cases, I always hope that somebody else is able to rescue that dog.

The Ugly

Today is an ugly day. We have a dog that can't be trusted anymore. An incident happened Monday evening and he displayed determination and unwillingness to back off from his aggressive behavior. His foster mom (a dog trainer as well) and I went through the event over and over again and decided very heavy-hearted that we couldn't adopt him out to anybody with a good conscience. As we can't figure out the triggers, he is now a ticking time bomb. The worst part is that he could be fine for a week, a month or for a couple of years. We recommended that the best thing to do would be to humanely euthanize him. We didn't want to bring him to the shelter, where he probably would be put down and he would be alone. I got all my courage together and told his foster mom that I would come along Tuesday afternoon. As with any organization, rescue group, ... there is politics. Politics in this case meant that Ivan's fate was still the same, but was delayed by two days. So instead of Tuesday afternoon, his appointment is now this afternoon at 5pm.

I thought I couldn't feel any crappier - but I can. It certainly doesn't help that he is a gorgeous young animal that is physically perfectly healthy. This morning I went over to his foster mom's as we get together on a weekly basis to work with our own dogs and the fosters. And there he was!!!! Looking happy and being nice!!!! For nothing in the world would I have been able to go over to him. I felt like a Judas - how could I possibly kiss him, when I will be one of them who will accompany him to his death bed?!?!?!?!? Just don't ask me how his foster mom is able to stand it!

Immediately when I came home, I started lighting white candles for him and will light a couple new ones when I will leave to go to the vet - hopefully he will have a good passing.

Ivan - R.I.P.

Quote from Caesar Millan

"Improving your dog's behavior is like staying on a diet. You only see results if you stick with it for a LONG time."

A friend sent me this quote recently. I had always compared it with raising children, but I think I will use Caesar Millan's quote more often in the future. :)

Good and quickly seldom meet

When we finally agreed to meet a dog that was in need of a new home, we liked that he was nearly a year old. We didn’t want to deal with puppy training, and I have to admit I felt bad for him. We already envisioned walking with our dogs to the coffee shop, playing fetch with them, both of them having a companion to play and run, etc. We should have known better - the mixture of anticipation and excitement can be quite deceiving! Welcoming any new dog, puppy or adult, turns everyone’s life upside-down.
We did end up having to deal with puppy ‘stuff’! Of course, it went by faster than it would have with a younger puppy, nevertheless at times I questioned (tearfully) our decision. I had something like buyer’s remorse. We did overcome that obstacle once we stopped babying him and feeling sorry for him. We explained to him the rules of our house and that there were no freebies. As he is not paying our mortgage he has to earn his treats, our affection, privileges (e.g. freedom around the house) and food with good behavior. Besides the mental part we also provided him with plenty of exercise – as we all know, a tired dog is a good dog. At last, everyone is happy!

Guess how much a dog from "prison" knows!

Last Friday, the third group of Carolina P.A.W.S. dogs graduated from the New Leash on Life program. It was an interesting group - Aiko, a white Schnauzer; Camden, a German Shepherd mix; Jillian, a Great Pyrenees and Toby, a Pomeranian mix.

To follow up I sent out an email to the new owners listing everything their dogs had learned while they were in "prison." Wow, I was genuinely surprised once I saw in black and white how much they had achieved in eight weeks!

Your dogs were taught the following commands on and off-lead (advanced):
Sit
Down
Heel (Walk)
Come
Stay (with and without distraction)
Leave it
Go to (send the dog to another person – needs to be reinforced for every new person)
Down (with dropping the leash and you continue to walk)

We also practiced the emergency drop – this is truly advanced obedience and they still need some work on it
[Emergency drop – call your dog from a distance and when they are about halfway you tell them to stop and lay down. This command is supposed to save your dog should he be running towards a street]

Wiping Paws:
One of the routines my dogs are used to and I think is something every dog should know is wiping their paws. Your dogs were taught to stand still and have their paws wiped.

Jump:
Heaving a dog into a car can be a pain. Your dogs know the jump command – pat the place where you want them to jump up and tell them “jump”

Crating:
Your dogs are perfectly fine being crated when you are gone or overnight.

In regards to agility they learned to navigate the following obstacles:
A-frame
Tire jump
See-saw
(We are hoping to get more agility equipment soon – I’m working on finding used equipment to save some money)

Different parlor tricks

Impressive - isn't it?