Natural Dog Training for Shelter Dogs - eye excercise

In January 2012 I started working at the local shelter as an official volunteer. This meant I am not getting their e-mails - and in the first week of January, there was a list in there with dogs needeing special attention - becuase they have been there too long. One of them is Flo.
Of course I am wondering: how do I work with dogs at the shelter ...say, 3-4 times a week - to make any difference?
First, meet Flo - Flo is a now 14 month old pittie mix who come to the shelter with her sister at 10 months of age. Both were strays. No issues, only on her kennel door she has a special sign: strong walker.
After having taken her out 3 times now - I think she is getting that label because she goes nuts when she realizes it is her turn to GET OUT. She is pretty calm when you approach, and she is fairly easily managed outside. However, once she knows it is her turn to get out, like if her kennel door gets opened ....or you go inside...she jumps and jumps and tries to push herself out. No point trying to get her attention (at this time). It is the walk to outside that is a challenge. Once outside ... she is a different dog again, though would love to run and play.
All that energy, wanting to run and play. Not really bonded.

Ok, I had read the Natural dog training book and re-read the loose leash walking sections. I also have been pushing with our rat terrier, so pushing is something I have some experience with. And I have seen good results also with the eye excercise.

First - once I have her outside and walk for a few minutes. I assessed her tolerance for touch, and her name recognition...offer her a few treats when she comes towards me....we spend some time walking and stopping. She is a friendly dog, soft, would love to run and play. The first 2 times the fenced side yard was not available, so I had to make do on the leash.


I decided to do the eye exercise as I saw on a video done by Kevin Behan. Flo "gets" it after the 3 rd time and seems to get better at it, looking at me right away and for longer periods of time, so much so that when she sees i might have a treat in my hand ...she just looks at me. I then try to tempt her and distract her more....but she easily looks at me again. NICE, I really like that exercise. Kevin Behan claims original ownership of it, though it has been incorporated in some form by other trainers.
There is a very good description of it here

I take a piece of treat (in this case chicken) and put it between my thumb and index finger. I eventually alternate which hand, starting with the one that makes it easier for me). I show it and let her smell it., then holt is as far away from me as I can. Flo looks at me pretty quickly and I zing her with it, saying yes....and then [petting her, saying good girl. After 3 times of this...the just looked at me. I periodically repeat the excercise, letting her look longer and longer at me, but still only a few moments. When the treat is bigger and smells good, I just let her smell it, rather that hold it with thimb and finger. It work well. The point of this way is:


The dog learns that it get's to the thing he wants ...the treat ...through the handler. The dog learns to focus on the handler. I really like that you can tell as the dog actually TURN THEIR head towards you and looks AT YOU ...not a treat somewhere by your face or eyes. It is a very different dynamic. Than having a treat in your hand and pointing with it in your face ...the dog looking at the treat. While I also did some minor pushing and name recognition work as well as, on day 3, assessed her ability and willingness to play tug - I really think this is a good exercise for anyone intending to bond with a dog.

This is not to recognize her name. I use another exercise for this.

Helping K9s - Dog training, advocacy and celebration

We have moved to Helping K9s, our website.
We also have an active facebook page Helping K9s,  on dog related issues regarding rescues, training, fun, beauty, latest news and more. We hope to see you there,  where interactions are much easier.
Since the start of this, our choice of dog training has become Natural Dog Training.

Thank you for stopping by, enjoy browsing and please visit us at Helping K9s

Journey to the Heart of the Dog

I found this workshop description online - for a workshop in October 2009 and again in March 2010  Love it.
Sorry you missed it - Me too :)

But check out the website Natural Dog Training  - there is lots of info there, enough to keep you busy for days.

Journey to the Heart of the Dog  - Retreat Weekend

The connection between dogs and human beings is far more profound than ever imagined. The only animal to integrate themselves into every aspect of human existence, dogs know us “by heart.” Learn what bonds humans and dogs and each dog to its owner. Thinking is what separates our two species; feelings are what we have in common. Explore why dogs do what they do, why we think about them the way we do, and how to understand a dog by learning to see “by feel.”
Traditionally the idea of heart has been a romantic notion, a wonderful sentiment, an apt metaphor, but dogs are here to show us that heart is tangible, material, and down to earth. It is a faculty of intelligence by which animals adapt to their surroundings and by which emotional energy is communicated from individual to individual, even across the species divide. The most amazing example of this is the dog-human emotional bond.
This is not a workshop about obedience. Before you set out to train a dog, you need to know how a dog’s energy works. You can establish amazing rapport once you learn how to work with his or her energy, instead of fighting against it.
Much of the time we will be outside observing dogs in nature and exploring Kevin’s way of knowing dogs. There is only room for a limited number of dogs, so you are welcome without your dog. Or if you’re thinking about getting a dog, come to this retreat first. If two people come together, they each get a 10% discount. Even if your dog stays home, you and your dog will be glad you came. Dogs want to be understood.

Dogs - our other self

Dogs are our reflection in more ways than 1.

This is a recent facebook post of mine:

deep, still sigh this evening as i contemplate what we have been doing to dogs in our society. what is really going on that in recent years dogs are starting to get treated with psychiatric medication? -- dogs - the most open, joyful, playful, social and cooperative beings on earth-land.

there is simply something wrong with that picture ....

According to The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), an Estimated 93 million US Dogs and Cats are Overweight or Obese. That means that over half the nation’s dogs and cats are now overweight. This cost pets years of their lives and owners millions of dollars.
APOP reports the following as the primary risks of excess weight in pets:

• Osteoarthritis
• Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Heart and Respiratory Disease
• Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury
• Kidney Disease
• Many Forms of Cancer
• Decreased life expectancy (up to 2.5 years)

Dogs are our mirrors in more ways than one.

Microchipping a dog - why because it can save your dog's life

Why you should microchip – a husky face in Lancaster CA shelter

Posted on August 2, 2011

This is a face of someone – and yes, I used that word deliberately -  in a very high kill shelter in Lancaster, CA, LA County.

The faces of some of those impounded there are on facebook – it breaks my heart how many get killed, and how many just needed another day or 2 to arrange for rescue. I think if I lived around there, I would not even have my own dog, just become a puller.
In any case, after a few days, they finally scanned this absolutely gorgeous girl. Tags can fall off but she is microchipped – GIVING HER MORE DAYS – and a second chance at life – even if the owner is not found. I vote for microchipping – and keeping your info updated. Microchipped dogs have a much higher chance of being reunited with their owners – and it buys them time at shelters.
Lost pets that are not microchipped have only a 13 percent chance of being reunited with their owners. When they have microchips they have a 74 percent chance of going back home. California legislators are considering a law that will require every cat or dog adopted at an animal shelter to be implanted with a lifesaving microchip.
Impound Number: A4316171
Mail to a friend
This is what someone said about her
really sweet girl…in with a golden retriever so dog friendly…smaller husky…just love her
Impound Date:
7/25/2011 10:37:08 PM
Sex
Female
Primary Breed:
SIBERIAN HUSKY
Age:
6 Years and 0 Months
Location:
Lancaster

Laurie Hoskins What the heck..the CTA didn’t show up–that’s a question not a definitive statement–the CTA was supposed to come TODAY AUGUST 1ST and she’s still listed!! Please keep cross posting her and find her a way out of there!! Rhonda Hallden –have you heard anything on this girl? M Saving Alife ..it doesn’t look like the CTA showed up!!!
15 hours ago · Like

posted on her thread today: Ok everyone take a deep breath UPDATE! Shelter people are complete imbacils! CTA canceld but guess what?.. A week later turns out the dog has microchip, really?.. Heloooo! So the dog is on hold till July 12th now. Great, what a waste of time. Do these people get paid $2 an hour and just dont wanna do anything or what is it? I have no comment here… duuuh…
6 hours ago · Like

Felicia Wilkey Grrr! Ok, since she’s microchipped, has the shelter bothered to call the owner?!? I can only hope that the owners are beside themselves trying to find her. Otherwise, well, I won’t even go there.
4 hours ago · Like

Felicia Wilkey I’m thinking July was a typo and should be August.
4 hours ago · Like

She is in this album
If there was identifying info like a chip or tag, they have to hold the animal for 10 BUSINESS DAYS. If she came in on the 25th with either, “10 days” would be 8/5 – no surgeries on weekends, so available 8/8.
This is her impound picture

On microchipping (from various sources on the www.)
Microchipping your cat or dog is the best way to ensure you have every chance of being reunited should they go missing.
The size of a grain of rice, the microchip is inserted under the animals skin between the shoulder blades and can be easily detected with a special scanning device. These devices are kept at vets and rescue shelters and will detect the chip and it’s unique identification code.
The national microchip database can then be checked and a quick telephone call can reunite owner and pet.
Microchip. Microchipping involves the injection of a tiny chip (about the size of a grain of rice) just under your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. For those who are skeptical of microchips, here is a little information that may put your mind at ease. The microchip is housed in a type of glass made to be compatible with living tissue, so it won’t affect your pet adversely.
The process of inserting a microchip is similar to when your pet receives a shot and no anesthesia is necessary for implantation. Once in place, the microchip can be detected immediately by shelter staff with a handheld device that uses radio waves to read the chip. This device scans the microchip, and then displays a unique alphanumeric code that will be entered into a database with your information. Most animal shelters check every stray pet that comes through their doors to see if they have a microchip. If a microchip is found, the shelter contacts the database to find your information. Microchips are said to last 20 years, so there is no need to remove or replace it in the duration of a pet’s lifetime.
Although microchipping seems to be catching on, according to the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families, less than 5 percent of all pets are microchipped. Although microchips are a lifesaver, don’t rely on it as your pet’s only means of identification. While your local shelter may have a microchip scanner, your neighbor most likely doesn’t, so a collar with an identification tag is a great addition to the microchip.
It uses a “radio frequency” that allows a special scanner to read a number that is identified with a specific pet.
Opponents of the bill say that chips move around on a dog’s body and cannot always be detected. And some accuse microchips of causing tumors and cancer.
Supporters acknowledge that chips can “migrate on an active dog,” but can be found; …”it just means scanning a wider swath.” The AP also interviewed four veterinarians about microchips causing cancer and all of them stressed that “problems are unlikely when chips are inserted properly.”
Lawmakers are optimistic SB 702 will pass in mid-August.

What is a therapy dog -an introduction

An introduction to therapy dogs

Posted on July 25, 2011

A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide company, affection or comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes or nursing homes. The establishment of a systematic approach to the use of therapy dogs is attributed to Elaine Smith, an American who worked as a registered nurse in England. Smith noticed how well patients responded to visits by a certain chaplain and his canine companion, a golden retriever. Back in the USA in 1975,  Smith started a program for training dogs to visit institutions. Working with therapy dogs is also called  Animal Enhanced Therapy, Animal Assisted Activity and Animal Assisted Therapy.

This is a picture of Smoky, a Yorkshire terrier, the world’s first known therapy dog – and war dog in WWII. The stories are fascinating. Today the effectiveness of dogs for veterans with PTSD is well established.

In order be suitable to be a therapy dog, the canine must enjoy human contact, not mind being petted or hugged in different ways, must be friendly, patient, confident and gentle. Walking on different surface, sudden loud noises, strange sights, peeping machines, wheelchairs, commotion or crisis situations should not get him upset or cause to react negatively. He must react appropriately with other dogs or animals, walk well on leash, come when called, sit and stay when asked to do so and tolerate being lifted.
Therapy Dogs are chosen first for their  temperament and are then highly trained. They actually want to do this, they have a disposition towards this kind of work. They are tested and certified for suitability for therapy work. First they have to pass the AKC Good Citizen test and then the added requirements for therapy dogs. Once a dog passes the therapy dog test, he/she is then registered and officially a therapy dog. The service as a therapy dog is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your dog.

Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. It is the temperament and training that matters. In recent years, therapy dogs have been enlisted to help children overcome speech and emotional disorders. Therapy dogs can also do this schools, for people with learning difficulties or generally can be used in stressful situations, even as disaster areas.

Volunteering with a therapy dog is one of most rewarding services you and your dog can offer.  These special dogs seem to instinctively know what a person needs. They bring a smile to their faces or a light  to their eyes. The ability to touch a gentle dog  can have quite a healing and soothing effect. It has been documented that interaction with pets can help reduce a person’s pain and improve his or her well being, as well as lower blood pressure, promote relaxation, relieve agitation, anxiety and stress, and improve communication. To patients, they are a welcome change from hospital routine, from infirmity, and loneliness or depression. Their faces literally light up. There is such joy – and rather then remember the pain, they remember the dog that came to visit.Therapy dogs make it easier for patients to talk, to remember past experiences and share common ties. Physically, the dog encourages patients to stretch, move and relate to others.

While not all dog or handlers find it suitable to work in hospice, The sight of a dog and the touch of its fur often brings peace and joy to those patients whose life once included animals. Physical contact has a calming effect and dogs have the ability to bring back pleasant memories of a person’s life.
“While working with a hospice program, dogs learn to be able to sense the process an individual goes through with death. Signs may include a change in breathing, restlessness or possible disorientation. In addition to the patient, dogs and handlers often have the ability to comfort family members including children. Handlers must recognize if it’s appropriate to stay or excuse themselves when the end is near. There are times when the family may request that the therapy dog lay by the end of the bed during the patient’s final moments of life. This might be because the patient loved dogs and the sight of the dog brings a sense of normalcy for not only the patient but the family as well.”
from Therapy Dogs International (TDI^®), founded in 1976 by Elaine Smith.

A therapy dog is NOT a service dog who stays with his owner (patient) and is trained to provide a certain service. Service dogs enjoy certain legal rights, such as access to restaurants, therapy dogs do not. Both kinds of dogs live a life of service.
Germs and therapy dogs: A side note from Infectious Disease: (May 8, 2009) —  University of Guelph in Canada researchers investigated whether MRSA and C.difficile could be passed between pet therapy dogs and patients. The findings suggested that MRSA and C. difficile may have been transferred to the fur and paws of these canine visitors through patients handling or kissing the dogs, or through exposure to a contaminated healthcare environment. the conclusion of the study: The authors conclude that in order to contain the transmission of pathogens through contact with pet therapy animals, all patients and handlers should follow recommended hand sanitation procedures.

At age 19 years and 6 months, Baxter eased peacefully from his life on October 16th, 2009.

Pure Gold Rescue Angel Monthly Shelter Animal Fundraiser

Benefiting a no-kill shelter or non profit rescue organization


Our first month's beneficiary is  Sammie's Friends in Grass Valley, California
After weeks of wondering and many tears, there came a brand new idea this evening to help dogs and other animals in no-kill shelters across the country:
"Pure Gold Rescue Angel" Monthly Fundraiser to benefit a non profit no-kill shelter or rescue each month.

Please consider benefiting the no-kill non-profit shelter Sammie's Friends
with the Pure Gold  Rescue Angel.
It has triple benefit - helping animals in need - in these times of financial uncertainty, why not get Gold - and getting to wear a beautiful piece of jewelry.

These Angel images are handcrafted onto a quarter size 24 K pure gold token and contained in a beautiful, hand braided 14 K rope bezel, protected in crystals. Magical and with intrinsic value and not your everyday item, wear it with pride and knowing you have helped animals in need - and eased the worries of rescue workers just a little bit.

Certified .999 gold, as I photographed it in the setting sun - the magic of the gold sparked this idea. It is worth a try at least. Only those who never try are guaranteed to fail.
Every single penny above my cost will go to  Sammie's friends, the designated animal rescue shelter this month.
The quarter size 24 K Gold token is beautifully engraved with the image of an angel and comes in a 14 K gold hand braided bezel.
Your donation above the value of the gold and gold angel art is tax deductible and you will receive a statement at the end of the year.

If you would like to get a Pure Gold Rescue Angel, please contact me through this blog until I have figured out the payment logistics.
How good can a it get get? A Beautiful Piece of Jewelry -  Pure Gold -  and you have Helped Animals in need!
Be a rescue angel and wear it with pride.
Imagine you are wearing your gold rescue angel and people you meet start commenting and asking about it - what a great way for you have to tell the story of dogs, their plight and your love for them and how this is helping rescues and shelters and you can tell them "I got it at helpingK9s.com". Any yes, it is pure gold. And yes, you are wearing it as a rescue angel and they they too can become one.

You never know who you meet. Everyone can add their voice.



Again this month's beneficiary is
Sammie's Friends of Grass Valley.

Please check them out here:  
Sammie's Friends. It is a very fun website!!!
They work tirelessly for all kinds of animals in need. They need help.
Beloved Skye came from there. 

Skye,  a dog in my life who was the key to a door in my heart.
My heart since then has been broken many times, tears been shed in agony and disbelief - and ever since I have become aware of the plight of literally MILLIONS of dogs each year, I have wondered what I can do to help. This blog in a mini step in that direction, getting the word out to those around me, volunteering, in whatever small way possible at a local shelter and today, this idea of a monthly fundraiser with the help of these Pure Gold Rescue Angels.

For the Love of Skye

It was through going on the internet for helping some folks to raise a 1 y old pup from a shelter that I came across the many videos and postings regarding the plight of dogs and the neglect and cruelty done to them and other animals in our society and this world. My heart was broken over and over - and it is with deep gratitude to have had her in my life that I find myself doing all what I can to help. Help can come in many ways, just as love.
Different ways to help for different kinds of people.

This is one of the things I wrote about Skye.

♥ She IS Art - sculpted and painted by nature and imbued with a big spirit by creation itself.
She IS Art - no point really trying to describe it - she is a delight to behold....beautiful, present, playful, regal, happy, alert, with such elegance in movement, with determination & focus, loyalty in doing her job - independent yet open to adjustment & contact - slowly giving her trust and turning into a love bug.
she raises your spirits with her magnificent presence just being who she is from her essence...a transmitter of divine vibration.
maybe there are other dogs like this - maybe there is one such special dog for everyone that can have such an effect on someone. maybe i was just ready to see, maybe she really is that special, maybe it was reawakening past live connection. who knows...
...wish you could have seen her fly through the meadow, studying a situation, try to play with a cow, or teach stormy how to play or wag her tail or....
may you be blessed with an encounter such as this so when you hear someone say "it's just a dog" or "just a drum" or "just a promise" or "just a weed" - you know that they "just don't understand". not yet anyway...you've got to be open to the magic, willing to go through the portal into a different world, be amazed, accept what you find there, give it your full attention...allow your heart to be broken once again....humbled, still and awed - and be changed - ART.