Blog The Change July 15, 2011

I usually give a lot of thought to my Blog The Change posting, but it's been such a crazy summer, that I haven't thought about it at all!!!  So this is truly from the heart...

When I first started thinking about what I could do to help precipitate change for animals (more than a year ago), I was stumped.  I don't have a lot of money to donate, I don't have a lot of time most days, I don't have a lot of influence, and I just don't have a lot of knowledge about how I can help.  I felt pretty "disposable."  Much like some animals in rescues and shelters must feel.

Than after hearing about the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) C.L.A.S.S. (Canine Life and Social Skills) program for probably a year, it was released this spring.  I was intrigued, but not really thinking it was something I needed to get in to.  I knew it was probably a good program, but I am not much for change sometimes and I'm really not much for change if it means I have to completely rewrite my dog training class curriculum.

But I started reading and I was very interested; then I attended a webinar and I was hooked!  And, I had an idea -- this is a way I can make a change for animals.  In the C.L.A.S.S. program, there is a shelter/rescue component.  And something that is very lacking in our area is training for the dogs in shelters/rescues.

So I took the tests to be an Evaluator, and passed (yay me!), and I continued reading the enormous amount of material they make available to us as Students, Instructors, and Evaluators.  I saw some really wonderful things we could do with not only dogs in shelters/rescues, but also with all dogs.  I love the "life skills" aspect of the program and am excited about the changes that are going to happen in our classes with the addition of this program.

I approached a local rescue group (SPA -- the group we fostered our puppies for) and they liked the idea.  This week we started our first class made up entirely of volunteers training dogs available for adoption!!!!  It was fabulous!!!  The dogs and the volunteers were wonderful and we had an extremely productive first class.  I can't wait to see how the subsequent weeks go!!!

If the dogs all pass their evaluations at the end of the class series, they will all have their "Bachelor's Degree" in the C.L.A.S.S.  program and of course, our hope is that their new "degree" will make them even more adoptable.  My personal hope is that I have found a way to help Be the Change for Animals.

More information is available at www.apdt.com, www.mydoghasclass.com, and www.spaohio.org.

Be the Change For Animals

Blogging the change for animals has become a much-anticipated, much-loved day for me.  I love being encouraged to think about how to affect change for animals through blogs.  Wow!  What a difference the internet world is making for animals!  More people can be involved in making positive changes and in helping animals from their living rooms, family rooms, coffee shops, dorm rooms, smart phones, outer space, at sea, and more...

I have so many thoughts about making changes for animals but I only have so much time and space (darn!).  I decided to share the conclusion of our making a change story.  And it isn't really a conclusion of the story, but the end of one part and the beginning of another.  Gotta love the circle of life!

Last October we were asked to foster a pregnant beagle and her soon-to-be-born litter of puppies.  We agreed and  prepared for the new family's arrival at our house.  On October 20, 2010, the little beagle had a litter of 10 beautiful puppies.  And for the last six months, these puppies have been a huge focus in our lives.  We committed when we agreed to foster these puppies that we would give them the best possible start in life that we could.  We knew they were already at risk being mixed breed puppies of unknown paternal parentage and we wanted to do all we could to help them be solid puppies and find good homes.

(In January, after the puppies were weaned and she had been spayed, Mama Beagle went back to the home of the wonderful lady who originally found her and she is doing well.  She has not been adopted yet, but she is happy, safe, and healthy in her foster home.  If you are interested in knowing more about her, or in adopting her, please contact www.spa-ohio.org.)

In the first days after the puppies were born, while Mama did most of the care, we did a few things to get the puppies headed down the right road.  We followed the "Super Puppy Protocol" of Early Neurological Stimulation and spent time holding and handling the puppies every day.  The puppies were all weighed every day and exposed to lots and lots of different people (who all took off their shoes and washed their hands thoroughly before handling).  Some of the puppies were supplemented with bottles of puppy formula to help keep their weight gain consistent.

Once the puppies were mobile and eating solid food, we introduced the clicker to them and we clicked and treated them for focus and attention and sit.  We continued to have lots of visitors and lots of things going on in the house to enhance their environment.  When they were completely weaned, we moved them out of the whelping pen and into crates to begin crate training and house training.  Their play areas were our gated kitchen and our fenced-in backyard.  This winter, they kept all of us laughing (including our neighbors!) with their antics in the snow, on the swingset, on the picnic table, with each other.

When they had their appropriate immunizations, we started venturing out into the world with them -- they went to class, they went to school, they went in the car, they went to dog shows, they went to hotels, they went to pet stores, they went to the assisted living center, they went to the vet's, they went to church,...they went wherever we could think of to take them.  The puppies we had decided we were keeping were enrolled in several puppy classes and the puppies at home benefited from the new ideas we got at our classes.

Then the adoptions began.  Each and every one is bittersweet.  We love that they are going to wonderful forever homes, but we hate to see them go.  All but two of the puppies have been adopted by people we know so we see them often and are able to continue being a part of their lives.  What a blessing this is!!!

The first to go home was Emmett.  He is with our friend Sandra and her family.  When I asked her to share something about Emmett, she said, "I love how Emmett is always checking on Samson...then lays down beside him."  Samson is one of Sandra's older dogs and he has a seizure disorder.  Emmett has become Samson's guardian angel!

 

Then Emmett and Samson cuddle up together!

Zuko was adopted by our oldest daughter's friend, Stephanie.  Zuko is full of life and a curiosity and he loves to come over to play with his sisters!  He has the fastest, firmest, cutest "down" I have seen in a long time.

Glinda is now "Layla" and she was adopted by a wonderful young family we have known for a long time.  Kristen, the mom, was our babysitter when the girls were little, so we knew what a great home they would give Layla.  Layla has a kitty, two boys, and a girl to play with in addition to seeing her siblings at puppy class.  She is fitting right in and loving having a family of her very own.

 

Sandy and Belle were adopted together by a mother and adult daughter in Michigan.  We don't get to see them, but we hear they are doing very well, growing like weeds, and enjoying both their canine brothers and their human family.  We hope they will come to Ohio next October for a puppy birthday party!

Millie (now "Grace") and Nellie were also adopted together by a friend of ours we have met through dog shows.  Hope is a judge and competitor and while she wasn't looking for two puppies, or even one puppy, she was led to adopt both of these wonderful girls.  We see them frequently and are looking forward to "competing" together when they are all old enough and ready for the ring.  It is always an adventure at Hope's house with two high-energy puppies running around!!!

Synchronized sniffing!

And now there are three left at our house -- our two, Elphie and Dolly, and Cosette (now "Zipporah" or "Zip").  Zip will be going to her forever home in Nebraska next week. Zip has been  adopted by my best friend and her family.  It's a cute story -- her daughter wanted Zip from the time she was born.  At Christmas time, Allie was so determined to adopt her that she was planning on using any money she got for Christmas to pay the adoption fee.  Sadly, it was about this time they lost their elderly Husky, Sheba.  So Kim and Joel set it up to give Zip to the family for Christmas, with delivery to be determined later.  I sent them a collage of pictures with the purple rickrack from around Zip's neck for the kids to open on Christmas.  Initially, Allie was a little confused thinking she was just getting a photo, but then she got it figured out and is eagerly awaiting our arrival next week with Zip.  (I will post photos of Zip and her homecoming soon!)

Zip and Elphie

Dolly

We've come a long way from those puppies in the wagon in front of the Christmas tree and even further from that sad looking, very pregnant beagle.  God willing, we have made a change in at least 11 dogs' lives.  Blessings to all of you as you find ways to make changes in animals' lives -- it only takes one phone call to make a big change.  I know.  It's how we made a change for animals.  And now I'm waiting and anticipating the next opportunity...

I have no doubt you will find a new idea, a new way, and new commitment to helping animals through this blog hop today devoted to being the change.

Blog the Change

After an initiative at a conference last spring, pet bloggers everywhere gather together four times a year to try and elicit a change for animals.  We are trying to build awareness of the many situations and factors that negatively impact the animals in our lives.  It's the old theory that even the longest journey begins with one step.  If we all take just a single step out into trying to even start making a change, all of those steps will combine and be a giant step!  Today is another Blog the Change for Animals day.  Please take a few minutes to read just a few of the blogs and I know you will find something that inspires you.

We have been on a new journey at our house with a rescued mama beagle and her puppies.  It has truly been a labor of love.  To recap quickly, mama was found, already pregnant, wandering in a parking lot.  It was determined she was too far along to do anything except wait for the puppies to be born.  We agreed to foster both mama and the puppies.  Mama had a litter of 10 puppies on October 20, 2010.  We have spent the time ever since taking care of the great big brood of beagle mix puppies.  We currently still have nine of the puppies at our house.  Mama has gone to another foster home where hopefully, she is getting the love and attention she deserves (with all the puppies, it was so hard to find time for her) and she is looking for a forever home.  One lucky puppy has been adopted and he is living the good life with his new forever family.  Another puppy has been adopted, but she will be with us until Easter, when we will deliver her to her new forever home. Another puppy has been adopted by our oldest daughter and we are adding one to our family.  Six more pups are waiting for their perfect forever families.

How does this all change anything?  Hopefully it changed the lives of these 10 puppies and their mama.  Hopefully it will change the lives of the families who adopt them.  Hopefully it will change other lives that the situation has touched.  But the change I truly want to share is to do something now.  Don't wait.  Don't put it off thinking there will be a better time, a better place.  If you have always wanted to be a foster family, just do it.  If you have always wanted to volunteer at a local shelter, just do it.  If you have always wanted to positively affect the lives of animals, just do it.  The time is now.  Putting it off only puts it off.

I don't know about anyone else, but we have very often said we would do something when -- insert excuse -- the kids are older, we have more time/money/energy/etc., we have a different job, we have less work to do, and so on and so on and so on.  If we waited for everything to be perfect, we would never do anything.

We had no plan of going down this road with mama and her puppies.  We certainly had no intention of keeping any of the puppies.  We never planned to put our lives on hold and take care of 10 puppies and their people and attention loving mama.  But we did it because it was what we knew we needed to do regardless of all the reasons why we should not do it.

So, don't wait to Be the Change.  Do it now.  Find a cause, rescue an animal, support an initiative.  Do it whether it makes sense or not.  Do it because you have a passion for it.  Do it because you want nothing more than to make a change that makes just one animal's life better.

For our puppies, we are working with the Society for the Protection of Animals in Fremont, Ohio.  If you are interested in knowing more about them, supporting them, or adopting one of their animals, their website is www.spaohio.org.  They always take donations and they would love your support!  They are currently trying to offset the enormous cost of raising our foster puppies (vet care, food, heartworm preventative, etc.) in addition to their other financial needs.

And if you do get out there and do something as a result of Blog the Change for Animals, please let me know!  I would love to hear how you are Being the Change for Animals!!!

Blog the Change for Animals

Today marks another day to blog the change for animals.  This is a day for animal bloggers to share our thoughts and our blog space regarding helping animals.  I thought a long time about this post.  How can I, with my relatively small number of followers (blog, Twitter, Facebook), make a significant change for animals?  How can I, with my economically affected, somewhat limited income help animals?  How can I, with my own animals, my family, and a small business, find the time to positively influence how animals live?

I came to an epiphany this morning -- none of that matters.  What does matter is my willingness to try, my ability to help even one animal, my perseverance and hope in the indomitable human spirit and our capacity to love and care for others. 

So, my blog the change for animals message is simple and concise -- take that first step.  It doesn't matter if it's a small step, a baby step, or a giant step -- just take it.  Adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue, secure your animals in your vehicle when transporting them and tell your friend to do the same, take a training class, donate a training class for another family adopting a dog, be a dog walker or a lap for kitties for animals without families yet, donate food, litter, toys, blankets, beds -- whatever is needed, donate to the "Never Shock a Puppy" initiative to help buy safe, humane collars for dogs, transport an animal in its journey to a forever home, donate to the breed rescue of your choice, volunteer to write a newsletter article, edit a newsletter, stuff envelopes, or donate a prize for a fundraiser, spend time with children teaching them about safety around animals, kindness to animals, and exemplify being the change not only for animals, but also for children too!  There are infinite ways to be the change -- one is going to work for you, right where you are in your life at this particular moment in time.  So take that first step and start being the change for animals.

A couple weeks ago we received a call that changed our lives.  A local rescue called to tell us about a pregnant beagle that was found wandering in a parking lot.  We have not fostered dogs in the past for a variety of reasons, so the call was not about us fostering her, but about helping them to find a foster home for her and her yet-to-be-born puppies.  It was a call to step out of our comfort zone.  No one knew it at the time, but it was.  It became very clear, very quickly that it was our call to get out of the boat and to do what is good, right, and necessary and be the foster family for this mama beagle and her puppies.  Lucy (formerly known as "Daisy") has been with us a week and will forever be with us in our hearts.  We know she will be adopted to a loving family once her puppies are weaned and we are excited at the prospect of giving them this wonderful, loving dog.  We are impatiently awaiting the arrival of her puppies so we can love them, work with them, and prepare them for lives with their forever families.  We are honored and humbled by all this means not only to us, but especially to the mama and her puppies.  We took that first step -- will you take it with us by finding what you are meant to do to be the change for animals?

Never Shock a Puppy

It's an interesting situation.  You see a perfect dog being handled perfectly without any apparent tools or a leash or a fence or food.  You want to know more -- no, you want your dog to know more!  And you are willing to do what needs to be done to get a dog even half as nice as this dog you are seeing.  So you contact the training facility, talk to the trainer, and get all signed up for classes.  You find out you  have a list of things you need before class starts.  One of the things on the list is a training collar.  You wonder what it is, especially since it's so expensive!  But you want that perfect dog and you did commit to the classes, so you order all of the things the trainer told you to get.  When they arrive, you do as your new trainer told you to do and you pack them up for the first class session.  When you arrive at your first class session, your trainer explains to the class that the way the trainer's dogs have learned so much is with the help of this training collar.  Now it's time to teach your dog the same way.  You put the collar on the way you are instructed -- your dog looking at you a little funny the whole time.  You tell your dog to sit, your dog continues to look at you funny and does not sit.  So your trainer tells you to push a button on the remote device in your hand.  Your dog yelps and hides behind a chair.  So much for class tonight!  Your dog is too upset to work at all.  

Contrast this situation with another class.  The trainers' dogs in this class are just as well-behaved, just as accomplished.  The only extra equipment needed in this class is a small, plastic noisemaker and some treats.  You get to class and the first thing you do with your dog is click the noisemaker and give your dog a treat.  Pretty simple and the dog loves it!  Next your trainer tells you to click the noisemaker and give your dog a treat when she looks you in the eye.  Again, pretty simple and the dog still loves it!  Now we are going to teach our dogs what the word "sit" means.  When your dog sits, click and treat.  Light bulb time!!!  Your dog looks at you and thinks "aha! when I put my behind on the floor after she makes that sound, I get a treat!"

There's an old proverb that says (this is my paraphrase), "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."  Using positive reinforcement clicker training, we are teaching both ourselves and our dogs to fish!  Once we know how to communicate with our dogs AND our dogs know how to communicate with us, think, and learn -- we have set up our dogs to continue learning and growing throughout their entire lives.

That's why we support the initiative to "Never Shock A Puppy."  Through this campaign, monies will be raised to purchase dog-friendly collars and harnesses for dogs in Colorado during their "No Choke Challenge" in November 2010.  But it's not all about the money.  It's about spreading the word that training shouldn't hurt, shouldn't result in a dog hiding behind a chair, or being forced to do something.  It's about telling people that training is about relationship, about building the bond, about learning together.  

I know there are many people who use training collars.  This is not about arguing training methods.  You use yours and I will use mine.  This is about showing dog families that there are ways to train dogs that do not involve force or pain or special equipment.  Will your dog behave the same way with or without his training collar?  If not, then can you truly say your dog is trained?  I have well-trained, social, engaging dogs who have amassed many accomplishments (and will do it all on any collar, harness, or "naked").  Those aren't important here. What I am most proud of is that I have thinking dogs -- dogs who work out problems for themselves, dogs who offer to help in their training by showing me different behaviors, dogs who want to work day after day because it's fun and it's rewarding.  I have been there and done that -- I have trained with training collars and I will never do it again.  The results I see from positive reinforcement clicker training are far too good and my dog's well being is far too precious to ever go back.

If you feel compelled to do so, please support this cause (and not only through donations -- there are lots of ways to help) and Be the Change for Animals!

 

Be the Change and Training Challenge

This week the Nevada Humane Society contacted me and asked me if I would share this very fun video on our blog.  Obviously we said yes! :)  It is a great video -- great job Nevada Humane Society!!!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

The Nevada Humane Society relies solely on donations to provide care for animals. Anyone can make a donation at http://www.nevadahumanesociety.org. They are no kill and have one of the highest county-wide save rates in the nation for homeless dogs and cats.


But being who I am, I got to thinking about the video and how to take it to a different level.  What if people got some friends together who had adopted dogs, did a little positive reinforcement, and put together a similar concept video only with dogs as the stars?!?  What fun would that be?  What a huge statement that would make for dog adoptions and positive reinforcement training!  It would definitely Be a Change for Animals!

If you decide to do this, please post your video and let me know so I can see it!  I am going to start putting some people, dogs, and a location together and see what I can come up with too.  I can't wait to see what everyone does!!!





 

Be the Change for Animals!

Adopt, rescue, support, new leash on life, help, no-kill, shelter, humane society, breed rescue, pound -- so many words that go along with being the change for animals.  So many words, so many meanings, so many people trying to do what they can to save, and make better, animals' lives.  Without all these people and all these words, I am sad to think what would happen to so many animals in so many bad situations. 

All but one of our dogs have been rescues; we rescued one of our house rabbits (many years ago); we currently have two guinea pigs that we rescued (Easter present gone bad!); and we will rescue again.  We rescue because our pets have found us.  It has been very obvious each and every time that this animal was meant to be in our lives.  We recently lost our German Shepherd and as much as I miss him and as much as I want another dog, I know that our next dog will find us in one way, shape, or form.

We take a little bit different path on our journey to be the change for animals.  We are dog trainers.  Our business, and our lives, is helping people improve their relationships with their dogs.  Our goal always is to help people find ways to communicate with their dogs, to find ways to live in sync with each other, and to enjoy the journey they are on with their dogs.  We hope that every client we work with, every dog that those clients have, and other dogs they come into contact with will somehow have their lives made better because of what we have taught and exemplified.

There are many dogs in rescue situations that simply need a different situation.  Maybe a different handler, maybe different food, maybe different boundaries, maybe a different training method -- something needs to change in their lives that will change their lives forever.  We view our role as trainers to be the agents for that change.  So many dogs end up in rescue during their "teenage" time (approximately 6 months to 24 months) -- cute little puppy with endearing habits has turned into giant gawky dog with annoying, maybe dangerous, habits.  And if they don't end up in rescue, they may end up chained to a dog house or confined to a kennel without human contact or let loose hoping that a nice family takes them in, loves them, and takes care of them.  Train, don't complain!  Set boundaries you and your dog can both live with.  Find a good positive reinforcement trainer you like and find a way to take a class.  If you rescue, or work with rescues, recommend training to the people who call you both to surrender dogs and to adopt dogs.  Most issues are related to behavior and can be worked through!  


As a dog trainer, being the change for animals means spreading the word about the benefits of formally training your dog.  If every dog owner took even an hour and learned something new to work on with their dog, a lot more dogs would stay in homes and not be in rescue situations.  If they would spend more time communicating with their dogs, learning with their dogs, enjoying the journey with their dogs, the results would be astronomical!!!

Being the change for animals starts in each of our homes with our own animals.  Today, spend time with your dog, teach her something new, share a new experience -- expand both of your horizons.  And then tell someone about it -- maybe they will do the same and tell someone -- and so on, and so on.  What a difference it will make to our dogs!


Be the Change for Animals Training Tip -- most dog breeds and mixed breeds were bred to work at some job.  Find a job for your dog!  Getting the newspaper, protecting your yard, digging in the sand pit, walking with you, listening to your children read -- whatever job you want to give your dog.  Train what needs to be trained -- a nice down/stay for dogs that will be read to, a reliable coming when called for the newspaper fetcher, polite greetings for the dog who walks in your neighborhood with you.  Then ask your dog to her job and pay her!  When she does her job, reward her -- do you work for free?  Probably not.  Don't expect your dog to work for free!  The best thing about dogs is that their paychecks are easy to pay out -- food, attention, games, love.  You and your dog will both be happier and your lives together will be even better!!!