Rescue dogs

I work very closely with some rescue dogs and the aftermath of people rescuing a dog, and not knowing what to do.

We'll let me tell you, if you are rescuing a dog or maybe have already rescued one but haven't brought him home yet, this is what I suggest people are doing wrong. Sometimes you will rescue a dog and you want him to meet everyone, this is a bad idea and here's why. The rescue dog is already under a lot of stress, and then you pick him up, plop him in a truck, take a drive to a busy pet store to buy things because you weren't prepared in the first place, and that dog then gets overwhelmed, and starts growling. I have seen people even go as far as correcting the growling, but the dog can't help it, he has no trust in you, and the next thing you know a kid runs by while your In the pet store and that's a recipe for a bite to happen. 

Dogs that are under that much stress should be given time to warm up. Depending on the dog it could take 2 weeks to a month to do this. You need to think about the dog and his emotional state. Is he afraid of being in the car, or maybe he's shy of people. Dogs under stress are like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. 

So how do you do this, well that's a good question I personally take a rescue dog home and bond with him, I usually don't do to much Exercise because dogs will sleep off stress, if you need to buy things for him, go by yourself or leave him in the truck. He doesn't need the added stress of people trying to coddle him. I usually suggest, keeping people away from the dog for at least a month, this give you time to share the rules, do some training with him, and create a bond where the dog starts to trust that you will protect him, this usually mean no visitors either. If you still think I'm crazy, think about what happens to you after a stressful day at work, then you come home, you need to cook dinner, your husband is asking you a million questions, and then you realize that you need to go the grocery store before you can relax, well then some lady at the grocery store is rude to you, what do you think will happen? Yes you are probably likely to snap. Well the same goes for does, there is only so much they can handle. By keeping your dog out of stressful situations when you first bring him home, you will have a better relationship, there will be less chance of that dog developing reactivity, and any sort of fear, because you pushed him into a situation that he wasn't comfortable in.

I personally have experience doing it both ways, when I first adopted my rescue dog, I took her to my moms house, introduced her to two people and 3 dogs. I continued to push people on her after that, because i didn't know any better, now we have been doing lots of extra work for a problem I created in the first place. I also recommend just letting the dog do its own thing, and not pushing it to interact with you, but just patiently waiting and giving food if he does come near you. This way the dog will have the best chance possible.

That's all for now, share your stories of rescue dogs in the comments below.

Pet Blogger Challenge 2014

1.How long have you been blogging? Please tell us why you started blogging, and, for anyone stopping by for the first time, give us a quick description of what your blog is about.

I have been blogging for 3 years, but this is my first dog training blog, so I’m just starting.  It’s about my dogs, training and anything else I can think of, also as my journey into the world of dog training and behavior

2. Name one thing about your blog, or one blogging goal that you accomplished during 2013, that made you most proud.

3. When you look at the post you wrote for last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge, or just think back over the past year, what about blogging has changed the most for you?

4. What lessons have you learned this year – from other blogs, or through your own experience – that could help us all with our own sites?

Just start writing what ever you want and the post usually falls in line. I have started posts and ended up writing 3, just reflect and write.

If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one challenge you’re having with your blog, what would it be?

I would like to know what people would like to see most in a blog, like content or other.

5. What have you found to be the best ways to bring more traffic to your blog, other than by writing great content?

Blog hops, and challenges, also pictures, and sometimes facebook, also linking up to your favorite blogs

6. How much time to do you spend publicizing your blog, and do you think you should spend more or less in the coming year?

7. How do you gauge whether or not what you’re writing is appealing to your audience?

I just try to write what I feel is important and change it up as much as possible.

How do you know when it’s time to let go of a feature or theme that you’ve been writing about for a while?

8. When you’re visiting other blogs, what inspires you to comment on a post rather than just reading and moving on?

The article itself, if I have something I can say about it then I will

9. Do you do product reviews and/or giveaways?

I’m going to try to do that yes.

If so, what do you find works best, and what doesn’t work at all?

If not, is this something you’d like to do more of? What hurdle is getting in your way?

10. When writer’s block strikes and you’re feeling dog-tired, how do you recharge?

If I feel writers block maybe I will take some time to work with my dogs, nothing gets you writing like trying and failing, or trying and not failing. My dogs help over come the roadblock like they overcome training challenges

11. Have you ever taken a break from your blog? How did that go?

I took a break from my previous blog, and its been 8 months since I posted. So this is going to be my true blog.

Have you ever thought about quitting your blog altogether? What makes you stay?

I had quit other blogs, because I had nothing to say about those topics anymore or I got busy. This blog is on a subject im passionate about so I probably wont quit

12. What goals do you have for your blog in 2014?

I hope to get to post a lot, and grow it. I at least want to post twice a week minimum, so hopefully I can meet those goals

Wordless Wednesday

My Crossover Journey

This is something, that isn't really out there but I'm going to post it anyways. 

I recently made the change for both me and my dog, to become a positive trainer or clicker trainer. It was only maybe 4 months ago that I made the change. Why did I change that's the big question. I made my first step when I was gifted a freedom harness, now I know that's probably not what you were hoping for. You probably expect me to say I changed because I wanted to be nicer to my dog and all that, we'll I did want to do all those things, it was mainly because of that one gift, I seen a difference in my dog the day I took the prong collar off and put on the harness. Now before I go on, I should say that I have seen many dogs with prong collars and I didn't see anything wrong, but since stepping into the positive world, I am noticing all the subtle signs a dog is uncomfortable. 

Anyways, here I was with this harness I put it on my dog and decided to a test drive, now Mind you I'm used to my dog obediently walking beside me(not of her own free will, I know that now), and I really wasn't prepared for what happened my sweet puppy took off like the Tasmanian devil (which she still does). She had this life to her I had never seen before, she was sniffing every bush she so desperately wanted to before but couldn't for fear of consequences, she was rolling in the grass and pulling my arm off, for the first time in a while I enjoyed seeing her like that. She was actually happy, and that's when I decided I was going to change, now like most people who quit a way of life I held on to prongs for fear I may need them, which from time to time I have, but I have fought off the thoughts by the happiness In my dog, yes she still pulls like a maniac on leash, but we're working on that. does she bark at strangers passing? You bet she does. Does she still pull and get excited when we see other dogs? Yes of course. These were all just symptoms, that I had covered up with the prong collar, which i admit were still there, but we will work all those out to.

Switching to clicker training was the best thing I did, and here's why:

1. I made my dog happy to go places with me 

2. She listens because She WANTS too, not because she has to.

3. It has given me a new outlook on life. 

4. I have more patience, both for my new puppy, and my toddler. 

5. It allowed me to better read my dogs body language and others because I'm not blinded. 

6. I know my puppy won't have bad experiences ever.

7. I don't come home to a dog who cowers or doesn't greet me, she is actually happy I come back. 

8. She has become the best companion ever, even with all her issues.

9. It allowed me to see the dog she really was, not what I wanted her to be. 

10. It allows me to accept her and all the future failures we will have.

So there you have it. This is my journey to the right frame of mind. So do your dogs a solid, and give them everything you possibly can. It's also train your dog month, so break out those clickers and give it a try this month, see if you will be as happy as I am. 

My confession: I know my dog isn't perfect, even though I'm a trainer, that's what makes her interesting, the possibilities, I wouldn't trade her for the most best behaved dog in the world, because half the fun is the challenge in getting her there. 

Puppies

So for the first post on my blog, I'm just going to jump right in. 

Puppies can be challenging, they frustrate you at times, and sometimes you just want to yell at them (but you don't cause there so darn cute). I have a confession, I recently took on a puppy, and it has been 2 or 3 weeks since I brought him home. The first week was great, puppy laid in his kennel and slept most of that week, we started on the potty training, and he got 5 to 10 minutes after pottying to play with my adult dog, which she loves puppies, I was skeptical about it, but it actually has gone way better then when I added an adult dog to the house. Anyways, where was I, yes the first week was easy, I tried to do everything right, keeping him kenneled so we didn't have accidents in the house, which we didn't, he wasn't even being puppy like, there was no biting or barking and I thought I had got lucky, with a smart little doggy. 

Well anyone who has ever owned a puppy, knows that dogs don't come preprogrammed like that, and as luck would have it, week 2 came around and I had my hands FULL. He was full of energy, but he learned to settle easily, he was biting and nipping, and he no longer wanted to just lie in my lap when I watched a movie. This is about the time, I took him for short little walks to get him used to being on a leash, and he was a little scared but some "good boys" and treats did the trick, and we were able to walk the block in front of my house. I took this little bit of time as well to start imprinting on him, loose leash walking and walking with me. As you will come to learn later my adult dog is a challenge, and this puppy I want to be just right. 

Puppies have a way of either bringing out the best in adult dogs or the worst. In my case both! My adult dog follows his lead when getting in to trouble, but she also helps give him confidence in new areas where she is really confident, like walking on a leash, just bringing her out with us helped show him what he is supposed to do, from now on I will walk them separately when I do walk them, as I don’t want him picking up her bad habits.

Puppies are cute and adorable, but they are a lot of work, with a toddler in the house, and me being a dog trainer I can handle it, with relative ease, but it definitely isn’t easy, we have had our fair share of mischief and a few accidents here and there with puppy curiosity, like him wanting to see what’s in the cup so he knocks it off the table, but it is all fun. Especially with a fun dog like my ten-week-old puppy, we still have a long way to go.