Archive: June 13, 2022

Why I Don’t use the phrase ‘Forever Home’

dog shelters and rescue groups put too much emphasis on finding “forever homes.”A “forever home” means the dog will live with that same family for the rest of her life.

The dog will never be surrendered to a shelter, re-homed or abandoned.

Yes, this sounds great. Ideally, every dog would be loved by the same family all her life in a “forever home.”

But this is not reality.

Circumstances change; sometimes finding a new family is best for the dog.

Three reasons why I don’t use the phrase ‘forever home’:

1. circumstances change. Re-homing a pet is sometimes the best choice, even if you love your dog very much. Re-homing a dog does not make someone a bad dog owner.

2. The phrase can be hurtful. sometimes people love their dogs very much but can’t keep them for whatever reason.

3. Dogs don’t truly need forever homes. most dogs actually adapt quite easily to new families. in that sense, “forever home” is designed around people – to make us feel good about ourselves. It’s not necessarily in the best interest of the dogs.

I am forever grateful for my dog Ace’s previous owner in Ada, Minn.

She did not provide “Junior” with a forever home. Instead, she gave him a solid start in life and then helped him find a different one with me.

My dog knew nothing but love, consistency and safety throughout his 12 years, in part because of his previous owner.

I hope she has gone out and gotten a new dog since then, if her circumstances are right for it now.

I am lucky to have a stable life with a support system – my husband, parents, siblings and good friends. I have steady work and good health. I can afford the things I need, and I live in a nice community.

I’m lucky I have never had to consider re-homing any of my animals, except for a dog I tried to adopt last year who ended up not working out. She was able to go back to her breeder and has a terrific life there.

It’s ok if you don’t provide a ‘forever home’

I would love for every dog and cat to have a “forever home.”

However, if every dog or cat is loved and given the care she needs, then that works too. sometimes that means staying in the same home forever. sometimes that means living in two or three different homes; that’s ok too.

There’s a stigma that if you don’t keep your pet “forever” and you “dump” him at a shelter you are a bad person – unworthy of loving a dog, even.

It’s common practice for rescue groups to reject people from adopting if they admit to re-homing an animal in the past, regardless of circumstances. This is not valuable for the dogs in need of homes today. It’s not valuable for the people can provide a good home today.

Yes, sometimes people truly do abandon their pets for unfair or selfish reasons. A small percentage of people do bad things. We will never be able to change that.

But it’s far more common for people to re-home their pets responsibly by finding them new homes themselves or by working with the right shelter or rescue group when needed.

We can’t criticize people for doing the right thing.

Rather than finding a dog a forever home, let’s find her a TODAY home.

Let’s offer support when needed to keep pets and families together longer and to find new homes when appropriate. This could be as simple as donating a bag of dog food to a pet food bank or volunteering at a low-cost vaccination event. It could mean supporting budget-friendly dog training classes or donating to a low-cost spay/neuter clinic.

Da sunt de acord. forever homes are great.

But loving our animals, doing the best we can and adapting to current circumstances – that is reality.

What’s your take on this?

Have you ever re-homed a pet or known someone who has?

Let me know in the comments if you would consider dropping the phrase “forever home.”

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Postări asemănatoare:

Surrendering your dog to a shelter

Re-homing a dog doesn’t make someone a bad dog owner

Why do people give up their pets when they move?

How to instruct Your canine to Shake

So far, my new rescue pup Wally & I have focused on practicing basic obedience commands like “sit,” “down,” “stay,” and “come,” but we hadn’t started working on any tricks yet.

I figured one of the simpler tricks to instruct would be something involving his paws because he already likes lifting and crossing them. So we spent the last 4 weeks focusing on the “shake” trick.

Note that when I say “the last 4 weeks” I imply that we practiced 4-5 times per day for about 2-3 minutes per session, so we took it very easy and did not have a deadline by which Wally needed to have the “shake” trick down pat.

We’ve made a good amount of progress with this trick and are at the point where he will shake my hand reliably in exchange for a treat. My hope is that he will be able to carry out the behavior with or without treats within another 4 weeks.

How to Train Your canine to Shake A Paw

Here’s the training method I took:

4 easy steps to instruct your canine the shake trick

1. Ask your canine to sit while you hold a treat in your closed hand.

2. show the hand with the treat to your dog.

3. encourage your canine to paw at your treat hand.

If your canine paws at your hand with the treat, say “yes” or use a clicker to mark the behavior. then open that hand and let him have the treat. Shake your dog’s paw with your other hand. say “shake” or “paw” or whatever word you want your canine to associate with that behavior.

4. If your canine doesn’t paw at your hand best away, you’ll have to find a different way of getting him to lift his paw.

You could tickle him behind his paw and then reward him with a treat as soon as he lifts his paw up just a little.

Wally & I demonstrate this in the video I posted on Instagram.

This training method of gratifying small steps on the way of performing a certain behavior is called shaping.

Don’t forget to praise your canine for a job well done!

Another way to instruct your canine to shake hands

You can also take a slightly different training method by using a behavior your canine already performs in your favor.

Some dogs like to use their paws and will lift them up without being asked. As discussed above, Wally does this sometimes.

When your canine lifts a paw, simply take their paw with one hand while saying “yes” or clicking, then add “shake” while giving him a high value treat. This training method is called behavior capture.

It’s optimal to have several short training sessions throughout the day and to repeat the exercise about 5 times per session.

What you don’t want to repeat though is the command itself because you’ll want your canine to listen the first time you say it. I learned that important lesson when reading Patricia McConnell’s book The other end of The Leash several years ago.

Why teaching your canine the shake command is helpful

There are several benefits to teaching your canine the “shake” trick. Besides being fun and relatively quick to teach, it’s good for:

Stimulare mentală
Bonding with your dog
Behavior to carry out in exchange for food, treats, or playtime
Cute party trick to show off in front of pals and guests, particularly at the front door when greeting them
A way to get your canine used to having his paws handled

Wally practicing the “shake” trick outside in the yard

It’s typically a terrific idea to shake training sessions up a bit, pun intended! Practicing the very same obedience command or trick over and over again can get boring for both you and your canine quickly, so think about incorporating another fun trick to keep things interesting!

You could even create a little routine consisting of a variety of obedience commands and tricks, like a “sit-stay” followed by a “come,” “shake,” and “spin”! It’s guaranteed to stimulate your canine on a mental basis and strengthen the bond between you and him while practicing the routine together.

If you’re in need of some inspiration, I recommend browsing the books:

canine tricks for Dummies by Sarah Hodgson and
101 fun things to finish with Your canine by Alison Smith

They’re where I found inspiration for trick training and games to play with my former pups Missy & Buzz, “shake” and “hide & seek” being two of them.

Where to practice the “shake” trick with your dog

I started teaching Wally the “shake” trick inside my house because it’s a fairly neutral environment without too numerous distractions.

After about a week, I began practicing outside with him as well. first in the backyard, then on walks and while out and about running errands together as well.

Wally practicing theTrucul „Shake” după o plimbare târziu de noapte (l -am plimbat pe un guler de piele)

Multe poziții comune pe care un canin efectuează trucul „Shake” este probabil poziția „așezată”, dar puteți practica și „scuturare” în timp ce canina dvs. este într -o poziție „în jos” sau chiar în picioare.

Bailey (stânga) tremurând într -o poziție „sit”, Wrigley (dreapta) tremurând într -o poziție „în jos”

Gânduri finale despre învățarea caninului tău trucul „Shake”

Trucul „Shake” este un truc distractiv și relativ ușor pentru a instrui că practic fiecare canin ar trebui să poată învăța.

Poate fi folosit ca o modalitate politicoasă de a saluta pe oricine care vine în casa ta și este o bază bună pentru o pregătire mult mai mare care implică labe, precum „High 5”, „High 10” sau „Wave”.

Odată ce Wally va fi stăpânit trucul „Shake”, mi-ar plăcea să lucrez cu el la „High-Fiving”!

Caninul tău cunoaște trucul „Shake”? Cum l -ai instruit?

Spuneți -ne în comentarii!

Barbara Rivers scrie despre mâncare canină crudă, antrenament canin și viață cu câinele ei recent adoptat, Wally West. Ea deține propria companie canină de mers pe jos și animale de companie din Carolina de Nord. Wally este un amestec feist activ, în vârstă de 1,5 ani. Urmăriți blogul lor K9s peste cafea.

Puii de Crăciun! (10 fotografii)

cu care se respectă sunt câteva dintre cele mai drăguțe imagini de cățeluș pe care le -am întâlnit. Permiteți -mi să înțeleg în comentariile care crezi că este cel mai drăguț.

Puppy de Crăciun #1

Puii de Crăciun #2

Puppy de Crăciun #3

Puppy de Crăciun #4

Puppy de Crăciun #5

Puppy de Crăciun #6

Puppy de Crăciun #7

Puppy de Crăciun #8

Puppy de Crăciun #9

Puii de Crăciun #10

Trimiteți -vă fotografii de vacanță canină sau felină la lindsay@thatmutt.com.

Using time-outs for pet dog training

Do you provide your dogs “time-outs”?

I provide my mutt Ace “time-outs” all the time when he needs to chill out. A time out might indicate lying on his bed for a few minutes, lying in his kennel or taking a break from playing fetch.

“Time-outs” can be efficient for pet dog training if they are utilized to assist the pet dog relax. All dogs must discover to swiftly kick back in any type of situation. A goal I always shoot for is to have my pet dog lie down, kick back as well as stay for 20 minutes in any type of situation.

Time-outs must always be positive. They must never be utilized as a punishment. A dog’s kennel, mat or bed must always be a positive, kicking back location for him to spend time. He must never feel like costs time in his kennel is a poor experience.

Threatening a pet dog with a time-out does not work. Dogs are not kids, as well as they are not capable of making the connection between their habits as well as being punished with a time-out.

When shouldn’t I provide my pet dog a time-out?

A pet dog will not think, “If I bark at the feline I will get a time-out, so I much better be good!”

Dogs requirement to be corrected promptly as they are doing something “bad” such as barking or drinking from the toilet. The modification must be short – a basic “No!” or a pop on the dog’s leash is it.

If the pet dog is sent to his kennel as a punishment for the behavior, he will not comprehend why he is being sent to his kennel or why his owner is still unhappy. He will  associate the kennel as a poor location since of his owner’s unfavorable energy. By the time he’s in his kennel, he has forgotten what he did wrong.

A pet dog must never be provided a time out when his owner is angry.

It’s likewise a poor concept to send a pet dog to his kennel if he is in an ecstatic specify of mind. A kennel must represent relaxation as well as safety.

If you put your pet dog in his kennel after he’s wound up over something, he will likely stay in that hyper specify of mind as well as bark or try to get out when he is usually great in his kennel. This occurs to Ace all the time if he’s been playing as well as then I put him in his kennel without calming him down first.

An simple method to believe of it is this – if the pet dog is ecstatic before you close the kennel door, he will stay excited. If the pet dog is calm as well as kicked back before you close the kennel door, he will stay relaxed. The hardest part is acknowledging when the pet dog is genuinely relaxed.

If a pet dog has been barking wildly at a feline as well as then gets scooped up as well as tossed in his kennel by an upset owner, the pet dog will still be in that ecstatic specify of mind as well as will continue panting, crying as well as trying to find the feline from within his kennel.

If the pet dog is barking at the feline as well as the owner re-directs the dog’s attention, benefits him for being calm as well as then puts him in the kennel for some down time, the pet dog will be okay with taking a short pauză.

When must I provide my pet dog a time-out?

There’s nothing wrong with utilizing time-outs to assist a pet dog kick back as long as the time-out is not utilized as a punishment.

When I’m playing catch with Josh or one of my brothers, Ace normally runs around like a maniac between us chasing the ball. If I don’t provide him time-outs, he will actually run himself sick.

So every five minutes or so, I put him in a down-stay as well as make him take a breather. He is not being punished, he is just taking a break. I don’t do a extremely great task with getting my ball-obsessed pet dog to relax, however at least I get him to stay for a few minutes.

It’s never a poor concept to utilize time-outs during any type of type of interesting activity such as trips to the pet dog park or agility. A time-out might indicate telling the pet dog to lie down as well as stay for five minutes while he gets treats as well as interest for being calm. then he can go back to playing.

If your pet dog is driving you nuts at house as well as you requirement a break from him, there’s nothing wrong with putting him in his kennel for an hour.

Even though you see it as a “punishment” since the pet dog is frustrating you, just make sure the pet dog sees it as an okay location to chill out for a while. just like when you are very first kennel training your dog, continue stocking it full of goodies such as rawhides or Kongs full of peanut butter.

When I’m fostering a new pet dog as well as all animals as well as humans in the home are a bit stressed, I will commonly put both dogs in their kennels for some peaceful time so the cats, Josh as well as I can take pleasure in some peace as well as quiet.

Ace actually dives into his kennel since he understands there’s a possibilEl va primi un tratament. În opinia sa, merită absolut să petreci o oră în caniul său, în schimbul unei mici bucăți de sacadat. Norocos pentru el, recompensa este de obicei ceva mult mai bun.

Rețineți că timpurile de timp nu funcționează pentru a pedepsi un câine de companie pentru un comportament slab. În schimb, ele ajută la consolidarea comportamentului mare al unui câine.

Când sunt disponibile timpuri de timp pentru câinele dvs.?

Aww, Huskies imită copilul crawling

, cât de drăguț este acest videoclip?

Doi armate de câini Husky se târăsc pe hol încercând să imite copilul târât în fața lor. Între timp, copilul nu pare nici măcar să observe câinii.

Comanda Crawl este un truc distractiv și drăguț pe care îl poți arăta câinelui tău. Acești câini, fără îndoială, îl au jos. Foarte excelent cum se târâie chiar și pe podeaua cu gresie.

Vreunul dintre câinii tăi se târâie la comandă?

2012 pound stats – Moorhead, Fargo as well as West Fargo

I want to share the 2012 pound stats I gathered from the three regional pounds in my neighborhood of Fargo, N.D., West Fargo, N.D., as well as Moorhead, Minn.

I likewise want to share a few of my thoughts on the stats.

Although most people who will checked out this do not online in my area, I want to motivate you to get in touch with your regional pounds as well as shelters as well as ask them what their numbers are. exactly how many animals did they take in last year? exactly how many were adopted? exactly how many were killed?

How our pound system works

Each city (Fargo, West Fargo as well as Moorhead) has its own government-controlled pound. The Moorhead pound serves the City of Moorhead as well as Clay region (Minnesota), the Fargo pound serves the City of Fargo as well as Cass region (North Dakota), as well as the West Fargo pound serves the City of West Fargo.

These pounds are not shelters. Dogs as well as cats are held for a minimum of three to five business days to provide owners a possibility to reclaim them as well as pay the needed fees. If the animals are not declared or if charges are not paid, the pounds will release them to regional rescue groups or shelters. animals not declared or put can be killed, even if they are healthy as well as friendly.

2012 overall pound stats for Moorhead, Fargo as well as West Fargo

Total impounded dogs as well as cats: 1,792 (957 dogs as well as 835 cats)

Total killed/euthanized/died: 147

Total online release rate: 92 percent

Of those killed/euthanized/deceased:

How many were adoptable? 2 cats

How many were sick/injured? 10 dogs as well as 49 cats

How many were feral/aggressive? 11 dogs as well as 73 cats

How many died in their cages? 2 cats

* The stats were gathered directly from the pounds. These stats are offered to the public. More detailed stats are listed below, or comply with this link for a pdf version: 2012 pound stats -Moorhead, Fargo, West Fargo

Here are some key points I want to highlight, in addition to my thoughts:

Nu ucide

– regional rescue groups do an fantastic task pulling dogs as well as cats from the pounds, as well as the neighborhood might be thought about no kill if you are going by numbers alone.

– To be thought about a no-kill community, one of the factors is that the neighborhood must save at least 90 percent of its impounded animals, according to the No kill Advocacy Center, a group devoted to achieving a no-kill nation.

– Moorhead/Fargo/West Fargo had a integrated online release rate of 92 percent in 2012, according to the pound stats.

Feral cats as well as trap/neuter/release

– One hundred percent of the impounded cats identified as either feral or aggressive were killed in 2012, according to the pound stats. That ended up being 73 cats between the three pounds.

– Our area has a low-cost spay/neuter organization called Minn-Kota PAAWS. The group focuses on pets from restricted earnings households in addition to barn as well as feral cats.

– The City of Fargo works with PAAWS to trap/neuter/release feral cats, according to Carol Sawicki, center director of PAAWS

– The City pays PAAWS $20 for each feline it traps (up to 150 cats per year), according to Sawicki. She estimated PAAWS trapped about 70 cats in 2012. about 25 of those were unadoptable feral cats that were released after they had been vaccinated and sterilized. The rest were put up for adoption

– There is no TNR program between PAAWS as well as the City of Moorhead or PAAWS as well as the City of West Fargo, according to Sawicki.

Two adoptable cats killed

– In 2012, only two healthy, adoptable cats were killed in our regional pounds. Both were at the Fargo pound.

No adoptable dogs killed

– Our neighborhood continues to be a fairly risk-free location to go into the pound system if you are a dog.

Pet ‘overpopulation’

– clearly there is not a “pet overpopulation” issue in our area. Yes, specific neighborhoods do deal with challenges, as well as pounds as well as shelters do not have it simple anywhere. however that does not mean we have “overpopulation.” It means we requirement to stay creative. It means shelters as well as rescues requirement to do their fair share of advertising the animals

– I’m hoping the leadership within our regional rescue groups will begin to recognize that pet overpopulation is a myth, as well as always has been.

– If a community’s pounds killed just two adoptable cats as well as zero adoptable dogs in 2012, exactly how is there “overpopulation”?

– If a neighborhood has sufficient demand for breeders as well as a pet shop (Pets R Inn at West Acres Mall) to offer kitties as well as puppies, exactly how is there “overpopulation”?

– If a neigHborhood -ul este capabil să ia câini impuși din alte comunități, precum și să le descopere case, exact cum există „suprapopulare”?

Cats leagăn shelte

– Shelter Cats Cradle a avut un impact incredibil asupra pisicilor din cartierul nostru de când s -a deschis la sfârșitul anului 2011. Deși celelalte grupuri de salvare au asistat și animale de la lire sterline, merită să remarcăm ce efect a fost să adăugați o felină suplimentară adăpost

-Patruzeci și opt la sută dintre pisicile impuse au fost ucise în cartierul nostru în 2011, conform statisticilor de lire sterline. În 2012, numărul a scăzut la 15 la sută.

Statistici locale de lire 2012

*Faceți clic pe imagine sau pe acest link pentru o vizualizare mai mare

Citări:

Procedura generală de impunere este oferită pe respectarea site -urilor web:

Moorhead, precum și regiunea de argilă (Minnesota):
http://www.moorheadpolice.com

Fargo, precum și regiunea Cass (Dakota de Nord):
http://www.cityoffargo.com/Residential/petsandStrayanimals/lostpets/

West Fargo:
http://www.westfargond.gov