Our Pack, Inc. Rescue - Pit Bull Advocates for Compassion & Kindness

Another Missouri Raid Dog Comes Home to Our Pack

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Remember this photo of the dogs being taken from the yard during the large Missouri dog fighting raid? This girl you see here is being carried out to safety.

Here's Tracey Cutler when she was on site where the Missouri bust dogs have been staying. With her is Stella, beautiful Stella. Celebrate her arrival with us, she's a good girl.

We're so happy to see so many of these wonderful dogs getting out and into rescue.....look for updates on Stella.

Thanks to HSMO and Gale at Mutts-n-Stuff for their assistance in helping us get our wonderful girl!

Can Former Fight Dogs Be Friends?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:09:00 +0000

At one time, Leo, the former Michael Vick dog, was grouped in with dogs that were called the "most dangerous dogs in America" Here he is with another "dangerous" dog, Belinda from the Humane Society of Missouri fight bust. Can they be friends? You decide:

Skeldon says he will step down Dec. 31

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Konop wants him dismissed immediately

Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon has submitted a letter of resignation, effective Jan. 31, but Commissioner Ben Konop wants the warden to leave his office immediately."I am not comfortable with him as our dog warden for even another day," Mr. Konop announced at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Read the rest of the article here.

It's Not You, It's Me

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Those of you who read this blog regularly are familiar with my efforts to help my leash reactive dog, Bear, stay calmer on walks, especially when he spots other dogs. Bear has made so much progress that I thought I would give an update in the hopes that my experience might be helpful to others who are struggling with this challenge.

Our Pack leash reactive class.

Earlier this summer, I was taking Bear to Our Pack’s Sunday leash reactivity class. I have three young dogs, and walking them all together is a challenge, especially when one or more of them is leash reactive. Bear was doing well in class, but on walks around our neighborhood he was still getting pretty spun up. He makes this funny squeal when he gets excited or nervous, which would turn to barking and lunging whenever a strange dog got too close.

So I took Bear to see Marthina for a private consultation with her Pit Bull ambassadors, Hailey and Professor Dexter. He did great there too - making me look like an overwrought, anxious owner who was blowing this all WAY out of proportion. He laughed at me all the way home.

Marthina kindly advised me to just walk Bear alone for a while, without my other dogs, to continue building his confidence.

Well, a couple of months ago, I had knee surgery and couldn’t walk my dogs at all anymore, so I hired someone to come in the mornings to exercise them. Once my knee got a little better, I took Marthina’s advice and started taking Bear out for a second, short walk around the block in the afternoons, just the two of us. Well, it’s funny, the knee surgery meant that I had to walk REALLY slowly at first, which actually helped us both to relax a lot more. I think that before, I had been prone at times to taking those grim, “Grab the leashes, stare straight ahead, you are all going to behave!” death march walks with my dogs. You know the kind, where you keep walking a little faster and a little faster, just to “technically” stay out in front of your dog? You know who you are!

Now, with my bum knee, Bear and I would just sort of amble (limp) along, stopping often to rest and sniff the rose bushes. But I also took the opportunity to continue to work on his leash skills, giving him lots of treats and positive rewards for coming back to my side. I did this every time a dog barked inside a house or behind a fence we were passing, or when a squirrel ran across the road, a cyclist went by and, of course, when we saw other dogs. I went through a LOT of treats. But in the space of a few short weeks, our walks, and Bear’s leash skills, have vastly improved. We have gotten to the point where he will walk on a very loose leash without pulling, even as we pass by other dogs. Even excited, barking dogs.

I hadn’t realized, though, how much progress we’d really made until a recent afternoon. We were walking around the block and I was daydreaming a bit, not really paying attention, when a dog in a neighbor’s yard suddenly rushed the fence and erupted in furious barking. I nearly jumped out of my skin, then

Bear in Our Pack's class.

quickly recovered, only to see Bear, standing calmly at my side, looking up at me as if to say, “Well, where’s my treat??” He reacted better than I did! Amazing. I think the combination of me relaxing and providing TRUE consistency (we go every single day, even for just ten minutes) did wonders.

Bear still has his moments, but it is just awesome to see his progress. Our little daily walks have really helped us bond. I can see his trust in me growing every day, and more importantly, I’ve learned to trust him, too.

Welcoming Committiee for Missouri Bust Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Here's some of the Our Pack crew giving a warm good morning welcome to Belinda our newest girl from the Missouri raid.

Thank you to Gale from Mutts and Stuff for driving our girl to the airport. She arrived safe and sound!

Also, in this article I wanted to correct the fact that Jakob is living with Anna Morey Seekamp, an Our Pack volunteer and trainer. He is going to be fostered by her until he's adopted. She and I will be working together on his therapy training. In the article it states that Jakob is living with me. Easy to misunderstand being that Leo lives with me. Happy Endings
Thank you Anna for all your good work!!

Marthina

Our Pack welcomes Belinda!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Humane Society of Missouri Releases Another Fight Bust Dog to Our Pack

Our Pack has had the pleasure of working with Humane Society of Missouri for the second time here recently. Our girl Zoe, who's now a therapy dog (seen here in this pic with her wonderfull person who addoped her) came from the Stoddard County MO raid in 2007. She's well and happpy because the good folks at HSMO gave these dogs a chance at a new life.

Well, this weekend we will be getting our second dog, Belinda, who from the HSMO fight bust, the largest dog fighting raid in US history. I just want to thank the HSMO from the bottom of my heart, along with Tracey Cutler and the Our Pack crew, for all that they've done for these wonderful dogs. We've included a video of Debbie Hill and Tim Rickey talking about the dogs they've helped. These are truly amazing people. We thank you and our dogs thank you!! This video made me cry!

You can see the video here:
http://video.ap.org/?f=AP&pid=tRL6Lc3vYrnPjT3R2CCU7gCiRkfznQeL

Or visit our Facebook page to view it here:
http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Our-Pack-Inc/151810632362?ref=mf

Marthina

Rehabilitated

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:47:00 +0000

I get asked this question all the time. "Can dogs that have been abused by humans that fight them really be rehabilitated?" Hmmmm, well, I don't think the word is rehabilitated, I think it's more like we put the dogs that have been abused by humans in fighting rings in an environment where they can now go back to what they previously were or could have been without the abuse. In other words, the animal abusers put the dogs in a position to be defensive. It's not that there is a desire to fight in the dogs but a feeling of being threathened and a need to defend themselves. So any compulsion to defend themselves is due to having been put in a life threatening situation over and over and over. This is not a desire to fight. Having to have to do something for survival is different than a desire to do it for the fun of it. Humans are very different people during a war vs when they are at home comfortably watching TV for instance.

Humans make the dogs by setting up an environment that either places the dog in a winning-by-good-behavior position or he sets up an environment that places him in a "winning"-by-bad-behavior position. We allow the dog to go back to what he would naturally be in an environment that is condusive to survival on his terms.

Yes, they do have their own core temperaments and yes, genetics plays a role but that's actually another discussion apart from this one.

I'm not talking about just taking a dog from a raid and plunking him down somewhere where no one has a clue either. I'm talking about taking a dog and placing him in an environment where he learns that all is well and there's good leadership and wonderful things happen when he does the right thing. Again, he becomes what he already would have been if he wasn't threatened and forced to do and be something else.

Sometimes dogs are too damaged from abuse and they get "stuck". Then it's difficult to help them and that is something we always have to face. This is why it is so important to just assess first on an individual basis. Maybe some dogs aren't going to do well with dogs coming from these situations. However, as a trainer of all breeds I've seen this happen with many, many breeds up through maturity coming from many different situations.

So here we have Jakob who came from the largest dog fighting raid in US history. On his intake report it said that he did have scars but we don't let that be the brunt of our assessment. We go futher and see how he is with other dogs. We started out working with my dogs.

To sum it up we did long crate intros, walking side by side, meeting through a gate and in general just went slow with my dogs. This sends the message that these dogs here are cool. No one's going to do anything scary here.

The first dog to meet Jakob on leash with no barrier was Dexter. Jakob was, uh,hum, you know like, "uh, what are we going to do now?" Of course Dex knew what to do right away as he could see that Jakob was unsure of what he was suppose to be doing. He's met dogs that have been abused before many times and could see the lack of confidence that Jakob had in his own skills.

Jakob was willing to please and to listen to us. He was actually even willing to do whatever it was Dexter wanted as well. So when he could see that Dexter was not going to do anything but just some good ole fashioned canine fun stuff he was a bit lost but willing to go along or at least try.

When there was some interaction Jakob had no clue as to what to do at first. It was like his arsenal of doggie play behaviors was simply empty. Dexter continued to show him what to do and Jakob started to get the idea. I cheat at this for sure. My dogs do most of the work!

After this initial interaction with Dexter Jakob went to Tinkerbell's house for fostering. Tinkerbell has been there, done that. She was in big trouble at the shelter a few years ago because she was loud and very rude on a leash around other dogs. So we got her out of the shelter and we started to work with her.......well, obviously she's now helping other dogs that are in similar situations she's been in.

Tinkerbell has shown Jakob how to do a play bow, a little flip in the air that's quite catchy for any dog trying to get attention and to respect the anti-humping laws! This is all with his foster person's help.

Now that Jakob's a bit more grooved into the rules and regs of canine play (of course this is still very controlled and monitored by Anna his foster person) he's allowed to go a step further and even play a bit of tug with Tinkerbell. The game has rules and is very controlled by Anna, i.e. the dogs release the tug when she says to and they can have it back when she says they can. Fun and safe!

So please join us in congratulating Jakob on getting back to life and most of all back to who he really is! See picture of the "real" Jakob!

Note: This is one account of one dog in one situation. All assessments are going to be different for different dogs. Additionally, all dogs depending on outcome of assessment will require individual protocols.

Marthina McClay, CPDT

New Lives: Stories of Rescued Dogs Helping, Healing and Giving Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Our Leo will have his own chapter in this fabulous book available starting next week! It's called:

New Lives

Stories of Rescued Dogs, Helping, Healing, and Giving Hope

by Joanne Wannon

The book talks about dogs being rescued and then giving back. This is exactly what Leo, formerly one of Michael Vick's dogs, has done. Even though people didn't always give him the best, he gave the best back to people.

Please check out and/or purchase this heartwarming book about the many dogs that have been rescued and give back to their communities. You can purchase it here:
http://www.3blackdogs.org/Home_Page.html

I'd like to thank Joanne Wannon for a wonderful job in recounting Leo's life and showing the world what a truly wonderful soul he is.

We're teaching at-risk kids positive reinforcement.

Our Pack featured in SFGate.com column

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:28:00 +0000

Earlier this week, we gave you a preview of some material that Christie Keith wrote for her PetConnections.com blog that came out of an interview with Our Pack. This week, she published the main story in a terrific piece featured in her "Your Whole Pet" column on SFGate.com called:

Michael Vick's unpaid dues: Why dog advocates aren't moving on

We here at Our Pack understand that the Michael Vick case has received a lot of space in this blog, and elsewhere in the rescue community. We know that most of our readers are already aware (and abhor) what Vick did to his dogs at Bad Newz Kennels.

However, as Christie points out in her column, much of the general public still are not aware of the full details of this case, which is why we think, for the sake of all the dogs that didn't survive, it still deserves mention here.

Let us know what you think.

Dexter's Corner

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Hello, I'm Professor Dexter. I used to be a professor in bug chemistry, but now I'm a professor in canine communication. Because my person rescues dogs, I was exposed at a very early age to all sorts of personality types – in dogs that is. At well over 3 years of age, I am now a canine counselor.

I have seen many, many troubled dogs come to us that later did very well because my sister and I taught them better canine communication skills. I have found that many dog problems stem from an inability to communicate with each other the right way. Sometimes we simply misunderstand each others’ body signals (which is mostly what we go by). When this happens, everyone gets upset, really for no reason at all. Then, when the humans step in and they don't understand what's going on, it can get even worse. Sometimes humans think dogs are so much like themselves!

Dogs really are professors of sorts. They learn, then teach, learn, then teach. They teach for the purpose of survival and that survival is for all involved, not just for one. I learned from my older sister Hailey, with her gray muzzle, because she had to teach other rescue dogs lessons and learned from those lessons herself. Now I'm teaching my little sister, Posie, proper dog-to-dog skills. She's still in the "positive experience only allowed" mode because, at a year and a half, she's still young. She has to build up her skills and have a fair amount of confidence to do a job like mine and work with the tough guys. My person says that we've all taught her about us.

I like being a professor/counselor. I like helping dogs that are insecure. They're usually the really loud, barking, growling, lunging dogs that make a big dramatic display. They are also the type most often misunderstood by the humans. Humans usually think these dogs want to fight and are aggressive. But usually they're just trying to AVOID a fight. Funny, huh? I just completely ignore the noisy, dramatic show. Showing them the side of my face makes it clear that I don't care if they're loud and trying to get me to go away. I'm not afraid of them because it's all just BS anyway, and after they're done with that business, I reward them with play for stopping that behavior. This also shows them the proper way to greet, instead of using gaudy distancing type behaviors that only drive away potential friends.

I have helped shy dogs because I'm not pushy and I don't HAVE to play with anyone, because I myself am very secure in how I feel. I let them come to me and I give them their space, and use special signals to show I'm not threatening. I have a very well formed and structured pack, so I'm cool. Our people are careful to make sure we are guided correctly too. But some dogs don't have that, because the humans that took care of them in the past didn't understand that early play, socialization and guidance are like food to a young dog. Without these things, it's like there's a malnourishment of the canine spirit. Some horrible people go a step further and actually do the opposite, and get their dogs to communicate the wrong way on purpose so fights start. Then, of course, one can't help it, you're stuck and sort of forced now to defend yoursel. It’s sad when that happens to dogs because it goes against our grain. When those guys come to us, I see right away that they never wanted to be in a fight at all. Most of them are so happy to see that, at our place, we do fun stuff where everyone wins.

The dogs begin to realize that there's a lot of confidence to be gained from other dogs, especially in a pack sense, and they really start to feel better. I see tails rise out of butts, heads come up even with or above the shoulders, and sometimes maybe even for the first time in their life, a smile.

Now I see Leo doing it. A dog my person took into rescue recently got really noisy while on his leash around Leo. Leo used to live with Michael Vick, so you can imagine that when he first came to us, he was initially a little sensitive around this sort of behavior....poor guy. Anyway, this new dog was barking and lunging at Leo while Leo was on his leash. Lo and behold, there was Leo, looking just like me, calm, still and turning his head so the insecure dog could see the side of his face. He told the dog, "I know how you feel but you're wrong, I'm just here, doing nothing, so it's ok and all will be well....when you're calm we'll meet." I was so proud of Leo. And the new dog will learn too. See how it works? We've worked with many dogs that are now helping other dogs.

My person says to please pardon the anthropomorphism (making dogs sound like people) but sometimes we have to explain things to dogs in dog language, like what I do for a living. Other times we have to explain things to humans in human language, like what my person does for a living.

Thanks for listening to my story. I may be starting a column somewhere called "Dexter's Corner" or "Dear Dexter," so that I can answer your questions and concerns about canine behavior. I hope you’ll find it useful.

Dr. Dexter
Expert in Dog Behavior Challenges
Shelter Volunteer
Well Loved Family Member

Newsweek Article Featuring Our Friends Mary Harwelik and Tia Torres

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Take a moment to read this article about Pit Bulls in Newsweek, and share your views:

The Pit-Bull Problem
America's most-maligned dog wants to be sweet and docile, but well-meaning humans mess it all up.
By Joan Raymond | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 30, 2009

http://www.newsweek.com/id/220497/page/1

Also, let us know what you think of the show Pit Bulls and Parolees. The first episode aired Friday:

SFGate Columnist Blogs About Leo

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Recently we spoke with Christie Keith, the online pet-care columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle's web site, for an upcoming column she is writing for SFGate.com. Today, she posted a blog on the PetConnection.com blog about Leo, our former Michael Vick dog turned therapy dog, that includes some material that didn't quite fit with the article, but that she wanted to share:

Leo the Pit Bull ambassador.

What a dog can do that Michael Vick can’t
By Christie Keith
October 30, 2009

I know you’re all jealous of my life. Don’t try to hide it. Jetting from one exotic location to another, mingling with the pretty people, entre to the most exclusive events, access to the power brokers… who wouldn’t envy me?

Perhaps anyone who could have been a fly on the wall when I had to stop an interview in mid-stream yesterday to unwind all the Borzoi hair from the base of the keys on my keyboard. Two years of accumulation meant I’d hit critical mass and lost the “S” and the shift keys.

Fortunately I was interviewing someone who is as much a dog person as they come, Marthina McClay of Our Pack, the rescue group that turned ex-Vick dog Leo into a therapy dog.

Read the rest of Christie's blog post here.

There are NO Dangerous Breeds!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Yes, sometimes there are dangerous dogs, people, cats, birds for God's sake, but a dangerous breed?? Even if you're not any sort of advocate for animals this is only simple logic.

According to this article from the San Diego News Network:

"In January of this year, the United States Army enacted a new policy banning all dogs with “a predisposition toward aggressive or dangerous behavior.” The specific breeds cited included all species of pit bulls, Rottweilers, and wolf/canid hybrids. The Air Force quickly followed suit, as did the U.S. Navy, implementing the same base-policy regulations.

Closer to home, at Camp Pendleton, residents now have to deal with the new rules. In August, the United States Marine Corps joined the other branches of the Armed Forces in instituting its “anti-pit bull policy.”

This to me is like saying a couple of Catholics robbed a house, so let's ban all Catholics! What? And btw, how the hell do you tell a Catholic from a Buddhist just by looking? This is just dangerous thinking....period.

See the full article here and give us your thoughts:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-10-28/local-county-news/marines-could-lose-family-members-after-camp-pendleton-bans-pit-bulls

A Pit Bull By Any Other Name...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:08:00 +0000

During our Pit Bull Leash Manners class this week, a woman came up and asked why her "Pit Bull" was somewhat leery of strangers. I looked at her dog and he was NOT a Pit Bull at all, but what looked like a very large American Bulldog mix.

Of course, no matter how much of an expert one might be, it can be very hard to tell a dog's breed from looks alone. Dogs that come from shelters are often mistakenly labeled as one breed or another. Based on temperament, which is what I like to go by, this dog seemed more like a guardian type of breed than a Pit Bull. The shelter that the woman got him from called him a Pit Bull, the neighbors called him a Pit Bull, and she called him a Pit Bull. But honestly, I'm not sure that he had any Pit Bull in him at all.

A Pit Bull's temperament makes them effusive with strangers, not leery of them. They are generally 30-65 lbs, not 100-150 lbs. Of course, any dog, purebred or not, can have temperament or conformation problems that aren't correct for their breed. The problem is that many different dogs that look somewhat similar are all lumped into the "Pit Bull" bucket. And when these dogs have fear issues with strangers or don't do well with people, it reinforces an incorrect and negative stereotype that is inconsistent with the temperament of true Pit Bulls. It's like a bad case of mistaken identity in a bank robbery.

Temperament is the way to go when judging a dog's behavior. A wiggly butted boy that will walk up to practically anyone and give kisses is more likely to be a Pit Bull. A dog that is more reserved or leery of strangers is probably more of a guardian type — and this behavior is actually correct for their breed. I'm not saying that one is bad and one is good. I'm saying that one often gets confused with the other, and too often it's the Pit Bull name that's used to describe dogs that are NOT Pit Bulls at all.

Many of our readers already know this, and those of us who work in animal welfare with Pit Bulls have known it for eons. BUT sometimes we need to just reiterate that HEY, this is a problem for Pit Bulls. If a dog bites someone because he's stressed and uncomfortable, and his breed is jotted down as a Pit Bull in the newspaper, the shelter euthanasia (and reason for) statistics go up, and the conditioning effect on the public continues that these dogs are not good with people. The sad irony is that they are one of the best breeds with people.

I would like dogs to be judged based on WHO they are, NOT by what they look like, and in fight bust cases on WHO they are, not WHERE they came from. I think it's best to judge dogs on an individual basis. We keep saying this again and again, but after class I realized that it NEEDS to be said again and again, like a McDonald's commercial. I guess there's a reason they don't just play commercials one or two times.

— Marthina McClay, CPDT

Chris Rock to Lose Pryor Role Over Dog-Fighting Comments?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:08:00 +0000

From contactmusic.com: The animal-loving widow of RICHARD PRYOR banned CHRIS ROCK from portraying the late comedy icon on the big screen after he made a joke about dog fighting, according to reports.

Richard Pryor/AP photo

The Head of State star was among the frontrunners to land the main role in a new Pryor biopic, but he allegedly lost the part after jokingly defending shamed American football star Michael Vick, who recently served time for running an illegal dog-fighting ring.

During a recent appearance on U.S. TV's The Jay Leno Show, Rock said, "What the hell did Michael Vick do? Pitbulls ain't (sic) even real dogs! Dogs have never been good to black people!"

The quip offended Pryor's wife Jennifer, who serves as the director of animal rescue group Pryor's Planet, and she made sure Rock's throwaway comments cost him the movie job.

Read the article here.

Missouri Fight Bust Dogs Up for Adoption

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:22:00 +0000

The Humane Society of Missouri is trying to spread the word that, following the biggest dog-fighting ring bust in U.S. history this summer, some of more than 500 pit bulls rescued in the raid are now up for adoption. More than 100 puppies were born after they were confiscated .

As you all know, Jakob, pictured here, has already been released to Our Pack's care. Vice President of Operations Debbie Hill says 19 of the dogs have been adopted out, and as the court awards custody of more of them to the Humane Society, more homes will be sought. Sadly, she says, some had to be euthanized. Hill says adopting these dogs out spreads a message about an illegal industry most people don’t know is so prevalent. She says it’s amazing how after being so mistreated, the dogs are so people-friendly. Some, like Jakob, are even finding a new purpose in life as therapy dogs.

For more information on the rescue operation and to help, click here.

Read the rest of the article here.

See videos and pictures of Jakob on our Facebook page.

A Poem From Leo

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Please don't put your face up to mine.
I tell dogs this all the time.
They don't listen and they don't care,
could it be because their owners aren't aware?
I'm a dog, a dog has a code,
not to greet in a face to face mode.
It's scary when a dog on a leash goes to the end.
It's not that I'm mean, I'm social and like to have a friend..
People then say, "oh he's aggressive, look he snapped",
But how is this wrong when it was the other dog making ME feel trapped?
Please respect other dogs and don't walk your dog up to their face,
then this world for dogs, will be a happier place.

By Leo
Poet
Therapy Dog
Pit Bull Ambassador (hence the poem)
Best Loved Family Companion

Welcome to California Jakob!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Our Pack's Christina welcome's Jakob to his new home!

More Pics of Jakob

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Many thanks to Lynn Terry Photography for these beautiful pics of Jakob, the former fight bust dog that was released by the Humane Society of Missouri into Our Pack's care this week.

Jakob was rescued by HSMO earlier this year, and spent several months waiting for his forfeiture proceedings to be settled in federal court. Now, Jakob is coming to Our Pack and looking forward to starting his training in a new career as a therapy dog!

You can see the entire album of pics on our Facebook page here.

Jakob, Already Moving Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Check out the great photo of Jakob, the former fight bust dog, with cruelty investigator Kyle Held at the Humane Society of Missouri yesterday. The photo, by AP photographer Jeff Roberson, ran in the Missourian.

Click here to see it full size.

Jakob
Photo by AP Photo/ Jeff Roberson

Thanks to All

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:47:00 +0000

We want to give a special shout-out to all of the rescue organizations that have been working so hard to care for the dogs from the Humane Society of Missouri bust. There was some great press coverage of the release of some of the dogs yesterday at HSMO, including Our Pack's Jakob, but there were lots of folks involved behind the scenes as well. And, of course, the dogs themselves deserve their own shout-out, including Fay, pictured here.

The full list of dogs released to these organizations includes:

FAY: received by Mutts-n-Stuff, a St. Louis-based bully breed rescue group

ELI: received by Mutts-n-Stuff on behalf of New Hope Pit Bull Rescue in Goose Creek, South Carolina

CARLOS, JUNIOR and KALI: received by Broken Hearts, Mended Souls Rescue based in Missouri

JAKOB, to be received here in California by Our Pack.

Humane Society of Missouri Dog Released to Our Pack

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Jakob is coming to California!

We are thrilled to finally be able to announce that Jakob, one of the dogs seized in Humane Society of Missouri fight bust, the largest dog fighting bust in U.S. history, has been released into Our Pack's care.

Jakob looking optimistic about his new future.

Jakob is one of three dogs that will be rescued by Our Pack from the more than 500 dogs seized in the multi-state raid coordinated. The remaining two dogs are still being held at HSMO while they await the results of forfeiture proceedings in federal court. Like Leo, the former Michael Vick dog, Jakob will be trained by Our Pack for a new career in therapy work.

Associated Press reporter Cheryl Wittenauer was on hand today at HSMO for Jakob's release. You can read her article here: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13562726.

As soon as we saw pictures of Jakob, we knew he was special, and our first impressions have been confirmed by our good friends Gale Frey of Mutts-n-Stuff and Our Pack's Tracey Cutler. They have been on the ground in Missouri working tirelessly to care for and evaluate these dogs.

Jakob looking happy at his release.

Therapy dogs are trained in basic manners, then provide affection and comfort to people in need in hospitals, retirement homes, schools and similar situations. Although Jakob comes from an abuse case, we’ve seen time and again these dogs are cut out for therapy work and we think he is a great candidate for this kind of work. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is temperament, and as we know, Pit Bulls have loving, affectionate natures that often make them perfect for this kind of job.

This is not the first time that Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff have teamed up to train former fight bust dogs for therapy work. In 2008, Our Pack trained Leo, a dog rescued in the infamous Michael Vick case. Despite his rough start at Bad Newz Kennels, Leo blossomed under Our Pack's care and received his therapy certification in just five weeks. His work earned Leo headlines in national media outlets, including the Washington Post, MSNBC.com, Animal Planet’s “Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case” and many others. See Leo’s story here.

Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff also worked on a HSMO bust case in Stoddard County in 2007. Gale Frey, founder of Mutts-n-Stuff, trained some of the dogs from the Stoddard case to be therapy dogs, and has been helping with the evaluation of Jakob and other dogs held at HSMO in this more recent case.. “The dogs from these cases are so resilient and wonderful to work with,” says Gale. “We’re thrilled to be helping to find them new and loving homes.”

Mercury News Columnist Purdy on Vick

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:21:00 +0000

San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy devoted his column this morning to the upcoming Oakland/Philadelphia game this weekend. The focus of the column is a follow-up on some of the dogs from the Michael Vick case, and includes a nice mention of our very own Leo and his new career as a therapy dog.

Former Vick dog Leo in his new career as a therapy dog.

In the column, Purdy wonders:

"Crowds in Philadelphia have been largely supportive of his comeback. But what about this weekend? How will he fare with the public here in the animal-rights-intensive Bay Area?"

In addition to animal lovers, I'm thinking Oakland fans probably have a good answer for that one too. Read the article here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports-headlines/ci_13556373?nclick_check=1

Fay Released to Mutts-n-Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:09:00 +0000

We've received news that Fay, one of the dogs taken from the Missouri dog fighting bust, will be going to Mutts-n-Stuff. Better yet, she'll be the new spokesgirl for Phoenix House, a place where dogs from these abuse cases can go to decompress, get training and socialization, and find new homes. Gale Frey, founder of Mutts-n-Stuff, has plans to start Phoenix House right away. Congrats to Gale and Fay. Here's to a bright future for both!

Our Pack crew

Sometimes Training is About Doing Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Sometimes the impression is made that dog training is all about getting your dog to jump through a hoop, offer a paw shake or perform an instant "sit" on command. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that, in order for it to be "training", the dog must be constantly moving around and doing something.

Of course, it is very important to train your dog to be able to live happily with you, and these behaviors can help replace behaviors you don't like. They can also be used to help your dog cope in certain situations. But sometimes, it's good training or conditioning to just do nothing.

In my work, I often encounter dogs that may be obedient, but that are not well-adjusted, balanced or happy dogs. There's a big difference to me in a dog that has been taught to sit on cue, but doesn't like being around other dogs, or even people, because they make him nervous. Other dogs are very well-adjusted, confident and love to greet people by jumping up, and simply lack training.

For example, a client came to see me about her dog, which reacts around other dogs on leashed walks. Her dog is okay with other dogs after a slow introduction (I think it is normal for dogs to go slow getting to know each other, see our article on dog intros here.), but while walking on leash, he exhibits an intense reactivity to other dogs. (For more information on leash reactivity, click here.) Her dog has been to our classes, and she has worked on distraction techniques and has made a lot of progress. But sometimes, it's best to just do nothing.

If your dog isn't even listening to your cues because he's too worked up, then it's best to just let him get comfortable IN that scenario, i.e. on leash, in the street, or on a walk with another dog. You can take the pressure OFF of your dog by letting him know he doesn't have to meet the other dog, react the "right" way around the dog, or perform some command. Just let him get used to the idea that there is a dog somewhere around and it's okay. There is NO pressure, no "you have to say hi to this other nice dog," or "you have to sit and look at me, and you can't do anything else." Many dogs, in fact, "do something else," such as sniffing the grass, in order to cope with this sort of experience.

When the pressure is off to meet and greet, or to do something else, the dog will generally relax, especially if she's a comfortable distance from the other dog. It's important to make sure that you don't push your dog too far, too fast. If your dog is comfortable a block away from another dog, let her have that. Then work in baby steps until she can comfortably be closer to the other dog. Don't push it to the point where she becomes very uncomfortable. Of course, you would still provide leadership to let her know that she doesn't have to worry, and that you have everything under control.

We work with dogs that come from abuse cases, and sometimes it's helpful to just let the dog know that, wherever he is, he's safe and all is okay. This is not so much "training" as it is "conditioning", and sometimes one is more helpful than the other, depending on the dog and the situation. In our work, we do a lot of conditioning or counter-conditioning, and letting the dog know that all is well.

-- Marthina McClay, CPDT