Join Us for Pit Bull Awareness Day!

Come join us in celebrating our favorite dogs this Saturday, October 23rd for Pit Bull Awareness Day hosted by Our Pack at Humane Society Silicon Valley! Ask questions, meet Pit Bulls, talk about Pit Bulls and get lots of info about our favorite dogs! We'll have some handouts, brochures and some pups to pet. We'll be at HSSV from 11:30 - 1:30, at 901 Ames Ave., Milpitas CA. See you there!

BSL Baby Steps

"It's time to end breed discrimination in Ohio

Judge Goulding wrote, "a more uniform, practical, and humane method of regulating dogs, which both preserves the safety of the public and focuses on the dangers and misdeeds of irresponsible dog owners, would seem preferable to the status quo".
Indeed. "

Read the full article here: Toledo Judge Strikes Down Pit Bull Restrictions

The Healing Power of Dogs

If you follow our blogs and Facebook page you know that we often play videos of dogs goofing around, play biting and generally being energetic and having fun.

We have also shown dogs just doing nothing and being calm. This is equally important in many instances with dogs.

Dogs that come from abuse situations or situations where they were neglected often have no play skills and other dogs show them how to play properly. Play is important in a pack as it adds levity and continues to build trust.

Relaxation and a sense of calm is extremely important as it also shows that dogs can just be around each other without having to be anxious, over excited, entertained or just plain ole working off boredom.

Dogs will show each other how to relax as well as how to play. Dogs are pack animals so they will do what other dogs are doing often in a group. If it's working for one to be barking then well, heck, it'll work for everyone right?

Luckily dogs that are balanced can show other dogs that all is well. They can demonstrate a sense of calm for others to emulate. Sometimes we can get the opposite where an anxious dog can make another dog anxious but generally if a dog is very balanced and the humans hanging around are providing good leadership and management the balanced dog will often even it all out.

Here's a video of Posie spooning with Stella who came from the Missouri case this summer. Let me know if you guys can see how she is saying "relax, all is well, just chill, lets just lay here and have some peace" and Stella is doing it and feeling the benefit of just hanging out, not doing anything but being peaceful and relaxed.

It breaks my heart that humans sometimes seem more broken to me that they are so willing to hurt an animal that has this incredible capability that many humans have finally lost for whatever reason...their own pain....? Who knows. If we were like this though, I think the world would be a better place......right? Peace.



Marthina McClay, CPDT
Animal Behavior College Mentor Trainer
Certified Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs, Inc.
AKC Certified CGC Evaluator
www.ourpack.org
www.dogtrainingforpeople.com

Increased Penalties for Dog Fighting in California

In this article there has been an increase in the penalties for watching a dog fight.

Stella from the large Missouri dog fighting raid seen in this pic fabulously blending in with the pack wants to know what your views are on these new penalties.
Do you think someone should spend time in jail or be fined for watching a dog fight?

http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14088943

Life's Peachy for Peachy

Peachy came to us from an abuse case in Georgia. She was saved by a fantastic woman that we've blogged about before named Gloria Wheatley from Washington Wilkes County Animal Shelter. Here's the blog that we did on her story. Peachy's Blog

Julie and Tom are great folks with two young kids who came to us wanting a dog. They were interested in Peachy so they came to our Sunday class to see her and let her interact with their children. I explained that Peachy was very young and needed lots of training and structure. Further I told them that having young kids can make this even harder, especially when both people are working full time jobs. Young kids love to goof around and have fun with the dogs which is great and we want that but it can really undo training sometimes if children and dogs are not well managed.

Being that Julie and Tom already had a dog that was 11 years old they knew how to handle dogs very well. Instead of losing interest these wonderful people said, "great, we'll come to class without a dog and learn." Hmmmm, there they were every week in class with their Starbuck's coffee asking all the smart questions and soaking up everything they could about Pit Bulls and dog training.

Eventually they began handling Peachy in class. They were awesome with her. Peachy tuned right into them and was so willing to please them. Julie and Tom learned so much and did so well that we decided to let them take her home for a foster to adopt period.

Peachy now comes to class so well behaved and better than ever. They have done a fantastic job with her. Julie and Tom's kids are excellent with Peachy as well.

Their adoption has been finalized and they get free CGC certification and training for Peachy for the rest of her life. They still come to class, rain or shine every week and offer to help Our Pack in any way they can. They really already have helped Our Pack AND the breed so much by being such great people with their girl and their children. If all owners were like this the world would be a better place for all dogs.

Dogs of all breeds need to be researched before bringing them into one's home. Estimation of the work involved needs to be assessed and finding the right match is so important. Taking time to learn about a breed is great but learning about the individual dog you are about to adopt is essential.

Here's Peachy with her human brother now living the Peachy life. This right here is why we do this work.




Marthina McClay, CPDT
Animal Behavior College Mentor Trainer
Certified Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs, Inc.
AKC Certified CGC Evaluator
www.ourpack.org
www.dogtrainingforpeople.com

Order Your Our Pack 2010 Calendar!

The Our Pack calendar is here just in time for the holidays! Order one for yourself and one for a friend, they make great gifts! We'd like to give a big thanks to the photographers who donated their time to take these gorgeous photos. To order just click on the calendar image below:

A Pit Bull By Any Other Name...

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

New Michael Vick Nike Comnmercial

Check out this clip from the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. The "commercial" at the end is hilarious.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Many dog training web sites, books and trainers seem to take a “one size fits all” approach to training and behavior counseling. In my experience, focusing on a single method or approach is limiting because the same approach doesn’t always work for all dogs. It would certainly be easier to say, “I always do this,” or “I always do that,” when it comes to training, but the reality is often more complex.

For example, I might talk in a different tone to a sassy, willful dog than I would to a dog that’s shy or fearful. If a dog lacks confidence, I might start by putting the dog in different settings using slow, baby steps, before he becomes fearful of that setting, while giving lots of positive rewards for being calm and relaxed.

For more confident dogs that tend to be “full of themselves,” more structure and leadership is often needed. For example, you dog might like to jump up on you as soon as you sit down on the couch or a chair. Instead of just letting her fly up in your face and then punishing with a verbal correction, you can ask your dog to sit first. Be sure to time the command BEFORE she jumps. Keep her at a distance from the couch or chair, wait for a bit, then invite her to come up. This adds structure in a positive way, without punishment or much correction.

This technique may or may not be effective with your particular dog. Sometimes you have to try a few different approaches before you find one that works for your particular dog. At Our Pack, we often work with shelter dogs and dogs that come from abuse cases, and sometimes we have to think outside the box or we may not be able to help them. We may need to be firmer and stricter with one dog, while another might require a more lenient approach. Whatever approach you use, it’s always better to set the dog up to behave appropriately and reward that behavior than it is to wait for the dog to do it wrong and then try to correct it.

A particular technique should be used as long as it works, increases confidence and continues to build a bond, not after it stops working or breaks the bond between the dog and his person. For example, we had a fight bust dog who came to Our Pack very shut down and worried about everything around her—people, sounds, objects, you name it. We were able to bring her around using confidence-building techniques, including a soft, reassuring voice and gradual introductions to the stimuli that made her nervous. Within a short time, she became very confident and even somewhat sassy! At that point, she needed firmer direction and more structure.

Leo, the dog who came to us from the Michael Vick case, presented a different challenge. He was initially like a bull in a china shop when it came to manners. “A couch? What’s that? You mean I can't just land in your lap at anytime? Huh?” He didn’t have a confidence problem, he had a manners problem. “Give me a kiss!” Splam!

Leo sharing his toys.

There are so many dogs out there to save and they all have different circumstances, backgrounds and experiences that have shaped their behavior. To expect each one of them to respond alike to a single training approach just doesn’t work. (Of course, we would never condone using physical pain, force or any method that creates fear in a dog, as that is just abuse.) I like to solicit the willingness of the dog to work with me.

Each of these dogs are individuals, and each has taught me so much, especially about resiliency. Dogs are truly amazing creatures, and one of the wonderful traits I see in Pit Bulls is how resilient and forgiving these dogs can be. They have given me what amounts to a college education, not only in training but in the way I look at life. If you treat your dog as an individual, and adjust your training to his or her behavior, you will both get more out of it and you’ll have a lot more fun learning from each other!

Marthina McClay, CPDT

The Best Thing About Dogs

They love you, they don't hold grudges, they don't hate, and they do their best to create peace whenever possible. They're about loving you and having a good time and best of all, like Posie here, they love to show their bellies! Of course, her cute freckles are just a bonus.

Our Pack Traveling to Missouri to Help in Fight Bust Case

Our Pack's Tracey Cutler is traveling to the Humane Society of Missouri this week to help out with the dogs from the recent fight bust case. She will be there until October 3rd. The Our Pack team has been assisting with rescue efforts as well, and we are so very glad to have a chance to help these dogs.

There is a gag order in place as the dogs await the results of forfeiture proceedings, so we can't give specifics on any dogs until we get the go-ahead from HSMO. We are very aware how important it is both to HSMO's effort and for the dogs themselves not to jump the gun and to respect the legal process, so we are awaiting the results of the proceedings. These are completely separate from the guilty criminal verdicts that were announced yesterday. Tracey will keep us updated on what we're allowed to share, so stayed tuned.

What we can say is that Our Pack will be taking some dogs from this case, and we just can't wait to work with them in our program. There will be training, structure, good positive leadership and lots of cuddles and love for the dogs. Meanwhile my dogs are waiting, sunning themselves. Wish the MO dogs good luck!

Congrats to our Friends at Mutts-n-Stuff!

A big shout-out to our friends at Mutts-n-Stuff, who announced today that they are building a new halfway house, called Phoenix House, that will provide safe haven for dogs rescued in fight bust cases. The facility is named for Phoenix, a a dog previously rescued my Mutts-n-Stuff, and is being built on land donated by a previous adopter. It will serve as a halfway house for dogs rescued in fight busts after they are released from their court cases.

The dogs in the cases are held as evidence until they are no longer needed by the courts, then they're released, often with no where to go. Suitable foster homes aren't always immediately available, and the dogs often require time to learn basic manners.

Our Pack is partnering with Mutts-n-Stuff on the HSMO fight bust case. Gale Frey, dear friend and founder of the rescue group, has been one of the people working with HSMO to help care for the dogs. Congratulations Gale!

Get the details about Phoenix House here:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=185028

Guilty! 4 Brought to Justice in HSMO Bust

We want to congratulate the Humane Society of Missouri for today's news of four guilty pleas in its recent fight bust case!

For a look at these poor creatures, you can see photos on HSMO's web site here:

http://member.hsmo.org/site/PhotoAlbumUser?view=UserPhotoDetail&PhotoID=26475&position=1&AlbumID=6969

Or watch the video from the raid here:

According to a press release issued by HSMO today, four eastern Missouri men, Robert Hackman of Foley, Teddy Kiriakidis of Leasburg, Ronald Creech of Leslie and Michael Morgan of Hannibal pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges connected to the dog fighting raid, the largest fight bust in U.S. history. Another man arrested in connection with the raid, Jack Ruppel of Eldon, pled guilty to charges on September 4 in federal court in Jefferson City.

Our Pack is working with local St. Louis recue group Mutts-n-Stuff to follow the progress of the dogs, whose fate will be decided by the federal courts in forfeiture proceedings separate from the criminal cases.

Read the full press release here: http://member.hsmo.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Federal_dog_fighting_case_press_release_9_14

Update on Gino

You may remember Gino, who came to Our Pack in 2007 with a rare birth defect and an incurable sense of optimism. We thought we'd give you an update. As you can see, Gino is still as unflappable as ever, just look at this happy "Buddha" taking a break after helping his people with their yard work over the weekend!

Gino chillin' in his yard.

You can read more about Gino's story here:
http://packrescue.blogspot.com/2007/11/gino.html#links

Laying by the Pool with some Chicks!

Most of you have probably seen this guy on video before but this is one of my favorites by texasgirly1979

Have fun!

Sometimes You Gotta Have Balls

Of course, I mean that in the proverbial sense!

Here's Rachael. She was leash reactive when she came into our program three years ago. Her fate sort of hung in a gray area.

Rachael with her balls.

We brought her into our program and she was fostered by Cynthia, who did an awesome job with her. Cynthia later adopted Rachael, and the two moved to L.A. a year and a half ago. We've missed them both so much. Cynthia has done wonderful work for Our Pack, and has helped many dogs! I can't say how much we all appreciate her for that. Here's Cynthia with Gino on the beach, making sure to socialize him with all kinds of people, children and other animals.

Cynthia with Gino on the beach.

Cynthia and Rachael decided to visit and come by the Our Pack Pit Bull Manners class. Rachael was fabulous. She was attentive to Cynthia, nicely and politely ignored the other dogs, and was confident and happy to work for her person. She was also friendly with everyone there, happy to see people and just an all-around wonderful, well-adjusted girl. I was so proud of them both, and happy for Rachael and the many of our other dogs whose lives hang in the wobbly balance of a not so black and white area. Cynthia, thank you for your work! Lovely job!

I guess you could say they both have balls!

I thought I would write this blog to count our blessings and the many reasons we do the work we do.....sometimes it's easy to forget about this part of it with all that goes on.

-- Marthina

Coming Home to a Calm Dog

When you come home to your dog is she jumping on you with excitement? Does it take a while for her to calm down?

This is not an uncommon problem. As a trainer I don’t believe, as some do, that dogs that do this in this setting are acting dominant. I actually think they are trying to give appeasement gestures such as licking your face, hence, the jumping up. They really aren’t trying to take over your life or your bank account or anything. They simply haven'nt seen you in a while and want to connect with you.

We as Pit Bull lovers know how much our dogs love human folk and want to connect as well. We are so happy to see our dogs when we get home that we tend to show a lot of excitement toward them. We greet them in a very happy and high-pitched voice. This is fine, except that it also tends to overexcite your dog. Therefore, your dog has learned to get excited about your arrival from YOU.

Dogs don’t’ react to each other the way we do after being apart for a time. We teach our dogs to be excited when we come home because we are excited. Your dog learns that this is the way she’s supposed to be when you come in the door. The remedy is to come in the door and completely ignore your dog. Don’t give attention to your dog when she is jumping and being excited. Go put your keys down. Look at your mail. Don’t give any eye contact. Don’t talk to your dog yet. Don’t stand still in front of your dog. Walk through the house somewhat briskly. If your dog jumps on you, turn and walk away in the opposite direction.

Please don’t be concerned that your dog’s feelings will be hurt. They won’t. Your dog will not think that you don’t love her. She’s not going to be thinking, “How come he’s not saying hi to me, doesn’t he love me anymore?”

When you first start to ignore this behavior in your dog, she might act more excited and jump even more. This is called an extinction burst. A behavior goes extinct or stops if it’s not reinforced. Before it goes extinct, there is a burst of that behavior. You see the catsup bottle is almost empty and you shake it to get some catsup out. Nothing comes out. So you shake it even harder and faster to see if something happens. Nothing does, and you stop. Similarly, your dog may jump more when you first begin to ignore her. If none of these things work to get your attention, she will soon calm down. When your dog has quieted down, then you can say hello. Pet her in a calm fashion so as not to get her excited again. If she does get excited when you start to pet her, just ignore her again until she’s quiet. When she’s calm, give her attention. It’s as simple as that. You may have to do this many times before this become routine for your dog. Especially if this behavior has previous been reinforced even unintentionally.

Marthina McClay, CPDT

More on Breed Profiling

Here's an article about a dog that was thrown off of a bridge and lived only to be greeted with profiling and prejudice, not based on actions but based on breed. No proof of any ill temperament, just judged by breed. Ugh.

Photo: Scott Utterback, The Courier-Journal, Scott Utterback / AP

It's funny that a proven animal abuser is allowed to go out and be an example to young people before he has proven his remorse for his actions. But a Pit Bull that hasn't even done anything can't live in a dwelling based on his breed??? Not his actions only?

I don't get it.....

http://www.pawnation.com/2009/08/28/woman-and-dog-adopted-after-being-thrown-off-bridge-face-evictio/?icid=main

Yes, Your Couch Can Be a Spring Board Too.

Here's Dexter, Hailey, Posie and oh, Leo is just quietly chewing his bone while the others are goofin' around on the weekend. Please note that some dogs don't have a good time with tug. Most do under good supervision. It helps if the two dogs know each other well and are comfortable with each first before playing a good game of tug. Enjoy!

RIP, Jasmine

Our hearts go out to sweet Jasmine, her family, and our friends at Recycled Love. Jasmine was recently killed in an automobile accident.

Many of you will never forget Jasmine gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and, in the process, becoming an ambassador for Pit Bulls everywhere.

We remember her with love.