Continuation of a Theme

To continue with the same theme of socialization, it occurred to me today after speaking with a person who may have to give up their dog that there is more to this story. I don't truly believe that people get a dog thinking that they will have to give them up after a period of time due to housing or any other issue that comes along without warning. But maybe we should think about that at the beginning. The gentleman I spoke to today has a 4 yr old dog. She has lived with children and loves them - yeah..she is up to date on her shots, licensed and spayed - double yeah!!!! But she is protective of her yard and territory, doesn't like people messing with her food and isn't thrilled with strangers. They have managed her well and have adjusted to her quirks. Sometimes we even encourage those quirks because it's easier for us to adjust than to work with the dog on some of their tougher behaviors. Now they are under the impression that if they take the dog to a shelter it will be put down if it fails even one test. I work with enough shelters to know that one thing alone isn't a death sentence but a combination of behaviors that we have allowed to continue certainly could be. With the current economy many shelters are over run with dogs that have been surrendered. They don't have the space, time, money or personnel to work with a lot of troubled dogs. Rescues are also filling up and foster families are hard to come by. So maybe we should take on a dog with the thought that it is temporary and we spend the time with them getting them ready to be the best that they can be? Help them to become a good doggie citizen, no matter what the breed or mix so that heaven forbid something comes up that we have to find another home for our beloved pet they have a much better chance? Prepare them for the world. Socialize them with all kinds of people and critters in a controlled setting, encourage good behaviors with positive feedback. Love them, cherish them, even spoil them, but let's help them to be the dog that not only we love but that can be loved by many!
ok..just my ramblings for a Monday evening

Who Needs Football?

Leo's not really a football kind of guy, he prefers a little lazy wrestling with his pal Posie. BTW, Leo rocks his Paco collar, doesn't he? Great people, great collars, check 'em out:

www.pacocollars.com

Couch Taters Part Deux

OK, Time for happy pics. Raven's Blog generated so many pictures from other Couch Potatoes so I thought I'd share some of them here.

Here's the same couch but a small potato

and then a baby spud with her buddy spud

How about a Choco Potato

Or the original Couch Pit-Ato - Moo

Here's a Pile - O - Pitatos

And then there's the acrobatic-contortionist couch pitato

Yessireeeee.. just look at all these scary pit bulls (and wanna bees)...you're couches and pillows will not be safe.....beware - scary scary stuff!!

Puppies - Nature/Nurture ?

It’s been said recently the genetics don’t CAUSE behavior they just allow it to occur when the environment dictates it. It’s sort of funny to me when I hear some orgs say, “they’ve been bred to fight” while never mentioning what effect the environment might have or have had on the dog. It just can’t be ALL genetics nor do I thing it’s always ALL environment. I do know from experience however that with a good environment a dog has a much better chance than with a bad one. Therefore, we at Our Pack think it’s a bit of both - nature/nurture – that influence a dog’s behavior.

The thing that we have control over most is the environment that the dog will be in. Therefore, we try to provide the best and most positive environment to sort of “guide” those genetics in the right direction so to speak.

Lately we’ve seen lots of Pit Bull puppies turned into shelters. We were thinking it might be a good idea to get dogs started off on the right paw and get him/her out socializing and training right away while providing a positive and structured but fun environment for him/her to grow in. It seems to me that lots of Pit Bull puppies are out there right now only to come back around if they’re isn’t a proper environment for them to mature in.

The AKC now has a program called the AKC Puppy Star Program. Check it out. It’s a sort of a junior CGC program. The AKC has realized that many puppies don’t get a good start in life and this creates a problem. Not to leave genetics completely out of the picture but heck, at least we have control over the dog’s environment, so if you have a pup give him a good start , bond with him/her and get him out there in the world and let him know it’s a fabulous place.

http://www.akc.org/starpuppy/

More Positive Press

Animal Planet and Drs. Foster and Smith are helping to dispel the continued myths around Pit Bulls. Kudos to both of them!!

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/no-halfway-house-needed-for,681253.shtml

ATLANTA, GA -- 01/15/09 -- Regretfully, breeds like the American Pit Bull Terrier, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Doberman and even the ever loved and faithful St. Bernard are all classified as aggressive.
The very qualities that make these dogs outstanding companion dogs -- intelligence, loyalty, courage and trainability is how Michael Vick and 20,000-40,000 others abuse their strength and power in the multibillion-dollar dog fighting industry. "There is absolutely no true concept of sport in inflicting pain on those who only know how to love unconditionally," said Wanda Goldberg, host of "Faithful Friends" on Animal Planet. "Be a voice for those without, abuse stops here, it stops now."
The "Faithful Friends" television show, together with Host Wanda Goldberg and Dr. Marty Smith of Doctors Foster and Smith Pet Supplies take on this controversial topic this Saturday on Animal Planet at 9:00 am. The show reminds pet parents that it is who is at the end of the leash that makes the difference in the dog's life, not the dog's breeding.
At the turn of the 20th Century, the American Pit Bull Terrier was the #1 family dog in the United States and Petey, a Pit Bull Terrier, was the de facto "babysitter" of the kids on the "Our Gang" TV show. Today, they achieve the fourth highest passing rate of all 122 breeds tested with an 82.5% that took a temperament test vs. 77% of all breeds on average. But, it is the owners at the end of the leash that turned a lover into a fighter. In the US, dog-fighting is considered a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho.
"Don't tell me that there are mean, vicious breeds, I won't listen to it," stated Dr. Marty Smith, who added, "today, most every one of the Michael Vick dogs are living enjoyable and productive lives due to compassionate new owners who have dedicated their time and energy to rehabilitate these loving dogs." As Michael Vick prepares to be released to a halfway house on January 20th, 52 of his 53 dogs live in loving homes throughout America. And Leo, one of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels, after spending five weeks being trained and rehabbed by California trainer Marthina McClay, is now a therapy dog at the Camino Infusion Center, where he brings comfort to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The first episode of 2009 "Misunderstood Friends" on Animal Planet airs this Saturday at 9:00 am, and it takes on this controversial issue of breeds that are considered vicious by insurance companies and consumers in general. "This was one of the most positive shows I have seen in over 40 years of working with this breed," says Joe Burford, the President and Director of the Salt Lake Pit Bull Terrier Association.
Chuck, a dog deemed un-adoptable from the Bad Newz Kennels, is featured on the "Faithful Friends" television show this Saturday with its new owner, Warren Anderson, together with Joan Salmon the Executive Director/Founder of the Georgia SPCA. During the show, Joan and Warren discuss the dog-fighting world, the patience needed for rehabilitation and the unconditional love that is now received by owners of once considered unacceptable dogs.
"This week viewers of the Misunderstood episode will see why dogs like Chuck won a Medal of Honor in World War I," stated Tony Loiacono, Creator & Executive Producer of "Faithful Friends." "Unconditional love is often not found in our world, but through man's best friend it is a regular occurrence when a true friend is on both ends of the leash."
About Doctors Foster and Smith:
Doctors Foster and Smith, a privately owned company, is the #1 catalog and online seller of pet supplies and pharmaceuticals in the industry. Doctors Foster and Smith is known for empowering pet owners by providing extensive veterinarian-supported advice, proprietary information and quality pet products, serving millions of pet owners from coast to coast via their extensive website and publications, and the television series "Faithful Friends presented by Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supplies" on Animal Planet as produced by Heads & Tails, Inc. Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Marty Smith have become the nation's foremost authorities on pet wellness, pet care and pet-owner education, earning an unmatched reputation for the scope of their veterinary expertise on dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, pond life, small animals and equine. For more information, visit:
Full Press Release
http://www.faithfulfriends.tv/vickdogs
http://www.DrsFosterSmith.com
http://www.faithfulfriends.tv
http://www.animalplanet.com/peteducation
http://www.peteducation.com
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CONTACT:Christy Wilson
(760) 724-3200
Email Contact

Pit Bulls; Puppies, Cuddling, Training and Just stuff

It's been a quiet week, I guess we are all getting over the holidays, but we have two events coming next week. We have our event at Chevy's on Almaden in San Jose next Thursday,

and then we'll be at the Grand Opening of Doggieville in Mountain View next Saturday Afternoon

You'll have to go to the website to check out the details, but we'd love to see you stop by for either or both events.

We've been looking at some dogs to bring into our program, so keep all paws crossed that we will find some gems.

Thanks to everyone who keeps coming to our Sunday Training Classes, we all have such a great time and we hope everyone enjoys it just as much as we do.

Here's Anna showing how she has them under control

Well, OK, Not so much but now look at how well she gets them lining up!

and of course here is Miss Tink (Anna's furbaby) who is tuckered out from all that trainingAnd then unrelated to anything here's a cute cuddly picture that just make me smile

Happy 2009 to all of our wonderful friends and families who put up with all of our silliness!

Mary and the rest of the Our Pack Gang!

Size Doesn't Matter

Well at least in the case of Dexter and Opal our littlest addition.
Here they are livin it up - Enjoy!

A Day at the Park

Hi All,

My name is Noel , that's me with my sister, she has the speckled nose, her name is Holly. we are currently guests at the Humane Society Silicon Valley where we are hoping to find a new home. I wanted to take this last day of the Thanksgiving weekend to tell everyone how thankful I am for all of the people who try and make our stay at the shelter as fun as possible. And a special thanks to the Mike and Ali for letting me go on an outing today. Today I got to go to the park with my friend Mary from Our Pack. She forgot to bring her camera so we don't have any pictures of me at the park but it was such a nice day and so much fun to get out of the shelter for part of the day, I just wanted to share some of the things I saw and did.

I haven't been for too many car rides so at first I was a little confused by everything going by so fast without me walking. I got used to it quickly though. Then we came to this place that Mary told me was the park and we were going to see lots of new dogs. There were lots of things to smell in the grass, I think they said there were gophers or something that was digging up the grass. I wanted to eat some sticks but they wouldn't let me. There were two little pups at the class and I got to demonstrate good calm manners. I got to go for a walk with a dog named Buddy who was having trouble relaxing but he seemed to do well with me. I got to meet two new friends, this is Texas.

She was calm like me and we got to go for a little walk together and they were all impressed with how well behaved I was.

Then I got to go over to Hailey's house and meet her. We went for a walk too and smelled the grass and the flowers and then I got to go and play in her back yard, There were so many good smells and the sunshine felt so good. Here's Hailey on her fancy chair thing, I'd never seen one of them but I even got to lay in it for a bit. I really liked her, she used to live at the shelter too before her mom adopted her. Now she is a Therapy dog and helps her mom with foster dogs that come to stay at her house.

Well I guess that was about it. I was pretty tired after all of the excitement and slept all the way back to the shelter. I told Holly all about it and maybe she will get to go next time if we haven't found a home yet. Thanks again to everyone who gave me this special day!

Love,

Noel