One lucky boy!

I received the best Christmas present this year.
It wasn't wrapped in a decorative package with bows.
It came in the form of a phone call from a dog owner on Christmas Eve.

This about a 6 year old Greyhound who lost his right front leg to cancer.
He is doing well from the surgery and has full mobility. He loves to run and play with his house mate but he lost more than his leg, he lost his confidence particularly on stairs.
He learned to adapt to everything else in life but his adaptive process, using his back legs to propel him up into the van, was not functional to use on stairs.
This boy is lucky however, he has owners who were dedicated to helping him live a full life once again.

The problem they were facing was the home they would be moving to has stairs and many of them.
Two levels of stairs to get into the house and a flight to the upper living level inside the home.
The current home had no stairs. The owners realizing a potential problem tried to use a neighbors front steps in an attempted to get him doing stairs using treats before the move but to no avail.

He was scarred and lacked in the self confidence to balance and support his body while moving his legs independently required to go up steps.

My goal was to help him re-learn balance and trust in his own abilities to adapt once more this time to stairs.

None of this would have worked had the owners not been dedicated to helping their dog past his fears.

We started slowly. The first was to get him walking and stepping on something different and foreign to him.
I placed a small, collapsible A-frame flat on the ground. Flat and low but had just a little bit of movement when stepped onto. At first I used treats to try and lure him forward, no go for the treats.
So we adapted and just had the owner walk him to the board and limit his options of being able to move around and away from it or to just jump over by completely avoiding the board.

We built one movement forward at a time. One foot, then another until finally standing and choosing to get on and off by his own design.

We built the degree of difficulty slowly by changing the level and angle for him to step onto and walk up. The goal was to build confidence, self control, balance and to use his legs independently while maintaining support.

Then we limited his options to keep him from seeking to jump over or away from and praised him wildly for making a move forward.
Each forward progress was met with lots of praise. After a repetition of behavior, he was rewarded with play time.

In between our session, his owner found stairs for him to climb. First big wide steps that would allow for stopping and balancing between steps. He starting with just a few step, increasing to as many as twelve steps up and down.

We ended our first hurdle by accomplishing an achievement past fear. The big fellow had made a self discovery by starting to trust himself and his owner to keep him safe.

We continued to increase the degree of difficulty by changing the angle, level and surfaces for him to step onto, up and over.

Once he accomplished the first stages of getting up and onto a surface, we repeated this a few times and at some point confidence set in he did it by himself.

Our last session we took him to a friends house who had eight steps up the front of her house but built in the typical size, narrow and steep.
He didn't like them at first and refused to try. We limited his options and the owner went up the stairs with him one at a time holding onto his vest handle and I handled the back end to keep him from rolling backwards.
He made it to the top and we cheered.
Down he went and after two more tries, he was heading up and down the stairs on is own as proud as could be!

We talked about the possibility of altering and adapting the outside stairs up to the new house by either making them wider or adding another landing or two. The builder was able to come up with some variations and we hit on something that would work well.

I got my best Christmas present when the owner called me Christmas Eve to tell me his boy is walking up and down not only the outside steps but the more difficult inside stairs on his own.
The owner said he was sitting and having a cup of coffee in the morning was greeted by his big fellow standing next to him in the kitchen on the second floor. He came up the stairs all by himself!

This is one lucky boy! His owners never gave up on hoping for his having the best life possible. Nor did they chose to get rid of him because he didn't fit their lifestyle needs.

Dog Food for Training

Dog owners are becoming more savvy!
Owners are seeking ways to connect with their dogs in training classes, group meet ups, social pack walks and taking their dogs to the dog park for some off leash fun!
Yet many are unaware that what they feed their dogs daily effects how well their dogs’ will train, behave, learn and develop self control.

The Brain is the engine that runs the body but what fuels the Brain?
Sugar!
The brain runs on glucose (sugar) but it is not able to store its own reserve of glucose, so the Brain must be fed to keep you awake and alert!

Think of the times you have grabbed for candy, caffeine or cookies to off set the sluggishness of late afternoon mental fatigue. Your brain is calling for energy and your body knows it needs glucose, so the body drives you towards sugar.
Simple sugar in cookies and candy offers the fastest source of glucose but it only gives you a short jump start for that necessary brain power.
Continual use of simple sugars has your Brain cycling through running highs and lows during the day.
A nutritional way to stem these cycles is to properly eat complex carbohydrates with your meals.

What does glucose really do?
Our bodies require glucose to maximize all the cellular energy our bodies need to keep functioning effectively. The catalyst for the control and metabolism of glucose is the pancreas which produces insulin. Insulin maintains blood sugar levels entering the muscles and brain cells. Poor pancreatic function lessens how glucose is used properly by the body.
Low sugar levels, Hypoglycemia, can cause lethargy, impaired mental function, and irritability, weakness and becoming easily stressed or confused.
Too much simple sugar intake throws the pancreases into over drive which over time limits its ability to properly control sugar intake as it should.
High sugar levels can lead to Diabetes.

What happens when extra sugar isn't needed for energy?
Glucose is there for energy but when not needed for immediate use, it is stored as glycogen until the body demands energy.
An over weight and obese dog is eating too much simple sugar which becomes stored fat. Fat is glucose which has been converted into glycogen.
The reserve of glycogen is kept until needed for energy. If sugar is continually put into the diet, the glycogen is never used and the body continues to store the additional glucose. Glycogen is not only stored under the skin but also stored around internal organs such as the liver.

Sugar comes in two forms, simple and complex.
Simple sugar is broken down, digested and used very quickly and requires more to sustain energy needs. It contains little to no nutritional value.
Simple sugars would come from sugar, fructose, wheat, corn, honey, to name a few.

Complex carbohydrates have nutrient value and breaks down by digesting more slowly. Digesting more slowly gives the body longer access to valuable glucose, giving the muscles and brain energy resources as needed to maintain focus and activity.
Sources of complex carbohydrates would be oats, barley, legumes, and whole wheat.

Our dogs can’t ask for a cup or coffee or tell you they are fatigued, or do they?

Are there certain times of day your dog seems to have high or low energy, mental focus and attention? How long before or after feeding do these behaviors start?

Are you having difficulty training your dog or they just don’t seem to get it no matter how many repetitions or varied ways you try and teach?
Does your dog mentally wander or no longer focuses on known commands?
Is your once stable dog becoming cranky?
Have a normally dog friendly dog not interested in or seem bothered by or snaps at dogs they normally enjoy playing with?

If you have a normally well balanced dog that seems to have highs and lows in behavior, attention and activity, they may be having blood sugar rise and drops through out the day. Do they train better in the morning or evening, before or after eating?

Food for thought, you may look into changing their food to change their behavior.
Visit www.dogfoodplus.com for information on behavior and food.




Jeanne Perciaccanto is a Dog trainer with over 25 years professional experience. She also holds Science and Health degrees.

NJ elections - dog owners beware!

If you live in NJ check this list out to see a list of those running for office.
Those in favor of the animal rights agenda are not in favor of dog ownership or dogs in general. They seek to remove our rights to own dogs one bill and legislation at a time.
I urge you to vote those approved by SAOVA. The SAOVA approved are opposed to PETA and HSUS legislation and those bought by animal (deplorable) welfare groups.

Remember, PETA and HSUS have been supported by unsuspecting loving dog owners who have paid millions for the lobbyists who now try and remove dogs from loving homes via legislative bills.

http://saova.org/2008/NewJersey08.html

Animal laws around the US.

Here are new lists of proposed an newly enacted animals laws around our U.S.A.

Read and weep for what was and were our animals lives are going.

http://monthlynationallegislationreport.blogspot.com/

News facts or sensationalisim

The views expressed in these blog posts are those of the author and not of the Chicago Sun-Times.

No Kill Blog

Nathan J. Winograd is the Director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School, an author, and is a frequent media spokesperson on animal sheltering issues.

Do Pit Bulls Get a Bad Rap?

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Do Pit Bulls get a bad rap? The question is, of course, rhetorical.

In a recent Seattle case, a local television news story ran the headline: “School Plumbers Save Girl From Pit Bull Attack.”

The story opened with a vivid and frightening image: “A 9-year-old girl was on the playground at Lafayette Elementary School when a pit bull attacked her. She was bruised and sore, but not seriously hurt thanks to two men who bravely stepped in to save her.”

At the risk of being pedantic, let’s break that out:

1. A Pit Bull
2. Attacked
3. The Girl needed to be saved
4. If she had not been saved, she would have been seriously hurt.

Before reading further, imagine the horrific scene as described.

But is that what actually happened? According to police reports, a 9-year-old girl was playing on the school's playground when a brown-and-white pit bull puppy "was playing with her shoelace and accidentally bit her left ankle.” The pit bull puppy, which was not aggressive and sitting on the playground when police arrived, was taken by a Seattle Animal Shelter officer.

Let’s break that out:

1. A puppy
2. Played with her shoelaces
3. In trying to grab the shoelaces with his mouth, he got skin
4. The puppy was not aggressive
5. When police arrived, the puppy was just sitting on the playground.

The reality and the false image created could not be more striking. But it is not an aberration.

In a separate incident indicative of this bias, results of temperament testing on a puppy in Portland’s (OR) animal control system showed the following:

1. The puppy was easy to leash from the kennel
2. Tail and “whole rear end” were wagging
3. Gets playful
4. Readily approaches everyone in a friendly manner
5. Readily approaches handler in a friendly manner
6. No guarding seen when back is petted
7. No guarding seen when ears are checked
8. No guarding seen when food bowl is removed
9. General mouthiness and whirls around when tail is stroked
10. General mouthiness and gets excited when two front paws are picked up
11. Allows teeth exam (mild struggle)
12. Allows exam and interested in attention during whole body hug

The puppy was killed for aggression—consistent with the fact that the agency kills the vast majority of all Pit Bulls by similarly labeling them as “unadoptable” after temperament testing, a de facto ban on the breed.

At the Philadelphia Animal Care & Control Association during my visit several years ago, staff had determined that a “Pit Bull puppy” needed to be killed for “food aggression.” Put aside the fact that the dog turned out to be a two-year old Boston Terrier mix. The dog was only 8 pounds, severely malnourished and was hungry. After I intervened, the dog was adopted. His adopter sent the following several weeks later:

He is now 23 pounds-–he gained 15 pounds in 5 weeks, and he could probably stand to gain 1 or 2 more pounds. He no longer walks on his joints, his malnourished legs couldn't hold him up before and he was walking totally improperly. Now he stands tall.

Pit Bull advocates have long believed that this type of reporting and results are the result of breed stereotypes. And with the nation’s self-proclaimed “experts” feeding fuel to the fire, the deck appears stacked against them.

Now, a recent study published last month by a team from the University of Pennsylvania supports this point of view. According to the team of researchers, “Information on breed-specific aggressiveness derived from such sources may be misleading due to … the existence of breed stereotypes.”

The Pennsylvania study surveyed more than 30 breeds of dogs. According to the study’s authors, the most aggressive breeds of dogs in terms of aggression to people were Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Beagles, Jack Russell Terriers, Australian Cattle Dogs, Cocker Spaniels and Border Collies in that order. However, before we develop irrational fears of these breeds, those results showed levels of aggression in dogs were generally at less than 10% of all dogs and included even minor “nips” of the owner no matter how insignificant or what the trigger was. The study is also very problematic for other reasons and it is doubtful that Dachsunds, Beagles, and other breeds are worthy of the distinction.

Nonetheless, the incident rates are consistent with progressive shelters nationwide; proving that the vast majority of dogs—including Pit Bulls—are friendly. In Tompkins County, NY, the open admission animal shelter found that roughly 92-93% of all dogs were not aggressive to kids, cats, or dogs and therefore safe to be adopted (the number was slightly lower at 86% if you isolate Pit Bulls as a breed, but that still represents roughly nine out of ten dogs).

This outcome has also been confirmed by the American Temperament Test results which gave the three breeds typically identified as Pit Bulls—American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier—a combined pass rate of 86.6%, higher than the Golden Retriever.

As I have said before, if we take this as a representative sample of dogs in society, then we do not have either an epidemic or even a significant problem of dangerous dogs in the United States that would justify a further clamp-down of Pit Bulls (or any dogs for that matter). If, on the other hand, we take dogs who enter shelters to be at higher risk of aggression (say, for the sake of argument, we can show that they have less training, spend more time isolated outdoors, have less care than dogs who do not enter shelters), then the situation is actually of less concern since we would expect to see more aggression in shelter dogs than dogs who live with their families their whole lives. And given that 93% of shelter dogs are friendly to kids, cats and dogs—the number is higher if we just isolate aggression to people (about 96-97%)—the fear-based hysteria of dangerous dogs and Pit Bulls becomes demonstrably false. On top of this, the vast majority of the remainder will never bite.

What is true, however, is that public health authorities, dog bite lawyers, legislators, animal control shelters, police departments, humane societies, and even national animal welfare groups argue that millions of people are bitten every year by dogs. Some of these groups call for a ban on certain breeds, others claim we need to teach or enforce “responsible pet ownership;” others seek more and tougher laws. But just because they say it is so doesn’t make it so.

And while our hearts go out to the victims of serious dog bite attacks, there is little in the way of evidence that more regulation, more laws, further crackdowns on dogs is justified as a way to prevent these. At the end of the day, the vast majority of Pit Bulls are friendly and will never act aggressively, dogs are already heavily regulated, and there is little by way of additional public policy initiatives (e.g., legislation) that is needed in trying to prevent a “dog bite epidemic” that simply does not exist.

Animal protection groups should stop focusing on this type of fear-based advocacy, stop perpetuating myths, and start educating the public about the truth regarding the dogs they theoretically exist to protect, who they fundraise off of, and who they claim they are working to save. It is not the job of an animal protection group to mimic the claims of a dog bite lawyer. Where there is fear and misinformation which would call for a crackdown on dogs and dog lovers, with little justification and through methods that provide little in the way of actual protection, it is our job to quell that, not fan the flames of distortion, as they so often do.

We will never eliminate risk in society. We can minimize it, but in the case of dogs, there is little more that can and should be done. And, in many ways, we need to undo some of the laws and regulations because they allow friendly dogs to be killed without making anyone safer (such as breed bans).

Dogs are already heavily regulated: they must be licensed with local authorities, they cannot go in public places without a leash (if at all), they must be vaccinated against rabies, you can’t live with more than a small number of them, animal control officers can seize and destroy them if they determine that they are a nuisance, and the threshold of making a determination that they are dangerous and subject to extermination puts dogs at a disadvantage, even when the facts show otherwise. Together, license laws, leash laws, vaccination laws, pet limit laws, nuisance laws, health codes, property laws, and dangerous dog laws control dogs, in concert with an animal sheltering system built on overkill, that there is little justification to tighten the noose even further.

Furthermore, banning Pit Bulls or any breed of dog is geared to overkill by definition because—media hysteria to the contrary—the vast majority of dog bites occur within the home by many breeds, with the dog biting a member of the family after some provocation, a different causal mechanism than the false image presented: an epidemic of free roaming Pit Bulls attacking unknown children or the elderly. As a result, a breed ban won’t stop the vast majority of dog bites. On top of that, roughly 20% of those bites are a result of the dog defending him or her-self from being attacked.

And although breed specific legislation proponents like to say that millions of Americans are bitten every year (a dubious proposition), what they don’t say is that, even if that were true (it is not), over 92% of dog bites result in no injuries. Let me repeat, over nine out of ten bites that do occur result in no one getting hurt. And of the remaining 8%, 7.5% are minor. In fact, they are less severe than any other class of injury. That leaves less than 1% (0.08% to be exact) of all bites ranking at moderate or above.

Moreover, recent research shows that the number of dog bites are on the decline and have been falling for the last three decades to all-time lows. And while the vast majority are insignificant, the majority of serious bites were determined to be “largely preventable.” I am not downplaying even the death or maiming of a single person. It is tragic. And as an animal control director, I had no tolerance for the adoption of aggressive dogs. But creating public policy—and shelter standards—needs careful and thoughtful deliberation, not incendiary fanaticism based on an irrational fear of the Pit Bull.

For further reading.

Blogs/Websites:

KC Dog Blog: www.kcdogblog.com
National Canine Research Council: www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com

HSUS a Cash COW

200 million in the bank isn't enough to keep this animal rights group in a fancy office. Not only haven't they spent one dime on the care and welfare of a single animal but they charge shelters hefty consultations fees to boot.
Animals are a cash COW for this group.

Read more here.
http://www.rexano.org/HSUS_Congress_animal_rights_bills_Frame.htm

Democrates hate dogs

As a former Democrat supporter I have found they are anti dog, I can no longer support the party in any way.

Why do I say this. First lets look at what has happened over the last two years since they have been the majority.
Gas prices have become out of control.. The housing market is falling a part. Food prices are reaching a point of untouchable for most families. Jobs are on the decline. The dollar has fallen to its lowest in, well its never been this low.

The presidential candidates are blaming Bush, but guess who makes the laws, the democratic Senate and congress. So it isn't Bush's fault but those who find it perfectly fine to bleed money, the Democrats.

Now lets talk dogs.
Under our constitution we are granted certain rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. My dogs make me happy, so the laws which make it difficult to own, breed, travel and enjoy are against my constitutional rights.
Laws designed to make dog ownership difficult, stifling, confusing and illegal are against all dog owners rights to pursuit of happiness.

The democratic party is doing everything it can to take our rights as dog owners away. Check out where the democratic party members are getting support form that they need to pay back in the form of favors and support for legislation!
One state, one county, one municipality at a time.
It has reached a point that to cross these great United States, dog owners have to contact all states, towns and counties they will pass through to find out if the dog they own can pass through said towns.
If you own a Pit Bull, Doberman, Rottweiler, German Shepard, crossing he wrong boarder can mean you dog will be taken away and euthanized.
Think this is unfounded. talk to those who have lost their dogs for driving through the wrong town!

Who passes these unconstitutional laws, all Democrats.
Every single one, not just a few but every dog law is supported and sponsored by Democrats.
Want to prevent more stupid laws, get rid of Democrats and keep your dog safe in your home and in your car.

February - National Dog Resolutions Months

What!
New Years Eve we declare a list of resolutions to make our lives better.
We swear in this new year we will do all things we have been wanting to
do but never got around to because of a million reasons (excuses) why not!

What about our dogs. Have you made a resolution for them?

Do you promise to walk them more, play with them more or teach them
to do the things which will make them better companions?

So lets declare February Doggie Resolution month.
Here is a simple check list of Doggie to do's:

1. Do you walk your dog daily?
Not just potty walks but getting out there
and moving. It will also help you with one of your resolutions. If your
dog isn't good on the leash, making walks difficult, teach them how.
Take some training classes.

2. Does your dog travel with you?
They get bored sitting around the house all day, every day. Take them with you.
Make them a part of your life as much as you can. If they are not good in
public, then find distraction classes to teach them the boundaries of good
behavior.

3. Do you feel comfortable getting them to the beach or park and letting
them run off leash?
Dogs love to run free. Those with door bolters and fence jumpers know
this all too well! All dogs should be taught off leash training. These dogs
are more focused, attached to their owners, calmer and much happier!

4. Does your dog understand basic commands and can they do them
when needed?
A dog who can sit with no distraction but can't with company walking through
your door simply doesn't know how to sit, teach them. You will be proud when
company comes over and you will probably have company over more often
if your dog is well behaved.

Your dog waits for you to come home every day.
They ask very little of you, make your Doggie Resolution to be more
active with your dog!

Really bad NJ breeding bill!

The passage of this bill

will force good in home breeders out and bring commercial
breeding industry in their place.

Puppies will not have the quality attention, affection,
socialization and warmth of a family setting to prepare them
for futures within our homes.

Contact your representatives and tell them to vote no!
Protect our future litters!
The Animal Welfare Act was developed by PETA and Animal
Rights groups who have no real care or concern for a family
pet.  PETA killed 97% of the dogs they took in for adoption
last year. Are these  the right people to develop laws about
our pets?

The rules and regulations they are suggesting are arbitrary
and unfounded as a necessity for safety or health of litters.
They only put unnecessary fiscal burdens on breeders.


SOUND THE ALARM!
OPPOSE NJ Assembly Bill A1591

Help defeat New Jersey Assembly Bill A1591 which proposes to
effectively end hobby breeding in New Jersey and threatens
the rights of responsible breeders.  A1591 denies citizens the
ability to purchase a puppy or kitten from a responsible
breeder in their own state.

A1591 ranks as one of the most radical and repressive
anti-dog/cat and anti-breeder bills that has ever been
presented in the United States.

Key points of A1591:
•   Defines a "pet dealer" as anyone who sells or offers for
sale more than 5 animals per year, and requires them to follow
federal regulations set forth by the Animal Welfare Act. 
Being defined as a "dealer" puts hobby breeders into a whole
new category.
•   Requires breeders to comply with a host of restrictive
regulations, with no scientific basis,  and institutes steep
fines for violations.
•   All breeders would be required to comply with draconian
regulations including maintaining specified temperatures,
keeping animals  only on nonporous surfaces, and circulating
air at precise levels-- conditions impossible to meet in a
family home.
•   The measure mandates the acceptable dimensions for crates
and runs, and sets minimum socialization standards, not
consistent with accepted animal husbandry practices.
•   All breeders are required to register annually with the
Department
of Health.  This list will be published and made available
to the public.
•   Violations can be punished with unreasonable penalties--a
$5,000
fine for a first offense or suspension of the license to sell
pets.
•   A member of the public who
supplies information that results in fines or suspension will
be eligible for an award of 10 percent of the
civil penalty or $250, whichever is greater--and they are
granted immunity, even in unsubstantiated cases.

ACT NOW! OPPOSE A1591, which would effectively end RESPONSIBLE
BREEDING in NJ.

1. Tell your NJ Assembly representatives and the bill sponsors
that
you OPPOSE this bill, which is not pro-animal, not even
pro-consumer;
it is simply anti-breeder:
http://tinyurl.com/2gw3jb (National Animal Interest Alliance
Trust)

2. Urge the NJ Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources
Committee
members to OPPOSE this bill.  Get additional background and
contact
information at: http://tinyurl.com/259s34 (AKC)

NJ ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
Chair – Douglas H. Fisher (856) 455-1011 or (856) 251-9801
AsmFisher@njleg.org
Vice Chair – Nelson T. Albano (609) 465-0700 AsmAlbano@njleg.org
John F. Amodeo (no number published) AsmAmodeo@njleg.org
Herb Conaway Jr. (856) 461-3997 AsmConaway@njleg.org
Marcia A. Karrow (908) 782-5127 AswKarrow@njleg.org

BILL SPONSORS
Neil M. Cohen – (908) 624-0880 AsmCohen@njleg.org 
Joan M. Voss – (201) 346-6400 AswVoss@njleg.org

Cost of training your dog?

What is the real cost factor when you seek a training program or service?
Have you thought about what the real value is in having your dog professional trained?

The most expensive training is the program which does not meet or exceed your expectations! The cost of a program is not necessarily the value of the program when you weigh in all the factors.

What is your time worth?
The program which requires many hours to achieve the simplest results is an expense of your valuable time.

What does the training give you as an end product?
A program which limits the end result by giving you a dog who can only do commands in a specific setting is incomplete.

How hard is it to follow through with what you have learned?
Training that requires you to do a lot fussing to keep the dogs attention when in distraction has no immediate value for you. In distraction is when the training should be the easiest for you to follow through with.


It is important for you to realize when you set out to find a suitable training program, that you are not buying commands. Sit only as good as the end result. Sitting in your kitchen is not the same as sitting in the Vets office or at a family picnic or for safety. Anyone can teach a dog to sit rather quickly, but, getting your dog to sit at a distance with distraction as a life saver is not the same command. Yet the greatest value for you and your dog is being able sit when it matters the most for safety.

You are really buying the trainers skill, years of experience with varied dog personalities and temperament handling , teaching abilities, follow up, proving exposure and full spectrum of a well behaved and social acceptable dog. Basically, you are buying the services of someone who is capable of teaching you as well as you dog and creating effective results in a timely manner.
What is a timely manner? Within 12 weeks your dogs should: have manners, problems solved, be able to walk on leash around high distractions (dogs running and playing) sit and down (next to and at a distance on command from play), come off leash with high distraction and from large active group play, go to place (and stay there).

Whatever your goal, it is important for you to be sure that the results exceed your expectations!

Training cannot take place in a bubble. Our dogs live in alternating environments.
In the house, behaviors can take on one form, while outside on the street learning must address real life concerns and foundation.
Most any dog can be taught in isolated circumstance to follow commands easily. Those same commands will become non functional when the dog is faced with the distractions of real life.

So if you are looking for training based on cost of programs, evaluate what the real cost may be for your time, end result, functional use and finally the safety of your dog.

life is better

I have been thinking about the issues about off-leash vs. leash training and have come up with this idea for a tee shirt for my clients to wear.
Something that would make them proud for what they have accomplished and why they worked so hard to achieve this end.
Life is just better off- leash trained!

I will be looking for some better pictures to use and various breeds.
This was my first attempt and I really didn't know what I was doing.

NJ Legislative Alert

The AKC has sent yet another NJ legislative alert out.

Not only does this law give anyone the right with immunity to accuse you of animal cruelty for using specific training equipment if someone deems the equipment cruel but you will never have the chance to face or question the accuser.
This law will also have a mandate on space ration to allowed animals. Those with multiple dogs or rescue foster homes will loss their rights do so and have to give animals up if not within the guidelines.

More information from AKC:

Oppose Overreaching NJ Proposal! Print This Article [Thursday, June 07, 2007] The American Kennel Club is alarmed by the provisions of New Jersey Assembly Bill 2649. The proposal attempts to replace New Jersey's already comprehensive and reasonable animal cruelty laws and humane care standards with an unnecessary, confusing, and haphazard system that will not only affect the health of the general public, but will also threaten the due process rights of individual animal owners. The AKC believes that dog owners bear a special responsibility to their canine companions to provide proper care and humane treatment at all times. We take animal cruelty cases seriously—in fact, anyone convicted of animal cruelty involving a dog will have all AKC privileges suspended. The AKC also supports reasonable and enforceable laws that govern dog ownership, as is currently provided by New Jersey's regime of common-sense laws and regulations. Among AB 2649's 56 pages, its most egregious proposals include the following: Any person, regardless of their lack of knowledge, training, or expertise, could accuse another person of animal cruelty, while receiving immunity from prosecution for cruelty themselves. Without providing redress for someone who has been unjustifiably and vindictively accused of animal cruelty, this provision is ripe for abuse. The use of a living bird or other animal in events would be considered animal abuse. This would effectively make illegal many performance events, including Earthdog, Coonhound, and Sporting dog hunt tests and field trials. The definition of "minimum care" required for the care of animals will be lessened to include "veterinary care deemed necessary by a reasonably prudent person". AKC believes that veterinary care in all cases should be administered with a professional standard of care with the highest levels of professionalism and competence, as deemed necessary by a licensed veterinarian. The definition of "cruelly restraining a dog" specifically bans the tethering of dogs with less than 15 feet of tether. This provision does not expressly provide an exemption for dogs being groomed on grooming tables in any setting, including grooming salons and dog shows. With substantive animal cruelty provisions already in place, New Jersey state and local governments need to enforce existing law in cruel tethering cases. Irresponsible owners who are not providing humane treatment for their animals can and should be prosecuted under current law. What You Can Do: Contact your representative in the New Jersey General Assembly and express your opposition to AB 2649. To find your Assemblymember, click here. For more information, contact AKC's Canine Legislation Department at (919) 816-3503, or e-mail doglaw@akc.org.

Best Friends Animal Sancturay

Do not support this animal group. They are having secret meetings on how to remove certain breeds from our lives and are setting themselves up as the definitive word in animal knowledge with a hidden agenda.

Nj seeks to remove legal rights

Ownership alert!

While I fully understand the pain of losing a beloved pet, I oppose this attempt to create a legal hornet’s nest in the pet community by utilizing emotional backlash and love for one’s pet as a spring board into guardianship and a legal fray of pet malpractice suits it will bring.

Lawyers will be the only persons to stand to win in this proposed bill.

The bill will create several things:

1) Increase the cost of pet care due to medical malpractice insurance similar to what has

happened in the human medical community.

2) Promote fewer pet owners due to the increase cost of pet care.

3) Bring about the formation of “guardianship” laws which will create legal access to remove dogs from homes. Even using a leash collar and correcting your dog out in public can have you arrested. This is already happening in other states. People are being banned from dog competition because they looked at their dogs sternly and are considered abusive!

4) Create a legal system solely for pet law, since the already over crowed court systems will not be able to handle the excess of litigation. Simple things such as a neighbor has a grudge against another neighbor, speak abuse and the courts must remove your dog.

5) Increase all costs of dog ownership via the need for pet stores, trainers, toy manufactures and such to pay malpractice insurance.

6) Allow the state to become the legal owner of your pet. The state will have the right to bring lawsuits in your dogs name to courts against you the owner; this is the precedent of guardianship and the removal of dogs as property. The dogs will suffer no matter the outcome of the trial since they will be placed in a shelter for whatever time frame necessary for the legal system to work and you will not be allowed to see your pet or own another dog until the trial is concluded.

My belief is the spay/neuter laws are being enforced to clear the shelter out to allow store room for dogs who will brought through the legal system. There is no such thing as over crowed shelters due to over breeding of dogs. Shelters are full of untrained dogs whose owners can’t be bothered to train them properly.

Contact your senator to voice your opposition to this proposed law. Contact any friend or family and have them do the same. This bill is going before the assembly on Monday May 28, 2007.

N.J. May Give Pet Owners Right to Sue Bill Would Allow Lawsuits for Pain And 

Suffering If Animal Dies From Eating Contaminated Food   

  (CBS/AP) New Jersey on Monday will consider giving pet owners the right to sue 

For emotional pain and suffering if an animal gets sick or dies from eating 

Contaminated pet food. 

Joyce Tischler, founding director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said New 

Jersey would become one of the few states in the nation to allow such lawsuits. 

She said Tennessee allows pet owners to sue for up to $5,000 in damages. New 

Jersey's proposal includes no damage limit. 

"This would be a significant step forward in state legislation, " Tischler said. 

New Jersey Assemblyman Neil Cohen said his bill would change the legal standard 

that generally regards pets as property. 

"For many pet owners, losing a dog or cat to tainted food is tantamount to 

losing a loved one to a preventable tragedy," Cohen said. 

Veterinarians have opposed similar proposals in other states, arguing that such 

laws would increase consumer costs and encourage frivolous lawsuits. 

Cohen's bill is set to be considered Monday by an Assembly committee. He said he 

wrote it following March's nationwide pet food recall. 

http://www.cbsnews. com/stories/ 2007/05/21/ health/main28318 51.shtml

Genocide in California

Follow this link and read what is really happening. If this pases in CA. it will spread across the country like wildfire!


http://tinyurl.com/3xpv6y

Mandatory Spay and Neuter

The new wave of dog insanity crossing the country is the requirement that all dogs be spayed or neutered by 4 months of age.
What is truly sad is the fact that despite new information suggesting early altering of dogs is found to be harmful both physically and emotionally, the push goes on. Laws being made by those with little or no knowledge of what they are doing, spurned on by organizations looking to rid the planet of family pets!

The push is being presented as a way to reduce the numbers of dogs who are placed into and euthanized in shelters. The over population card has been played so many times in this very controversial issue that people no longer what is or isn't fact.

Shelter numbers have been on a steady decline since the 1980's and dog are now being shipped around the country to keep numbers elevated. Dogs are being brought in from Puetro Rico and Europe.

The benefits of early spay and neuter are this:

A full and rapid decline of dogs and cats. The goal here is to eliminate all cats and dogs as pets.
HSUS president Wayne Parcells says. " One generation and out!" Read information on the www.anti-peta.com web site to see what the real agenda is and how they use the millions of dollars donated by those who have paid to kill and promote genocide of their own family pets.

Dogs and cats will only be available through limited sources sanctioned by the government. A limited gen pool creates sick dogs.

Hobby and show Breeders will become a thing of the past. Over populations does not happen by those who build and develop blood lines carefully. Over populations comes from puppy millers looking to make a buck off the emotional buy people make in pet stores.

Dogs are already being black market into the country from Mexico, so this will eventually become an illegal form of black market and illegal commerce.

Dogs will not be inoculated because owners will fear being turned in by their Vets who will be compelled by the state to report ever dog.

Dogs will not physically develop normally since those hormones are needed for growth.

A greater increase of bone cancer and other forms of cancers and diseases.

More behavioral problems. Dogs will stay emotionally immature, not train well or mature properly.

Early spay of females creates more aggressive females.
See information from www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

Dog Food Recall Wal-Mart Ol' Roy Biscuits

The over a hundred various company products recalled in the past few weeks due to chemicals found in wheat gluten that are making dogs sick and killing, it is important you contact your food vendors to be sure what you are feeding is safe.
It seems Menu Foods, the manufacture of the recalled foods has been testing and receiving complaints as early as December 2006, so foods made before that time can still be on store shelves.
At first the recall was for wet foods but now dry foods and treats are being recalled.

As of yesterday April 5, 2007 this recall became necessary:

Sunshine, of Red Bay, Ala., sells pet foods and treats under its own
brands as well as private labels sold by grocery, mass merchant and
dollar stores, according to its Web site. The recall included some
of the products made for sale under five private labels, including
Ol'Roy biscuits, sold by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Stater Bros.
large biscuits, sold by Stater Bros. Markets. It also covered a
portion of Sunshine's own Nurture, Lassie and Pet Life dog biscuit
brands.

Previously, Menu Foods had recalled some wet-style dog foods it made
for sale under the Stater Bros. and Ol'Roy brands as well.

Life's Abundance Premium Dog and Cat Foods are not part of the recall nor is the company a part of the Menu Foods production.
You are safe with all the Life's Abundance food products.

www.petvitamins.org

Sonoita Night

Here is a nice letter written about the abundance of dog training. A goal all training should achieve. Well trained dogs have a fuller life, living more as a natural being. Owners experience more joy in the freedom of the moment.

____________________________________________________________________


We turned onto the dirt ranch road that serves as the southern entrance to
the Empire-
Cienega Ranch (www.empireranchfoundation.org) just as the sun ducked behind
the mountains and the orb of the moon hung itself high in the Sonoran sky.
The Empire-Cienega is is a 42,000 acre patch of high rolling watered
grassland, (cienega means swamp) bordered by the Mustang Mountains on the
east and backdropped by the Santa Ritas on the west. From where we parked
to walk, I was embraced by grassland from horizon to horizon - on one side
the shimmering white light of the full moon, on the other, the fading pink
silhouetting the mountains whose tones were
deepening to cobalt in the fading light. On moonlit nights like this one,
the light is so bright you can see your shadow, and the waxing and waning of
colors in the sky and on the ground never fails to take my breath away.
Fortunately, the dogs love it as well.

Nagi adores this place and trundles along with his big plume of a tail
wafting from side to side. We haven't been here in a while, but he knows it
well. He has always loved trailing scent in the grasses, but he is starting
to find Lily's {Shiba Inu) hunting antics even more entertaining than
flushing birds himself. She is faster and more efficient, and he gets the
benefit of clusters of birds soaring up under his nose. She is getting to a
level of fitness that astounds me. Periodically she just makes these
quantum leaps forward in development, mentally and physically that leave me
open mouthed wondering what just happened. Recently all of her muscling and
bone have deepened and widened (month 9-10). In the mornings, she now
boings as high as the top of the
bottom half of the barn door impatiently waiting for me to get it open to
hunt mice. Just in the last week it seems that she has discovered she has
springs in her legs, but I had not yet seen the display she put on tonight.

We wandered off the road and up into the hills, the whole area blanketed in
an unimpeded stream of moonlight. Lily started pronging from place to
place, getting more and more excited as birds flushed up from her drives.
As we started down into a draw, it was as if the land, and the light, and
her heart and her heritage all joined forces and became one joyous whole. I
confess to never quite having seen a dog do what she did. By the light of
the moon, dog morphed into antelope. Down the hill she flew bounding three
feet into the air and 6-8 feet forward with each leap. It was astounding.
I was so mesmerized that I had to shake myself and whistle her back in as
she went bounding hundreds of yards ahead of me.

As the light faded, and moonlight washed over the plateau, she became a
dark form with just a flash of white tail that would periodically hurl
itself above the grass level and then down hidden from sight again, Nagi
happily following in her wake. I think he thinks that it is just now sort
of worth it, that we put up with her being a baby. For me, these moments,
when dog gets to be fully dog, are what fuels my soul. Not the ring, not
the progressions, not competition, but when I can simply take a good dog,
for a good walk, in a great place, for me, that is when I truly feel that
God's in his heaven and all's well with the world.

I read something from an author, much of whose words I deeply respect,
words which pained me to the core. She was talking about leash laws and
said "most dogs can't be offleash, nor SHOULD THEY BE..." While it is true
that being off leash carries with it a responsibility to conduct oneself in
a manner befitting noble dog, were I to have to live my life never having
these moments, never having the joy of seeing dogs in nature where they
deserve to be, I think I would die. I never take the spaciousness of my
western lands for granted. And I never take the joy of seeing a dog
experience ground, and wind, and smell, and space for granted. It is my
lifeblood.
Maryna Ozuna Copyright 2007 Ozuna

Reno's Rights Holland WI

There are more newspapers picking up the Reno's Rights story.
I ask you all to go to the newspaper link provided and send them your well thought out and polite response, here is mine!

"There is more of a concern for potential problems then there is for someone who has already proven by demonstrating beyond a doubt their ability to have more dogs than allowed under the current laws and still remain vigilant in their care and consideration for the neighbors.
If a laws exists which would allow more dogs than currently designated, how would that be any different than the expectations placed on someone with two dogs. The number is arbitrary, the care, up keep and training is what anyone should be looking for in a competent dog owner. Someone seeking a variance who has not displayed abilities to care for the dogs should not receive one, but someone how has proven themselves should not be punished by being grouped with and blamed for another failures.

To deny someone based on a possible problem is unfair to those who are responsible and give allowances to those who are not."

Please contact the Holmen Courier News at:

http://www.holmencourier.com/news/00lead.txt

Holland WI.

Here is more information by a great trainer about Reno's Rights.

There is also rational information concerning Pit Bulls to counter the false claims that all Pit Bulls are bad!

http://www.lilacpitbull.com/wordpress/index.php