K-9 LifeSavers

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Today is the anniversary of the first guide dog school in America.

The first formal guide dog program was developed in Pottsdam, Germany, using German Shepherds as guides for veterans blinded by the WWI. Though this program did not last, it caught the attention of an American living in Switzerland, Dorothy Harrison Eustis, who thought that it was a noble profession for which to train her own dogs.

Ms. Eustis wrote an article about the Pottsdam School that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on November 5, 1927 and it was through this article that Tennessean Morris Frank learned of the guide dog program. Frank, who had lost the use of his eyes in two separate accidents, contacted Eustis with a request to train a dog for him that would allow him a measure of independence.  In return he vowed to teach other people who were blind what he had learned.

Frank traveled to Switzerland for his training with Buddy, a female German shepherd and became the first American to use a guide dog. Frank returned to the stated with $10,000 from Ms. Eustis and established The Seeing Eye, first guide dog school in America, incorporated on January 29, 1929.

Meet Darby.  This lovely lady is friendly and playful and would love to be your helper! Though she's never had the training of a guide dog, she'd love to spend some bonding time with you learning new tricks. If Darby sounds like your perfect partner, let us know!

It's always fun to have a dog with a full bag of tricks to impress the neighbors, and one of the classics is shaking hands. If your K-9 doesn't know this trick, here's how to teach him:

Step 1: With your dog siting before you, hide a treat in your hand, low to the ground.  Encourage your dog to paw at it by saying "shake." Reward your dog with the treat the moment his left paw comes off the ground.

Step 2: Gradually raise the height of your hand, until he is lifting his paw to chest height.

Step 3: Transition to using a hand signal.  Stand up and hold the treat in your left hand, behind your back, and extend your right hand while cuing "shake." When your dog paws your extended hand, support his paw in the air while your reward him with the treat from behind your back.

Step 4: Repeat these steps on the opposite site using "paw" in place of "shake." Or really knock people out by teaching your dog the commands with "right" and "left."

Tips: If your dog is nosing at your hand instead of pawing at it, bop his nose a little bit to discourage this.  He may try barking, nuzzling, or doing nothing.  Be patient and keep encouraging him.  If he does not lift his paw on his own, tap it or barely lift it for him and then reward him.

Remember training should be a positive experience for your dog, so have lots of patience and end on a positive note, even if it means going back to an easy command like "sit."  Practice often with rewards and once your dog had the "aha!" moment, start reducing the number of treats he gets for performing tricks to an occasional reward.

The Tervuren is one of four types of Belgian Shepherds from the Herding Group. The American Kennel Club is the only kennel club in the world that recognizes the Belgian Tervuren, Belgian Groenendael, Belgian Malinois and the Belgian Laekenois as four distinct breeds, as they share a common foundation that is generally only distinguished by their coat types.

The Belgian Tervuren was named after the Belgian village of Tervuren, where rural farmers in the late 1800s had a great need for a general purpose herding and guarding dog. This breed’s protective nature provided security for farm and family, and its instinctive herding abilities helped with daily tending of the flocks.

In the early years of its development, the breed primarily was used to guard, protect and herd. The breed almost became extinct during World Wars, although a small group of dedicated breeders continued preserving and protecting the breed. As the breed grew in popularity after the 1950s campaign of champion Willy de la Garde Noire, it became prized not only for herding but also for its stable, affectionate and loyal personality. Today, they are valued as human companions, therapy dogs and service dogs for the disabled and also excel at obedience, conformation, sledding, schutzhund and agility.

Tervurens are highly energetic and intelligent dogs that excel at dog sports. This breed is known to be loyal to their family and somewhat shy to strangers. They require a strong owner that will serve as a pack leader and provide plenty of exercise and stimulation to avoid the hyperactivity that comes with boredom.

If your K-9 has been sitting patiently in the doorway of your kitchen while you whip up batches of holiday treats for the family, it just might be time to show your puppy some love with his very own holiday cookies!

K-9 Candy Canes

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp dry milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 3 tbsp rolled oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Yogurt for icing

Directions:

• If using a bread machine, mix all ingredients together and place everything in machine on the dough cycle.
• If using a mixer or by hand:
   - Dissolve the yeast into water
   - Mix in the vegetable oil
   - Mix in the flours, dry milk, sugar, cornmeal, oats and cinnamon
   - Knead the dough (using hands or dough hook on a mixer) into a ball, cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

When dough is ready divide it into 3 pieces and roll each piece out to 1/4" thickness.

Use a candy cane shaped cookie cutter* to cut out your treats and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake the treats at 275 degrees for about an hour, checking to make sure they don't get to brown.  Turn off the oven and allow them to remain in the oven to dry overnight. When completely dry, the treats should be dry, hard and crisp.

Decorate the treats by painting stripes with the yogurt as icing.

The treats may be stored at room temperature for a month as long as they have been sufficiently dried.

* If you don't have a candy cane cookie cutter, you may roll out small ropes and shape them into candy canes

We think candy canes bring Joy and this little girl would love to find a home filled with homemade goodness! Only weeks old (born Nov 5) Joy and her siblings are a happy bunch that are spending their days playing and nosing around, hoping to discover a forever home!

Many of would go crazy without our friends, they get us out of the house, make us laugh and leave us feeling relaxed and loved. It's not that different for dogs, who by instinct are pack animals. While they certainly love their humans and the companionship they provide, K-9 friends provide something different.

From the time puppies are born and become aware of their surroundings, their litter mates teach each other manners and basic rules. One of the most important lessons is biting: bite too hard and you will be ignored. Bite too often and you're ignored. The lessons they learn from their siblings (and K-9 pals throughout their life) will be transferred to their humans, which helps them curb some of their less desirable impulses.

As puppies grow they usually move on to games such as tug-of-war and wrestling. While these are games, they also carry an element of challenge and pack status with them, which is why many trainers will tell you never to play tug-of-war with your dog, as you are letting your leader of the pack status be challenged. However, this is where dog relationships have a place humans cannot match as dogs have no problem teaching a lesson in manners with a growl or a nip, something humans just can't pull off.

Beyond the manners lessons, sometimes a dog should have a chance just be a dog. Play with other dogs helps build their confidence, mental and physical health and keeps them in general high spirits.

While homes that have two or more dogs have a build-in friend, just about any dog will benefit from a romp at a dog park or time at doggie day care. It gives them time to let loose and have fun, and helps with their overall socialization.

If you have adopted a rescue dog, chances are your dog may already have a microchip to ensure he doesn't end up lost a second time.  Microchips have become a popular identification choice for dogs. They are permanent, relatively low in cost and can help reunite you with your pet if they get lost. The most important thing to know is that having one implanted is only half of the process.

Registering the microchip, and keeping it up to date is perhaps the most important part of the process. Registration is fast and easy, though there is a nominal charge, it puts you and your pet's personal information in the national database. Pet information typically consists of: name, photo, rabies and chip ID number and veterinarian contact.

For the chips to provide protection, you must keep your registration current. If you move or change phone numbers, be sure to update your profile.  So take a minute now to ensure that your pets microchip information is registered and up to date!

It's October, which is one of our favorite months of the year, why you might ask? The leaves are falling, pumpkins abound, but most of all October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month!!  Though we think about anytime is a good time to bring four legs of love into your life, October sees groups across the country working together to find 10 million animals a home, and raise awareness about what it means to bring home any animal.

A study commissioned by the ASPCA asked why people would surrender a dog found the following reason:

• 29% cited behavior problems
• 29% cited the family's housing situation
• 25% cited incompatibility with the family's lifestyle
• 15% cited lack of preparation of not meeting expectations

We know that these guys are awfully cute, and we would love to play match maker, but before we do, we do ask that you consider a few things:

• Are you ready to make a long-term commitment (up to 15 years)? Adopting a pet means being responsible for its health and happiness for the rest of his or her life.
• Is the animal I'm looking at right for my household? Energetic or strong dogs may not be a good fit for households that include young children or an elderly person, yet a small pet may be too delicate for children to play rough with. 
• Who will be the primary caretaker for the animal?  Making sure there is someone responsible for the pet helps ensure the pet's needs do not get lost in the shuffle of busy lives.
• Can I afford the animal? Not just the adoption fees, but vet bills, food, toys, and even training.

If you can confidently answer yes to these questions, then we have dogs of all ages, shapes, and sizes that we would love for you to meet including Bingo!

Did you know that recent genetic research has been able to make headway into the evolution of dogs? Ultimately all dogs originate from the wolf, but scientist have been able to determine that four distinct dog groups began the evaluation into the various dog breeds we know today. The dogs that got everything started were:

In Asia the Shar Pei, Shiba Inu, Akita & Chow Chow

Artic: Malamutes, Siberian Huskies & Samoyeds

Central Africa’s Basenji

Middle East: Afghan Hounds & Salukis

If you’re a history buff, or love family trees and want to know your dog’s reach far back then allow us to introduce:

The Shar Pei is a dog known for its distinctive wrinkles and blue-black tongue. Originally hailing from China, the name Shar Pei translates to "sand skin," referring to their rough, prickly coat that on some dogs is so abrasive it can actually cause a rash if someone strokes the dog against the grain! 

Historically Shar Pei's existed for centuries helping their peasant masters with various tasks on farms such as herding cattle and guarding the home and family.  However, most of the Shar Pei's fame, which haunts them today, comes from their use by the Chinese nobility as fighting dogs. The practice was outlawed after the communist revolution, as the activity was seen as "preservation of the decadent classes." In fact, after the People's Republic of China was established as a communist nation, the dog population was virtually wiped out. Due to the efforts of Matgo Law of Hong Kong, a small number of Shar Pei were brought to the United States in the 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1978 both Time magazine and The Guinness Book of World Records declared the Shar Pei the World's Rarest Dog.  Efforts to save this infamous breed led to inexperienced and rushed breeding which resulted in a number of health problems that breeders are still working to combat today.  Responsible breeders have virtually eliminated certain problems and can give advice on how to best care for each individual Shar Pei.

As the Shar Pei's history includes dog fighting, much like the American Pit Bull Terrier, it has been subject to breed-specific legislation that works to criminalize and target breeds alleged to be "more likely" to attack.  While the Shar Pei does require early socialize and can be strong willed and territorial, in general, the breed has proved itself to be a loving, devoted family dog. Like many dogs that are poorly trained the Shar Pei can become aggressive, but it is an extremely intelligent dog and with proper training and socialization will accept strangers and be a loyal and affectionate companion.

The weather doesn't show any signs of cooling off anytime soon, so refresh your K-9 with this super simple Frosty Paw recipe.

Frosty Paws
• 1 ripe banana
• 4 oz fat free yogurt–vanilla or banana
• 2 oz water

Put all ingredients in blender and puree. Pour into ice cube trays or cut down Dixie cups. Freeze.

If you're not sure if you're in it for the love haul, but would like to hang out for a while, Levi would love to stay with you as a foster!