The Local Heroes of Dog Rescue

I have been promising for a while to write a blog entry about some of my friends at the local canine rescue agencies. In the title, I call these people heroes. To the dogs that they help, and to me, they really are heroes.
These people volunteer their time to help provide forever homes for some of Gods most innocent and precious creatures. In most cases, they literally save these dogs lives by removing them from local animal shelters before the dogs are euthanized. These wonderful volunteers, the foster parents, open their homes to these dogs until they are adopted.

These heroes work many hours on the weekends at various events around town (pet stores, etc.) to show these beautiful animals to potential adoptive parents. In addition to that, they constantly are raising funds to provide food and other essentials for the animals that are in their care.

During my time working at Petco in Peactree City, GA, I was blessed to meet a few of these wonderful heroes. I hesitate to mention names because I know I will leave many good people out. I will tell you about a couple of them here. My apologies to the others that I do not mention. I am sure that I will have occasion to write about your work in the future.

Based in Douglasville, GA ,BullyWag is a organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and finding them forever homes. They concentrate primarily on Pit Bull Breeds. Michelle Crampo brings a van load of dogs to Petco in Peachtree City every Saturday.She fosters many of these guys in her home. Many of these dogs find their forever homes as a result of the work that she does. She also has a soft spot for Beagles and Great Pyrenees. I adopted Copper from Michelle in January 2013. He has been a great addition to our pack! You can meet this hero on almost any Saturday afternoon at the Petco in Peachtree City. She will be more than happy to help you select the perfect dog for you and help you provide a forever home to one of these beautiful dogs!

Southern Crescent Canine Rescue

Based in Milner, GA Southern Crescent Canine Rescue saves the lives of many dogs and finds them forever homes.

Sandra Bray and Lew are two of the heroes at Southern Crescent Canine Rescue. They both do great work fostering dogs in their homes and almost every Saturday you can find them at Petco in Peachtree City.

Southern Crescent has a great variety of breeds of dogs.  Sandra and Lew and any of their volunteers are always happy to help you find the perfect little guy or girl for your family!


As always, if you are looking for an addition to your pack, I strongly recommend both of these organizations. If you are outside the Fayette County/ South Metro Atlanta Area, check Petfinder to find a rescue group near you!

Once you choose a little guy or girl to add to your pack, I will be happy to provide you with guidance on transitioning him/her to your home. I will also be happy to help you train your new pack member to be a well behaved and polite addition to your family. Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Till Next Time

-William-
William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Become best pals

Properly training your dog will allow you to coexist with ease and become best pals. When your dog is well-trained, then both you and your dog will know exactly what is expected from each other. You will not have to worry about leaving him home along or taking him to public places. Though it might seem like a difficult task, you and your dog will have many rewarding times together, sharing the tricks and companionship that youve come to know through the dog training sessions.

To have success in dog training, you need to be able to control it with commands. Put yourself in an authoritative position, so that your dog knows to obey you. For example, when you walk your dog you must be in front and you should insist your dog follows behind you.

 Challenge your dog often. Provide your dog with fun ways to "quiz" it in order to ensure that it hasnt lost past training.

 Always keep the atmosphere positive and motivational when conducting a training session with your dog. If your dog performs a task you ask him to, reward him. Negative reinforcement will only confuse your dog early in its training and is likely to make your dog afraid of you.

 Make sure your dog feels safe to train them properly. If a dog feels unsafe, they are likely to show bad behavior. To prevent this from happening, always make sure your dog is in a comfortable, safe area.

 Accidents are bound to happen while housebreaking your puppy. Clean accidents right away to speed up training. Animals are inclined to eliminate repeatedly in spots where they can smell urine or feces, and carpets require special care. There are many products on the market that can help with this, so check with your local pet shop.

 You do not want to use wee-wee pads when potty training your dog. The pads eventually leak; leaked waste marks certain areas in the house as "potty areas". Wee-wee pads can also train your dog to think that other items that are the same shape are a potty area as well. The best way to housebreak a dog is not to allow them to use the bathroom in the house; there is really no alternative.

 Teach your pet the proper way to walk on a leash. When they walk properly, it makes both of you safer when you both go walking.

 Destructive chewing is often a result of anxiety. Putting your dog in his crate with a chew toy will reduce the chance of destructive events and give him something to do while he waits for you.

 If you lack patience or cannon remain even-tempered during the training session, do not push forward. If you cannot focus on remaining patient when training your dog, it will quickly lose interest in what you are trying to teach.

 Try to teach your dog good habits right away. It is far simpler to teach a dog to do something the right way than to break bad habits. If you never give your dog any scraps from table food, they will never start begging for it.

 Consistency is very important when training your dog. Have a set list of commands that everyone in the household knows. Also, make sure to be on the same page regarding rewarding good behavior and never rewarding bad behavior. Different training methods will only confuse your dog and delay training.

 Never try to train a dog while youre short on patience. If youve had a bad day or are unusually short-tempered for some other reason today, its better to put off training until another day. Your patience is vital for encouraging the focused attention your dog needs to get the full benefits of training.

 Dogs learn well through a reward system that incorportates repetitive techniques. Repetition and reward are the best ways to train a dog. However, you should limit your training sessions to a certain time frame otherwise you may both become frustrated. Your dog will then correctly learn the way to do a trick. Dogs learn through repetition and reinforcement.

 Be consistent with your cues when training a dog. Your dog can learn to associate a command with a particular behavior, but if you keep changing the command associated with a behavior, youll confuse him and he wont do what you want him to do. It is absolutely critical to remain consistent throughout. If you strive for this, you and your pet will get more out of the training.

 Make sure training has an element of fun incorporated into it. Taking time to play creates a strong bond between the two of you, and your dog will be more likely to respond well to training. Training is fun for the dog, but you should set aside some real "play time" as well.

 Do not tie more than one dog in the same area. It is possible for the chains to become intertwined, and the animals can be hurt as they try to get free. If a large dog becomes tangled with a smaller one they could wrap up to the point the airway of the latter is closed off and the dog would die.

 You should not initiate a training session unless you are in a calm and patient mood. Be patient when training your puppy, so you can both stay focused.

 When training a dog it should always be done in a positive, motivated environment. Remember to reward desired behavior achieved by your dog while training, especially in response to specific requests. Using training techniques that are negative and based upon punishments will likely make your dog afraid, disobedient, and unhappy.

 You can prevent your dog from destroying your home by keeping it outdoors when you are away from the house. When this isnt possible, you want to provide things that both appeal to your dog and that are okay for the dog to chew on. Establishing acceptable chews toys is also about keeping those things you do not want your dog to chew up behind closed doors or well out out of reach.

 Now that you have received the helpful advice in this article, you should now be aware how easy it is to train your dog. With patience and a little research, you can train your dog. The right training can help every dog thrive and be well behaved..

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Welcoming an adopted dog into your pack

The Lovely Shane and I are pleased to welcome Cody to our pack!  As I mentioned in a previous post, we adopted Cody from the Coweta County Animal Control Shelter. He arrived yesterday afternoon. He is adjusting to his new forever home very well!

I thought it may be a good occasion to write a blog entry about welcoming an adopted guy or girl to your pack.

If this is your first dog it is important that you dog-proof your home. Take a look at my blog entry about dog-proofing for more information.

Remember to be patient. This can be a stressful time for the dog. If he is a housebroken adult, it is possible that due to the stress he may have accidents. Make sure to take him out very quickly after you get him home so that he knows where he should go. If you need to reinforce or teach housebreaking take a look at my blog entry on housebreaking.

If you have other dogs in your pack, slowly introduce the new guy or girl. Make sure he is not trapped in a corner. If you pick a dog with similar temperament to your existing pack members this transition will be much easier.

If possible, find out what sort of food the dog was eating at the shelter. To eliminate the possibility of an upset stomach, get a bag of the food that he is on. If you want to transition him to a new food, mix his current food with the new food. For  more information on Dog Food, take a look at my blog posts on Nutrition and Corn.

It is not uncommon for adopted dogs to experience separation anxiety. I encourage you to be prepared for this possibility. If you see that the new guy or girl is being destructive when you leave him at home, consider leaving something to occupy his time. A great idea is to buy a Kong toy and fill it with peanut butter and crushed treats. If you freeze this it will work even better. He will spend a lot of time trying to get the peanut butter and treats out of the toy and this will occupy his mind. You may also consider leaving a TV or Radio on so that he hears the voices this may soothe him. See also my blog posting on Dogs and TV.

It is very important that the dog get plenty of exercise. I recommend walking him on the leash at least once a day. If the weather is rainy, take a look at my blog posting about places to walk your dog when it is raining for ideas about dry places to walk when it is raining.

I strongly recommend that you make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Even if the dog is healthy, you need to make sure his shots are current and that you start heart worm preventive and flea and tick preventive as soon as possible. I would also have the vet do a wellness check examination just to verify there are no health issues.

If your dog is not micro-chipped I strongly recommend that you have this done. This is particularly important for sent hounds (beagles, bassets, bloodhounds, etc.) because they are ruled by their noses and will get lost on the trail of something interesting. It is important for any breed ! It is important because the microchip will identify the dog even if he loses his collar. The microchips can be read at veterinarian offices and shelters. I will write a post soon that will go into detail about microchips

I also recommend that you get an engraved name tag for his collar. This way he is very easily identifiable if lost.

The Lovely Shane and I wanted to make sure Cody was clean before we brought him into the dog trainer shack with the rest of the pack. We stopped by Petco in Peachtree City and used the self-service bath. This is really nice because it is set-up for dogs and you dont have a mess to clean up when you are finished. We think it is well worth the $10.00. I also had Whitney ,in the grooming salon, clip Codys nails while we were there. The nails had grown to a very long length. Nail trimming is a very important part of grooming. I will write a blog entry later that explains this in more detail. But, I strongly suggest that you maintain the nails.

Just so that you know I practice what I preach (so to speak) I am taking Cody to the veterinarian in the morning.

You should start training as soon as possible. This will ensure that your new little guy or girl is polite and well behaved. Contact me at any time and I will be glad to discuss training options with you!

Till Next Time

-William_

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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