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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Updated information regarding giving pills to dogs

Earlier, I wrote a blog post in which I mentioned the method that we use here, at the Dog Training/Foster Shack, to give dogs medication in pill form.

One of the things that I suggested in that earlier post was to hide the pill in cheese or a hot dog as an alternative to the pill pockets and similar products that are available, for a high price, at the pet stores.  I mentioned that we used block cheese and that our pack prefers extra strong cheddar. The pack still loves extra strong cheddar, as do I. However, the other day, we ran out of the block cheese and only had the pre-sliced imitation american cheese pictured above. I gave Copper his pill wrapped in this stuff and he loved it.  This stiff is a little cheaper than the block cheese and, I found that it is easier to conceal the pill in it. You can just wrap this stuff around the pill and sort of squeeze it together like play dough.

So, you may want to consider this the next time you have to give your dog a pill.

Till next time

-William-

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

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Dog training information

Dog training can be very intimidating to someone that has never done it before. There is a lot of information out there and sorting through it all can seem difficult. These are just some tips to help you start out with dog training the right way.

When training your dog, always be sure that it feels safe. If your pet feels unsafe, it is more likely they will act out in a negative way. In order to eliminate this, you should ensure that you put your dog in a safe surrounding.

 When you know that you need to be gone for a few hours, take your dog for a long walk before you depart. If you tire them out, they will be better able to handle feelings of anxiety when they are alone and separated from you.

 Do not let the pressures of your day or life influence how you speak to your dog when you are training. Start the training session with good feelings and expectations. Only correct your dog after he has done something you dont want him to.

 You always want to make certain your dog has good leash manners. This helps keep both you and your dog safe when going on walks.

 Anxiety in dogs often leads to destructive behavior like chewing or clawing. Placing the dog in a safe environment such as a dog crate and providing a chew toy keeps the dog safe and occupied until your return.

 When training your dog never punish him; doing so will only make him be resistant to any further training. You should make every effort to prevent the behavior in the first place, but if your pet does misbehave, show him what he should have done instead. You should make training a time to interact with your dog, you want to build a positive relationship with him.

 Dogs can concentrate on one thing intensely and you will have to learn to break his attention. If you keep up with his training, your dog will look to you more often for direction rather than looking to the environment.

 Dont be ashamed to ask for help if your training program doesnt change your dogs behavior. Particularly if you are struggling to achieve the results you desire, professional help may be just what you need. Professional dog trainers know the ins and outs of this better than you. This may be what to takes to get your dog started on the right foot.

 Make sure everyone involved in a dogs training uses the same set of commands. Make sure everyone is on the same page with command words; if the command for being quiet is "quiet," dont let anyone use "stop barking." If everyone uses identical commands, the dog will learn much faster and you will have greater success.

 Take small steps when crate training your dog. Once your dog seems to have acclimated to the crate itself, close the gate and feeding him through it. Begin with small intervals, and work your way up to longer times. If the dog becomes upset, then you need to take a step back and slow down the training.

 Have fun with your dog each day when training. A sense of play brings you and your dog together. This bond makes the dog more responsive to your commands and training him easier. Having fun with your dog during training is one thing, but playing and having fun with your dog outside of training is also necessary.

 You should be constantly challenging your dog and re-teaching it the tricks youve previously taught it. Throw "pop quizzes" occasionally to be sure he is not getting out of practice.

 Your dog should know the difference between right and wrong at all times. This means everyone living in the house needs to enforce the boundaries you set. These inconsistencies can cause significant setbacks.

 Keep your dog well exercised and active. Dogs can get bored easily. A bored dog will try and find something interesting to do, and training is not usually interesting. When your dog is exercised and is happy, training will be easier. Walk or run your dog frequently.

 Crate training is very beneficial, but there can be difficulties that the following tips can help with. If your pet is nervous about the crate, consider putting a toy or treat inside to motivate them to go in. Temptation wins with this exercise; your dog will be eager to enter the crate when a treat is waiting for him. Give your dog some praise when he gets inside, so that he further associates being in the crate with good behavior.

 Dont let your dog take the lead in a training session, or in life. . Dont ever give your dog a command if you are unable to follow through with the enforcement of it.

 Use dog treats that are tasty for your dog, and are of high value in order to obtain great results. Since these treats will be handed out sparingly, it should not matter too much if they are usually off limit items.

 If you catch your puppy chewing on something that he shouldnt be, stop him as soon as you catch him. Redirecting your puppy towards a chew toy teaches him what is appropriate to chew on. This can prevent further damage to your possessions.

 A clicker works well when training most dogs. Using a clicker is as simple as showing your dog that good things happen when the clicking noise is heard. Try using this technique right away, doing it frequently over a span of a few days. Your dog will soon know that the clicking noise means that they are doing a good job.

 After learning some helpful hints on how to get through to your dog and train it to behave to your expectations you simply need to follow what you have learned. After changing your dogs behavior to fit with the tips suggested you can properly train your dog..

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Coming Soon Cody the Beagle!

The Lovely Shane and I would like to announce that we are adding a new little guy to our pack. Cody is a small beagle that we are adopting from Coweta County Animal Control. Cody is a handsome tri-color, approx. 7 year old Beagle. He has a very laid back and easy going personality. He was found by animal control wandering around without a collar or identification. He has been at Animal Control since May 12 and was scheduled to be euthanized on June 12.

We went to meet him on Saturday. We could not leave without adopting this little guy! I think he wagged his little tail the whole time we were there! And, like all beagles, he loves treats! One of the guys on staff gave him a treat while we were there.

I have enjoyed raising Beagles most of my life. Now I have a real compassion for older adult Beagles. These guys and gals have a difficult time finding a home because everyone seems to want puppies. I urge you to consider adopting an older adult the next time you would like to welcome a new pack member to your home!

He is now going to the the veterinarian to get his rabies vaccine and to be micro-chipped.  Once that is done he will come home with us. We expect that to be done no later than Wednesday.

I will keep you all updated on the progress.

Again, as always, I encourage you to consider adoption when you decide to add a new dog to your pack. If you are in the Coweta County area, take a look at http://www.shelterrescueinc.org. I also always recommend petfinder as an excellent resource http://www.petfinder.com.

I will be posting an entry in the future about some of the wonderful local rescue organizations and their dedicated volunteers.

Till Next Time

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

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Regarding confidentiality of customer information

I thought it prudent to write about an issue that has been in my thoughts a lot lately.

As many of you are aware, I also own a Lawn Maintenance and Handyman business. Copper and I quite frequently purchase materials for business related projects at the Lowes store in Fayetteville, GA. 

Lowes has recently partnered with Porch.com. Porch.com is a marketing service. The electronic service that they provide is intended to match homeowners that are looking for home improvement contractors with contractors in the area that can do the work. It is similar to Yelp.com. 

I found some of their marketing material at the Lowes contractor desk and decided to create a profile on Porch.com for the Handyman business.

I like some things about Porch.com. The contractor can put up pictures of projects and provide a lot of information on the type of services that they provide.

However, there is one thing for which my gut feel, so to speak, was not good at all:

Porch provides a mechanism for new homeowners to discover who has worked at the address of their home. Part of this information is obtained by Porch through public record searches (i.e. building permits, etc.) I do not really have a problem with this because this is public information and can be obtained by anyone. However, Porch, very strongly encourages contractors to give them lots of information about jobs they have done, Much of the information they request is customer information that I consider confidential. They want to know how much I charged a customer for a particular job (like the projects that I post). They want to know the exact street address of the job (supposedly for the address search feature I mentioned). They do not want the customer name ( if they have the other information, I maintain that the name is easy to obtain).

In his gospel, Luke records the words of Jesus, " Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Sometimes we call this the golden rule. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Well, friends, I have to tell you, if I do business with you, I really do not want you telling strangers where I live and how much I paid you for the job. As the old folks that I grew up around used to say, "It just aint none of their business".

It might be kind of cool to find out who, in the past, did work at a house I just bought. It might be cool to find out how much the previous owners paid for a repair. However, if they wanted me to know they would have told me. I could have asked before I bought the house. And, just because a particular contractor worked at an address in the past, does not really mean that this contractor will be a good choice for a future job. It does not even mean that the contractor did the work properly the first time.

A Porch representative contacted me by phone and very strongly suggested that I disclose this sort of information about my customers. I never intended to disclose any of this information. I have a very strong information security background from my previous career as a computer network security consultant, I was curious, so I asked for documentation detailing the internal controls, if any, that Porch implements to secure the potential vulnerability of this sensitive data. This should be in their internal data security policies and procedures. I was promised this information. What I got was names of contractors who have disclosed customer information to Porch. Porch wants me to contact these contractors for testimonials regarding how great it is to disclose sensitive customer information to a marketing company like Porch. Well.... No Thanks.

So, I strongly suggest that you, as a consumer, insist that personally identifiable information about your deal with your contractor remain confidential. I often use pictures and/or descriptions of the work that I do for customers as a marketing tool. Sometimes, I will give a broad description of the geographical area of the work, i.e. North Fayette County, GA.  However, I never disclose the customers name, address, nor any details of the deal (i.e. cost, time to complete, etc.) I am proud of my work but, your confidentiality is important to me as well!

I realize that this does not really apply directly to Dog Training. However, it does give you some idea of my position regarding business ethics and I thought it important to include here.

-Till Next Time

William

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Should the dog sleep in the bed with me

There is really no consensus among trainers about the subject of dogs on the bed. There are varying opinions and pros and cons on both sides of the issue. However, in my opinion, it ultimately is about two things: Do you want the dog on the bed and is the dog well suited to be on the bed.

If you do not want the dog on the bed, that is the end of the story. It is your bed. It is your resource to control. If you never allow your little buddy on the bed, he will not expect it.

The lovely Shane and I allow Cuddles and Copper on the bed with certain limitations. As long as they behave they can stay. If they start moving around too much, barking at each other, etc. it is time for them to get down.

Some dogs do not enjoy sleeping all night on the bed. Copper, for example will nap on the bed as he is doing after a long day of work in the picture on the left.  However, at night, he sometimes will jump on the bed to get petted, then lay on the foot of the bed for a few minutes, then he will make his way to his bed on the floor.

Cuddles, on the other hand, will sleep, most of the night, on the bed with us.

There are trainers who are concerned that the dogs see sleeping on the bed as a sign of the dog being dominant over the people. My thought is that if you have a dog who is aggressive or is guarding the bed then, obviously, it is time for the dog to get off the bed. However, from a training/behavioral perspective I do not see a need to ban dogs from the bed across the board.

There are also health concerns. I am not a doctor. I do not even play one on TV :). That being said, if you have allergies or medical issues that are impacted negatively by the dog sleeping with you, I think that is a so-called, "no-brainer" decision.  In that case I would not let the dog sleep with me.  I think what it all comes down to is that it is your bed so you decide if the dog can sleep with you.

I really like having the dogs close by when I sleep. If I did not allow them in the bed with me, I would want them at least in the bedroom. My reasoning is that if they need to go out to potty in the middle of the night they can (and do) bark to wake me.

Now , what I have written about thus far is adult dogs. If you have a puppy, I think you should seriously consider keeping the little guy in a crate at night. This will keep him from getting into trouble while you are sleeping (chewing up things, etc,) and will aide with housebreaking. It will also be safer for him. As a little guy, it would be easy for you to accidentally hurt him by rolling over on him in your sleep.

However, once the puppy is housebroken and has gotten a little older and bigger, if you are comfortable that he will not get into trouble, I see no issue with allowing him to sleep with you on the bed. He has to also be obedient enough to get down when you  give the command.

Well, I hope this has been helpful to you. Remember, the bottom line is that it is your bed if the dog is well behaved and you want him there it is fine, if he misbehaves or you dont want him there, that is fine too.

Remember if you have any questions about your dogs behavior or about training, please feel free to contact me at any time!

Till next time

-William-

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

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