"mike d." wrote in message
...
I adopted my dog, who was deemed"vicious" and five years later, he has been
the best dog I ever had. Mike.




My adult dog Gracie came to us with extreme separation anxiety, resulting in
significant damage to ones home. Happy to report she can be left free in
the house all day long without one bit of damage to anything, nor any
*accidents*. She's a great girl as is her brother, Merlin, aka *Big Boy*.

As an aside, the new screen porch is intact, and we are able to leave the
door open while we are gone, to let the dogs have free fun of the porch and
house. They enjoy being able to relax on the porch while we are out. We
find their chew bones out there when we arrive back home.


td

To be fair, the shelter only had her for two days before we adopted her.
I am assuming that the previous owners who took her in may not have been
honest with the shelter. I cannot imagine that the shelter would
outright lie.

Dakota's behavioral problems did not include aggressiveness, she is
actually a very sweet, happy dog. But I don't think anybody made any
effort to train her, and you get a 7 month old dog full of energy and a
good size, with no training, and try to move them into your house, you
get total anarchy, LOL!

She was however, a bully toward our other dog. She's jealous and
doesn't want to share us. Our other dog is older and not accustomed to
standing up for herself. She's had a long, peaceful life with us until
Dakota butted in.

I haven't written all the articles about her yet to go into some of the
other issues we've had with her, and there have been many. It's on the
list. As the lady in the store said: She's a handful!

Shari


As a shelter employee, I wonder what the behavioral problems were.

Do you think the shelter should have known about the problems and/or
should have warned you? If they knew, they should have warned you. If
the problems could potentially involve violence, the dog shouldn't have
been offered for adoption.

--
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They have good moments and bad ones. If they are about to get a treat,
they are both model citizens, sitting side by side with wagging tails.
Outdoors, as long as Dakota has the evil collar on, they actually play
together. I have to keep a watch though because Gypsy Rose gets tired
and wants to stop and Dakota will keep on, so I have to send the BLEEP
sound to warn her to back off.

Indoors goes both ways. Sometimes they get along really well, sometimes
Dakota just goes into bully mode and picks on Gypsy Rose and I have to
intervene. When Dakota is hungry (just before meals) she gets edgy. If
she hasn't had enough exercise she gets edgy toward Gypsy Rose.

Yet if we put them both in the kennel together they are fine, every
time. It's weird. We have a kennel in the garage and if we are working
in the yard out front, we put them in the kennel so they can be out with
us. In the backyard it's fenced, so they just run loose.

Wherever we are, they usually are, too. Dakota especially, I keep her
close to me most of the time, though I no longer have to keep such a
close eye on her. She's really progressed a lot.

Shari

I haven't read the entire thing yet, so if you mention this, tell
me - but I was wondering, how are Gypsy and Dakota are getting
along now, after their initial problems?

--
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Michael,

I cannot imagine how hard it is to work in a shelter. I don't think I
could do it. Watching so many dogs come in and not so many find homes.
How do you handle it?

Shari

Thank for adopting a shelter dog, and for remaining committed, in the
face of adversity.

As a shelter employee...

Sadly, many of my coworkers don't even notice problems. Some of us
detect problems that others miss; simply because we spend more time in
contact with the dogs. I clean kennels, and see who is timid, who tends
to be resource aggressive, who doesn't like to be touched in a certain
way or place, and so forth. However, I don't always know who fights the
leash or chases cars and so forth.

--
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On Sat, 31 May 2008 00:42:01 -0400, Shari wrote:

Michael,

I cannot imagine how hard it is to work in a shelter. I don't think I
could do it. Watching so many dogs come in and not so many find homes.
How do you handle it?

It is an impossible job, for some people; and I understand that.
Personally, I have to make myself stay away, on my two off days. Mostly,
I just need to avoid some of my coworkers for a couple of days.

I work for 4.5 hours cleaning and preparing for the public. When I clock
out, I do volunteer work, if there are any very frightened and/or
disheveled dogs. A dog that can't be petted, can't get adopted--or even
offered for adoption. Dogs with messed up coats don't even get looked
at. Working with such dogs requires establishing trust ASAP, and knowing
a few grooming tricks. I love correcting those problems, and have a fair
amount of success! Seeing one of those dogs get adopted gives me a
wonderful feeling! Seeing one of them die hurts, but I usually realize
I've done everything I could do.

At our shelter, work as a kennel attendant involves contact with a lot
of filth, deafening noise and a lot of paws and claws, all sorts of
weather, and it stinks! Obviously, I enjoy it.

"You can't save them all." Realizing that fact needs to be one of the
first things you achieve: the sooner, the better. Once you achieve that,
most days go pretty well.

Many shelter employees walk through the kennels and make mental notes
about who will get adopted and who will die. Sometimes, dogs that seem
hopeless get adopted; and wonderful dogs sometimes die.

Occasionally, a euthanasia tech will come for a dog that I consider
fabulous. Getting caught off guard like that really hurts, but I never
make their task harder, by questioning the decision. [Sometimes, its a
dog they love, too.] Sometimes, it takes a day or two to move on,
emotionally, and I wonder if there is a long-term, cumulative effect.

The shelter here serves a human population of about 150,000. We take in
an average of 80 dogs per week [+ cats] and have a kill rate above 50%.
For me, that means there will be about 15 new dogs today, and one or
more of them will need what I provide. They don't know it, but I need
them, too! They help me forget the dogs that didn't make it out alive.

Shelters differ greatly, in every way, but they all have dogs that need
love and attention. If you have some time, aren't afraid of getting
dirty, and call afford a few simple tools, you can make a world of
difference for some very deserving dogs.



_______________________
When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

Michael A. Ball wrote:

The shelter here serves a human population of about 150,000. We take in
an average of 80 dogs per week [+ cats] and have a kill rate above 50%.
For me, that means there will be about 15 new dogs today, and one or
more of them will need what I provide. They don't know it, but I need
them, too! They help me forget the dogs that didn't make it out alive.

How long do they have to find homes before they are taken off by the
euth tech?

Dakota came from a no-kill shelter but Gypsy Rose came from a regular
county shelter and had been there for a week when I adopted her. I've
often thought she must have been very close to that euth tech... and she
was (and still is) the most incredible dog. I never understood why two
different families got rid of her. She was amazing, somebody had spent
a LOT of time training her.

Her paperwork had the phone number of her last owner, and I called them
to learn about her. They were very helpful in telling me everything
they knew, and how they came to have her, and why they got rid of her.

I still cry when I think of how close she must have been... seriously,
even at this moment I tear up. I've had her for over 10 years.

I will cry more for a animal than most humans. Animals are so innocent.
They are so totally at our mercy and we let them down, and when they die
it's usually the fault of a human.

Thank you for sharing about your job. You must love them a lot.

How often do adult dogs get adopted? Do most people go for the puppies
or do you get a fair amount of folks adopting dogs 6 months and older?

Shari

--
Humorous t-shirts
http://www.villagetshirts.com
Macintosh and Windows shareware games
http://www.gypsyware.com

Shari spoke these words of wisdom in news:shari-
:


Michael A. Ball wrote:

The shelter here serves a human population of about 150,000. We take in
an average of 80 dogs per week [+ cats] and have a kill rate above 50%.
For me, that means there will be about 15 new dogs today, and one or
more of them will need what I provide. They don't know it, but I need
them, too! They help me forget the dogs that didn't make it out alive.

How long do they have to find homes before they are taken off by the
euth tech?

Dakota came from a no-kill shelter but Gypsy Rose came from a regular
county shelter and had been there for a week when I adopted her. I've
often thought she must have been very close to that euth tech... and she
was (and still is) the most incredible dog. I never understood why two
different families got rid of her. She was amazing, somebody had spent
a LOT of time training her.

Her paperwork had the phone number of her last owner, and I called them
to learn about her. They were very helpful in telling me everything
they knew, and how they came to have her, and why they got rid of her.

I still cry when I think of how close she must have been... seriously,
even at this moment I tear up. I've had her for over 10 years.

I will cry more for a animal than most humans. Animals are so innocent.
They are so totally at our mercy and we let them down, and when they die
it's usually the fault of a human.

Thank you for sharing about your job. You must love them a lot.

How often do adult dogs get adopted? Do most people go for the puppies
or do you get a fair amount of folks adopting dogs 6 months and older?

Shari


Last month, one of out dog instructors died the night we expected her to
teach class (not even giving us warning she was ill or telling us not to
expect her to teach class-it was that sudden)

Had she not missed class, no one would have investigated to find out why,
and we would have only found out after she had been dead and buried. Her
family were over the road truck drivers and could not take her dogs. They
were going to send the dogs to the pound, because they needed a plaacement
for the dogs fast. Because dog club stepped in and said we would handle the
fostering and adoption of these dogs, they were successfully placed instead
of being sent to the bad place. Many people are not aware of rescues, or
resources of they have a sudden change of circumstances

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:57:58 -0400, Shari wrote:

How long do they have to find homes before they are taken off by the
euth tech?

Dakota came from a no-kill shelter but Gypsy Rose came from a regular
county shelter and had been there for a week when I adopted her...

Animals are so innocent. They are so totally at our mercy and we let
them down, and when they die it's usually the fault of a human.
...
How often do adult dogs get adopted? Do most people go for the puppies
or do you get a fair amount of folks adopting dogs 6 months and older?

There are about 90 runs/cages. Whatever it takes, the shelter starts
each day with 20 empty runs/cages. There are very few weekdays without
euthanasia. Sometimes, adoptable dogs have to go into an isolated area,
because 20 empty runs/cages weren't enough that day. A dog gets to stay
until it gets sick or the shelter runs out of space.

Dakota and Gypsy Rose are two fortunate dogs. I am so happy you've loved
them so much. I often feel fortunate because of the dogs I meet. A 4.5
year-old female Great Pyrenees, Nea, was turned in by her owner this
morning, because he no longer has time for her. I can tell by her
behavior that she has been very mistreated. She ducks, when my hand gets
near her head, and she watches my hands to see if I'm about to hit her.
She is free of burs, but is very dirty. Her collar had begun to grow
into her neck. I'll be giving her a bath tomorrow, if I have the energy
after work.

Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day. A pit bull, Popi, is going to
be killed. His only fault is being terrified, after being chained
outside with no food, water or shelter. I got to touch him, with a
finger tip, for the first time today. I could probably pet him, in
another day or two. That doesn't sound like much, until you know he had
to be handled with a control stick. He is not actually vicious: merely
insecure.

So, I agree, animals are so innocent.

Not all puppies get adopted, of course, but the demand for puppies is
far greater than for adult dogs. Many of the ~40% adopted dogs are
adults. Sometimes a dog gets adopted because it looks like someone's
previous dog; sometimes because it is already fixed and therefore cost
only $20. Otherwise, a dog has to have something really noteworthy going
for it.

The breed with the least potential for adoption seems to be the Chow
Chow, my favorite breed. Most Chow Chow mixed puppies get shunned; all
because of the erroneous bad reputation Chow Chows have. Like most
breeds, Chow Chows are whatever their owner makes of them, or fails to
make of them.

Well, enough rambling.


________________________
Every dog is an individual, as is their guardian: no single training method works for all.

On May 29, 8:03*am, Shari wrote:
We adopted Dakota, a 7 month old dog pound special. *She'd been bounced
from home to home and had major behavioral problems (which we didn't
know about until after we adopted her). *But by then we were committed
to her. *We've had her now for almost a year and am sharing our journey
in retraining her. *Hopefully some of the seeds of knowledge will help
others.

Training a problem doghttp://www.allfreespot.com/art/problemdog.shtml

Potty training an adult doghttp://www.allfreespot.com/art/pottytraining.shtml

One of these days I'll share more of her journey. *Dakota has made
amazing progress, not always easy progress but she has come so far in
her journey. *She brings us a lot of joy.

In the beginning, joy is not the word I would have used... LOL!

Shari

--
*Humorous t-shirts
*http://www.villagetshirts.com
*Macintosh and Windows shareware games
*http://www.gypsyware.com

So glad she is coming along, I love to here good stories of people
working with their dogs.

Jan
http://www.thefineartcafe.com

FurPaw wrote:

Shari wrote:

Training a problem dog
http://www.allfreespot.com/art/problemdog.shtml

Potty training an adult dog
http://www.allfreespot.com/art/pottytraining.shtml

One of these days I'll share more of her journey. Dakota has made
amazing progress, not always easy progress but she has come so far in
her journey. She brings us a lot of joy.

In the beginning, joy is not the word I would have used... LOL!

I'm really enjoying your blog - it's informative and well
written. I've never had a yo-yo dog with Dakota's problems, and
I applaud your patience and willingness to stick with her. I
hope that you - and she - will be well rewarded for your efforts.

We won't be getting another dog until Oppie leaves us (he has a
health issue that precludes that), but I expect that our next
dog(s) will be adult, so I'm following this with great interest.

A health issue that precludes Oppie leaving? Usually they cause them to
leave too soon.
snip