Utah Animal Adoption Center

Foster Homes Needed!

We have more female dogs with puppies arriving in our adoption center next week (12/14).  They will need to stay in foster homes until the puppies are old enough to be spayed / neutered and get their shots (approx. 8 weeks)  If interested, please call our adoption center (801) 355-7387 and come by to fill out an application.  Fostering puppies is very rewarding if you like puppy kisses!

Thank you!

Keep the Holiday Season safe for Your Dog

Holiday foods can be harmful.  Many holiday foods are harmful or even toxic to canines.  These include fatty or spicy foods, bread, dough, fresh herbs, alcoholic beverages, sweets of all kinds – especially those with chocolate or xylitol, an artificial sweetener.  Particularly dangerous are cooked poultry bones.  Cooked bones easily splinter and the bone shards can cause choking or get stuck in your dog’s gums.    Instead, give “dog bones” specifically designed for dogs to chew.  Ask your veterinarian for suggestions.

Decorations are not playthings.  Keep your pet away from holiday plants, many of which are poisonous such as holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and amaryllis.  Also be sure all potpourris out of your pets reach.  Snow globes can contain antifreeze which is extremely toxic to dogs.  Keep electrical wires or batteries out of your pet’s reach.  Chewing or biting anything electrical can cause him shock or burns.  Don’t leave a lighted candle unattended.  A lit candle knocked over by a swinging tail can burn your pet or cause a fire.

Christmas trees can be hazardous.  Anchor the tree to the ceiling or wall to prevent it from tipping over.  Hang non-breakable ornaments near the bottom of the tree.  Avoid putting tinsel on your tree.  If ingested, tinsel can twist in your dog’s intestines and be deadly.  Don’t let your dog drink the Christmas tree water.  The water can contain preservative chemicals which can trigger severe ingestion in dogs.  Stagnant plain water can breed bacteria and cause nausea or diarrhea to the pet which imbibes.  Regularly sweet up fallen pine needles, as they can puncture holes in a dog’s intestines if ingested.

Pets like presents too!  Help your dog stay busy and out of the holiday trimmings by giving him fun, safe toys.  The Buster Cube and Kong are virtually indestructible puzzle toys that reward your dog with treats and keep him well entertained.

A final note:  Please don’t give a pet as a surprise gift!  A cute puppy might seem like the perfect gift choice, but many of these holiday presents end up at animal shelters.  Owning a dog takes a genuine commitment of time and responsibility and adoptive owners must be ready to participate in training and other activities.  If someone you know seriously wants a dog, consider giving a leash and collar or a dog training certificate, along with a note saying a dog of the recipients choice comes with it.  This helps ensure the lucky person sets just the right pet to bring in to the family.

Weekly Dog Training Tip – Emotional Roller Coaster

The Emotional Roller Coaster

We have two choices with emotions in our lives.  Choice one is to feel our feelings.  Choice two is to repress our feelings.  Today I had an amazing session with Megan Sillito.  The anger I felt today was so intense.  She allowed me to fully feel my emotions with happiness and peace.  It was an amazing reminder that I can choose to feel my emotions without a negative connotation behind them.

I notice I do this more and more.  The more I fully embrace how I feel the more open space is created.  The more authentic relationships I create with my clients and the more present I am in my relationships.

Getting out of my head and into my body can be conflicting at times.  Last week I created a conflict with a close friend of mine as my mind got wrapped around stories and what I wanted to say.  When I chose to really “feel  my feelings” the conflict resolved itself and my friend chose to feel as well.  It was amazing.  I felt more love for her than I ever have.  The connection was one of the soul and was about ultimate truth.

So today I have felt much anger and sadness.  I have chosen to play with it.  As a result, I was so present with my dog client this afternoon it was amazing.  I arrived at my clients house feeling angry.  I chose to breathe.  Then when I entered into the house instead of ignoring the anger I chose to be crazy.  I told the dog I felt angry.  I said it multiple times until it passed and sadness came. The anger was covering up the sadness.  So I cried and the dog came and laid with me.  It was beautiful.  I realized in that moment that I had chosen so many times to repress my emotions when working with this dog.  I would choose to put on a mask that I was feeling fine on days that I really wasn’t.

So today I chose differently.  The bond I created with the dog was so amazing.  When we left for our walk anger arose again so I chose to run and run.  It was so fun to feel my anger while running.  The dog ran with me and enjoyed it so much.  She was so happy.  I was laughing and felt so open.  I shifted to happiness and presence.  We worked on recalls and leash walking.  The session was amazing.  I also noticed the more I allowed myself to be who I was the more I was giving permission to this gorgeous dog to be who she is.

I noticed after I left I felt more sadness. I chose to go home and turn on some sad music and dance.  Seiki, my dog was so happy to dance with me.  We had fun with my sadness.  He loved it and I enjoyed it as well.

So the moral of the story is to feel your feelings.  It does great things to your body.  Most of all it allows you to create open space so that you can create wonderful space for your dog….amazing presence, a soul connection, easeful training, etc.  When you repress emotions training becomes so very very hard.  Create it be easeful.  Use any of the tools I have stated above and most of all have FUN doing it!

Happy Training!

via Four Legged Scholars LLC – Dog Training

Johanna Teresi, Professional Owner and Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Weekly Training Tip – Calm Behavior at the Door

Calm Behavior at the Door

Many owners dread it when people knock at their door.  Their dog barks and then immediately jumps all over the visitor when they enter in the house.  Read below and learn some simple solutions to make this transition more easeful.

Have treats, your clicker, and your dog’s leash readily available by the door.  When someone knocks at the door, put your dog’s leash on and  lure your dog away from the door.  With a treat in your hand move your hand toward your dog’s muzzle.  Then guide your dog by moving your hand to the location that you want him to remain. Usually your hand is like a magnet when you have a treat in it.  Choose a location that is out of the visitors path when he enters and a place that is not in the pathway of the opening door.

Next, ask your dog to sit.  Say “sit” then C/T (click and treat).  Repeat this multiple times in a row at a fast rate.  It might be beneficial to have multiple treats in your hand so that your C/T are super quick.  After your dog has been retaining the sit for a few seconds ask the visitor to come inside.  Body block your dog by standing in between the visitor and the dog.  Continue to say “sit” and C/T as the visitor walks inside.  When the visitor is visible this is the hardest time for the dog to retain the sit so once again have a high treat frequency.  I also recommend that you request the visitor to open the door rather than leaving your dog to open the door.

When you are ready to let your dog up say “okay” and he will be free to break the sit.  Repeat the above process multiple times with a variety of visitors.  Once your dog is consistent with holding the sit, you can begin to increase the time interval between the C/T.  Eventually, you will stop using the clicker and switch to random rewards.

For any further explanation contact Four Legged Scholars.

Happy Training!

via Four Legged Scholars LLC – Dog Training

Weekly Training Tip – Calm Training

Calm Training Tips for Success (Nov 12th)

I wanted to write an overview this week of some broad basic tips to create success indog training:
1.) Be in open space.  This means that you are letting your emotions flow through you rather than exploding your emotions all over your dog.

2.) If you are not creating the results you want and feel frustrated.  Take break.  Breathe and fully feel and love the frustration you are feeling.  The more you resist your frustration the more you will create it and the less success you will create.  The more you love it and be in the moment with it the faster it will pass and the faster you will be in open space.

3.) Be consistent.  Do not change the rules on your dog.  Be clear.

4.) Be visually clear.  Your body language is the most important communication to your dog.  If your dog is confused look at how you were moving your body.  Can you think of a clearer way to communicate with your body to create your dog to do what you want?

5.) Use plenty of praise.  When your dog does a great job acknowledge him / her.
6.) Use treats.  Treats are more of a motivator than praise by far.

7.) Use a clicker if you wish.  A clicker speeds up the learning process.

8.) Say your commands only ONE time.  Repeating doesn’t usually create success.  Repeating usually creates frustration.

9.) Look at associations.  What happened before and after your dog performed the behavior?  Your dog will do something again if he likes what he is receiving.  Pay attention to pay offs and antecedents.

10.) Stop reprimands.  Yelling at your dog doesn’t communicate to him /her what to do.  It increasing negative emotions between you and your dog and decreases success.

11.) Most of all have fun!  If you are not having fun then figure out how to create the training to be fun.

12.) End your training sessions on a positive note the best that you can.  Your dog remembers the first and the last thing of the training session the best.

13.) Create easy approximations.  Allow your dog to be successful.  Take the terminal behavior that you want and break it up into steps.

14.) Focus on the positive.  Remember your dog has a learning curve just as you do.  Success doesn’t happen over night.

Happy Training!

via Four Legged Scholars LLC – Dog Training.