When my husband and I moved to California in February 2013 from Switzerland with our two West Highland Terriers, one of the first things that struck and impressed me when I used to walk our dogs in the neighborhood was just how many other dog owners that walked their dogs had rescued them from local shelters or abroad. I soon realized the huge drive and encouragement in the USA to rescue and was very impressed with that. Since working as a dog trainer here I have worked and trained many many rescue dogs both in a shelter and a dog training school, and now having my own business here in Massachusetts I continue to work with many clients who have adopted dogs from a shelter or abroad.

I have found that there can sometimes be a stigma or myth that dogs surrendered to shelters are there because they are “bad” dogs, that there must be something wrong with their temperament, or that they have challenging behavior. However, in a lot of cases this is simply not an accurate depiction of the events that led to their being sheltered. There are many other reasons why dogs are unfortunately surrendered which can include:

​​When you look at the list of reasons above it really emphasizes the point that the most important thing a person or family has to do when considering to get a dog is “do I/we have the time and ability for this”. Dogs are very different pets compared to cats. They require a lot more of your time, energy and attention on an on going basis. When considering whether to add one to your family remember this is a life long commitment as dogs can live for between 15 to 20 years.

1. Can you afford this?
Dogs will require annual vet visits, flea, tick and heart worm prevention treatments, teeth cleaning, and depending upon the breed you may have a dog that requires regular grooming. If you cannot come home during the course of the day to allow the dog to have a potty break, do you need to think about a dog walker or doggie daycare and obviously the latter two will be additional costs.

2. Do you have the time for a dog as an ongoing commitment?
Initially the dog you adopt will need some basic training - will you be able to commit to this?  It may have behavioral problems. A lot of behavioral problems actually stem from lack of crucial socialization that a dog which may have been living on the streets etc will not have gotten. They may therefore have developed fears of, for example, other dogs, people, noises, various forms of transport, trucks, motor bikes etc.  In which case will you be able to commit to a longer period of training to help the dog through its fears? All dogs, whether they are small dogs or big dogs need exercise which is important for their physical and mental wellbeing - will you keep up with this and not just put them in the back yard to run around?

3. What breed or mix of breeds should you get?
When adopting if there is a specific breed that you are attracted to there are many rescue groups that deal with specific breed types. But one thing that you must bear in mind when thinking of a particular breed or before you go to the shelter and fall in love with a dog that is that a mix of breeds such as a Border Collie and Springer Spaniel, or Doberman and Retriever, is to make sure that you do the research on the breed types that you like to ensure that you can cope with the energy levels of a particular breed or breeds. Unfortunately many dogs are surrendered because people end up with dogs that are jumping, barking or destructive simply because they are not giving the dog enough exercise and mental stimulation.

4. Puppy or Adult dog?
For families that are thinking about a puppy, who themselves require a lot of care and attention in the first few months, children that are 6 years old and above are better suited but should still be closely monitored around the puppy.  Young pups have sharp milk teeth that can hurt when they nip children and sharp nails, and what you want to avoid is children’s’ excitement of getting a puppy turning into them fearing a puppy because of the nipping or scratching.  So with young children an older dog might be better suited.  Older dogs have a more established personality and don’t need to potty as often as a young puppy.

In essence, think very carefully when deciding to add to your family with a four legged friend. Ensure that the whole family is on board with the decision and that you make the right choice on the breed(s) that you choose.

Dogs can be such a rewarding member of the family, fun, playful, encourage you to take more exercise.  You will meet new people when you get a dog therefore increasing your network of friends. In a nutshell they can be a huge joy once they are trained, they understand their boundaries, and they are cared for in the appropriate way.

Dogs need exercise and we all want to walk our dogs and have a pleasurable experience, but sometimes our dogs are not confident in the external environment particularly when they see stimuli such as other dogs, people, or children. Their reaction is often barking and lunging on the leash, or freezing on the spot. As the stimuli gets nearer and nearer, your dog may lunge and bark at it or they may simply try to evade or run away from the trigger.

The reason that dogs behave this way is actually because they are anxious, nervous and fearful. It may be because they are genetically predisposed to be fearful or it could be the result of a lack of socialization with different people, other dogs and children during that crucial period when they are between 8 and 16 weeks old. Or it could be that during one of their fear imprint periods they had a single traumatic event which can have lasting consequences as explained in my previous blog on Socialization.

Therefore, two of the important things that dog owners need to learn about their dogs are, firstly, understand what your dog’s triggers are (other dogs, strangers, children, etc), and secondly to learn your dog’s body language.

When a dog is walking towards something that causes them anxiety, as they are approaching it from a distance, dogs start to exhibit displacement behaviors called stress signals in order to signal to the thing they fear to keep away. But if that trigger keeps coming nearer and nearer, that is when the dog goes over its threshold and either starts barking and lunging, freezes on the spot, or tries to flee. There are a number of stress signals dogs exhibit which include the following:
​

• Averting the eyes
• Turning away
• Yawning
• Lip licking
• Slowing down in movement
• Sniffing the ground
• Shaking off

So, you understand what your dog’s trigger is and you have started to notice that as they walk towards it on walks that they turn away or lick their lips, sniff the ground or slow down in movement, or, they may do all four of these things, what do you do to avoid your dog going over it’s threshold? The answer is to take them away, cross over the street to avoid that dog or person from walking past them, turn down another street, block your dog’s vision of the trigger by hiding behind a car until the trigger has moved on. By doing this you prevent them from going into that red zone where they are no longer able to listen to you because their fear has taken over and in the long run the more you understand your dog’s body language they will be less anxious on their walks, your walks will be more relaxing and enjoyable and your dog will have more confidence in you.

When you are consistent with this over time, you will find that your dog will start to be able to tolerate their trigger being a little nearer to them, but it takes time. It is also a good idea to get the help of a trainer who can also put together a training plan consisting of tightening up some obedience cues that will help you on walks but also explain how desensitization and counter conditioning, where you reteach your dog to have a better feeling when looking at a stimulus that causes them anxiety by pairing it with something really delicious. Over time this will help your dog to feel more comfortable around their triggers.

Teaching your dog to walk politely on its leash takes time, practice, consistency and patience. In addition to training you need to think about the equipment that you are using to walk your dog. If your dog pulls a lot when you are walking them, one of the tools that is very effective is a harness where the leash attaches to the “D” ring on the dog’s chest. The harness I usually recommend is an Easy Walk Harness. Traditional harnesses where the leash attaches to the dogs back encourage them to pull harder because of the opposition reflex which causes the dog to pull against the pressure. When the leash is attached to a dogs chest this helps to stop pulling by steering the dog to the side and redirecting his attention towards you. The most important thing is for the harness to be fitted snuggly, meaning that you can only put two fingers underneath the harness all the way around. Once it is fitted correctly, the harness will sit properly on the dogs body and will move in motion with the dog whereas if it is fitted loosely can cause uncomfortable chaffing. Additionally once fitted correctly for example, if your dog pulls out of a six-foot leash, the harness will pull them to one side and the dog will soon learn that pulling does not get them to that smell or to that thing any faster and encourages them to walk beside you.

If your dog pulls, lunges or jumps at people, other dogs, joggers or cyclists that go by, then you need to think about trying something else. What I recommend to my clients in these cases is the Gentle Leader Head Collar. The Gentle Leader is not a muzzle so your dog can eat, drink, bark and pant while wearing it. But as it is a head collar, you have complete control of the dogs head so if your dog wants to jump or lunge or pull, it simply can’t. The fit of the head collar is very important and the straps fitted high behind the dogs ears must be snug in order for the head collar to do its job and to prevent chaffing around the ears. Also, with this type of equipment how you acclimate your dog to wearing it is equally important and should be done over a period a time. Once your dog gets accustomed to it, it will be so much easier to redirect them away from triggers helping your walks to be more pleasurable. You as the owner are empowered to communicate positively and effectively what you want your dog to do and therefore making you feel more confident about walking your dog outside rather than stressed and worried.

One of the most important considerations that you need to take into account when thinking about getting a dog or when you have a dog is that no matter what size your dog is, they all need daily exercise. If you are considering a pure breed dog, think about the exercise requirements that the breed type requires and be honest with yourself about whether you can sustain those requirements for the rest of the dogs life or if you have the resources to employ a dog walker or send it to doggie daycare or a combination of both. Similarly, if you are looking at a rescue dog, get as much information about the breeds that the dog may be mixed with to give you an idea of the amount of exercise it may need. In terms of actual exercise, a good walk around the neighborhood allowing your dog to sniff is great. Remember to change your routes daily as some dogs can become territorial over a particular area if you only walk them there. Take them to the local park, walk them around and maybe play a game of fetch. If you take them to the dog park remember to give them about a twenty-minute brisk walk beforehand so that all of their pent up energy doesn’t get thrown onto the dogs in the dog park, especially first thing in the morning when they have rested overnight and are full of energy!

Hiking is also great activity for dogs particularly as they have an opportunity to take in plenty of different scents, which for a dog, would be like going to Disney World! Remember though that you should only start to hike with dogs after the age of one-year old when their joints and bones have formed properly.  Jogging is also a good form of exercise but here again, only start jogging with your dog after it is one-year old so that it’s bones and joints are formed properly.  Remember to build dogs up to the distance that you would normally run. Don’t assume that your dog can just do it automatically. Just as humans have to begin to jog gradually, dogs are no different as they need to build up their stamina. Also, before you begin jogging as you do with yourself, remember to warm your dog up first by walking them briskly for about fifteen minutes. This allows them to toilet and maybe get a little sniffing done. Then after your jog has finished, cool them down by walking  them for around fifteen minutes again so that you bring down their adrenalin levels and avoid having a highly aroused dog afterwards.  Other fun activities to consider are agility, flyball, swimming (a great activity especially for senior dogs), tracking and many more.

Dog’s are very intelligent animals and as well as physical exercise they also need mental enrichment.  Ways in which you can mentally enrich your dog can include obedience training, puzzle toys, a stuffed Kong, agility training, nose work, playing hide and seek, and trick training. All of these activities engage your dogs brain getting them to think about how to solve something and if you are doing this along with the physical activity the end result will be a tired dog. Exercise and mental enrichment are such an important part of any dog’s life for them to stay healthy, well balanced, prevent obesity, and it also helps with preventing behavioral problems such as barking, chewing, digging and other destructive behaviors and also helps to alleviate stress and anxiety.

Dogs have become an important part of many people’s lives and in so doing we place a lot of exceptions on them to conform to our human world. For a poorly socialized and untrained dog this can lead to confusion, stress and anxiety.

Training your dog is important to dilute confusion and teach them what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Nobody enjoys their friend’s dog jumping on their laps in their home to greet them or jumping at them in the park. They would however be very impressed if upon meeting their friend at the park and during conversation the dog sat politely by their owners side, or, if they visited the home, when the door bell rang and they entered the dog was in a stay position and was released after they came into the home and greeted them calmly.

Bonding with your dog will be enhanced once the dog learns expected and proper behaviors.
​
As a dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods, it is important to reward them for the behavior you want. This method of training is very effective in motivating your dog such that he or she wants to please you. Training can be fun and pleasurable once you learn the proper techniques and reward systems. This sets the stage for clear two way communication and creating a healthy relationship between owner and dog.

​Dogs are very intelligent animals and positive reinforcement training allows your dog to “think” about what you are asking them to do and rewarding them for doing the correct thing. Through consistent training it also builds your dogs confidence and better equips them to be part of our human world.

The absolute key to training is that when we conduct obedience training with our dogs, after 6 to 12 weeks it would be a mistake to think “ah well my job is done and the dog is trained” and never do any further training. The key is to implement training on a consistent basis and find a way to work it into your everyday life so that your dog remembers what it has been taught.

What does that mean? It means you never give your dog anything, breakfast, a treat at lunchtime, dinner, that toy to play with in the afternoon, that long lasting chew which is so delicious and great for their teeth..., without asking them to do something for it first.  A sit or a sit and a focus, a touch, a trick etc etc. By doing this you are not only teaching your dog to say “please”, but, all of the training that you have invested in your dog will always stay fresh in their mind.

Training also provides mental stimulation for your dog which is as equally important as exercising them and can help eliminate problem behaviors. In my professional experience it continues to be proven that a trained dog is less likely to be surrendered to an animal shelter.

Positive reinforcement training is so rewarding, it’s fun and truly builds a strong, trusting bond between an owner and their canine companion.