Sunday, November 13, 2011

5 Rescue Rules for Bringing Home a New Dog

There has been an epidemic of dogs coming back to rescues only days, sometimes HOURS after being adopted. This is obviously a failure on the part of the RESCUE to explain how to properly introduce dogs to a new environment. Here are some ideas on the most common hurdles that a new dog must clear. Please set your foster dog up to WIN, not fail, by communicating the following ideas.

  1. Do not bring the dog inside a new house for a half-hour to an hour after arrival. Ideally, you would tire the dog out with hours of play before bringing it inside. You MUST spend time in the yard, that is the dog’s new bathroom, and the bathroom is most important place for the dog to know, before it knows where it will eat, sleep, etc. Give the dog plenty of water and plenty of time to eliminate that same water. Dogs who are nervous get diarrhea and ruined carpet has gotten more than one dog returned in less than an hour.
  2. In this same line of thinking, do not give the dog free reign to run the house immediately. Close off all rooms, introduce one room at a time. Over a course of several hours. Let the dog discover everything it is going to try to destroy, and get it up and out of the way. Ideally you would do this before the dog comes home, but it is always the items you least expect: just-removed shoes, chair legs, cords, throw pillows. Vigilance is key, a dog will go after tantalizing things when it gets comfortable and the honeymoon period is over. Don’t think that just because a dog leaves shoes alone the first week, that they won’t destroy one on day 8.
  3. Explain the importance of food consistency, and insist on it. Give a food sample to the adopter. Enough to tide the dog over for 3 days. Explain the importance of maintaining the same food for awhile after adoption. Even switching to a “better” food will upset a dog’s stomach. Giving samples of the dog's favorite way to "work its jaws" is a good thing, too, to prevent that chewing.
  4. Barking. A new dog is going to want to let everyone know that s/he is there and a force to be reckoned. Have your new dog meet all of your neighbors. Be super friendly. Take cookies. Explain that your dog is new and may bark because dogs bark at unfamiliar surroundings. Assure your neighbors that you will do your best to not let the dog bark. This small step could make the difference in a neighbor becoming your trusty back-up to let your dog out when you have car trouble, or that same person being the frustrated neighbor from hell who throws rat poison over your fence.
  5. Introduce all family members ahead of time. On neutral territory. And be vigilant about it being a calm, organized affair. A calm dog needs to have met each and every calm family member, including college-age kids who might come home to do laundry on the weekend, down to pet guinea pigs. If everyone in the family can depend on the dog not biting them, everyone is going to be happy with the newest addition. Dogs have predatory senses, and sometimes it can be to a new adopter’s advantage, as seen here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/dog-chases-away-burglar_n_1090893.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl8|sec3_lnk2|112259

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hurt Puppy Millers and Breeders where it counts—THE WALLET!

It is already Christmas season early in November, and many breeders are technologically savvy—they have a web page and they know that people who want to buy a dog for Christmas are going to check online to see what dogs are available and where to locate them. We can make their lives miserable by clicking on their online ads.

Say what?
Google Adwords, Facebook ads, Yellowbook and other online search engines and websites are run on algorithms that feed you news and topics that they think you will like. Type in search terms that will get you to the breeders. For example, type in:
Buy Iowa Toy Dog
Iowa Dog Breeder Info
Buy Iowa Puppy
Buy Yorkie Dog
Buy Poodle Iowa
Iowa Pet Store
Get creative, you can think of LOTS more! Type these things into your search engine and see what ads show up at the top and sidebar of your search engine. I’m sure you can think of lots of combinations. When you see an ad for a business that is obviously a breeder (not a shelter or a rescue!!!)_CLICK IT! They will be charged a sum for each click that takes the searcher through to their website. It doesn’t matter how long you stay or if you buy anything from the site (don’t!!!)
I don’t get it, how does this hurt them?
Google Adwords and Facebook ads work two ways: 1, a breeder buys up a certain number of clicks and once those clicks are gone, their ad no longer shows up. And 2, less savvy breeders will give a credit card number and allow themselves to be charged every single time that their ad is clicked—this can result in THOUSANDS of dollars in charges. If they don’t check their credit card and stop the flow of money, they could EASILY spend 10,000 in adword clicks per month. My legitimate company spends a capped $5,000 on Adwords EACH AND EVERY MONTH. If we didn’t have a cap, we could spend 30,000 PER MONTH. That is how Google, Facebook, etc can be “free” --they make money off online ads.

Won’t breeders just do this back to rescues?
Yes, they probably already do! So, let’s fight them, cost them some money and drive down their web traffic! It is an accumulative effect, we need LOTS of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses working on this effort. If breeders can no longer afford to advertise, that will drive down the number of buyers of dogs, they will quit having litters of puppies and we will have less work to do in the long run!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

I'm having a BAD day...

Today I am having a bad day. Woke up to a dog puking, headache, almost fell backwards into the bathtub, dog peed about a gallon on the floor, terrible traffic.

But THEN I remember that The Barkley Foundation is having a WORSE day. They are a good group that has the best of intentions.

Yes, I know all of the facts, and I know all of the arguments and I know all of the details. I can't get into them here, there's just too many. The bottom line is: they owe $22,000 to their vet. And they have dogs that still aren’t quite out of the woods, health-wise. And they have people behaving badly to them on Facebook, bullying them and smearing their names and talking behind their backs like fifth graders. This, on top of everything else going on in their private lives, which aren’t exactly cake, either.

My life is easy by comparison. My problems can be solved with Advil, Planet Urine, with slowing down, and telling people to back off. Right now, I’m telling everyone to back off TBF. They are a good group that has the best of intentions. They are innocent of wrong-doing, the only thing they are guilty of is biting off more than they can chew. And anyone who has ever bitten off more than they can chew knows that eventually, you’ll get it all straightened out, if you are contrite and you ask for help, EARLY.

It’s impossible to predict what will happen from day to day in animal rescue. It is impossible to know what dogs have been exposed to, because DOGS CAN’T TALK. It is impossible to trust everyone when we’re stressed, over-worked and fighting a constant stream of millers, abusers and idiots who “just want to have one litter”. And you are under tight deadlines, budgetary restrictions, and so are the people you are working with. Everyone is broke and full, everywhere, and with all of these natural disasters and the economy still in the toilet, it’s JUST GETTING WORSE.

Harder and even less predictable: you have to answer to public opinion. And to “lawmakers” who have never saved a life. You have to set people straight about LIES. You have to deal with media scrutiny. These are all distractions, from something MUCH more important--you are staring into the eyes filled with pain in a little furry face.

It’s so easy to attack, it’s easier than jumping in and doing WORK. It’s easier to say “no, I won’t help you” and judge. American Idol gave us Simon Cowell. Some people are trying to be the Simon Cowell of the rescue world. Cowell is an exaggeration, not someone to model your comments on when you are discussing REAL people doing REAL WORK.

Yeah, TBF got in over their head. There was a break down in communication. But at the end of the day they can hold their heads high and say “We did right by each individual animal” and at the end of the day, at the end of this life, that is HONORABLE.

This is my opinion. If you don’t like my little essay, you have two choices. You can un-friend me or, you can ignore me. Either way, if you've EVER had a bad day, why don't you go give a dollar to The Barkley Foundation?

Who am I? I’m ONE person walking the rescue walk at my own pace. I transport a LOT, and I do mid-week transports and long hauls to Minnesota. I network dogs to rescues and find fosters. I post dogs on Facebook and Twitter. I look for ways to HELP, I get a crew together, and I GO DO IT. This week I had four dogs released from a puppy mill to find homes for, and they stayed at my house. They have all been placed now and my vet bill will only be $200 for the neuters. I got LUCKY.