Dogs From Work

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Cel, it's good to see you again. I forget that some of you are back to school already! My boys go back the day after Labour Day, which I think is more typical in the North.

My lifestyle is going to change somewhat, as I won't have anyone at home anymore to watch the dogs if I wish to go out! I'll have to give them short intervals alone, and work up to longer periods. Henry is over the age of 3 now, and Oliver is 8 (and three-quarters) so neither one of them need constant minding. They just have never really been left alone. Oliver used to be alone but that was long before his diagnosis 4 years ago (today to be exact!).

I think the Camp is a wonderful idea and I had a chance this evening to really read the thread and look at all of the dogs and read their stories. I'm happy to hear that almost every single one has been adopted.

Keep up the fantastic contribution you are making to the Canine Community! ♥ (....and study hard too!)

[iheartmydog]

A loooot went down at camp, so I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, but it's still going to be long!


First the kids and their dogs

Skylar and Muddy
I think this was Skylar's 4th time coming to camp, and she always ends up getting the really nice easy going dog who loves to work. So that plus her past experience, she almost always comes out with the most well trained dog. She taught Muddy a ton of tricks, he was almost always focusing on her, and was thrilled every morning she came in.


His trick "surrender"




Rebecca and Oakley

We had 3 Pit Bull mix-like dogs in camp this year, I think that's the most we've had yet. Oak had a hard time focusing at first, but Rebecca worked hard and by the end of camp he was very well mannered, greeting people politely. (That's where he struggled, he got sooooo excited when someone just said "hi" to him) He loved to sit on her feet and lean on her while they waited in line. He got the "Best Breed Ambassador" award.
Her speech at the graduation got everyone choked up and teary eyed.

Teaching him "leave it"





David and Hero
Hero was one of our tough dogs, she wasn't a fight starter or anything, she just LOVED to pull, she always wanted to be out in front of the other dogs and go go go. Not surprising given that she's got some Sib in her. (according to folk that surrendered her anyway) She's a very strong dog and took a lot of patience, but David stuck with it till the end! She wasn't perfect, but she improved greatly within the 2 weeks of camp.






Jenna and Deuce
Another great pairing, when we first took Deuce out he was pulling like a mad man, and had the body to back it up, but within the second day of camp he was walking on a totally loose leash. Almost never had to worry about him, Jenna kept his attention, didn't let his focus wonder onto counter productive things, and well their personalities just matched perfectly.He's a large, stout powerful dog, but he's also a total softy. He does NOT like to make you mad at all, he took to the training very well.
Brother to Cruz







Ana and Ranger
Ranger, he just loved to barrel his way through life. (He got the "Mack Truck" award at the end of camp to give you an idea) He was another that took a lot of patience but eventually he was walking politely and focused. Ana wasn't here for a large portion of camp due to being sick, very quiet and nice girl, tried avoiding the camera. lol



One of our counselors, Dana, stood in for Ana on her absent days




Madelynn and Cruz
They had identical personalities, quiet, polite, easy going, they were a very nice match. Cruz was just a breeze, never starting any trouble, and quite the charmer. He also has a nasty scar on his back leg, no clue what caused it but it had to of hurt.
Brother to Deuce

His scar
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad17 ... mbs012.jpg





Keegan and Ruger
He took her for a ride the first day out, pulled her along on the sand, dirt skiing I guess you'd call it. Very strong and determined boy, and he screams like a cattle dog. But she didn't get discouraged at all and stuck with it, he improved vastly by the end of camp.






Abeni and Yankee
They were just adorable together... I don't used that word often to describe people, but how can you not?
Yankee is Wrigley's brother






Luis and Wrigley
Luis did a good job with Wrigley, puppies take patience as I'm sure we all know. Wrigley took a little more since he often got freaked out by things and had to be shown it was okay. (He was even freaked out by the squeaky toy we use for pictures ). The microphone freaked him out badly during graduation practices, but by the time graduation came he was comfortable and not bothered by it at all.
Yankee's brother






Preston and Jake
I believe this was Preston's second camp, he had a "problem dog" the first time around that took a lot of work. This time he got sweet, mellow Jake, who acts 100% like a Ambulldog puppy. Even has the waddle down. Preston did a great job with him, practically had a heel around the entire track, taught him a bunch of tricks.



His "Find it" command



Aubry and Barrett
Barrett was a bit of a butterfly brain, his camper and a few of the counselors were stuck for awhile. Then Aubry was gone for a day and I worked Barrett, I found that if you work him in short bursts he worked much better and was actually wanting to work. So after we all figured him out, he did great.






Annie and Cheddar
Annie's another returning camper, she got a little hard case. He just would not sit for nothing (we accidentally made a pun about it "Cheddar just won't sit for jack!"). Annie really proved to be patient, she'd just stand around and wait for him to sit then capture it. And he was sitting by the end of camp.

Being lazy


Waiting for a sit


Grace and Arisaka(Ari)
Grace is also a returning camper, her dog Ari is a total teenager, she'd just have little fits then be a perfect angel. lol But Grace did a great job with her, they were a very cute pair.


Gah, I wish Grace came out clear in this, I was really hopeful for this shot (took 4), but none came out with her in focus.



Reilly and Firefox
Firefox and Reilly were sort of opposites, she's on the quiet, laidback side while Firefox is outgoing and wants to pose for the camera. But a very nice boy, when he saw me coming he'd sit from about 10 feet away, let me snap a shot, Reilly would reward him and he'd go prancing off.





Jordon and Boone
Oh Boone, such a spacey boy, rebellious teen,he'd really try your patience, and could be frustrating at times but Jordon stuck through to the end and didn't give up.



Working on focus with a distraction (a horse)


Morgan and Onyx
Onyx was another trying dog, he'd pull and pull and bark and bark and pull some more. Morgan got a little discouraged at first but the trainers and counselors were all supportive and she had him being a nearly perfect angel by the end of camp. He also ended up being the dog on our little camp bandana we put up each year. (Which is now on my wall)

[iheartmydog]

Now for the activities and guests we had at camp.

Lassen View Alpacas came, they brought two youngsters, stuff made from Alpaca fiber and a older, clicker trained Alpaca.


Alpaca photobomb lol


The clicker trained boy

Spinning


Corey Wallace of Redding Reptile Parties brought his herps out for the kids, they really loved the show, it was a hit



Bandit <3 He's an absolutely stunning snake

We all posed with some of the snakes, even the trainers


Sumtra, the 15 foot, 125 or so pound albino Burmese Python, she just loves the attention



One of our officers, Adam, came in and told the kids about his job and told some pretty funny stories


One of our local K9 Officers came in and talked to the kids, Officer Jeff Schmidt and his dog Abel. I was very pleased to hear that they've started to advance in their methods, Abel here had been trained up to 2 years age using purely positive methods, toy rewards, he was on the streets working before 2 years of age, and just turned 2 the 1st of August. He's now using aversives though for liability/proofing important behaviors(if he accidentally goes after the wrong person and he has to recall him off, doesn't out, etc) but it was refreshing to see a very open minded officer. Very comfortable and eager to work with his handler, which I can't say for past dogs I've met.


Also a wonderful example of how police dogs aren't land sharks, and a dog with the proper temperament can judge a situation properly.





Aaaand Dakota came and put on a little show, I showed them different types of heeling, retrieves, searches (including what I call "sweeping", directed, and nosework/alerts) He's being rewarded for a proper alert in this one.

Tricks


And got some attention


Then Hennigan's Spinning Frisbee Dogs came out





They got to watch a spay/neuter


Meet a baby raccoon


A gal who owns a bee farm told the kids about their profession and the importance of bees


And then bath day, I think we know it's the least favorite for the dogs lol
"I did not sign up for this!"



Ari had the saddest/most pathetic face of all


Then we went for a walk on the sundial bridge (to wear them out for graduation! Which is the day after)






So far everyone except Cheddar, Firefox, Cruz, Oakley, and Barrett have been adopted.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Cel, I really, really enjoyed seeing all the pictures and reading the descriptions. You put a lot of work into that!!! What a wonderful Camp for children. I want to adopt almost every dog I saw, and I'm sure a lot of the children wanted to as well. There must have been some bittersweet moments at the Graduation. ♥

I don't think there is a Camp like that around here, or even in Toronto. (I should double check my facts on the second part of my statement.) There should be a lot more of those as it makes each one of those dogs far more adoptable. It is also a terrific experience for the children to learn about how to properly train a dog and what dog's need. I'm sure you are one of the favourite Counselors there.

I did laugh at the Alpaca "photo bomb". Dakota must have made you proud as he is SUCH a good boy.




You accidentally double posted the second part, only the double post wasn't complete, so I just deleted it.

[iheartmydog]

Cel, I really, really enjoyed seeing all the pictures and reading the descriptions. You put a lot of work into that!!! What a wonderful Camp for children. I want to adopt almost every dog I saw, and I'm sure a lot of the children wanted to as well. There must have been some bittersweet moments at the Graduation. ♥

I don't think there is a Camp like that around here, or even in Toronto. (I should double check my facts on the second part of my statement.) There should be a lot more of those as it makes each one of those dogs far more adoptable. It is also a terrific experience for the children to learn about how to properly train a dog and what dog's need. I'm sure you are one of the favourite Counselors there.

I did laugh at the Alpaca "photo bomb". Dakota must have made you proud as he is SUCH a good boy.




You accidentally double posted the second part, only the double post wasn't complete, so I just deleted it.

Thanks Deb! I'm glad you liked it I really would love to see more similar programs, but I too don't know of any others.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Cel, there should be programs like that, especially in the bigger cities. They could use the City Parks, and help the animals in Shelters. It's a win/win/win! I could see that working well in several areas of Toronto, and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) as well as here in London, and other Cities that are approximately our size, like Ottawa and its surrounding areas.

I'm sure the children love it and garner a great deal from it, as do the dogs. Those are the kinds of programs for which my tax dollars should be spent, as opposed to wasted studies on whether or not they should relocate City Hall!!!

[nezza]

Great pics! I wish i could have gone to a camp like that when i was young! How great for the children! Even in SoFla, i have never seen a camp like this...

[iheartmydog]

All camp dogs have been adopted!!

Toots, the brindle Pit Bull puppy I posted about awhile ago is back at the shelter again. Hopefully I can take her out sometime.

I took out this handsome fella today His name is Bowser, and staff call him the "Dingo Dane" because of his ears. he's a very sweet boy with lots of personality, a bit on the timid side but he recovers quickly.





Not a good picture, but he has interesting body structure

[JaymeK]

Wow that is great news about the camp dogs! I think that camp is such a cool thing; giving kids experience with dogs while making the shelter dogs more adoptable! I really hope that my next dog in the future will be from a shelter:)

[iheartmydog]

I have some pictures! The gal who usually helps me take pictures of the shelter (it's a tad risky to go into the kennels with your camera on you) is out on maternity leave with twins, so I haven't brought my camera the past few times. We had a volunteer meeting Saturday and a lot of people showed so I had someone to help hold the camera for me while I took the dogs out.

First is Keeya, she was very polite and gentle about everything. She waited patiently to go in and out of the kennel, took treats gently, hardly pulled at all, and she just has a soft look to her. A very sweet low energy gal who likes her cuddles.






This is Velvet and she was wicked fun to take out. She just had a litter not too long ago (her second) and her owner decided to dump her at the shelter after he got rid of the puppies. And despite that, she was in pretty darn good shape and still had a lot of wind.
She has very high ball drive and stalks it like a cattle dog would. I did some "throws for sits" and she caught on after the second one, other dogs passed and barked, didn't matter she was so intent on her ball.



Nice structure as well


She insisted on placing the ball between your feet, if you moved she'd pick it up and follow.

Cattle dog crouch


She didn't want to stop after I put the ball up.



And then I took out Shred, a handsome big headed fella who was very responsive and eager to train. He pulled a bit on the way out, but by the time we were headed back he was walking at an attention heel most of the time. He's a fun dog to work with.

[kian]

Hi Cel!

Beautiful pictures as always and these 3 are amazing prospects for adoption. I like all three, I sure hope they can get a home. Of course I love a dog that will play ball! Play drive is a great for training!

[iheartmydog]

Hi Cel!

Beautiful pictures as always and these 3 are amazing prospects for adoption. I like all three, I sure hope they can get a home. Of course I love a dog that will play ball! Play drive is a great for training!

Hallo

I've asked my sports-involved friends to spread info about Velvet around. I'm going to contact the local fly ball club as well. The other two got overheated and winded quickly so I shared them on Facebook as good family pet prospects. (I'd like to share them on Craigslist but I need the shelter's permission first)

We'll see! The shelter has a lot of room since they've expanded (They got a new building with some 72 new kennels) so they'll be able to house them for a long time as long as the dogs can mentally handle it. (which is where the volunteers come in!)