Event Madness

This past weekend was the Home for the Holidays adoption event in nearby Reston, VA. 


Getting a few of my foster dogs home for the holidays would certainly mean a more peaceful holiday for me--as I write, the kids are delightedly humping one another on the couch next to me--so I resolved to go. 


Narda, a delightful pit bull owner and lover who volunteers with Jasmine's House, volunteered to bring Sandy to the event and be there with her the whole time. 

Which meant that I wouldn't be completely off my rocker for thinking I could also bring Fozzie. So off we went to the adoption event. 


Fortunately, both dogs love car rides as long as they can stick their heads out the window. 


The weather was gorgeous, the event was well-attended, and once I found Narda and could unload one of my charging charges, it was a wonderful day. 

Photo:Narda Alarcon

Sandy met scads of dogs and people, each one of which she had to lick, paw, touch, kiss, and play with. 


Such a good little girl. I had no worries about leaving her in the care of strangers for the day, or about how she'd behave with kids, adults, other dogs, loud noises, or whatever she might encounter.

Fozzie...well, Fozzie I wanted to stick with myself. A large event with dogs of all sizes coming at him from all directions is not exactly a recipe for a calm Fozzie, and a really good dog trainer would not have exposed him to a situation that would push all his buttons at once. 


 






Some dog trainers, including some who have TV shows of their own, would say that this is the way to acclimatize a dog to things and get calmer behaviors. Most, however, would call it an example of flooding, and agree that working sub-threshold is the ticket to success with an aroused pup. 

So there's no excuse, evolved positive dog-training-wise, for why we went. I just knew I wanted to see if Fozzie's perfect adopter might be lurking somewhere out there and thought that if she is, this event might be where she'd come. 








And to my surprise, the result was something other than complete disaster. Sure, there was a certain amount of barking and lunging. Mostly at really big dogs, dogs who looked directly at him, dogs with tall pointy ears, and of course dogs who came out of nowhere. 





Which left plenty of dogs, including some medium-sized, floppy-eared dogs, dogs in fascinating headgear, 

and dogs on ice skates, 

who elicited little reaction.


But with Fozzie, of course the real triumph was the human interactions. 

As with so many of his breed, though he may not be able to kick back and have a martini with every canine he comes across, every human was pretty much a guaranteed recipient of love. 

None of these humans was quite ready to run off into the sunset with him, but it made me feel very good to get so many affirmations of what a people-loving beast he is. And to see the joy on people's faces as they got to pet such a big, velvety, loving mighty creature. 

I can't say that bringing Fozzie to an adoption event was relaxing or something I'd want to do every day. But it did make for a tired couple of dogs, 

Photo: Narda Alarcon

a chance to show off how sweet and cuddly pit bulls can be, and a chance to meet some really nice people.

Photo:Todd Alarcon

And maybe the good impressions made will result in adoptions for certain pit bulls--like Simon, who also came from Jasmine's House and elicited a lot of interest--

Photo:Narda Alarcon

which is good news for pit bulls everywhere. 

Pit Bull Gratitude

I was so proud to be a part of a community that celebrates Pit Bull Awareness Day. On this day, pit bull lovers turned out to reverse the unfair stain on the reputation of this most loyal and affectionate of breeds.  


For her part, Sandy turned out with another participant--a pit bull in a hound suit, named Copper--for an adoption event where she got to do her favorite thing. 









Lots of opportunities to do that favorite thing of hers, and lots of friendly people who didn't seem to have gotten that ill-conceived memo that said something about pit bulls being...what was it? Dangerous? Something like that? Hmm. 

No applications for Sandy, just a chance to show off another little example of her reputedly vicious breed. 


Meanwhile, a certain other pit bull did have a chance to connect with a potentially significant person in his life. What will come of this meeting? That remains to be seen....

To learn more about adopting Sandy, email peacefuldog [at] yahoo [dot] com

Happy Pit Bull Awareness Day!

This year October 22 has been designated Pit Bull Awareness Day. In 2007 Bless the Bullys created this holiday as a day to recognize and celebrate this loyal, friendly, misunderstood breed.



Sandy and I will be celebrating by going to an adoption event for Jasmine's House, the wonderful pit bull rescue group near Baltimore that is sponsoring Sandy. The event is at Dogma Bakery in Arlington, VA and will hopefully feature a few gorgeous little pittie people ready for their forever homes. If you're in the area, come on out and get a free facewash and pick up some tasty baked goods!


While you're in the holiday mood, go on over to Love and a Leash for another fantastic pit bull promotion! The pit bull rescue heroes over there are sponsoring the adoption fees for two sets of a Fabulous Four pit bulls at the Montgomery County Humane Society, using the generous contributions from Blogville folks who turned out to help Little Zee.

And then, come on back here and leave a comment! For every comment on today's post, I will donate $2 to the Washington Humane Society, and that gift--our gift--will be DOUBLED by the Delavan Foundation, which has agreed to match all donations for a limited time. 

While WHS is an open-access shelter that takes in all animals in need of shelter in the DC area, a large percentage of those animals are pit bulls or some mixture thereof. 

This is an organization that does a lot with a little. Their facilities may not be state of the art, may even look a bit drab and sad at first glance, but the animals get so much enrichment that many of them seem to really love their shelter "home." 


Aside from that, WHS is not afraid to take a position on animal welfare issues: all their events are vegetarian, and they take a stand against using animals for fur or for biomedical research.

They also support and actively promote TNR for cats.

Pretty cool, for a low-budget urban open-access shelter.

So let the commenting begin, and let's see if we can celebrate Pit Bull Awareness Day in style!

To learn more about adopting Sandy, email peacefuldog [at] yahoo [dot] com

Event Girl

Photo: Judith Beerman

Sandy has been an absolute star at dog-friendly events lately. 


Last week, it was time to show off her high-fashion pittie style at Fashion for Paws, a benefit for the Washington Humane Society and Hope for Henry. 


Sandy fit right in with those runway models in their BCBG Maxazria (Did you know Cobalt blue is in this season? I sure didn't), and of course with all the well-dressed people handing out samples of lettuce wraps and guacamole and acai-flavored coconut water. 


It was a crowded, loud, busy tent, packed with models and vendors and volunteers and a few dogs, and Sandy was just as calm and affable as can be the whole time. 

Photo: Judith Beerman

I was so impressed with how readily she would give me a beautiful sit whenever I asked for it. Whatever dog she was trying to sniff or food scraps she was in the midst of scrounging, she was ready to show all those nice looking potential adopters what a well-trained little pup she is. 

We even got two pictures and a mention in the Georgetown Dish!

There was even someone who was just about ready to adopt her, but it turned out she lived in Prince George's County--which has a pit bull ban! Although judging from Fozzie's experience, plenty of the Animal Control officials there will look the other way, that's definitely not something we want to mess with. 

On to another event on Saturday, Washington Humane Society's DC Walk for the Animals. This was another fundraiser combined with an adoption event, though this time it was  a bright sunny day and out in an open field in a neighborhood of DC.


WHS is having lots of events lately, in order to meet its goal for adoptions and qualify for the ASPCA 100K Adoption Challenge, in which the participating shelter with the most adoptions during the months of August, September and October this year over their adoption numbers from those months last year, will win the grand prize of $100,000. 


This event was such a nice time for the doggies. Wading pools,

hot dogs, 

and even an agility course for everyone to try out. 

And Sandy got to show off her gorgeous new collar from Sirius Republic. 

One of the nicest things about these events is that I've gotten to meet the other people who were involved in rescuing Sandy. Sandy got to give a big wet kiss to Kirstyn, who actually works for Best Friends but works at the Washington Humane Society shelter to help rescue pit bulls. It was her email that I saw that prompted my impulsive act a few weeks ago and led to Sandy becoming my foster beast. 

We also met staff and volunteers who remembered her from the shelter, and told us that she was found as a stray and brought in with her pal Ginger, who went to rescue and left Sandy very sad and stressed. 


Sad and stressed she is no more. And best of all, nothing tires a dog out like an adoption event.

To adopt Sandy, please contact peacefuldog [at] yahoo [dot] com

on adoption events

Many of us in rescue are encouraged to bring our foster dogs to adoption events, by rescue groups that are eager to get their dogs adopted out so they can save more lives. Many rescue groups even have a policy that dictates all foster dogs must go to a certain number of adoption events, regardless of the dog's temperament or background.

This one-size-fits-all policy does a disservice to many of the dogs who end up in rescue, who may not respond well to the pressure of exposure to many new people and/or other dogs all at once. For rescue dogs who are fearful, a few hours at an adoption event just adds another trauma to what may already be a long list, requiring further rehabilitation and training to recover. Many of these dogs may spend the entire event huddled behind a bush, or barking at other dogs, or bristling when people come up to meet them. This not only makes their chances of being adopted very small, but allows them to practice these frightened, reactive behaviors and get even better at being fearful and reactive.

All good training--training that has a chance of teaching behaviors that stick and are well-learned--works with a dog sub-threshold. This means that we keep our dogs in a place where they can remain calm and comfortable, whether by working with them at a distance from things that upset them (giving lots of treats as soon as they see another dog from a distance, but before they start getting upset) or by working with just a mild case of what upsets them (exposing to just one or two new people at a time, instead of a whole crowd).

When you think about it, for many fearful or reactive rescue dogs, an adoption event is a perfect example of the very old-school method of flooding--over-exposing a dog to something in the hopes that he'll "just get over it"--a method that has been shown to increase fear and reactivity in dogs (although in the short term, the dog may appear calmer because it is overwhelmed and just shuts down). At an adoption event, dogs are standing around amidst many other dogs, encountering people they have never met before, many of whom are coming up to them and touching them without asking. For dogs with "personal space" issues, this can be very stressful.

Foster

As I realized with my foster dog Pax--who spent the entire two hours of an adoption event barking and lunging--not all dogs are meant for adoption events. I should have realized it even sooner, with my foster dog Foster, who spent adoption events huddled behind me out of sight. Those experiences didn't help Foster or Pax feel more at ease, and they didn't get them adopted either.

In fact, in 3+ years of fostering and placing dozens of dogs and cats, only 1 found his forever home at an adoption event (that was PJ, who was pretty darn well adjusted). The vast majority of my dogs have met their adopters online. Here are some things you can do to promote your fosters without exposing them to the stress of adoption events.

1. Craigslist ads. Go to www.craigslist.org, find your town or city, and click on "post" in the upper right. All kinds of people visit craigslist, so you'll have to screen carefully, but you should be doing so anyway.
2. Petfinder. This terrific site allows adopters to search by breed and by location. You'll have to register to get an account, or ask the rescue group you work with for its ID and password. Be sure to upload a few sweet pictures, or even better, a video.  
3. Petfinder ads can also be printed out, making it easy to create a flyer you can post at pet shops, vet offices, training facilities, etc.
4. Get an "Adopt Me" vest or bandanna, and bring your dog to parks or along popular trails. If you are working with a rescue group, they should have some vests you can use; you can also order them from http://www.dogbooties.com/admoptmevests.html. These environments, while certainly too stressful for some shy dogs, may be less stressful than an adoption event because they permit a dog to move around and because there is less social pressure to behave a certain way--for dogs and handlers! If you think your shy dog can handle a trail or a park, be sure you bring treats and reward her for calmly looking at and interacting with other dogs and people.
5. Outfit your pup in his vest, and go to a pet store. Most pet stores will be happy for you to come inside and speak with prospective adopters, and have your own personal adoption event. This allows your dog to meet new people one at a time, with fewer other dogs around, and is less stressful for the fearful dog...although of course, even this is too much for some dogs! Call first to make sure this is OK with the pet store folk.
6. Post your pet to neighborhood and community email listserves. 

These are just a few of the ways resourceful rescue groups and fosters can help their pups get adopted, without making them go through a level of stress they may not be ready for. If you have more, please feel free to share them. 

Working Sub-Threshold

We had a good reminder the other day to work with dogs at a level at which they can succeed.

Lars had been doing so well with meeting new people calmly and accepting treats, so I decided to take him to an adoption event, along with Fozzie. It was too much for both of them! Fozzie lay calmly through most of it, but barked excitedly a few times, and Lars was just spooked and anxious.

I was worried I'd given both of them a real setback, but we've been working hard on building back good experiences since. Lars got to socialize with Jenn, my wonderful class assistant Thursday night, where he accepted treats from her and wasn't tooo anxious standing with us on the sidewalk. (Jenn is brilliant about body language too, and she knows to stand without leaning over him, and not make eye contact as she offers a treat. I just ordered Canine Body Language by Brenda Aloff on her recommendation.)

On Friday we got in more good socialization with a visit from my neighbor Liz. Lars was a bit anxious and jumped up when she came to the gate, but we walked together and soon he was calmly walking with her holding his leash. She then walked him alone and reported he was calm and happy!

We then had a visit from my friend Simone, who taught us some more on T-Touch and how to use it to calm anxious dogs and help them feel more grounded. He seems to love those relaxing circles.

Lars has been bred to be very attached to his own human, and to defend his home and hearth from most others. He's doing a great job, and just needs to learn that he can relax the rules a bit with most people!