It took me forever to get through all five parts of this blog. I do work a lot but to be honest with you, I really didn’t know how to end it. I was going to end it by talking about our adoptable pup, Chance, and how he has been in rescue for over two years but Standing Proud Pit Bull Rescue never failed him. Then a dog walked into my life and wacked me on the side of the head with a frying pan, her name is Abby, and this is her story.

Back in May, I was contacted by Madison, who was referred to me by her dog walker from Orange County, where I moved from last year. Ugly Dog Adventures does pack walks and I used to see them all the time at Irvine Regional Park and we follow each other on Instagram, Madison was their client! Madison had also relocated here in Arizona and while driving past the Indian Reservation saw a fawn pit bull on the side of the road. Madison hopped out of her car and the pit bull came right over and willingly hopped into the car and thus begins our story. Madison searched high and low for a rescue that would help her advertise and manage the pups adoption. She found one that agreed and we will call them, “Operation Desperation,” as their name has been changed out of respect.

Operation Desperation agreed to take Abby, the newly named fawn pit bull, into their rescue, have her spayed, vetted, and provided some basic fostering materials. All seemed to be going well. Madison originally contacted me for dog walking services, as she would be going out of town and although Abby was very low energy, she had a tendency to get into trouble if she wasn’t properly exercised. I was happy to help, especially since her dogs were about as well behaved as they come, including Abby. Abby thrived in Madison’s home where the principles of exercise, discipline, and affection are applied. She is a proactive dog mom and always has their best interest at heart. It would be easy to just crate Abby to keep her out of trouble but it was a priority to Madison to make sure she was fulfilled so that she could provide freedom for her. I walked Abby three times that week and she was a dream on leash, no reactivity towards other dogs, no pulling, no rushing – she was with us and we were with her and her golden eyes would express enjoyment of the moment. I wanted her to go somewhere special and wanted to help Madison find her a home, I recommended Abby to everyone who contacted me about wanting to adopt a dog, alas, there was always a reason – she was a pit bull, she was too big, she was the wrong color, something ridiculously dumb.

A few months later, Madison contacted me for swimming lessons for Abby, it took about an hour and we had a nice pattern for Abby to follow, she would drain her energy quickly and this was a great outlet for her. I loved that I got to see her again and when Madison went out of town I went back to swim with Abby again. I loved her, she was affectionate, cooperative, and would nibble on the tip of my nose to show her gratitude.

A few weeks later, Madison let me know that Abby had a potential family and they were going to meet for an introduction. As far as I knew, things worked out and they were going to adopt her. On July 31, I received a very composed text from Madison so imagine my surprise when we touched base on August 1 and I heard the following news. Abby’s adoption didn’t work out, there had been a confrontation between Abby and the resident dog, and the rescue instructed them to turn her into the shelter and tell them she was female dog aggressive. Madison also proceeded to tell me that when she was spayed, they discovered she had TVT – Transmissible Venereal Tumor inside her vulva and they adopted her out knowing she was sick and that the adopter was supposed to start treatment. So, all I knew was a great dog was sick, in a shelter somewhere, very confused. It took two days for Madison to locate her, Operation Desperation would not disclose to Madison where the adopter was taking Abby. I headed straight to East Valley shelter, the only shelter I knew of here in Arizona to begin the hunt for our girl.

I found her, kennel 129, and she was, at the very least, alive- I found no new scratches or wounds on her. I called in a plea to my human friend Abby, president of Standing Proud Pit Bull Rescue, and explained the situation ending it with, “You know I would never, ever, ever try to convince you to take in a dog that would be difficult to place, she is perfect, I can’t understand HOW THIS HAPPENED!” Abby was in the shelter “through no fault of her own.” Human Abby is an angel and agreed.

We got her home, settled, and started a Pound Wishes fundraiser for her medical care, which was supposed to be inexpensive and very treatable. I noticed on August 4 and 5 that the bleeding from her tumor was excessive and we took her into the vet right away. We began her chemotherapy treatment on August 6, she still wasn’t eating by the evening of the 7, and by the morning of the 8 I set an appointment for her to go back to the vet since she seemed to be vomiting and having diarrhea excessively yet wouldn’t eat or drink anything.

Her appointment was for 3 and at 2 I put her in the car and rushed over, we sat in the waiting room and she immediately evacuated her bowels all over our waiting area and it was bloody, everyone stopped what they were doing to help her. We weighed her, she had lost five pounds in two days, something wasn’t right – this was not supposed to happen. We had to run a number of medical tests to rule out parvo, pyometra, and more… not only did we not know her history before Madison found her, we had no medical records from Operation Desperation regarding her vaccination history or veterinary visits.

I know you are angry right now. Probably fuming. You want to know who! You want to tell them what you think of them! I wanted to, too. Let me explain why I call them “Operation Desperation.” We are human. Rescuing dogs is tough business, people take advantage all the time, we suffer from compassion fatigue, lack of sleep, feeling powerless to do more. I truly believe that people start this with the best of intentions and sometimes lose sight of what is right and wrong because we take on the consequences of others and we make decisions out of DESPERATION. We take dogs because we are told they are super easy to place and they end up costing us thousands, we want to have a line in the sand that people cannot cross. It fucking happens. I am not angry, if anything, I want to help. Even reputable rescues self vaccinate, making it tough for people down the line to help dogs that end up having medical problems but they do it to keep costs down so they don’t have to fundraise every weekend or stand with their hand out, we get judged for that, too. It is very easy to stand where you are at and say what someone else should do, what is not easy is to understand how they got to a place where these things happen. No matter how desperate they were, what they did to Abby was, without a shadow of a doubt, absolutely wrong and despicable and I suggest they evaluate their commitment to helping dogs in any way.

For a few days, I really thought that Abby wasn’t going to survive but Madison was her rock. Abby was familiar with Madison and with all this change, I’m sure the comfort of her former foster made all the difference in her will to push on and live. She took her first few bites of food with Madison there cheering her on, helping her feel loved and comfortable.

I’m grateful she ended up with us, and I’m grateful Abby from Standing Proud didn’t “un-friend” me after dog Abby’s expensive hospital stay. Human Abby loves her, too and sees the bright shining light that I saw. She may have ended up in the shelter through no fault of her own but I can’t think of a better place for her to be than right here with us. Abby is now on her third treatment and we have found the appropriate dose to treat her, this will mean she will need additional treatments. What is most important is she is back to her sweet, silly, and affectionate self. She is eternally optimistic with everyone she meets, that they may just spend a few minutes with her, allow her to be overly affectionate, and ignore all attempts to pose for photos. She loves her foster Dad, Ryan, and will follow him just about anywhere.

We are also taking a longer break between treatments, the quarantine was very hard on her. She is a very social dog and although she is surrounded by the pack, not being able to interact with the dogs was building frustration, which can lead to a litany of other issues. Fostering a medical dog is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. It means we are responsible not only for their physical health, but also their psychological welfare. It’s very easy to take what was a generally well behaved dog and infect them with new behavioral issues simply by loving them too much and feeling bad for them. We must balance recovery, rehabilitation, and socialization in order to truly help a dog recover. The longer breaks between treatments means that Abby can socialize with the rest of the pack to relieve her needs to interact with canines. This will help her stay a social dog and means we won’t have to manage or fix reactivity down the line.

When it comes time for her to find her family, we will use the same process that we used for Tucker and Jameson. She will get all the time in the world to get comfortable in her new home, her new owners will get the “Abby Handbook.” They will be allowed to tell us it’s not working, she will stay here with me until everyone is ready. Rescuing is so much more than finding a place for a dog to go, it’s more than just making sure they stay alive – it’s a process, an understanding, an education, and we are ALL responsible to creating the best and most successful outcome. I truly hope this series allows more of us to ask questions, to ask for help, to network. We are a community of dog lovers, rescuers, and experts – I encourage everyone to ask for help where it’s needed and take a look at your process. You may not like the way I do everything, but you may like the way I do one thing. I’d like to personally thank Linn Boyke for teaching me how to be a better behaviorist, a better rescuer, and an all around better human being. Linn has been an inspirational leader, he is tough but that is only matched by a deep a profound sensitivity for the humans and dogs he guides.

You are all invited to Abby’s fundraiser on September 30, 2017. All proceeds go to cover her medical care and rehabilitation. Please join us in celebrating her recovery – there will be a taco bar, margarita bar, throwback lawn games, pool party, and lots of amazing people!

If you’d like to support Abby’s care but can’t make it to the party, you can make a tax deductible donation here: https://poundwishes.com/donate/2072395/abby.

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The post Through No Fault of Their Own Part V first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

I’ve spent the past 14 weeks with 16 men inside Corcoran State Prison as part of the Marley’s Mutts Pawsitive Change Program. Yesterday, we had graduation and I got to speak in front of the guys today to tell them what they meant to me. I cried about 10 seconds into speaking. I decided to share my speech with all of you. It’s not word for word but it’s pretty close. Here it is. And for Farmer and Lillard, the guys that couldn’t be there today, I hope this comes across your eyes at some time in the near future.  

“If you open your heart, you can’t close your mind”

This wasn’t just my first class at Corcoran. This was my first class ever. When I joined this team I wasn’t sure  how it was going to go down. I wasn’t sure how the other trainers were going to accept me and for sure didn’t know how you guys were going to accept me. All I know is I wanted to help.

I’ve seen what dogs did for my life and my goal has always been to help other people see it for theirs, too. So on that first day, when it was all awkward, I was awkward with you. On that first day you smiled, I smiled with you. When some of you shared private things with me that were bringing you down, I mourned with you but when some of you shared personal things that made you happy, I celebrated with you.

I remember hearing someone say that you guys feel like society forgot about you but I want you to know that, for what it’s worth, you’ve become part of my life. I bring a little piece of all you home every week I leave here. You’ve become who I talk about not only on social media but to my family, too. I don’t know what it’s like to walk in your shoes and I will never claim to but I do know what it’s like to spend the last 14 weeks with you and it’s been nothing short of amazing.  I can imagine it feels like you have no choice in here sometimes but you do. You didn’t have to sign up for this class but you did. You didn’t have to show up but you did every week. You didn’t have to work with these dogs every day but you did. And it shows. At the end of the day you guys gave something to these dogs they either never had or lost somewhere along their journey and  I know the dogs are thankful and I know all of us trainers are, as well.

Outside of seeing my only son being born this has been one of the most amazing experiences I know I will ever be a part of. I know I will go on and teach other classes at other prisons, and I know eventually I will be back here for another round. Every class will be special in its own way but there’s no memory like your first…and you guys will always be my first class. Words can’t describe the love I have in my heart for you guys. Thank you for letting me be part of this journey.  I will make a promise to you guys, we will do everything we can to make sure we come back but you guys have to make sure you do everything you can to make sure we see you guys again.  If you’re
not here next time we come back let it be because you guys got released out of this place. I love you guys. thank you.

Til we meet again,

John

**  If you would like to help this program grow you can go to the Positive Change Prison Program donation page here **

Awesome photos provided by Cheryl Lynn Photography

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The post A Letter To The Men of Pawsitive Change at Corcoran State Prison first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

There was a lot on the line for all of us – we wanted Jameson to find a great home with amazing owners, Jen and Gary already loved his charming personality and dashing good looks, and Jameson – well, Jameson is a dog, so as long as he is fulfilled, he is content. I decided to bring in an extra set of hands who has a lot more experience with this than I do. I called up my mentor, Linn Boyke, and asked if he would come along for the first meeting to decide if this was a route worth pursuing. If Linn told us no right off the bat, then we would not continue. I trust Linn’s judgment entirely and with nearly two decades more experience than me, there was no question he’d know right away.

We all met at Jen and Gary’s house on December 18, 2016 where Linn got right to business. I’m always in awe that I can ask him for help and he takes the time to provide it. Additionally, Linn is quite good with cats, as well! Jen brought Princepesa down the stairs and placed her in her current favorite spot, the skirt underneath the Christmas tree. Jameson was definitely alert and in tune to Princepesa. If we had continued to move towards the cat, he would have likely reacted out of excitement and ruined the opportunity for friendship before we had even began! We could already see that he was over stimulated and we needed to address that before moving any closer.

Linn worked with Jameson for about an hour – In that hour, Linn created a calm state of mind in the dog, Jameson was able to look at the cat, move around the room that the cat was in and ignore it and we were also able to have the cat move around without Jameson becoming overexcited. The decision was made to move forward. We agreed that I would come back several times over the next few weeks. Our first meeting was a week before Christmas and not once did they ask if he’d be with them to celebrate, they didn’t ask if he’d be home by New Years either – they didn’t push to move too quickly, they were just happy that this was possible.

With each visit, we’d begin by taking Jameson for a walk to drain his energy and practice walking Jameson in their community. We passed dogs, birds, and kids while teaching Jameson how to behave. Next, we’d move inside where Princepesa would be underneath the tree napping, Jameson would have access to seeing her while his intensity was controlled with a leash. Before we left for the day, we’d go for another walk to bring Jameson’s state of mind to its’ calmest state. We accomplished our goal of Jameson more and more calm about the cats presence. Now that he could be calm around her sitting still, I needed to address him being calm around her while she moved about the house, or darts across the room and up the stairs (as cats are known to do).

We then had the cat start to move about the room and again, Jameson’s excitement was controlled- at this point he was still on leash. Once he was calm about her movement, we then removed the leash but had him in the crate.

The cat would move about and if Jameson became excited we would create calmness and when he was ready we would bring the cat out again. After practicing this consistently, Jameson was no longer excited by the cat or her presence. **DISCLAIMER** This is one way to do things, every dog, cat, home, human
and environmental factor can affect the proper way to address YOUR situation. If you are struggling with cat/dog relationships or thinking of adding a dog/cat to your existing pet, please work with a behaviorist in YOUR area and if you need a referral reach out to IpittytheBull or myself.

I ultimately went to their house to work with Jameson and Princepesa six times times before we crossed our next milestone. We scheduled a walk at a busy trail area with lots of bunnies, birds, and people- Jen is a fitness coach and very active so we wanted to practice his walk in more challenging areas. Jen did great and taught Jameson that he is to behave the same way there as in their own neighborhood. Our second walk I brought along Kahlua so we could add the challenge of a second dog to the walk. Eventually, Jameson started having overnight stays. Jameson spent a weekend, and another weekend, and then I got the text… “Things are going really well and we’d like to make it official.” Thus began his two week foster to adopt period. Jen and Gary really followed through and I just can’t tell you how rare that is. They loved the same things about him that I did. How he looks like he was shampooed with shiny black shoe polish after a bath, how he looks so dapper in a hat, and his abilities as an amazing conversationalist!

We finalized Jamesons adoption on February 13, 2017. That means they took almost 2 entire months to work on the relationship with Jameson and Princepesa. Their patience and dedication means the world to me. Jameson is thriving in his new home, I love following their adventures on Jens Instagram account. He goes on hikes, runs, adventures, and lives peacefully with Princepesa. He is truly a part of their family.

Of all my adoptions the Tucker formerly Vince and Jameson adoptions are very special to me. Each owner did what was right for the dog and they took their time picking the dog for them. Their decision was not emotional, it wasn’t based on what THEY wanted, it was based on finding that perfect match for their home. Each family worked with us several times and kept in touch as time went on. I get to see them when their families go out of town and they stop in for boarding.

I think you for hanging in there with me while I take a month between installments to organize my thoughts, next week we will explore what happens we we don’t take our time.

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The post No Fault of Their Own Part IV first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

What started out as just a blog back in 2014 has turned into something that not even I could have predicted. As each foster I took in, my knowledge and experience expanded. As each blog got posted, I learned that letting my emotions get out of control were going to be my biggest enemy in this crazy world of rescue. We learned that our mission statement of “Educate. Advocate. Never Discriminate” went beyond dogs and actually bled through every aspect of our lives. We also learned that at the end of the day, if you want to save a dog. You should keep yours.

So I’ve taken it upon myself to answer a few questions many of you may be asking yourselves…

So what changes now?

Well, for one, we will be doing our own fundraisers. We have partnered up with KOI CBD oil to help raise money and we are currently planning our first big fundraiser for Spring of 2018!

We have also started our new “Helping People. Helping Dogs.” initiative in an effort to support the people whose dedication to helping dogs extends out to helping humans better their lives, as well!

Well, what are you raising money for?

We will be raising money for our own facility that will be the Boys and Girls Club of America equivalent for dogs. It will be a place where PEOPLE can come and learn…a place where people associated with rescues, or even people who want to learn more about dogs, can learn more about dog behavior in a non-judgmental environment to help them not only understand how the dog is perceiving them but to recognize their own personal abilities, as well!

We will have seminars, special guest speakers and trainers. We will have people hosting workshops, as well! For all you comic book nerds out there, think of it as the Professor Xavier School for the Gifted. But instead of maintaining human-mutant relationships we will be helping to maintain human-dog relationships. Yes, I’m a comic book nerd. Don’t judge me.

So what stays the same?

Pretty much everything stays the same. We will still be working with other rescues and organizations whether that be with helping them with their dogs or raising money for them. Our relationships with other likeminded rescues and organizations is something we value and hold high on our list. At the end of the day, we can make small ripples individually or we can make huge waves together.

In addition to that, we will still be visiting schools and teaching kids about breed discrimination and humane education. We will be part of the Marley’s Mutts Pawsitive Change Program and we will continue to foster.

And in conclusion, we will still be sharing our own personal stories that include not only the success we have with our pack but the “not so good”, as well.

It’s crazy how things change. I never thought taking in a 6 month old Penny Lane would turn into this but here we are. We are about to start a new chapter here at, iPittytheBull, and I just want to
thank everyone who has supported us and followed us throughout our journey.

As the old Carpenters song goes…”We’ve only just begun.”

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The post The More Things Change. The More They Stay the Same. first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

I want you all to meet, Randi Gehring. She was one of first followers ever when we started up on social media. She has followed our journey and been there through our growth and since we followed her back we also did the same!

Just recently, her and her husband lost their baby after carrying their child for 19 weeks. She decided to share her struggle and journey with everyone and started a blog about it.

With the support of her husband, friends, family and of course her dog, Russell. She’s been able to move forward every day, even if it’s at a snail’s pace.

Please check out her blog and share it with someone who may be going through something similar.

We believe that helping dogs is helping people. And Randi is definitely helping people.

Thank you, Randi!!

https://findingyourrainbowafterloss.com/

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The post Finding Your Rainbow After Loss first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

I remember when my first bill came. I looked at the due date and said, “Oh, I have plenty of time to pay this. I will do it later.” Then “later” came and I would make another excuse to myself to not pay. I just kept putting it off and putting off. I was not aware of the consequences that I would be facing down the road by allowing this behavior. It got so bad I found myself over $20,000 in debt with horrible credit. Nobody was going to finance me for anything. I wouldn’t answer my phone because I had bill collectors calling me and even when I did have a little money to pay some bills off I chose not to because I was so far into debt what was the point?

So, I lived for years just accepting the hole I dug for myself and not really doing anything about it. I had friends getting financed for new cars and all sorts of awesome things but I also had a lot of friends in my same situation and it made me feel better. It didn’t motivate me to want to change but it just made me feel better about not taking responsibility.

I’m sure some of you are thinking “This is a dog blog. Why is he talking about his poor credit decisions?”

Well, here’s why. Think about the problems you have with your dog. Are they a priority? Are you fulfilling your dog’s needs? Have you let your problems with your dog(s) get so bad that you’re considering re-homing them? It’s easy to let things build up and then when it gets to be too much, we just walk away or ignore them. But you see, the problem never really goes away. We live in a world where we want OUR needs met but we just don’t “have time” or we’re “too tired” to reciprocate. I get it, “taking” is tiring. I know. I did it through all of my 20’s!

But with all luxuries in life come responsibilities. You want a nice big house? You will have a nice big responsibility. You want that new car? You gotta want the responsibility. You want a well-behaved dog? It takes a lot more than feeding them and giving them water. That’s just the bare minimum. Taking care of another life is absolutely the biggest responsibility of them all.

School of Dog Psychology taught me that there’s that moment when you “know” and then that moment when you “do”. The time in between the “know” and the “do” is when the most damage is done.

But the good thing about these situations (in my case, bad credit) is that you can wake up any day of the week and decide you want to work on it. It won’t get better overnight but if you keep chipping away at it you would be amazed how far you can move forward…even if it’s at a snail’s pace. These days my credit has gone from “shitty” to “bad” and I’m just around the corner from getting it to “good”. And I did it by asking for help.  I talked to people who had dug themselves into a similar situation and asked how they got out of it. I asked “experts” in the field for advice. And even then, with all the information I took in…I still had to do something about it and take all I had learned and put it into action.

It’s never too late to change but change doesn’t just happen. You have to want to do it. Our dogs can’t talk but if they could they would be asking us what THEY can do to motivate us. They would be asking us what more can they GIVE to fix the relationship. Because that’s the nature of a dog. We can try our hardest but we could only wish to be as forgiving as them! Maybe if dogs ran credit card companies I wouldn’t be in this mess.   But as I’ve learned, the one with the most information is the most responsible. And that’s us. Every time.

I can’t tell you when to change no more than anyone could tell me that I need to “man up” to my responsibilities. You gotta get there on your own but when you do, it’s the most awesome feeling ever.

My hope is that after you read this is that you decide that day is today!

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The post Bad Credit. No Problem. first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

I know, I know. It’s been too long. I bet some of you were probably even wondering if I just stopped writing blogs all together. The answer is no and I will be making more of an effort to write more! Now, before I go further, most of my “clients” are facilitated through rescue organizations to help their fosters acclimate to a new a dog they are bringing in their home or to help a new adopter. I never automatically assume I can work with a dog based off a story I hear and there have been plenty of times I’ve had to walk away and offer a trainer with more experience than me due to the dog being above my ability level to work with. However, I am still able to help many dogs and the rescues, shelters, foster and owners that are responsible for them! With that being said, here’s the story of Eleanor and Hammy aka “Bark Hamill”.

So back in May I was at an Angels for Animals (angelsforanimalsrescue.org) adoption event and I met a girl named Eleanor. She had seen my post that I would be there and decided to come introduce herself. As we got to talking, the conversation quickly shifted to her dog, Hammy. Eleanor was having issues with Hammy and asked if I could help her. She had been following my foster stories for a while and took a chance in asking. I agreed to meet Hammy and this is their story…so far.

When I first met Eleanor, I noticed a very friendly girl. Not just regular friendly but like “Snow White” friendly. How could you not want to be friends with this girl? Our first conversation was pleasant and it was not awkward as some first meetings can be. But when she started talking about her dog, Hammy, her whole demeanor changed. Her shoulders slouched a little bit and her voice got a little quieter. Basically, she felt like she had no control over her dog and literally had problems stepping out of the front door due to the cats or dogs that would sometimes be out there. And anyone out there with dogs knows that no matter how big your dog is, if your dog decides they want to go after something it can be very hard to handle and become somewhat embarrassing to the point that you feel everyone is watching you the second you’re out with your dog. I know, I’ve been there. We all have had that feeling of being under the microscope and feeling like nothing we do is right. Now when you throw a dog
into the mix, that dog now starts to mirror the person holding the leash.

Now when I first met Hammy, he growled at me. Even though Eleanor and I had met once before she seemed nervous when I walked in and Hammy confirmed it for me. So I started to make “small talk” with Eleanor until she started to loosen up and once she did, Hammy came up and sniffed me as if to say, “Sorry about the growling. I just felt like I had to protect my mom. She feeds me and takes care of me. I can’t have anything happen to her.”

Eleanor walked me through her whole walking routine with Hammy. His “unpredictable” nature sounded quite the opposite as she broke down exactly what would happen almost every step of the walk. And sure enough, when she showed me her walking ritual, all the bad things she said would happen, happened. Almost as if she was projecting it to happen.

I’m going to go off track here but I promise I’m going somewhere with this. When I got my 6^th concussion, something as simple as putting on my shoes became a task. I never had to think about it much because I had been practicing putting my shoes on for so long I just kind of did it and went about my day. So after this head injury I had so much trouble balancing that instead of teaching myself a new way to put my shoes on, I insisted on doing things “how I’ve always done them” and because that I became frustrated which led to me not starting my day at all or getting so frustrated during the process of putting my shoes on that I ruined my whole day by self-sabotaging it. But once I slowed down, took the time and figured out a new way to put my shoes on, the rest of my day became much more pleasant. You see, my day started way before I walked out of the house.

Back to Hammy…before Hammy ever leaves the house, he needs to be calm. Even as he’s “putting his shoes on” he needs to be calm. And if he gets too excited, Eleanor needs to stop and slow down so that Hammy can understand this process. Hammy needs to learn how to behave through every step of the process. It doesn’t matter if a quarterback can throw pin point passes from 70 yards away, if he fumbles the snap, he will never get to the part where he gets to throw the ball. The exchange between the center and the quarterback which is referred to as “the snap” or “hiking” the ball is the most important part of any play.

So Eleanor and Hammy practiced “their snap”. And they practiced…and practiced…and practiced some more. And she focused solely on this one thing until she became so good at it that it became as easy as putting on her shoes!

I kept reminding Eleanor that she can’t change the past or predict the future. And if she’s thinking about any of those things then she’s not paying attention to what’s in front of her. And if she’s not paying attention to what’s in front of her how would Hammy ever feel safe in her presence? Hearing those things can be hard but the thing I love about Eleanor is she’s so devoted to Hammy that she is willing to do anything. Even if that meant changing everything she was doing, her way of thinking and working on her own fears and insecurities.

Fast forward to June and now Eleanor is smiling from ear to ear when you ask how her walks have been. She stands a little taller and when she talks she’s assertive, but calm. She knows what she wants and she’s teaching Hammy exactly what makes her happy. Hammy has his “moments” but he is no longer dictating the walks. She is. In fact, he is learning to trust and respect her so much that she’s now teaching him to swim in the pool. Something that Eleanor was sure he wouldn’t learn to do!

What was seen as “aggression” was actually fear and insecurity. Eleanor isn’t telling Hammy to “not be scared”. She’s just telling him to trust her. That’s she’s got this. And he believes her because she’s everything a leader should be which is calm, cool, and collected.

In the words of Linn Boyke, founder of “School of Dog Psychology “, “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Just take the time”.

Thank you for taking the time, Eleanor.

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We left off with Tucker formerly known as Vince, finding his perfect forever home, leaving room for Jameson at my place. I picked up Jameson in late October, to be honest, I thought he’d be with me for the long haul. I wasn’t sure if the formerly social pup would get along with dogs after seeing his reactivity on walks. He needed consistent energy draining and to learn that he’d have access to bathroom breaks on a consistent basis to resolve his urinating in the crate habit. Overall, he needed to be reminded that being pushy and demanding was inappropriate and be shown that humans could once again be consistent.

Jameson arrived right before Halloween 2016. We started immediately with big hikes to drain his pent up energy and I learned quickly that although he had the ability to be an athlete, his day to day energy requirements were not as high as I had originally thought. Knowing that Arizona has brutal summers, I made sure to teach him how to use a treadmill so that when his new family needed it, he’d have a way to drain energy when the weather would not permit. He took to it immediately, a sign that he was eager for direction and trusting of what I would be asking of him as the process continued. While Jameson was at the Standing Proud facility, I had already had an opportunity to teach him how to paddleboard and swim, another way his new family could make sure he was fulfilled from an exercise standpoint. I remember when I saw Cesar put my dog Titan on a paddleboard for the first time, he explained that it was an opportunity for the brain to connect with the body. Since dogs can only do one thing at a time, it puts them in a position to focus on their physical balance over entertaining an over active and reactive state of mind. This is a wonderful outlet for an anxious dog to experience a new state of mind. Additionally, it’s a fun activity to do with a dog and an excellent form of bonding and building trust. Jameson’s list of talents was growing everyday and he was thriving. The whining and reactivity began to subside as he was being
fulfilled which helped me feel comfortable introducing him to the pack.

Little Guy, friend to all, was the first dog I had him walk with. I took Jameson out on his own for a lap then added Little Guy to our next lap. After draining their energy, we came home, and I let them off leash. Things went off without a hitch. I had already spent one on one time with Jameson which allowed me to understand his body language cues.  Even though there are patterns in body language, those patterns allow for a variety of outcomes. For example, just because a dogs hair is standing up, it doesn’t always mean a fight is about to commence. It’s a form of arousal, this arousal can lead to over excited play, a fight, controlling behavior OR with human guidance that arousal can be interrupted and brought back down to an appropriate level. For Jameson, it had been a long time since he had been social with other dogs and his excitement needed to be interrupted so that we could form the outcome that we wanted, which was calm and social interactions with other dogs.

Jameson arrived right before the holidays, a time of change to brings excitement and change can cause behavior changes in dogs. This didn’t frighten me, these would be opportunities to influence his behavior and teach him how to behave with canine and human visitors, and to gauge his sensitivities to these changes. If he had big setbacks, that would mean we’d need a certain type of adopter for him – one that would provide the level of guidance and structure he needed to thrive. We immediately had our first Halloween together and although we didn’t participate by being outside amongst the dressed up kids and excited energy or even by answering the knocks and doorbell rings to hand out candy – the dogs were still
exposed to the new sounds and excitement because we live in “that” neighborhood, the one that people shuttle to for the king size candy bars and big lawn displays – this is still a form of participation, just from a distance. I used this opportunity to teach all the dogs that the noise and sounds from outside didn’t change how we behave inside and that it represented a calm state of mind and that the dogs didn’t need to be alert or reactive to it. As nighttime drew near, Jameson wanted to bark and growl in reaction to the outside environment but with each bark and growl, I’d examine what he saw as a threat and then remind him that we behave calmly in the house. If I’m monitoring what a dog sees as a threat, then they don’t need to spend the entire evening reminding me of the monsters outside. Within thirty minutes all the pups were snoozing and the sounds of Halloween represented a big pack nap. Having information about my pack that sound sensitivities can cause reactions, I also chose to crate them so that in the event that one dog reacted and another dog attempted to control that reaction, I could intervene without it escalating into a confrontation. Over the years, I’ve had a number of people reach out for help after a dog fight or cases of extreme anxiety from a holiday with so much excitement and noise outside. Usually, what sets the dogs up for such an issue is too much freedom, a lack of guidance, and wanting to sooth a dog into feeling better. We have a responsibility to create a plan for success and in this case, I had a new dog in that pack that was prone to reactivity and dogs that exhibit controlling behavior – limiting their freedom to act out on their normal reactions created a safe environment. I would never knowingly set the pack up for a failure – if I know a dogs history – I must take that into account when navigating a new experience like this.

Next up, we had our first Thanksgiving, which brought human visitors as well as boarding pups. Jameson had been with me for 6-7 weeks at this point and no longer exhibiting his reactive tendencies. We had one boarding dog in particular that exhibited high levels of stress and Jameson was an excellent example to her of how to behave. He also had a chance to meet my parents’ dog, Gidget. Jameson no longer felt the need to react to dogs on walks or in person, this allowed me to provide him more freedom. Occasionally, our lovely boy would hear or see something that would catch his attention but a quick reminder that he didn’t need to get involved was all that was needed for him to return to the moment with me. He was becoming such a wonderful dog and I was falling for this handsome man.  I continued to foster and work with Jameson and lucky for me he became one of the dogs I used to test the social skills of other dogs! He got a girlfriend named Hannah, on of my regular boarders and the first dog ever adopted form Standing Proud Pit Bull Rescue. I let them out together and he was over the moon for her, she communicated that he needed to slow it down and for the next three days he would approach ever so slowly and gently until she accepted his advances. He also helped an overexcited golden retriever, Kahlua, that came to me for rehabilitation for behaving aggressively with the dogs in her home, learn how to walk nicely in the pack and play calmly.  Next up, he helped a mischievous pup name Minnie learn how to play at a nice low level and chill without constantly needing to look for something to ingest, as she came to me after a surgery for an obstruction in her bowels and colon! Jameson had turned into quite the asset here and I really wanted to keep him!

Around this time, Jameson received an application from a family. They had three kids and had owned dogs before so, sounds like a great option to explore! We went over and Jameson was slightly excited as he has a very positive association to children but that excitement had not been controlled in the past. We showed the family how we could help him learn to be calm around the children and explained he had been in rehabilitation and his adoption would come with several training sessions. We explained our transition process, it begins with providing little freedom and that Jameson would need to learn to relax in his crate before having free range because their busy household would be very stimulating for him. They let us know that they would not want to crate him and we let them know that they’d have to find another dog. I get it, it sounds harsh, just because they don’t agree with our tactics we won’t give them a dog??? We’d deprive a dog a home because we are so confident in what we do??? The answer is heck yes, we would. We’d already seen the outcome of Jameson’s life without rules and boundaries, it would be naïve to believe that the work we had done to restore him to balance would be maintained if his humans didn’t follow through what was working. If we know that they aren’t willing to follow through on the first step, we would knowingly and willingly be signing up for resistance. We weren’t interested in placing Jameson quickly, we were interested in placing Jameson appropriately and for the long haul, if there’s one thing we are willing to do, it is wait for the perfect family.

Our next holiday was Christmas. We had an adoption event in early December and when we arrived, Abby let me know that some potential adopters were coming to meet Jameson. I responded with, “Well, they better be amazing because I’m beginning to think this dog is staying with me forever.” I had my wonderful assistant, Maci, with me to help show off this boys dazzling skills. I mean, come on, a five year old can walk this dog in a busy public place at an adoption event and he followed. How could he not show well? Maci spent all morning with me draining his energy and teaching him how to behave. This is a reminder that dogs will follow energy and belief over physical strength, this is also my very favorite memory of Jameson. The couple came up and introduced themselves, Jen and Gary, they had just moved here and wanted to add an athletic dog to the family. Jen was a fitness coach with a wonderfully positive attitude and looking for a dog that could keep up with her active lifestyle. Gary was calm, cool, and collected – a perfect pair. We went on and on about Jameson’s walking skills, paddleboarding, and swimming abilities, they were thrilled! Then they dropped the bomb, they had a cat name Princepesa…

As far as we knew, Jameson hated cats as much as Indiana Jones hates snakes. We let them know our concerns and they were willing to see if we could teach Jameson to live peacefully with the kitty. We set up a meet and greet and I guess you’ll have to wait and see if Jameson found his forever home with Jen, Gary, and…. Princepesa…

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The post No Fault Of Their Own – Part 3 first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

When considering placing a dog I discuss with the family how they envision their life with the dog, where do they want to take it, what do they want their downtime to look like, what kind of physical activity will be provided, and how much “dog” can they handle. I schedule out multiple meetings based on the lifestyle they want to create with their dog and treat each one as a full on training consultation, showing the potential new owners how to address any negative behaviors and teach the dog what they’d like the dog to do instead. Since Nancy was looking for a running partner and Jameson has medium-high energy draining requirements we started with the walk. We scheduled out 3 walks and planned to go for a run last (let’s be honest, I was going to stand in one spot and watch Nancy run).

On our first walk we encountered a brave cat that sent Jameson into a tailspin – he was climbing up my
body, hyper focused, and definitely wanting to eliminate the competition on the block. We addressed how to handle this outburst and had many chances to practice as this cat really enjoyed getting a reaction out of Jameson. I asked if this cat is around often or if this was just a one-time visit, they explained he lived next door and I asked, “Are you prepared to address this behavior every time you walk out the door until you don’t need to anymore?” It was definitely something to think about. The next walk we encountered calm dogs, barking dogs, and one that almost jumped a fence. This gave us a chance to see a variety of reactions from both the human and the dog, a chance to go over how our human reactions can empower an already reactive dog and cause the behavior to escalate. We discussed how to control our own reactions so we can teach the dog and help him understand what is and is not a threat. We began to see more and more things that Jameson needed to learn and I explained that this is why we would take our time, so they would be well informed on his behavior, what he needed help understanding, and how to teach it. On the last day, we went for a run – I watched Jameson, with legs that were nearly as long as a humans, transform into a gazelle in front of my very eyes. Nancy came back exhausted from her Jameson wrangling experience, handed me the leash and Jameson immediately saw a dog and became so excited he broke his head halti (thank god for the safety clip that attaches to a secondary collar) and we had to take a few minutes to recover.

As we walked back to their home, I could see Nancy was disappointed – not disappointed that Jameson wasn’t “a better dog” but disappointed that although she enjoyed everything that is wonderful about Jameson, there were glaring red flags that could not be ignored. We hadn’t even started talking about how to teach him to behave in the house yet and we were struggling. We put Jameson in the car and talked. Throughout this entire process I reiterated that if Jameson wasn’t the right dog, we would find the right dog, and that they could explore different options at any time.  I had known that Jameson was going to need work, but I had never seen his behavior so intense before. This lovely family was worried they had wasted my time by practicing with Jameson. At no point was any of our meetings a waste of time – we learned a lot about Jameson and it gave them a chance to re-evaluate what they were looking for in their new dog. I see that as saving time in the long run, honestly. We save ourselves the struggle of trying to keep a dog that doesn’t work in our lifestyle. They had learned a lot about dogs and physical technique working with Jameson, and those are the same principles and physical techniques we’d use on a dog with less intense issues. We save the dog from being returned “through no fault of his own,” and we have an opportunity to provide a different dog a chance at a wonderful forever home. We weren’t going to leave this amazing family without the dog they longed for, we were just changing the direction of our sails. I asked Nancy if we could explore another option and we scheduled a meeting for the following week.

I had a dog at home that had been surrendered to me by a close family friend. His name was Vince and he was a perfectly dog friendly, sweet as pie, handsome couch potato. I walked in the front door with this giant teddy bear and saw a HUGE smile on Guillermo’s face, which I’ll be honest, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see a smile from him throughout this process. He is the nicest man you’ll ever meet but I knew he was a bit skeptical about this dog business. I brought Vince in and he melted for them it was a full on belly rub, kisses on the face, get down on the floor with the dog lovefest. We went for a walk and everyone was smiling, laughing, and enjoying this goofball’s wonderful personality. At the end of the meeting we had a long talk about the differences between Vince and Jameson. They could have a running partner with a lot of behavior issues or a dog who is better suited for a short walk around the block with no issues at all. Of course, they asked what would happen to Jameson and I explained that if they adopted Vince that a spot would open up at my house so Jameson could get a complete and thorough rehabilitation. That settled it, although they were sad that the handsome Jameson wasn’t going to get his forever home that day, they were so happy to have found Vince. We began the process again. We would meet for walks a few times a week. The next step was having Vince stay with them for two nights and come back to my house. I dropped him off for another weekend visit with plans to pick him up a few days later. As we touched base to plan his return to my home, Nancy asked, “Can he stay a few more nights?” I said sure, then we decided it was best for him to stay there permanently. We use this time to teach the dog how to behave in the neighborhood, the backyard, the inside of the house, what to do when we are watching movies, cooking dinner and more. We focus on creating the lifestyle we want instead of allowing old behavior to exist in the new environment. They asked hundreds of questions during this time which I must reiterate – is never an inconvenience to me. The whole reason I offered them a dog that I honestly had intended to keep was because I always said I’d only give Vince to someone who could give him a better home than I could and this was the family that could do that. A first family dog should be fun and an enthusiastic, positive family did not deserve to be put in a situation with a dog that was still practicing the extreme behavior that Jameson was displaying.

Nancy, Guillermo, and Zack are truly part of the Standing Proud Pit Bull Rescue family – we are so grateful to have them in our lives. They have given one of my favorite dogs I’ve ever known a wonderful home life. He is a part of their family. What is great about this process is we get to know the adopters so well and they learn that they don’t need to be afraid to ask for help, they can call me anytime and with any question and I’ll make the time to talk on the phone or stop by their house just to make sure they have everything they need to stay successful and avoid any small issues from becoming big issues.

With Vince’s new beginning came a new name. This is Tucker and his amazing family. They come to our
events, support the rescue and they always tell people how much time we took to find them their perfect dog.  I get updates frequently about how much they love him and his funny personality. Once, they were starting to have issues with him peeing in his crate and after stopping by to help and running out of strategies – I was able to bring in my mentor, Linn Boyke, founder of School of Dog Psychology, and we all learned something new. *This is also why it’s so important to me to have a mentor I trust that takes time to help me become a better behaviorist.

I love the way Linn taught me to do adoptions, I feel like a dog and human matchmaker. Fostering and rehabilitating means we know every detail about this dog and we’ve developed a strategy to resolve the negative behaviors. As Linn says, “If you were taking a final exam and the teacher put every answer to the test on the board and the teacher said, “ You will not be cheating if you use the answers on the board,” doesn’t it make sense to look at the board?” It’s my job as a foster/rehabilitator to educate the humans on how to maintain what is created in my environment. It would be a waste of the months of hard work to adopt the dog out and let the new family learn all about this on their own and be forced to go out and hire help or worse, stay in denial until something really bad happens. It’s absolutely insane to me that people think this level of education can be completed in a one time training session at the time of the adoption. If we had made our decision off the initial successful meeting we would have put this family in a position to spend a lot of money working with trainers, some with methods I know would have never worked for this dog; knowing how lovely they are, they would spend months and years dealing with negative behavior that had bad consequences; eventually Jameson may have come back to us anyways – the same cycle that had happened the first time he was adopted. We avoid that entire cycle and sickness by slowing down and making sure that 1) people are adopting dogs that are appropriate for their lifestyle,  2) making sure people know everything about the dog, and 3) doing everything we can to make sure no one gets returned.

But what about Jameson? Where would we go from here? How could I possibly take this poorly behaved, reactive, gazelle beast and help him become adoptable again?

Aileen Cronin is a dog behaviorist located in Mesa, Arizona known for her work with not only rehabilitating family pets but also for rehabilitating and placing difficult dogs in forever homes. Please contact k9lifestyle@gmail.com to set up a consultation or for rehabilitation.

[See image gallery at www.ipittythebull.com]

The post No Fault Of Their Own – Part 2 of 5 first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.

We all know that humans are the ones responsible for maintaining balance, so why do we work so hard just to give a dog to people in a day with a set of directions and cross our fingers that it works out? From 2011-2012, I fostered a handful of dogs and they had all been adopted out at adoption events or dropped off to a family. I trusted the processes of the organizations I fostered for and that was that. How did these dogs fair in their new homes? I don’t know. Did it work out? No idea.

Getting a new dog is a very exciting event and it’s easy to overcommit ourselves based on a “first date” with a dog (or a human for that matter). We begin to envision our lives together. We will have an unbreakable bond, and they will be there through some of the most exciting times of our lives – they may be a part of our weddings, grow up with our children, be a friend through hard times, go on amazing adventures, and yes, one day our hearts will break when we let them go. It’s easy to forget the type of dog we set out to find and ignore red flags like behaviors we are not qualified to manage or change, a size that’s bigger than we wanted, or  medical issues that will absorb funds from other areas of our lives. Occasionally, we already have a dog or two and figure what’s one more – only to get hours, days, or weeks in and discover that while our very friendly existing dog loves the company of canines, they aren’t so comfortable with a permanent roommate. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we go looking for what we think we want and find something different that makes us much happier but more often than not – these impulse adoptions don’t work out too well for the dog, especially dogs that require a bit more effort.

It wasn’t until I entered the professional field of dog behavior that I finally understood what wasn’t working. In dog psychology, the human state of mind is the primary focus as it challenges us to study and mend what keeps us from balance and peace. There is a second, almost more important, component and that is the long-term success of the dog and a thorough understanding by the owners of how to do everything they’d like once they assume full ownership.

I foster and rehabilitate for Standing Proud Pit Bull Rescue, a reputable and successful organization here in Mesa, AZ. They have never done on site adoptions, they have always utilized a two week foster to adopt period and included a training session with a trainer and until July 2016, they had never had a return. That sounds like success to me but ever since I introduced Abby, the founder of the rescue, to Linn Boyke, founder of School of Dog Psychology, she has always asked Linn’s favorite question “What can we do better?”

I’ll use our most recently adopted dog, Jameson, as an example. He was Standing Proud’s first return ever, the adopter said that the dog was not getting along with the cat and instead of following the guidelines laid out in the contract that indicate contacting the rescue for training assistance – the dog was passed around to various family members before one of them contacted the rescue explaining the dog needed to go. Jameson was picked up by Abby immediately and it was clear that the amazing puppy she had adopted out had developed a few issues over the years due to a lack of consistency and rules. When he first came back to the rescue center he was howling, barking, and peeing in his crate. He had become reactive on walks and suspicious of anything he heard when outside. We wanted to give him some time to adjust, drain energy, and get a glimmer of stability and balance at the center.  My one available foster spot was filled and I would only be able to work with Jameson with time permitted as opposed to a full rehabilitation in my home. In September, we received an application for Jameson, and we were thrilled. You couldn’t ask for better applicants. The wife was looking for a running partner, a blessing for a high energy dog. The husband knew he wanted a well behaved dog, that’s perfect because we loves rules. Plus, they had a son and Jameson LOVES kids. We went for a meet and greet and he was not practiced at meeting new people yet but they found him charming and handsome. A lot of the rescues I have worked with in the past would consider it a successful meeting and leave the dog that day or plan for a drop off later that week. What did we do? We admitted he needed a bit more training but we promised them we had a process that would set them up for success. We loaded Jameson up in the car and we were excited for his future – had we really hit the jackpot? Was it really that simple?

Check in next week to find out the answer to that question!

Aileen Cronin is a dog behaviorist located in Mesa, Arizona known for her work with not only rehabilitating family pets but also for rehabilitating and placing difficult dogs in forever homes. Please contact k9lifestyle@gmail.com to set up a consultation or for rehabilitation

[See image gallery at www.ipittythebull.com]

The post No Fault Of Their Own – Part 1 of 5 first appeared on I PITTY THE BULL.