Training a Dog at 5 a.m.

This is Gracie. She's my 5 a.m. alarm clock. This is the time my husband gets up for work. Gracie hears that alarm and she's on her feet pacing around the bed.
We have maybe 10-15 minutes till the barking starts.

If the power ever goes out, we're set. Our furry little alarm clock always goes off at 5 a.m no matter what. Even if the regular alarm is quiet, you know, Saturday, Sunday, holidays, this little fuzz-ball still goes off right on time.

I've tried to explain the difference between weekdays and workdays, but she's not getting it. She refuses to relent until we're out of bed. Gracie would make a good Drill Sargent.

What happens once we're up and moving? Gracie goes back to sleep....

Thinking About Adopting a Puppy Mill Dog?

Thinking of adopting a Puppy Mill dog? 

One piece of advice; Do it! 

But read this first. 

You'll need patience, since this dog has never lived in a home before. It might not understand  the big deal about housebreaking issues and will need some positive reinforcement to learn where to eliminate. It might not understand things a normal dog would seem to know. His life before you was a wire cage. There were no warm beds, rugs, or cuddles. Go slow, have patience.

Your puppy mill dog will probably be older, so give it some time to learn the ropes. For all of it's years there has been a different set of rules. They were probably handled roughly, check for pregnancy, back in cage, take puppies as soon as they were old enough to go (sometimes even before that,) sometimes fed sporadically depending on the mill. They weren't bathed or groomed.

Everything must be learned and old habits need to be realigned. That takes time. Like children, each one is different. Some will learn quickly, some might always have problems. For the tough learners-wee-wee pads will be your friend in the housebreaking process.

I have a Puppy Mill dog and she is an absolute dream. Gracie, a Shih Tzu, adapted slowly. Luckily we had another dog and she kind of followed the lead. Gracie would follow Halston, our Golden, outside and quickly got the "where to go to go" down quickly.  Since she is a small dog, I do leave wee pads down when I leave the house for any length of time. Small dog, small bladder.

And she hates to be groomed. A Shih Tzu needs a groom every 4 to 6 weeks by a professional groomer. Shih Tzus have hair that will continue to grow and needs to be trimmed regularly. (Something to think about BEFORE adopting this type of dog-are you ready to take your new pup to the groomer regularly and can you afford it?) Gracie will twitch and move every time the groomer lines up the scissors which makes for some crooked haircuts.

When Gracie first arrived she was sick. A recent spay and both ears were infected. We had to get her well before anything else. I was her foster mom so she came to me right from the mill. If you're adopting a Puppy Mill, you might get it from a rescue that will take care of any health issues before adopting.

Our Halston has since passed, but she was Gracie's best friend to the end. They would cuddle and go everywhere together. Now Gracie has a new sibling, Cupcake (nee Corona) the damaged dog. She's not as cuddly as Halston, but they've come to an understanding.

Gracie loved to be petted, but not picked up. She'll cuddle by my side, but not so much on the lap. She follows me everywhere and will sit by my side while I'm at my writing desk. I never get a bad critique from her. :)

Adopting a Puppy Mill dog takes patience but the rewards are many. You'll get a best friend who will reward you with unconditional love, warm cuddles, and the knowledge that you gave her a chance at a life she never could have dreamed existed beyond that cold wire cage.

My Damaged Dog; Chihuahua

I have a Chihuahua who pancakes when I reach for her. Usually pancaking (flattening themselves to the floor) is a sign the dog was abused. I already knew that, but when I pick her up she's trembling. Which leads me to believe someone picked her up and hurt her. Threw her? Beat her? I'll never know what happened to this tiny dog before she came into my house as a foster at age nine, but in the almost two years she's been here, this pancaking behavior is still there when I reach for her. She was 9 when rescued from a life of neglect in a Tennessee hoarding situation. Skinny, shaking, scared. :(

She's a gentle little yapper. More cuddly every day. She used to stand stiffly when I'd pet her. Eventually, I'd move her onto my lap and she'd still be stiff and refused to sit down. She'd come to be petted, but didn't have the trust in her to sit. She was ready to bolt at any moment. It took over a year for her to sit and relax in my lap. Now she'll jump in my lap and curl up to be loved.

She hates company, but luckily we have a quiet house. Just me, hubby, a 10 year old puppy mill Shih Tzu and 20 year old cat. If someone does come over she'll bark at them from the time they come in until they leave. We're working on this issue. At first I'd let the people drop food for her and she'd calm down enough to eat, then resume her barking. After she'd been with us a year, had her spot on the family room couch, dog bed in the front room she claimed as her own, we moved onto shaking pennies in a water bottle. She was startled at first, but soon realized it  meant knock-it-off. She'll quiet for a while and restart. We're working on this issue.

She came to me with the name Corona and I wanted to change it to something ...more gentle, sweeter, but so far nothing's sticking.

I can't change what happen to her and try hard not to dwell on the hate I can feel for those who did this to such a tiny and loving dog. I wish them karma. Let the universe take care of them.

Moving forward I'm open to any suggestions for her barking at anyone who comes into our house. Its incredibly annoying! Although I understand she spent the first 9 years of her life living in fear, I feel there must be a way to let her know no one is going to hurt her now. Ideas?

Tear Stains and Shih Tzu Dogs

I'm sorry I never came back to tell  you the secret tear stain removal. I didn't mean to leave you hanging but got side tracked with some issues on my book, Soul Mates (Now available on Amazon!) 

If you love dogs, it's definitely going to put a smile on your face. Check it out and you'll put a smile on my face!

Tear stains plagued my poor little puppy mill survivor but since her health wasn't the best when she arrived I make it my work to keep her as healthy as possible and give her a nice relaxed life. She's my angel and my best friend.

So the thought of treating her with a low level antibiotic (Angel Eyes) or going near those dark, button eyes with any kind of chemical had me cringing in fear. I searched and search for an alternative.There had to be a natural cure out there somewhere!

I posted in forums and every place I could find to ask for a natural way to help my little friend.

Someone told me to only let her drink filtered water from my refrigerator door.
Really? Are you kidding me?

But I tried it. Why not? I have to fill her dish everyday anyway, so why not take the  water from there?

I did nothing, NOTHING else to resolve the tear stain problem. You see the results. Her face and paws (the tears stained her front paws too) are now snowy white. I didn't even realize we had such a dramatic change until i was going through some old photos. These two pics were taken 6 months apart. The result wasn't instant, she improved slowly, but you can see how great she looks now.

Makes me wonder what's in our tap water.....

For a feel good read, check out Soul Mates:

Tear Stain Improvement

Gracie is a pure bred Shih Tzu that came to me at 7 years old from a Puppy Mill in Missouri. Tear stains covered her face and paws. Because of her past (and because I prefer more natural methods) I refused to treat them with chemicals.

So here we are after a few months of natural treatment. Aren't we looking good?
Wanna guess what this natural treatment is?

Dog Breeders vs Hoarders

Dog breeders are motivated by greed. Make no mistake, there is no other reason to make a dog have litter after litter of puppies. Don't tell me they love puppies and people want them. If they truly believe that then they're uninformed and simply selfish. Selfish in that they either close their eyes to the truth because they don't want to stop having puppies, or they're just trying to justify  careless actions. Breeders do what they do for greed, plain and simple. If they loved dogs they'd be working in shelters or rescues. Lets look at the facts for each litter bred.

Say there are 6 puppies in the litter and you sell all 6 dogs. If its a pure bred and popular breed you could get at least $500 per dog. Five time six? That litter earned $3000. (Now tell me this isn't greed?)

Percentage facts? If 2 of these dogs get good long term homes where they'll be well taken care of their whole lives, that's luck. The other 4? Chances are good that they'll end up in a shelter or just be victims of abuse or neglect. Will someone with unrealistic expectations adopt one of these precious pups and then realize the dog is more work than they thought? Will that puppy face a life in a cage? Kept there more than 10 hours a day because dogs are work? If the dog's lucky, they'll be pulled from the shelter by a rescue group and these loving souls will find the dog a home. If the rescue is full, or the dog's plight just doesn't reach the rescue in time, the dog will be euthanized. Shoved in a tin box with dozens of other unwanted dogs and gassed. Was that worth it? Breeders don't care about the long life of the dogs they breed. They care about cash.

The parents of those cute little puppies in the window? They're caged 24/7 with little or no human contact. They're often fighting infections without proper veterinary care and will be bred over and over again while still sick. The puppies they breed have a good chance of developing congenital defects that might not be evident right away, but something the buyer will have to deal with for the rest of the dog's life.

Once the parents are too old to breed or not producing sell-able puppies, they are sold off, dumped in shelters, or simply put down, often by crude and cruel methods.

This is Gracie. She's a puppy mill survivor. Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue was contacted by a shelter in Missouri. Some breeder dumped a bunch of dogs at the shelter and they needed homes. Puppy mill dogs who have never lived in a home, were not housebroken, never had any human contact so probably couldn't live with kids, and most were sick in some way.

Gracie came to my house as a foster dog. She wouldn't look at me, cowered whenever I came near her and had infections in both ears and her spay incision. She was completely shaved down because the breeder had never had her groomed and she was completely matted when she arrived at the shelter. After a few weeks she was feeling better physically but still had a long way to go. She never barked, played or acted like a dog. She was fearful and didn't like to be touched. When adoption applications came in I hesitated. It took me a little bit but I finally admitted this shy little pup had stolen my heart. We worked on housebreaking skills, tempted her with treats and toys and eventually, slowly she opened up. One day I came in from work and she barked. She'd been here almost 3 months and it was the first time I heard her bark. I almost cried.

Now Gracie plays with toys, raced through the house and barks when we come home. She snoozes on the couch and hides her treats under the cushions. She was one of the lucky ones, she got out.

Tomorrow: Why Hoarders are different from breeders.

Foster Dogs & Training

Foster dogs come into my home with all kinds of issues. Where to potty, not sharing toys, snapping at visitors, excessive barking, fear, shyness, aggression...the list goes on. We learn about their problems as days pass and work with each as best we can. Some are quick to heal, other's take time.

A few months ago I had a foster dog that would wake up at the crack of dawn barking. I don't know if it was the light or maybe something she could hear outside, but every morning come 5 or 6 o'clock she was up and insisting everyone else wake up too.

That little pup is now adopted out to a good family who are having a great time with her. Her 5 a.m. jaunts were over and she fit into her new life just fine. A great match up for family and pup.

Now my little Shih Tzu, Gracie, rescued from a puppy mill two years ago, picked up this bad habit and runs around the bed barking, 5 or 6 a.m. every morning. She doesn't know the difference between weekends or weekdays. Sun up? Gracie up? Everyone up!

Any advice as to how to stop this crazy behavior?

Senior Dog Adoption

Adopt a senior dog. We hear that all over. The word "senior" would be different depending on the breed. I adopted my Shih Tzu from a puppy mill in Missouri. She was 7 at the time. Definitely not a puppy but I didn't consider her a senior. Shih Tzu's live like 15 years in optimum health. I think of her more as middle aged. Although she acts like a puppy.

My foster dog is Corona. She's an 8 year old Chihuahua from a hoarder. Very shy and sweet but learning to live with people. I believe she was abused at some point because she pancakes. (Pancakes: flattens to floor in fear when reached for, usually due to past abuse) But if she finds a family that's calm and quiet, she'll do fine. I won't adopt her to a family with kids. Even though 8 isn't old for a Chi, she hasn't been with kids, ever.

Are either of these dogs seniors? What's the line that declares a dog a senior pup? Is it the grey in their face? The hitch in their gait? Corona is very grey so she even looks older. This cold NJ air doesn't help (where the heck is spring?) but I tuck her in every night, wrap a fleece blanket around her little body and let her snuggle into dream land.

Senior Dog considerations:
1. Already housebroken
2. May have good house manners
3. Vet checked and no health issues
4. Calmer, they're out of the puppyhood and into lets relax
5. They want to love you forever.

Corona is available at www.castle-of-dreams.com She's looking for an older couple, quiet home and lots of love

Dog Food Reviews, Recalls, & Alerts

With all the scary recalls on dog food and dog treats hitting the news lately its best to be on high alert when purchasing anything for your dog. One of my favorite places on the web for dog food reviews is Dog Food Advisor. On this site you can check out any food for nutritional value, see best and worst rated foods and sign up for recall alerts. They rate all dog foods and give all the details of each ingredient. They explain why the ingredients in your dog's food are good or why they are bad. It helps to make an informed decision on what to feed your precious pup.

I strongly recommend everyone sign up for email recall alerts.

I never get any spam from this site and the only things they ever send are the recalls. Receiving these alerts allows me to check my own pantry and forward the email to my friends and relatives who own dogs.

 I have a Shih Tzu, Gracie, and usually a foster dog in my home and I feed Natural Choice Grain Free for small breeds. When my Gracie first came to my home she was itching all the time. No fleas, oatmeal shampoos and regular grooming but still she itched. A Shih Tzu forum suggested a grain free food so I went to Natural Choice and the itching stopped. Yay! It's only a 3 star food on Dog Food Advisor, but she's doing good on it so we're sticking with it for the time being. I also give her Fresh Pet Select for dinner. That's a five star food so hopefully these two foods will give her the balance of nutrients she needs. Gracie came from a puppy mill where she was not well cared for during the first seven years of her life so she needs all the good food she can get!
Woof!

Hard times, Good times...

Sometimes fostering a dog can bring great joy. You take a scared pup into your home, work through the issues, and help them learn what its like to live with love. Then they find a good home and you miss them but you know in your heart they're off to a happy life. That's the reward, the heartbreak and the reason you do it again.

Then there's Trouble. This little brown and white Chihuahua came from a southern shelter. They said he had one deformed leg. Okay, we can deal. Send him up on the next transport. We get dogs with issues all the time. Heartworm is rampant in the south and treating it can be expensive, but we have great volunteers and good vets who help us muddle through the treatment. Parvo? It happens. Sometimes seemingly healthy pups come up and WHAM! Parvo! It sucks, but it's treatable. The volunteer is on 24/7 alert in helping the dog survive but it can be done. We've had to do it a million times and the dogs go on to live healthy lives.
But when Trouble arrived and we placed the little guy on the ground we discovered he had more than a deformed front leg. Both back legs wobbled like he couldn't balance on them at all. Off we go to the vet to discover this little guy was in a lot of pain. Both back knee caps were dislocated and that deformed front leg were all the results of severe abuse. Surgery to fix this little guy will cost over $6000. Yes, Trouble has real trouble.
So we deal. Fundraising goes viral and movies are made and flyers go out. Six grand is a lot of money and bottom line is---we have to raise it because Trouble will be fixed. Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue doesn't give up on any dog.
So we move on and then comes a little Shih Tzu up from the south. She's cute and happy but, after we shave her down so we can see this little girl under all the matting, her face looks funny, lopsided. Something we couldn't see under all the matting. A trip to the vet and we find out her jaw is dislocated. The vet said she must have been kicked in the face at some point.
That's two injured, abused pups in one month. SHEESH! What kind of people abuse animals and then just dump them in shelters? My first reaction is hate. Pure ugly hate. I hate these people and think they should be locked away where they can't ever hurt another living thing. They are not fit to be called humans.
I hate this hate. It's useless. It wastes energy and brings me down.
Instead of focusing on the hate I push it aside and focus on what we can change. We can get Trouble fixed. We can get that little Shih Tzu's jaw fixed. We can move on and keep going and not let the ugly people in this world stop us.
To donate to help either of these pups go to Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue