Human Animal Bond

07/13/2024

Here are pictures from the visit for the wellness day for the children and youth services on post. Here are Buddercup, Lani, and Rambo.

07/12/2024

Human animal bond was at the Leavenworth library on July 10th. Here are Blake, F***y, Lulu, Sadie, and Smitty.

07/03/2024

With army folks moving, dogs are showing up at the Stray Facility on post. One of our friends let us know about these two who she believes have the temperament to be HAB dogs. If you know of anyone who would be interested, have them contact the Stray Facility on Post.

06/29/2024

How Well Do You Know Your Dog Part 2

I have been writing articles in a series on child safety around dogs. Last month I asked questions designed to get the owners thinking about how their dogs react to various stimuli. Let’s continue. Besides sighthounds, a dog’s strongest sense is that of smell. Dog’s have 300 million olfactory cells. Isn’t that amazing? So, the question is, how does your dog react to strong and new smells? Does your dog actively seek out smells and want to find a way to get to that smell by jumping or pawing? Another important consideration is how your dog responds to being touched. One of my dogs loves every kind of human touch which is what makes him a great therapy dog. My second dog is very nervous and will flinch and startle at surprise contact. My little dog hates having his feet touched. Dogs tolerate human touch at different levels. A few years ago, I talked to a family whose Golden Retriever had started growling at the children when the dog was one year old. After talking with the parent, I found out that the parents had let the children sit, ride, and tug on the dog since she was a puppy. The adult dog had had enough and wasn’t going to tolerate it any longer. They ended up rehoming the dog as trying to fix the dog’s negative feelings toward the children would have been extremely difficult. Another good question is this: when your dog wants your attention, how does he or she get it? Does he bark? Does she paw your arm or leg? Does he jump on you? Does she mouth you? You definitely want to retrain your dog on these behaviors because the dog will probably do the same thing to a baby or child. The last issue for this article to consider is whether your dog guards resources, and if so, what? Dogs can guard anything. The list can include food, food bowls, bones, toys, beds, people, other dogs, and human items. Dogs will guard against other dogs which can cause dog fights in the home with a child caught in the middle. Dogs can guard things against some humans but not others. For instance, dogs view children as littermates and might guard things from them they will not guard against the adults. It’s important to know any guarding tendencies your dog has so that you can take appropriate safety measures as well as do some training.

06/25/2024

Here is a terrific blog from Patricia McConnell about keeping our dogs safe in the summer and what to do if they get overheated. Please take the time to read this--lots of great info.
https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/overheating-in-dogs-the-concerns-increase?mc_cid=eba0acf06e&mc_eid=77282396f9

06/24/2024

Here are some pictures from our 30th anniversary celebration.

06/23/2024

Article in the Leavenworth times yesterday! The article says Leavenworth first United Church. It's at the Leavenworth first United Methodist Church.

06/21/2024

HAB's 30th Anniversary celebration is this Sunday, June 23 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Leavenworth FUMC, 422 Chestnut. Please come by and see us any time between 2:00-4:00!!

06/14/2024

The HAB Volunteer of the Year for 2023-2024 is Buddy Wooten. He has gone on numerous visits, organized the returning JRCF visits, and has been serving on the 30th Anniversary celebration committee. Congrats Buddy!!

06/14/2024

HAB was featured in the Fort Leavenworth Lamp this week. Here are the links:

May 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) Human Animal Bond’s continuous volunteer service to Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Lan...

06/13/2024

Here are pictures of Sadie and Bernice at Vintage Park in Tonganoxie. Permission was given to use these pictures

05/27/2024

How Well Do You Know Your Dog?

In continuing my series about children’s safety around dogs, this article asks the owner the question, “How well do you know your dog?” This question is also appropriate for therapy dog owners or anyone who is around children. First, has your dog ever been around infants or toddlers? What was his response? Dogs can have a natural fear of children. Children obviously don’t act like adults. They have erratic movements and can squeal or cry at extreme volumes. I don’t have little children in my family, so my young neighbors down the street have been helping me get Sully used to children. Second, how does your dog respond to training cues? Will your dog listen to you with distractions around? How reliable is her stay, recall, and sit? Third, how does your dog act to visual stimuli? Some dogs will react negatively to people wearing sunglasses or hats. Other dogs get anxious if you rearrange the furniture or when new furniture appears. And we all know how baby things start taking over a house! You can prepare your dog by making changes to the home gradually such as moving one piece of furniture and let the dog adjust to that. Then put the baby swing together and set it out. Once the dog is used to it, then go ahead and add the swinging movement. You could even put a doll in the swing, again to get the dog accustomed to what real life will be like. Fourth question: how does your dog react to loud or sudden noises? What happens in thunderstorms or on July 4th? Does your dog bark or get anxious with unfamiliar noises? There will be more questions to consider in my next article. The purpose of these questions is to get owners thinking about how their dogs respond to various stimuli. And then further, imagine the way in which these responses impact your children, grandchildren, or kids in your neighborhood. Thinking ahead about your dog and bringing a new baby or grandchild home can help you plan in advance what happens. Otherwise, you are just reacting to situations and hoping nothing goes wrong.

05/23/2024

Here are pictures from the last school visit of the year. These are Fannie, Theo, and Thorston at Henry Leavenworth Elementary.

05/23/2024

Check out this good-looking group of HAB teams!!

05/23/2024

SAVE THE DATE!!
Human Animal Bond 30th Anniversary Open House
When: Sunday, June 23, 2024 – 2-4 p.m.
Where: United Methodist Church, 422 Chestnut, Leavenworth, KS
Fellowship Hall lower level
www. leavenworthhab.com

Please join us as we celebrate 30 consecutive years of providing pet therapy visits to schools, hospitals, nursing facilities, correctional locations, universities, child care facilities, etc. in Leavenworth, Fort
Leavenworth, Lansing, and the surrounding areas.

05/06/2024

Here are Bernice and Phyllis Diller at the Council on Aging visit.

04/25/2024

Check this article out. Our Prudence Siebert, honorary HAB member received this award.

Earlier this week, the Kansas Press Association announced the winners of the 2024 KPA Awards of Excellence competition, with the Fort Leavenworth Lamp s...

04/25/2024

Newman at Deeper Window

04/25/2024

Blake at Deeper Window visit

04/25/2024

04/25/2024

Here are pictures from the St. Mary's visit with Thorston, Holly and Willow's back, Thorston again, Storm and Willow, Holly and Bernice, and Thorston, Willow, and Holly.

04/20/2024

This article is in the Leavenworth Times from April 19 of our own Shelby Burnett. You ROCK!!!

https://www.leavenworthtimes.com/basehor-graduate-named-social-worker-of-year/

04/09/2024

Dog Bites with Children

A couple of years ago, I became a licensed Family Paws Educator https://www.familypaws.com/
This company was founded in order to help parents and grandparents keep their children and grandchildren safe around the family dogs. It’s also about making the adults aware of not putting their dogs in situations where they might have cause to bite. Dogs do not bite unprovoked. There is a reason for it, whether we see it or not. When he was around four years old, my own son was bitten by our family dog because I wasn’t paying attention. I was busy on my computer, and he wanted to go give the dog a gentle hug. Well, she was sleeping and so was startled. She was also old, so it probably hurt her. She lashed out with her teeth, which is a normal dog reaction. I should have been watching or taken measures to make sure he couldn’t reach her while I was busy. I wish I would have known then what I know now. I will be sharing child/dog safety articles as there is too much information for just one article. In general, children are not able to follow through with instructions until they are at least six years old. For instance, if you tell a three-year-old child to not touch the dog while you are on the phone, the child may say “Okay.” And then ten seconds later the same child has forgotten what you said and has gone over to play with the dog. Or we’ve all seen children ignore the adult and do what they want to anyway. Protect the child and the dog by secluding the dog so that the child can’t reach him or her while you are on the phone. You could put the dog in his or her crate, put a gate up between rooms, close the door to the room where the dogs is, etc. A little bit of forethought can stop a tragedy from happening. I’ve heard many people say that their dog would never bite someone. Any dog can bite under stress. Don’t risk it. It’s not worth it.

Rhonda York is a certified dog trainer and Family Paws Educator, and HAB Director

Preparing your dog for baby, introducing your dog to your new baby, we know you have questions! Trust our 20 years of experience!

03/20/2024

02/11/2024

Here are June and Rambo visiting the EMS.

01/25/2024

And Blake enjoying a backside scratch.

01/25/2024

Here are Blake and Thorston at the Leavenworth County EMS, working hard.

01/11/2024

A new member, Pete Robinson, was in the Leavenworth Times. Pete is the farthest on the right.

HomeLifestyleOATH OF OFFICE OATH OF OFFICEJanuary 9, 2024Lifestyle Four Lansing City Council members took the oath of office at a recent meeting. They are, from left, Gene Kirby, Ward 1; Marcus Majure, Ward 2; Jesse Garvey, Ward 3; and Peter Robinson, Ward 4. City Clerk Tish Sims administered the oa...

01/08/2024

Shelby Burnett, her HAB partner Lily, and the family were featured in Friday's Leavenworth Times.

Beth Kornegay Special to the Times After Basehor-Linwood High School graduate Shelby Burnett obtained her associates of science degree with an emphasis on early childhood education, she worked at mental health facilities, acute hospitals and psychiatric residential facilities for several years. It w...

12/20/2023