Milo learning to say please (sit up, sit pretty)
Sampson and his first time wearing booties
Sundays are my day off and I had 2 bored dogs on my hands. But, it's cold outside! So, I gave them their lick mats with canned dog food smooshed on them. We'll, that only lasted about 10 minutes, and I still had 2 bored dogs. OK, training session it is then. I tried to tech Stone to hold a toy in his mouth. But, years of teaching him to bring it to me amd give it to me prevented him from figuring out that I wanted him to hold it. After about 15 minutes we were both getting frustrated. Switched to calling Stone off a pile of treats to get the treat in my hand. Went great the first 4 or 5 times. Then he got over stimulated and over excited. So, pack training it is. Worked on holding a stay while the other one is called and just generally following commands. By this point I had been working them about 30 minutes. Stone was getting over stimulated. As you cam see in the video, not even my dogs are perfect at commands. Stone had a low threshold for excitement and gets over stimulated easily. Trixie gets fed up with Stone. But, they're calmer now at least lol.
We also have Hazel today at the Humane Society of Danville, Illinois I'm not sure why she is still there. Hazel is believed to be some kind of bully breed and Corgi mix. She has the long body and short, thick legs of a Corgi with the head of a bully breed. Hazel is a 4 year old couch potato. She's good with kids, other dogs and cats, although she may need some help learning that cats don't want to play with her. Hazel knows a few commands. She knows sit, come amd down. She walks well on leash and enjoys car rides. Hazel is the sweetest cuddle bug. She absolutely loves to be brushed and will look at you with a "why are you stopping " when you stop brushing her. She isn't sure what to do with toys, but she does like to wrestle. We believe she is housebroken and doesn't seem to be destructive at all. Hazel has never met a person she doesn't like. Her adoption is free through Christmas. She also gets a free training session to help you with her transition to a home. She is spayed, up to date on shots and has had all of her vet care. She also gets a year of free vet exams at Stateline. Free adoption, free vet exams for a year, good with kids, cats and dogs. Why is she not in a loving home yet? If you're interested in her submit an application with the humane society of danville. There are several ways that you can submit an app. You can print it and either mail it or drop it off in person. You can also download it to a word app, fill it our and email it. Let's get this sweet Hazelnut into a home.
I'm doing 2 posts for the Humane Society of Danville, Illinois today. First up is Sampson. Sweet little Sammy is still waiting for his forever home. This boy is so super sweet. He takes a few minutes amd a few treats to warm up to new people. But once he trusts you, and that doesn't take long, he is the sweetest marshmallow. He loves belly rubs and cuddles. He loves to play fetch and play with toys. Sampson does have to be the only pet, but he loves kids. Sampson knows several commands, he knows sit, down, target and is learning stay and leave it. He does pretty well on a leash and loves car rides. This boy will let you do anything to him and has a happy go lucky personality. Sampson is waiting for his forever home. If you're interested in this boy submit an application to the Humane Society of Danville. You can either print it and drop it off, print it and mail it or download it to a word app and fill it out and email it. Adoptions are free through Christmas. He also has free vet exams at Stateline for a year and free lifetime training if he is adopted in Vermillion or Champaign counties. If he got along with other dogs, this boy would already be sleeping in my bed at night. He is just that sweet! Sampson is fully vaccinated, neutered and has had all of his vet care. Let's get this amazing dog the home that he deserves.
There is an acceptable way and an unacceptable way to share snacks with your dogs. Your dogs climbing in your lap for food, drooling on your leg, whining, intercepting a treat meant for another dog, are all examples of an unacceptable way to share treats. Dogs maintaining a respectable distance and waiting patiently for their treat is an acceptable way to share snacks. My dogs and I are having a Harry Potter marathon and eating popcorn on this windy, snowy, cold day. They are (very willingly lol) demonstrating an acceptable way to share snacks. When I say snacks are done, they go lay down. This is possible even with the most food motivated dog. Trust me, there's nothing Stone won't eat. It just takes some time, training, patience and consistency.
A video of Canelo at the Humane Society of Danville, Illinois learning to leap on command.
A little video of Sampson at the Humane Society of Danville, Illinois today.
A little shelter dog education.
When you go into a shelter and see a dog that is bouncing off the walls amd crazy in their kennel, or even when they're first brought out of the kennel, remember this is not their normal behavior. Dogs in shelters are cooped up with little exercise for the majority of their day. They are under incredible stress, between being lack of physical exercise, lack of mental stimulation a d the stress of the behavior of other dogs. When you ask to see a dog, ask how they are after half an hour out of their kennel. A lot of these kennel dogs are couch potatoes after they expend the initial kennel energy. Most of these dogs are so eager to see people and so eager to please. A dog that is stressed in the kennel may be a laid back chill pup once out of the kennel for a little while. So, don't judge a dog based on how they behave in the kennel or in the first few minutes after they come out. When you do bring them into your home, understand they will need time to decompress. All they have known for a long time is the chaos of the shelter. If you need help integrating a shelter dog into your household, reach out to a trainer.
I wanted to show everyone the state of the Humane Society of Danville, Illinois kennels, and what these dogs have to live in. All except for Hazel were pulled from the county shelter. The Humane Society wants to renovate the kennels, but can't if there's still dogs in them. Getting these dogs into foster or adopter homes will allow them to renovate and create a better living space for these dogs. Once the kennels are fixed, they can then pull more dogs from the county shelter. Some of these kennels are unusable. One gets water in it whenever it rains, another one the wall in threatening to collapse. Most of these dogs have been there for at least a couple of years. A couple of YEARS in kennels that are in this condition. Hazel has spent the last 4 years in there! The Humane Society doesn't get funding from the government. They rely solely on donations. Let's get these dogs out of the shelter! 10 hours in a crate a day in your home is still better than 23 hours a day in these kennels! The Humane Society does the best they can, but they can't do it without our help! Don't refuse to watch the video because it's too hard to watch and hurts your heart to see it. If it's too hard for you to watch, imagine what it's like to live there. If you can't adopt, foster, if you can't foster, volunteer, if you can't volunteer, donate, if you can't do any of those, you can at least share this post and every post that will help them. Don't let these dogs spend the holidays without a family of their own.
