Alaska Underdogs Rescue & Rehabilitation Inc

10/30/2024

Mordy is being the bestest boy at the vet today, where he’s getting his health certification before he travels to his new home in Juneau, Alaska!

10/30/2024

When you have five dog beds spread throughout the house but if given the option they all choose the same one 🙄

10/28/2024

Thank you to everyone who shared Tuesday’s PetFinder link! She found a new family immediately, and she has been adopted! This photo was after a meet and greet and running HARD with their other dog in the backyard. 🤣

10/27/2024

I recently had the phenomenal experience of “puppy-sitting” one of the dogs we adopted out earlier this year. Lola came to us from Bethel Friends of Canines, and she was foster-failed in her very first placement. Who could resist her tap-dancing and big smile? At the time she was adopted, one of the concerns that the adopter had was that he wouldn’t be able to get a sitter when he goes out of town, so naturally I volunteered to ease his concerns 🤣. She’s already comfortable in my home, after all (and she remembered immediately which bed was “hers,” haha). She is just such a bundle of joy, and it was truly heartwarming to see her again.

10/26/2024

I knew retractable leads were bad news (I even go so far as to avoid dogs on retractable leads when I’m working dogs in public) but YIKES.

10/26/2024

We cannot say enough good things about this class!!

🐕 NEW Matsu Valley Reactive Dog Rehabilitation class starting November 8th, 2024.

This will be the last reactive for 2024!!

Do you have a dog who is overly shy, suffers from anxiety, aggressive or uncontrollably excited around people, other dogs or other animals? Do you feel like you can’t take your dog anywhere without worrying there will be an “incident”? Would you like to get your freedom back?
Or do you have a service or working dog that needs extra "proofing" against reactive dogs?

This program has been tried, tested and proven to help handlers and dogs work through reactive responses, and rehabilitate dogs to their fullest possible extent. We will work hands on to teach boundaries, expectations, basic Obedience exercises and build confidence in both handlers and dogs. The end goal is to have a dog who is reliable, looks to the handler for direction and makes correct choices in “sticky” situations.
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Handlers will learn safe handling practices, how to build trust, how to set expectations and how to follow through. These classes will be held in a controlled, safe environment, under the direct supervision of the trainer at all times. This is a “safe” space for owners to come and get help for their dogs – NO JUDGEMENT!

Expectations:
* It is Preferred Dogs be trained to accept and be fitted with a correctly sized muzzle (I can either provide you with a link to a youtube video on how to desensitize your dog to a muzzle, or a private lesson can be booked with trainers at Alaska Dog Boarding & Training INC. prior to the workshop, at an additional cost) Or your dog can join our Train N Drain doggy school program.
* Handlers must have physical control over their dogs – the use of training tools/collars to achieve this is welcome and encouraged

Tools needed:
* Reward – food, toy etc
* Target mat (dog bed, bath mat, blanket etc)
* Muzzle
* 6 foot lead (or similar)
* Long line (10-15 foot lead)
* Corrective collar, if necessary

🐶 Class will be 2 days a week Tuesday and Friday at 6pm they are 1 1/2 to 2 hour sessions. 1st 6 session are at facility then last two session are out in public.

To contact me please email at [email protected] or text at 907-529-4648

⭐️Click on link below to sign up. ⭐️

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17709079&appointmentType=70129209

This is a NONREFUNDABLE class so please commit to all eight sessions before signing up..

ADBT Training Team looks forward to helping you!

10/23/2024

Your unneutered male dog could potentially sire hundreds—-if not thousands—-of puppies that will contribute to the crippling of our animal care system that is already hanging by a thread. Shelters are full and understaffed…Try getting an appointment. Rescues are full…try submitting an owner surrender form, and JUST KNOW that the person on the other side of the screen is shedding tears (or worse: is completely, utterly numb) because they don’t have the foster homes or volunteers to take on even one more dog.

Yet backyard breeders and even Jon and Sally next door want a cute puppy from their mix “because she has such pretty coloring.” Ya’ll.

Spay (but especially neuter) your pets.

10/23/2024

UPDATE: A BIG thank you to EVERYONE who shared this post! Tuesday was adopted out the same day she came back to the rescue, after a meet and greet with the family's dog. Photo of how that meet and greet went in the comments :P

It's been a sad day. One of the best, smartest girls I've worked with so far is, due to no fault of her own, looking for a new home. This one hits especially hard as she was a big part of the reason why I started this rescue in the first place: She is an absolutely wonderful dog, who simply did not do well in a shelter environment, and she was at risk of being euthanized for her behavior in the shelter. She doesn't deserve to go back. https://www.alaskaunderdogsrescue.org/foster-adopt-app

If you're unable to adopt, please share so she can find a new home.

Tuesday is an adoptable Dog - Australian Shepherd searching for a forever family near Wasilla, AK. Use Petfinder to find adoptable pets in your area.

10/08/2024

Gia’s foster sent in this photo of her in action at Home Depot 😜 She’s one lucky girl, she’s been living and training with Shaun of Alaska Dog Boarding & Training, Inc./ Lytle's K-9's, and now she’s ready to find her forever family! If you’re interested in adopting Gia, please fill out the application at www.alaskaunderdogsrescue.org/foster-adopt-app

10/05/2024

Gia is an adoptable Dog - Belgian Shepherd / Malinois searching for a forever family near Wasilla, AK. Use Petfinder to find adoptable pets in your area.

10/04/2024

Good morning from Sully!

Sully is a good boy with lots of training under his collar. 😜 He is currently looking for his forever family. If you’re interested in meeting him, please fill out the form at alaskaunderdogsrescue.org/foster-adopt-app today!

10/04/2024

Meet Sully! Sully is a 1-year-old Cattle Dog/American Bulldog mix (via Embark) who absolutely loves playing, working, and giving loves. He is incredibly smart and had been to training classes with his previous owners, and is in training with his foster. He can Sit, Shake, Down, Spin, Turn, Around, trade toys, wait between your legs, and even weave through them while you walk. He has an awesome bed stay, including when guests come over. He loves learning new things and is brave enough to try any new ones in exchange for a treat. He has also been taught to use "Play" and "Outside" buttons to ask for what he wants. He is kennel trained. He walks well on a leash and his favorite thing in the world is car rides! He has lived with cats and guinea pigs, but he unfortunately did not get along with the other male dog in the home. He is young and trainable and will be a wonderful dog in the right home!

Sully was an owner surrender who was rescued mere hours away from a euthanasia appointment because other rescues did not have the space for him and his owners could not keep him after he had gotten into a dog fight with another dog in the home and bit the owner while the owner was attempting to break it up. In his foster home, he's regularly been around other dogs, but is too pushy with the other dogs (it's that "cattle dog/ABD" combo) without correction. We recommend that he be the only dog in the home for this reason. Since he is so young and already behaving well in a structured environment, we have very high hopes for Sully!

To meet Sully, fill out the application here: www.alaskaunderdogsrescue.org/foster-adopt-app

09/08/2024

Mordu is having a post-bath existential crisis.

09/07/2024

Today, I completed a home visit at Verónica and Andrew Kurka’s home to finalize Rusty’s adoption after a foster-to-adopt trial, and it was so awesome to see and hear how they’re continuing Rusty’s training, and that they’re fully committed to being his forever family. Rusty has come such a long way since we took him in to the rescue in January, and I’m convinced that he’s going to be a phenomenal dog for his new family. I’m excited to see updates on his new adventures!! Congrats on your awesome new home, Rusty!! Be the bestest boy.

09/02/2024

Sully always gets lots of compliments on his unique and beautiful look when we’re out and about. This beautiful boy is heading to a new foster-to-adopt home soon!

08/31/2024

Rusty had a full day! We went to Home Depot and Lowe’s to check out the Halloween decorations and he was completely unphased by them. He stayed in a “down” on the patio while I had coffee and knitted at Crema for over an hour, even as other patrons walked by and talked to him. We went to Tier 1 to check his weight, and he’s sitting at a healthy 38…down from a very round 63! We don’t normally “do” dog parks, but it was empty and freshly cleaned and mowed, so I let him practice some things while we had some time to kill. Then, he went with me to school for pick-up and greeted everyone who asked to pet him with no signs of anxiety. He ignored all of the rabbits that were running around in the back lot (even when the kids could not). Because my husband and I had to temporarily swap vehicles earlier today, and I had the truck, I had to pick him up to get him in his kennel in the back. In the past, picking him up was a big trigger for him and he would growl and try to snap (and I didn’t attempt it without a muzzle!). He had no issues, he just accepted it as something we do now! Also, the kids and I sat in the back of the truck and talked to him while he was in the kennel, with absolutely no signs of kennel aggression (unheard of just a couple of months ago). He’s now completely done for the night and is asleep in a bed stay as I type this. Good boy, Rusty. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come!

08/30/2024

Not phased by the animatronic Halloween decor 😂

08/09/2024

YOU GUYS. Mordu has come so far since we started his “crash course in socialization” (AKA Reactive Rehabilitation) with Alaska Dog Boarding & Training, Inc./ Lytle's K-9's! Other dogs still react to HIM in public due to his sheer size, but he was calm and checking in with me instead of barking and lunging back, including when we passed a vocal Husky. Check out his heel! I’d like to see him checking in more as we walk, but that’ll come with practice. He has come SUCH a long way already.

08/07/2024

Rusty LOVES the treadmill and when he has free time around the house, he will hop on by himself and wait for me to turn it on. He hasn’t used it for a bit because we’ve been able to get out so much over the summer, but since it’s raining, it’s an alternative that makes him happy. He’s been on it for about 20 minutes now, untethered.

07/31/2024

I debated whether or not I was going to share this, because it’s a complicated situation, but I feel that it is important and it shares the very heart of this rescue. Rusty has been doing phenomenal with his new foster mom, but yesterday we put him through an exercise that he intensely dislikes (being put on his side for emergency situations), something that I have worked with him for months on and he will now allow me to do without complaint or concern, but for a new handler (one with whom he has not yet built enough rapport to fully trust) he lashed out. He alligator rolled. He snapped and growled. He was muzzled, and it ended positively, with his foster mom successfully completing the exercise and him calming down, while still in the exercise. You could see him begin to understand that 1) nothing bad was going to happen to him, and 2) his people were in control, so he could feel safe. We had to complete the exercise, despite his BIG feelings about it, in order to work him mentally through a tough situation. Next time, it will be easier. Maybe 50 times from now, it will be a non-issue. The point is, we will continue to work with him on this issue. Just like we’ve worked with him on his kennel aggression, and will continue to do so.

You see, Rusty has come so far since I brought him in to the rescue in January, and he is so comfortable working with me that he shows off his very best self in public: he is quick to follow commands, relaxed and happy even in big crowds and around other dogs, and accepts all the love that strangers have to offer (within reason: I have to tell people “only gentle pets, do not hug him.”) When he’d wear his “Adopt Me” vest and I would explain to people that he is “foster-to-adopt ONLY”, he’d get all the “Ooooos” and “Aaaahs” and “I want to take him home with me right now!” People see his very best behavior, and despite my cautionary tale of the seemingly completely different dog that I first brought in to the rescue, they only see how AWESOME he is, and they want to take him home!

In fact, that exact scenario DID happen. A family wanted to adopt him on the spot, and were prepared to do so, a day after we had committed to pairing him with a foster-to-adopt family who had committed to attending classes with him. The board discussed it, and ultimately made the decision to proceed with the foster-to-adopt home, with some tweaks to our original plan to make everyone happy. My stance was this: Rusty MUST go to a foster-to-adopt home, one that is willing to learn how we’ve trained him and gotten him this far, and one who will continue to work with him, despite his “quirks.”

That decision lead to a disagreement with another board member, who ultimately resigned over it, because while the “Adopt NOW” family looked good on paper and was willing to adopt him on the spot (who wouldn’t want a well-trained hiking buddy who kayaks and hangs out in hammocks, and behaves well and performs tricks in public?) They didn’t want to foster-to-adopt. And I knew it wasn’t the best thing for him. I don’t want to set anyone up for failure, least of all a dog that I have grown to love and spent so much time and energy on.

Running this rescue has been hard. It’s hard to find fosters who are dedicated enough to take the time to work with these dogs when there are cuddly puppies aplenty. But these dogs NEED it. Some of the dogs we have successfully rescued, rehabbed, and rehomed would have been euthanized for problems that proper socialization and training have solved. These dogs take patience and love. Doing this kind of rescue work means we’re in it for the long haul, and in it for the dogs, but we cannot continue without your support.

If you’re interested in fostering (we will NOT throw you in the deep end with a dog like "OG Rusty", and you will receive training and support, I promise), please fill out the form here: www.alaskaunderdogsrescue.org/foster-adopt-app

If you’d be willing to help us financially, it would be SO appreciated.

07/30/2024

Rusty got out for a hike with his new foster mom over the weekend and made some new friends!