For The Love of Flathead Valley Pets

19/08/2023

County Animal Shelter 406.752.1310

17/08/2023

Gigi Gorgeous was adopted as a young kitten earlier this year, due to family health issues, is once again looking for her FOREVER family. Gigi was a bottle baby and she is the entire package. Chatty, bright, confident, interactive, curious, above all, sweet and loving. Her coat is like satin, she does great with cats and dogs. She is spayed and microchipped. Strictly indoor home. If you are interested, please dm and we will put you in touch with her foster.

16/08/2023

Summarizing the world of dog behavior problems and solutions on a single page was a challenge, but we did it!

https://dunbar.info/problemflowchart

Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but we're hoping it can provide a little clarity to anyone who has a dog behavior problem and feel overwhelmed or confused about what to do or where to start.

If you've been following us for a while, you'll realize that this is not our first attempt. We made a similar flow chart in the past, but it was more complicated and didn't have pictures:
https://dunbar.info/bpfc

For this one, we really wanted to simplify and streamline even more. So much of dog training comes down to helping dogs feel safe and comfortable, helping dogs settle down and entertain themselves without getting into trouble, and teaching dogs to perform useful skills on cue and motivating them so they want to do so, anytime you ask.

If you know how to do these three simple things, you can solve 99% of dog behavior problems!

If you're struggling with a dog behavior problem, we'd love to help, and we'll do it for FREE!

Join the Top Dog Academy today with a free 1-month trial and get access to ALL of our online courses, plus 2 weeks of personalized support from the Dunbars: https://dunbar.info/august2023

You can cancel this subscription easily at any time.

Give us a try!

You'll be amazed at how much progress you can make when you have the right information and the right support.

09/08/2023

08/08/2023

German shepherds are natural guardians of their home and family. Bred to herd and guard their flock, these working dogs intelligent, brave, and confident. They are very active, high energy, and hyper aware of what’s going on in their surroundings. German shepherds are very loyal and form close bon...

08/08/2023

🌺🌺🌺 YOUR SCARLET UPDATE 🌺🌺🌺

We had a temporary week-long opportunity that allowed us to delay foster and work with Scarlet to help her heal and assess her ability to navigate life and relationships. In early summer, we worked with kids to help them build resiliency and heal from trauma. We are going through a similar process with Scarlet right now. These two sides of ARC's mission reflect our focus on overcoming trauma for both people and animals.

One week ago, Scarlet was terrified to walk through a door. She would freeze and or avoid contact at all costs. Warning growls and barking were her go-to strategy to express fear of strangers. Most of the time, she was too nervous to take treats from anyone other than her original foster mom, who had developed a little trust over a full month of patient and devoted work. Scarlet was on a 40-foot tie-out at all times outdoors to ensure she could be safely retrieved, and she had to be picked up and carried inside. Only her foster mom was able to carry her. She panicked anytime she felt pressure from a leash/collar, especially if someone was near.

In the past week, our collective work has borne fruit, and Scarlet has made immense progress. She has discovered the comfort of a human bed. She has learned that a leash is safe and has gone on numerous walks. Two days ago she began wagging her tail, and today, for the first time, she had a moment of playful zoomies. She has learned to go inside and outside on her own and vocalized by whining when she wants to come inside. She has befriended another dog and has met a cat without incident. On walks, she feels safe staying right next to her person, where she feels secure.

Scarlet still freezes when she's unsure or feeling unsafe around strangers. She's fearful when a dog barks at her aggressively from a yard. She does not trust anyone approaching her, and she is very head-shy, even with the few people she trusts.

Her journey of healing will be long, and it will take months, if not years for her to fully relax and trust people in general, but just a week ago we would have never imagined the progress she's made in just these few days. Perhaps she will continue to astound us. Scarlet is becoming a veritable pet, and she can even be trusted to relax at home alone.

Her transition is coming to a close, and she needs to be moved into a foster home within the next two days. We are doing a visit tomorrow to test how things go. Please wish her luck.

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

ARC's healing work sometimes feels overwhelming and bottomless, but there is hope. Your support, help, encouragement, and participation make a difference. We've sterilized 200 dogs so far in 2023, most of those being breeding-age females. We have another big clinic approaching in September. Our strategy aims to drop the number of crises in our target communities significantly within the next two years. We trust this will eventually lead to less parvo, less abandonment, less hit-by-car incidents, less homeless pets, and less people in crisis. We've helped so many people and animals this year through our healing camp, our spay/neuter taskforce, and our emergency veterinary services that we have depleted our budget. If you would like ARC to continue providing healing to our community members, both human and animal, please consider making a tax-exempt donation with our Donate Now! button at www.k9arc.org.

Thank you for making our mission possible.

ARC serves the Flathead Reservation, providing a sanctuary where animals heal people and people heal animals.

18/07/2023

***CAUTION, SCAM ALERT***
The Humane Society of North West Montana had hackers take over their page and are currently running a scam listing a 10wk old Frenchi
Humane Society of NW Montana is the actual current page for the shelter.

Please share to prevent people being scammed

Multiple false posts have popped up soliciting donations and payments in exchange for nonexistent animals on the Humane Society of Northwest Montana page.

22/06/2023

How we can help Call 530-752-1393 to schedule an appointment with the Behavior Service. Download PDF of this "Fear of Fireworks" article Visit the Behavior Service website Fear of Fireworks Fear of loud noises is very common in pets. Fourth of July fireworks pose an exceptionally fearful stimulus fo...

22/06/2023

22/06/2023

17/06/2023

***Update: The puppy has been found. Thank you all so much for your shares!!!***

Please be on the lookout! A person came onto our property and stole this puppy. They went through three separate doors to get to him. If you see this puppy please call or text Diane at 406-212-7544 or the Sheriff's office at 406-883-7301. We have reported this to the police.

16/06/2023

13/06/2023

📚 Join these FREE educational webinars on Cats and Raw Pet Food Safety! 🎓🌟
Register now to secure your spot!
🐈 Wild About Cats: https://bit.ly/43rbCAk
🥩 Raw Food Safety: https://bit.ly/4254FE0

13/06/2023

Dog harnesses are a great tool, but be cautious when choosing the right style. It is very important to pick a harness that does not restrict your dogs shoulder movement. Dogs bear 60% of their weight on the front limbs. If a harness restricts normal movement, this can cause gait changes. Therefore leading to tendon and joint issues.

13/06/2023

The one-time injection of a gene therapy could eventually be used to control cat populations

11/06/2023

Dr. Robin Soifer, our latest Pet Game Changer, is a holistic veterinarian who provides mobile veterinary service in Flathead Valley, Montana. She believes that pet parents have the power to do what’s best for their animal companion because they know their pets best. 🐶🐱💛

Watch our full interview with Dr. Robin to learn more about her work: https://bit.ly/3MNNssW

11/06/2023

10/06/2023

——ADOPTED——

Stray male kitty in Bigfork. Approximately 2 years old, an absolute sweetheart who needs an indoor/outdoor or barn home immediately so he doesn’t have to be returned to outside to live on his own. Freshly neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped

25/05/2023

Just a reminder about our free webinar later today (Thursday). Our focus will be on emotions and how changing the emotions of a dog can change their life, make them safe, and even save their life.

It's not too late to sign up!

Click here: https://www.trainingbetweentheears.com/webinar

23/05/2023