System Of A Dog

09/12/2023

*Please Share*

Tash... short for Natasha, is looking for a new home. Her owner loves this girl, but has realized she is just not the right fit due to her size and interest in her cats. Though it can probably be trained with the right person, she just isn't equipped for that. She is a wonderful dog otherwise! This is what her owner says,

"60 pound, 4 year old, unspayed female.
Beautiful black and white markings. Supposedly vaxxed, but I've not yet received those records yet. She plays with other large dogs but does not mix well with cats. Tash is content to hang out on her bed and play with toys; currently leash training. She's a happy, sweet dog. I can provide a bed, XL crate, remainder of her food, leash and harness, and her toys."

Please SEND US A MESSAGE if you are interested in adopting or even fostering this sweet girl!

08/12/2023

Where we do group classes, Clavary Chapel is doing a live nativity tonight and this weekend if you wanna check it out!

08/12/2023

Miss Molly was happy and sassy today at senior stroll!

05/12/2023

More pics from our Tuesday group!!

04/12/2023

Monday group on this windy day!

03/12/2023

02/12/2023

IPO training with good friend Ray

02/12/2023

02/12/2023

For this morning's class, it is nasty out. We will still be meeting, however, it won't be super long. If you know what you want to work on, please send us a message and we will work with you on that when you get there and then wrap it up. Thanks!

01/12/2023

Miss Molly enjoying her senior stroll before the rain came!

29/11/2023

Phone and email are back up and running! Thanks everyone

28/11/2023

Attention Everyone!! Our PHONE and EMAIL have been compromised. It will probably be a day or two before we have it up and running again. If you need to get a hold of us, please use messenger! It is so far been untouched and still functional. I apologize for the inconvenience!

27/11/2023

Cecil and Sandra have been doing well in their new homes so far! So happy to hear and happy for their owners!

26/11/2023

Sandra went home today! Happy Tails Little girl! She stayed with us for 4 week board and train and gained confidence and obedience/life skills with her brothers. Titus is their older brother and was a great model for them to learn from.

24/11/2023

Cecil went home today! Happy Tails big boy! Him and his sister spent 4 weeks board and train with us learning how to be a good dog (with Titus's help)! His owner was thrilled to finally meet him and learn what he knows! We happily will support him and her on their journey! We want him to succeed and can't wait to see updates as he grows and continues becoming her personal protection companion.



Rose Valley German Shepherds

23/11/2023

Yep

The sheer number of amazingly well trained dogs, walking around like they don’t know anything, is astounding. 🤣

If only this dog training thing could be successfully outsourced and one could spend the money, put in the minimal time to check the box, and count on the work that some expert shared with your dog and yourself…and all the great stuff would last.

There’s perfectly good reasons well-trained dogs backslide and past issues come sneaking back in: you’re lacking skills, you’re lacking knowledge, you’re lacking emotional insight/balance, you’re lacking discipline.

Regardless of the money spent, your dog will only be as good as you are. YOU have to become the equal to that which you desire. What are your goals? What are the issues you’re facing? What level of skill/personal transformation are required for you to achieve those goals and overcome those obstacles? And are you willing to put in that time and make those sacrifices? If not, no complaining about your dog backsliding—only one of you is responsible for the “sliding” around here.

As Winston Churchill famously said, “A well-trained dog is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Time to get to work, and time to own up. No complaining about the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do. ❤️

23/11/2023

🙌

WHEN CAN YOU STOP REWARDING YOUR DOG?

Is it after your dog has learnt a new behaviour, is it when your dog knows what you expect from them, is it because you don’t want to have to carry treats around forever, is it because you don’t want to spoil your dog?

Many people are initially quite happy to use rewards when training a puppy or teaching a dog a new behaviour, but often seem concerned about when they can stop doing this.

The focus is often on - The sooner I can stop doing this the better or surely my dog should just be obedient and listen to me, or I don’t want to spoil them.

A common analogy used to explain why you should never stop rewarding is that of a person starting a new job.

You’re offered a good salary and you’re enthusiastic, motivated and quickly learn the skills required.

Your boss is really happy with your work and you are rewarded at the end of the month with a good salary.

At the end of your second month, you are told that you will no longer be earning a salary.

You are told that because you now know the job and really perform well, it's no longer necessary to pay you.

How would that effect your motivation, your mood, your willingness to continue performing at a high standard or even showing up for work?

The same applies to our dogs. To maintain a behaviour, to maintain motivation and to keep communicating in a way they understand, we need to reward the behaviour we are looking for.

Yes, there are different ways to manage rewards and reinforce behaviour if we want to get technical – successive approximation, fading, fluency, intermittent schedules, random, jackpots etc, but this post is not about technicalities, it’s about the principle of rewards and why we should never stop rewarding.

22/11/2023

Some tips on how to treat this illness and keep your dogs safe! It is not responsive to conventional medicine so holistic care is the best course of action.

Dr Jones' Free Book... http://www.veterinarysecrets.comA potentially fatal mystery illness in dogs is spreading in the US. It starts with a cough. Dr Jones g...

18/11/2023

Bunch of good folks and their dogs!
And the weather agreed with it all!

17/11/2023

Wednesday group pics!

15/11/2023

This is Runa ❤️ She is looking for her forever home. She is a big girl that unconditionally loves, gentle giant. She doesn’t know her size but is trying to learn! She walks well off leash but is learning to do so on-leash as well. Her perfect fit home would be someone who wants to be a dog-mom. Who would love that she follows you everywhere, wants to love on you, and be loved. They think she is about 2 (and maybe 70 pounds) and she is very much still a puppy at heart. She does fine alone, but is overjoyed when you come back, even if you’ve been away for 10 minutes.
please- share me! I want to be home for the holidays! apply at www.hopeshavenfriends.org

14/11/2023

More pics from today!

10/11/2023

Just wanted to share so owners are aware!

10/11/2023

Yesterday's pics from the Wednesday group!

08/11/2023

10% off newly adopted dogs!

Today we're sharing our capacity levels. Each kennel highlighted in blue indicates that a dog is being housed in that kennel. Yellow indicates that there is more than one dog being housed in a kennel (typically for small dogs who come in together or puppies). As you can see, we do not have any open kennels.

We're asking for help from our community today. If you have found a lost or stray dog, please post it on social media and report to us @ 503-566-6988. If you can safely keep the dog in your care while looking for the owner, please consider doing so. Most dogs are reunited with their owners within 24 hours of being lost.

If you have lost your dog, please call us at 503-566-6988, and we will be happy to reunite you with your pup if it has been brought to our shelter!

We have several dogs available for adoption. If you can adopt, please fill out a questionnaire at mcdogs.net. All adoptions are by appointment.

Thank you for supporting Marion County Dog Services!

05/11/2023

04/11/2023

Puppy fever lately! We currently have 3 puppy in-home clients. Honey, Kona, and Barlow. All pups are learning how to be dogs. We set the standard high. We aren't raising puppies, we are raising dogs! They are doing beautifully so far and learning so much!