Progress is being made on the sanctuary--at a snail's pace but still we're going forward instead of back. Have looked at several properties all in the too's. Too far out, too much money, or too close to other people. Funny how people move to the country and then build right next to someone. We need, because of the barking, to be a good distance from the neighbors.
We are generating a buzz; more and more people are asking about Dog Star, wondering how they can help, referring people and animals to us. The need is so obviously there .
Dog Star Animal Sanctuary
Country Roads and Dogs
The majority of dogs given up to shelters or dumped on country roads are there because of behavior problems. Studies have shown the number one factor in an animal staying in a home for it's whole lifetime is training.
People get a cute lil puppy and it jumps,chews,barks and pees on the floor but because it's little the only
training it gets is a "NO", pushed away or a rolled up newspaper which stops the behavior then but doesn't
TEACH anything except maybe to be hand-shy or pee behind the couch-- not in front of you:0)
The dog does nothing wrong but grow up. Then you have a30 or 50 pounder jumping,chewing,barking and
peeing on the floor. You can't live with that. And not to demonize the owner I have seen over and over in
my years volunteering at the shelter heart-sick but determined people bringing in their dog because they
don't know what else to do. There are few people born with the a natural gift for training so most people
(myself included) have to be taught. It's so simple and now with positive training it's even fun but if you
don't know how, you don't know how.
We're working towards a sanctuary where dogs can live in large fenced-in grassy areas with 4 or 5 others. So there's room to run,someone to sleep next to, to play with, squabble with, all the doggy drama that makes life interesting. But they will not be turned out in a pasture and left.
We're in the process of training a small army of volunteer ;we will adopt out trained animals so they will stay in their
new home.
It's a way to break this cycle.
If they cannot be rehabilitated or no one wants to adopt them they can live out their life with room to run
and play or sleep in the sun with their belly touching Mother Earth.
We will train sit,sit-stay,down,down-stay, come,when you're called, walking on a loose leash because these
basic behaviors are not just the foundation of learning for a companion animal they are the way to problem
solving. Can't jump on someone if you're sitting.
We also will train frisbee dogs,tracking dogs,dogs that know lots of tricks,therapy dogs, and whatever else
we and the dogs can think of.
To break this cycle of abandonment like so many other vicious cycles on this old Earth takes education.
Dogs love to learn,LOVE IT! People.... not so much, but to be fair most dog training has been the 'ol choke
chain method where you waffle between being uncomfortable because your choking and scaring your dog to
the other end where your bored to tears.
Happily we use clicker training and clicker training is FUN! I call it tail-wagging training because their tails
wag all the time. I have 5 dogs and when the clicker comes out it's "Please Mom-- pick me, pick me. Let me
train today."
Dog Star is a group of dedicated people determined to make life better for abused and abandoned dogs through living in a more natural environment and training.
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