For The First Time Dog-Owner - Your Two-Step Action Plan Before You Adopt A Dog
We are a casual, throw-away society and the evidence is written on the cards attached to the kennel runs of the dogs housed in animal shelters across the country.
Most of these dogs end up in shelters because their owners are clueless when it comes to understanding dog behavior.
"We didn't know it would grow to be so large.
" "The landlord said I had to give him up.
" "We have to move.
" "With the new baby, we don't have time.
" "Allergies.
" What if we could fix this starting with you? If you are a first-time dog owner, here's a great, two-step-action-plan to help you understand the basics of dog behavior...
before you adopt a dog.
Step One: Volunteer Spend three-six months volunteering at an animal shelter or volunteer your services with one of the smaller dog rescue organizations in your area.
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to own a German Shepherd, now's the time to volunteer for your local German Shepherd rescue organization.
Think you might like Boxers? There's a rescue group for that breed too.
In fact, there's a breed specific rescue group for all of the purebred breeds in addition to mix-breed dogs.
Some groups concentrate on small dogs (less than 20 pounds).
Still other groups will focus on re-homing dogs found locally as strays while other groups work with out-of-state rescue groups.
You have a lot of choice.
My word of advice is that you make decisions that feel right for and will work for you.
You can start your research on the internet, if you can steel your heart.
It's astounding how many millions of homeless dogs are in animal shelters across the country.
Check to see if any of the adoption groups in your area have a volunteer dog walking program.
And, if they do, consider offering your services as a dog walker.
My son just started his volunteer job with the humane society in our town.
He had to commit to a year of participation and attend three days of training.
Scheduling his volunteer time around his other responsibilities was pretty easy.
He picked the day of the week that works best with his schedule and his actual volunteering time is two hours.
Ask if the shelter where you're thinking of volunteering offers dog obedience classes.
If so, perhaps you can enroll yourself with one of the adoptable dogs at the shelter.
Obedience classes are generally 6-8 weeks long, so plan accordingly.
The great thing about dog school is that it's really designed to teach people.
Hopefully, by the end of that first session, you've learned a thing or two about dog behavior and the dog you've been working with is better behaved.
Step Two: Read! While you're busy volunteering, there is one more vital step you can take to insure you and your dog start on a good note.
Read! There are so many wonderful, informative books about dogs that you really have no excuse.
Here are just a few that I recommend.
"Katz on Dogs - A Commonsense Guide to Living With Dogs," by Jon Katz.
Although Katz is partial to Border Collies and Labs, he has quite a lot of experience with dogs in general.
He'll take you through how to determine what kind of dog you should have, training, housebreaking, what about having more than one dog, and much more.
He's a bit of a zen-dog philosopher and writes about man's deeper connection to dogs as well.
His language is clear and engaging.
"Your Dog The Owner's Manual - Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises, and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Dog," by Dr Marty Becker.
You may have seen Becker on Good Morning America or on The Dr Oz Show.
He covers much of the same material that Katz does.
Understandably, Becker does go into more detail about how to keep your pet healthy and safe from a veterinarian's viewpoint.
His language is breezy and lighthearted.
The book is easy to flip through as he's highlighted and boxed off key points in each chapter.
Three More Authors: Temple Grandin, Jan Fennell and Kevin Behan If you want to delve more deeply into the human-canine bond, these authors write fascinating books.
Temple Grandin, an animal scientist and autism advocate, is known for her ability to get inside of the minds of animals.
Jan Fennell's reputation is that of dog whisperer and she writes about how you can communicate with your dog.
Kevin Behan, an experienced dog trainer, considered to be one of the nation's foremost leaders in dog rehabilitation, has just written a book called "Your Dog Is Your Mirror - The Emotional Capacity Of Our Dogs And Ourselves.
" It's an excellent book and not for the faint-hearted.
What I mean by this is that you may find yourself reading a few pages and then putting the book down so that you can digest what you've read.
Behan's premise is that a dog's behavior - its emotions - are driven by our emotions.
That a dog responds to what the owner is feeling, not to what that individual is thinking.
This is heady stuff to think about.
I hope you're not feeling overwhelmed.
It's a wonderful place to be, that of a first-time dog owner.
Trust me when I say that if you take the time to get some practical experience under your belt by being around lots of dogs that aren't yours, you'll be so much better prepared when you bring your dog home.
Most of these dogs end up in shelters because their owners are clueless when it comes to understanding dog behavior.
"We didn't know it would grow to be so large.
" "The landlord said I had to give him up.
" "We have to move.
" "With the new baby, we don't have time.
" "Allergies.
" What if we could fix this starting with you? If you are a first-time dog owner, here's a great, two-step-action-plan to help you understand the basics of dog behavior...
before you adopt a dog.
Step One: Volunteer Spend three-six months volunteering at an animal shelter or volunteer your services with one of the smaller dog rescue organizations in your area.
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to own a German Shepherd, now's the time to volunteer for your local German Shepherd rescue organization.
Think you might like Boxers? There's a rescue group for that breed too.
In fact, there's a breed specific rescue group for all of the purebred breeds in addition to mix-breed dogs.
Some groups concentrate on small dogs (less than 20 pounds).
Still other groups will focus on re-homing dogs found locally as strays while other groups work with out-of-state rescue groups.
You have a lot of choice.
My word of advice is that you make decisions that feel right for and will work for you.
You can start your research on the internet, if you can steel your heart.
It's astounding how many millions of homeless dogs are in animal shelters across the country.
Check to see if any of the adoption groups in your area have a volunteer dog walking program.
And, if they do, consider offering your services as a dog walker.
My son just started his volunteer job with the humane society in our town.
He had to commit to a year of participation and attend three days of training.
Scheduling his volunteer time around his other responsibilities was pretty easy.
He picked the day of the week that works best with his schedule and his actual volunteering time is two hours.
Ask if the shelter where you're thinking of volunteering offers dog obedience classes.
If so, perhaps you can enroll yourself with one of the adoptable dogs at the shelter.
Obedience classes are generally 6-8 weeks long, so plan accordingly.
The great thing about dog school is that it's really designed to teach people.
Hopefully, by the end of that first session, you've learned a thing or two about dog behavior and the dog you've been working with is better behaved.
Step Two: Read! While you're busy volunteering, there is one more vital step you can take to insure you and your dog start on a good note.
Read! There are so many wonderful, informative books about dogs that you really have no excuse.
Here are just a few that I recommend.
"Katz on Dogs - A Commonsense Guide to Living With Dogs," by Jon Katz.
Although Katz is partial to Border Collies and Labs, he has quite a lot of experience with dogs in general.
He'll take you through how to determine what kind of dog you should have, training, housebreaking, what about having more than one dog, and much more.
He's a bit of a zen-dog philosopher and writes about man's deeper connection to dogs as well.
His language is clear and engaging.
"Your Dog The Owner's Manual - Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises, and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Dog," by Dr Marty Becker.
You may have seen Becker on Good Morning America or on The Dr Oz Show.
He covers much of the same material that Katz does.
Understandably, Becker does go into more detail about how to keep your pet healthy and safe from a veterinarian's viewpoint.
His language is breezy and lighthearted.
The book is easy to flip through as he's highlighted and boxed off key points in each chapter.
Three More Authors: Temple Grandin, Jan Fennell and Kevin Behan If you want to delve more deeply into the human-canine bond, these authors write fascinating books.
Temple Grandin, an animal scientist and autism advocate, is known for her ability to get inside of the minds of animals.
Jan Fennell's reputation is that of dog whisperer and she writes about how you can communicate with your dog.
Kevin Behan, an experienced dog trainer, considered to be one of the nation's foremost leaders in dog rehabilitation, has just written a book called "Your Dog Is Your Mirror - The Emotional Capacity Of Our Dogs And Ourselves.
" It's an excellent book and not for the faint-hearted.
What I mean by this is that you may find yourself reading a few pages and then putting the book down so that you can digest what you've read.
Behan's premise is that a dog's behavior - its emotions - are driven by our emotions.
That a dog responds to what the owner is feeling, not to what that individual is thinking.
This is heady stuff to think about.
I hope you're not feeling overwhelmed.
It's a wonderful place to be, that of a first-time dog owner.
Trust me when I say that if you take the time to get some practical experience under your belt by being around lots of dogs that aren't yours, you'll be so much better prepared when you bring your dog home.
