Preventing “Christmas Mistakes”

This is Part 2 of a 4-part blog series focusing on what we, as dog leaders, can do to prevent dogs from being returned to shelters. 

There are two times of year when shelters see a spike in the numbers of dogs and cats being returned. The first time of the year when people return their pets is in the summer, when they realize that they’ll have to either bring their dog with them on vacation, or pay a professional to take care of them. The second time of year comes right after the holidays, when puppies, who have been given as presents, are returned for well, just being puppies! 

Here is the link to Part 1:  

In 2018, Canadian shelters took in approximately 30,000 dogs and 81,000 cats! Of the 30,000 dogs, 35% were surrendered by their owners. There are no statistics available on the number of those dogs that were given as gifts. 

Many surrenders could be prevented.

How?

What if I shared the secret with you right now? Would you pass it on? 

The SECRET to a SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION is matching the ENERGY level of the OWNER to the ENERGY level of the DOG. More specifically, the energy level of the dog should be the SAME or LOWER than the people who adopt them. 

Here’s how it works. 

Dogs can be loosely grouped into four energy levels: low, medium, high, and very high. Anyone who wants to adopt a dog needs to look closely at how they spend their time, and select a dog that suits their lifestyle. 

If you are single and like to go hiking and biking every day and/or LOVE playing fetch, perhaps a Husky mix, Rhodesian Ridgeback, or Russell Terrier. These dogs require HOURS of exercise EVERY DAY, so if you’re very active and enjoy the outdoors, these breeds and mixed-breeds may be worth some research. 

If your family loves the water and spends weekends at the cottage, a Labrador Retriever, Barbet, or a German Shepherd X could be a lovely addition to your lives. 

If your family likes to chill in the house and watch movies all weekend, perhaps a less active, older rescue dog or retired breeder would fit in well. These dogs still need daily walks, but will tire out faster than dogs with high and very high energy levels. 

Psst! Did you know? All dogs require daily walking and exercise, regardless of energy level. Some dogs need more walking and running time, while others need less.

Interesting fact: Although the numbers of dogs and cats being returned annually to Canadian humane societies and SPCAs seems very large, the number of animals being taken in is actually trending downward! 

Let’s help continue this trend, by spreading the word about what it takes to meet the needs of a dog. 

If you, or someone you know is looking to adopt a dog and would appreciate some help selecting the perfect fit, please get in touch with us. 

Have a fantastic week, everyone!

Alyssa

This week’s photography by: Bharathi Kannan (Puppy-dog eyes), and Jakob Owens (French bulldog inside Santa’s hat.)

Christmas Mistakes

If the title of this recent article posted on CBC News by Matthew Kupfer made you shudder — you’re not alone! How sad that someone would gift a puppy. How careless. Humans need to do better. In case you missed this article, Kupfer highlighted two times of the year when local humane societies see a spike in animal returns (especially in dogs.) The first time of the year when people return their pets is in the summer, when they realize that they’ll have to either bring their dog with them on vacation, or pay a professional to take care of them. The second time of year comes right after the holidays, when puppies, who have been given as presents, are returned for well, just being puppies! 

It is doubtful that any of you reading this article would ever consider giving a puppy as a gift, but you may know someone who is thinking of surprising a loved one with a fuzzy bundle of awesomeness, so I thought of a few tips you could pass along. Let’s save some puppies from going through the stress of being adopted and then given away. 

Since this is SO IMPORTANT, I’m going to dedicate FOUR posts to this topic: that’s one tip every week right here in the blog. 

This week’s tip for how to stop a friend or family member from gifting a puppy is simple: Convince them to buy a book about dogs instead. I believe in your powers of persuasion! You’ve got this! 

There are a lot of great books that help families select the right breed (no, this should not be based solely on looks or colour preferences), energy level (we’ll get to that one next week), and age of dog. My favourite is “A Member of the Family,” by Cesar Millan. If people read this book before rushing out to get a dog, there would be a LOT less returns to the humane society, a lot less sad children, and loads more people who are HAPPY with their dog’s behaviour. 

If you haven’t had a chance to read it, this book can be enjoyed by any dog lover who is on the journey to becoming a dog leader. Enjoy!

Here’s the link to the CBC article.

This week’s photos by: Rhaúl V. Alva (puppy wearing Santa’s hat) and Jakob Owens (French bulldog inside Santa’s hat.)

Local Leash-Free News

Did you know that the City of Guelph is currently conducting a phone survey about Leash-Free areas for dogs? Many people have been making use of the new off-leash dog park located at Peter Misersky Park. There are two more fully-fenced dog parks scheduled to open soon: Bristol Street Park and Lee Street Park. If you want to weigh in on this topic, be sure to answer your phone to participate in the survey.

This week’s photo by: ipet photo

Welcome to BEYOND DOG TRAINING

Welcome to BEYOND DOG TRAINING! We’re so happy you stopped by!

For those of you wondering about the name of our company, our vision is simple: Happy Dogs. Happy People. Happy World. We go beyond dog training to help people get the relationship with their dog that they always wanted. We believe that happiness creates a ripple effect, so once your dog is happy and trained, you can relax (and so can the other pets in your home.) We want your stress level to go down and your happy level to go up. And we want you to spread that happiness to the people in your life.

We currently have clients in Canada, the UK, and the USA.

We are very grateful to our clients for recommending our services to their friends and families, and also to our list of veterinarians in Guelph who are promoting us as well.

Our weekly blog will offer dog training tips, links to articles, and success stories featuring our clients.

Thanks for being a dog lover! The world needs more people like you!

Alyssa Foulkes, MSc, Dog Behaviour Specialist

This week’s photo is from Patrick Hendry.