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If someone had told me that someday we would have seven dogs as family members a few years back, I would have told them they were crazy! But with an estimated 10-12 million animals euthanized in shelters each year for lack of homes, it's hard not to adopt more. Some of our canine family members have had serious health problems, but they are not necessarily typical of shelter and rescue dogs looking for homes. Our foster dogs have all been very healthy. One of the things I've learned from living with a house full of dogs is that it helps to have a sense of humor. I've had a newcomer chew the corner off the new dining room table I waited years to get; to him it was just a stick, and more than one dog has chewed a hole in the middle (always the middle to make it a major repair) of a beautiful wool rug made by my grandmother. Because I've experienced these things and many more housebreaking and behaviour problems, I want to pass along an invaluable training tip I learned from a pro...if Max just stole the pot roast off the counter while you were setting the table or Sam just left a present for you in the middle of the carpet, take a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head and say "shame on you!" Next time, don't leave the roast on the counter with an unsupervised dog! The same for housebreaking, if you can't watch Sam and Sam hasn't yet learned where it's appropriate to eliminate, take him out and then put him in his crate! Now the dogs would love for you to visit each of their pages; they just love company! |
From Left:
Harry, foster
Tina , Joe, Lucy, foster Cara Mia (adopted), foster Ditto (adopted), Isabell,
Butch, Rex & Emma.
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Ticklish Brian has his pockets checked for treats by Joe, Emma and Lucy. Photo by Hope Zanes, used with permission. |
| Joe, Emma and Lucy spend some quality time with Brian. Photo by Hope Zanes, used with permission |
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