Zeb's Magic / Spay - Neuter Project / ?Trained? ?Off Leash?

by Lorraine May, Executive Director and Head Trainer

The Misha May Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dog and cat rescue

mutts in safe homes always

http://www.mishamayfoundation.org/

mishamayfoundation@gmail.com

PO Box 151166Lakewood, CO 80215-1166

303-239-0382

Zeb’s Magic

Zeb is magical. Everyone who knows him knows that. He saved a little dog today, September 10, and I helped him.

Each day when I take a walk in the park my most important decision is which dog to take with me. This morning I had a very strong sense that it was Zeb. So I listened to my intuition.

Zeb is an 11 year old neutered male Golden Retriever that found me while wandering in the mountains at 1.5 years old. He had come right through his electric fence (in the mountains where we had bears, coyotes and mountains lions) thank goodness, instead of ending up as lunch. His family gave him to me. Truly though, he seemed sent by Misha (the black lab mix namesake of The Misha May Foundation) – I was having a hard time without her.

As we entered the park, I saw a little black dog running around, sometimes in the park, sometimes in the street. I decided to investigate, of course. There were other people around but I find that even dog lovers aren’t sure what to do, how to get the dog, or what to do with him once they have him.

As we approached, I could see he was not going to come to me. He didn’t flee, but he stayed out of reach. Because he was small and calm, appeared healthy and friendly, I decided to see if Zeb would be a more benign ambassador. I had no sooner stepped a little farther away, than the little guy approached Zeb and they became fast friends.

Then there was humping – by the little guy. Uh-oh, not neutered. Here is probably one key to his wandering. The others, I found out later, were a broken fence and a marking habit which relegated him to being an outside dog.

Although there was no collar or ID, through detective work, I eventually located the owner the same day. He was grateful for my care and was open to finding a solution to keeping the little guy safe. 1) of course, fix the fence 2) purchase Velcro ‘nappies for dogs’ which cause the dog to urinate on himself – not as pleasant as marking 3) neuter.

Neutering helps with both marking and wandering. When I suggested low cost possibilities, he was surprised that his own vet had not referred him to Planned Pethood Plus at 4170 Tennyson Street, Denver, 80212, 303-433-3291 or MaxFund Animal Wellness Center at 1000 Inca Street, Denver, 80204, 303-595-0532.

My personal belief is that in order to stop pet overpopulation, spaying and neutering need to be FREE for EVERYONE’S pets. WHY ISN’T IT?

Please help us with our project by sending the following to mishamayfoundation@gmail.com:
1) What low cost spay / neuter services are you aware of – please send the complete name, address and contact information of vet; weight and age of dog or cat, cost of spay or neuter surgery.
2) What did your dog's surgery cost - please send the complete name, address and contact information of vet; weight and age of dog or cat, cost of spay or neuter surgery.

Note to Owner with dog off leash in a park that is not an off leash park: Your dog is NOT trained off leash if he chases geese. AND allowing him to be off leash untrained, reinforces his experience of ‘I’m off leash and you can’t get me’.

He's Not My Dog / Congrats to Owner

by Lorraine May, Executive Director and Head Trainer
The Misha May Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dog and cat rescue
mutts in safe homes always
www.mishamayfoundation.org
mishamayfoundation@gmail.com
PO Box 151166
Lakewood, CO 80215-1166
303-239-0382

“He’s Not My Dog!”

I stood up for a medium sized black mutt this morning, September 9, 2010, at 8:30 am in a city park. In doing so, I tried to accomplish three things: 1) let the dog know someone cared about him 2) let the woman know that people witnessed her actions and 3) inform the woman that there are better methods.

As I was taking my walk, I heard shouting in what is normally a very quiet park. It was a dark haired woman roughly shaking this black dog by his choke collar, causing his front legs to leave the ground repeatedly and his rear end to jerk around.

I was compelled to respond since her actions could not only hurt his neck and stress him, but his experiences, therefore his associations, with the park, walking on a leash, dogs and people could become extremely negative. Each successive walk could include increasing amounts of stress, followed by punishment.

I wasn’t the only person upset. It was very evident that others nearby were affected as well since they moved away from her and gave her plenty of space.

I breathed calmly and deeply, softened my belly, and held my focus of sharing helpful information, as they approached, now walking quickly. I said matter-of-factly and calmly, “You know, I teach a class that includes other kinds of training techniques so you don’t have to do that.” She replied that he wasn’t her dog or her responsibility anyway. “But, you are walking him, so he is now.” Well”, she said, “he shouldn’t be around other dogs and I don’t have to worry about that.” And she quickly exited the park.

She chose to walk him in the park where there are, of course, OTHER DOGS. Then she punished him for not knowing how to act around other dogs. She did not teach him anything, except, to worry when dogs are around and to expect rough treatment from her.

If anyone is training, walking or pet sitting your dogs, please find out what they do when you aren’t looking. Ask them how they help your dog cope with difficult situations. Do they punish or do they teach?

Congrats to Owner: lone male black lab wandering in O’Kane Park with no visible ID. I don’t know what caused this dog to stray, but the owner’s appearance in her car remedied the situation before I could even get back to my car to get a leash. Good work!