Education through Experience

HAWS Kids 'N Critters Winter Camp ran during the school's break and was huge success.  Because of how the holidays fell during the week this year, for the first time we ran 5 single day sessions rather than 2 and 3 day sessions.  This allowed families to have more options and work around their own schedules, and it also meant that we were able to accommodate more children -- many of whom were new to HAWS. 

The last two days of camp ran during a cold snap in which the outside temperature was in the single digits.  Normally our schedule would have had kids walking dogs outside, but we modified it to allow small groups of kids to work with dogs and do some training in the comfort of the indoors instead.  

Before we brought the dog in to the kids I prepared them for how to behave around the dog, what we were going to be training, and how to safely deliver treats so that fingers didn't go into the dog's mouth.  

One of the kids asked what kind of dog was going to be coming into the room.  When I told him she was a pit bull mix, he said, "My dad says pit bulls are dangerous."  I started to explain to the boy that wasn't true about all pit bulls, and that the news tended to overly report pit bull attacks compared to attacks by other breeds, causing people to be prejudiced.  (For a great information on this see Dr. Ian Kupkee's blog post.)

I quickly realized that he wasn't hearing me and didn't want to believe what I had to say, especially since it was contradicting his dad.  I finally said, "Well, why don't you spend some time with Cider and then make up your own mind." 

Cider came in the room and we proceeded to work on sit for polite greetings, and then taught her to navigate obstacles in the form of crawling under chairs and walking through a tunnel.  Initially she was a bit fearful about them, but the kids did a great job using treats and their voices to encourage here.  She very quickly felt more comfortable and the kids felt proud of their accomplishment. 

After a half an hour of work Cider was a bit tired, and the kids were able to pet her as she relaxed on the floor.   And the boy who thought pit bulls were dangerous admitted that she was a really nice dog.   Sometimes showing people is better than telling. 

Stereotypes and Breeds

This blog post was written by a guest blogger.  Madison is 11 years old and has been attending HAWS Kids 'N Critter Camps for many years.  As a matter of fact she enjoys it so much she usually comes 4 or more weeks every summer. 

Madison is currently attending our Camp Gone to the Dogs in which a group of 3 campers is assigned an adoptable dog to care for during the week.  Yesterday Madison told me about something that she saw happen at the shelter that made her angry, and I asked if she would mind writing about it. Here it is in her words:

Hi, my name is Madison and I come to a lot of HAWS summer camps every year.  This week I'm in Camp Gone to the Dogs. 

While I was putting my dog back in his kennel there was a lady looking for a puppy, so one of the other campers told her to look at Bailey, and adorable pit bull mix puppy. 

The lady said, "Oh, you're cute!!!".  Then she looked at Bailey's information card and saw "pit bull mix".  The lady then said "pit bull mix! I thought you were cute!!!" in a snotty way. 

It shouldn't matter the breed of the dog; if the dog is cute, the dog is cute.  I felt sad for Bailey and angry at the lady for saying that about her.  I feel sad for Bailey and other pit bulls that may be getting passed up for adoption because of false stereotypes about the breed.  This is why people need to be educated about pit bulls and other misjudged breeds.  If this lady would have been educated or more open minded about pit bulls, Bailey could have had a much higher chance to get adopted soon. 

Good News, Bad News

HAWS has been in the news twice within the last two weeks.

The first news story was a great one about our camp -- it's the video posted above. Fox 6 Milwauke did a fantastic job showing what our Kids 'N Critters Camp is all about -- what we're trying to teach the kids, what kinds of things they do at our camps, and how much fun they have.

The latest news story wasn't so pleasant - a woman was attacked by her own two dogs while attempting to breakup a dog in the backyard of her home and had to take a ride on flight for life to the hospital. Police officers shot one of the dogs as it attempted to climb over the fence at them. Unfortuantely the dogs were pit bulls.

I say unfortunately because every time a pit bull hits the news it's another mark against the breed. Not all pit bulls are aggressive dogs -- as a matter of fact the majority that I've met are very loving with friendly temperaments towards people. But those don't make the news, and stories like this make it difficult for dogs from bully breed dogs with good temperaments to find homes when they are in need of adoption.

HAWS made the news in this story because we are the animal control facility that came and picked up the other dog. Our Operations Manager -- Mark Hess had to use a tranquilizer dart in order to safely get the dog into his custody.

The dog is here at HAWS undergoing a quarantine for rabies -- her future is not entirely certain at this point. She's in a kennel looking like anything but a vicious dog -- she's very sad, stressed and a bit afraid. HAWS refused to let the media get footage of her since there was a concern that would increase her stress level - instead we released some still photos one of our staff shot instead.

Here's a link to the news coverage:
http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20110629-pitbull-attack-followup-story,0,3622188.story

Banning Breeds at Camp

HAWS Kids 'N Critters Camp will be starting soon, and I spend a good portion of my day lately fielding calls and talking to parents who drop in to ask questions about camp. Understandably they want to know what the children will be doing during their time here, and what types of animals they will get to interact with.

A few weeks ago a mother stopped in at HAWS and asked to speak with me before she submitted her child's camp registration form and payment. She wanted to know what kinds of dogs her daughter would see -- specifically she wanted to ensure that her daughter wouldn't interact with pit bulls.

I think she was disappointed that I wasn't willing to make that guarantee. I explained to her that I choose the dogs by reviewing the profile the previous owner submits, looking at the behavior evaluations our staff does on each dog, and that I spend a little time with each dog before I submit a list of approved dogs to my camp counselors. Breed, size and age has no determination in which dogs I choose or don't choose - my determination is based only on whether or not the dog will be safe with the children. Sometimes the only dogs I feel will be safe around campers are pit bulls or their mixes.

The mother wasn't happy with my explanation. She went on to tell me that "those dogs" are all vicious and that she didn't want her daughter around them. And I went on the explain that unfortunately bully breeds are victims of the media looking for exciting stories about mean looking dogs, and that any dog breed can and will bite. I also told her that in my 7 years of working in a shelter and handling hundreds of dogs the only dog bite I'd ever had was from a cockapoo, and that as a bite quarantine facility for Waukesha County we almost never quarantine bully breeds.

I'm not sure the woman was convinced, however she reluctantly left her child's application and payment with me and her daughter will be coming to camp this year. Someone I related this story to told me that I should have told this woman we didn't want her daughter at camp given the attitude. But then we wouldn't have had the opportunity to educate this family's next generation, would we?

Rascal Went Home!

Something I hear on a regular basis from people who don't work at HAWS is "I could never work in a shelter". While it can be sad and heartbreaking to deal with the issues we see daily in an animal shelter, seeing animals go to new homes with good families makes it all worth our while. Earlier this week our entire staff was overjoyed when Rascal finally went home after living here for 5 months.

Rascal was brought to HAWS on August 5, 2009 because his owners couldn't have him at their new place. As a Pit Bull his breed automatically made him a difficult placement. Not only are people leery about adopting them due to their bad reputations, HAWS also has additional restrictions on them. Many insurance companies will not provide home owners or renters insurance to families with pits as pets, and so one of our requirements is proof of insurance. We also do a little more scrutiny on potential adopters since we want to make sure our adopted dogs actually end up as beloved members of the family -- rather then fighting other dogs.

Unfortunately Pit Bulls get a bad rap. Yes -- they are large powerful dogs, but then so are Labrador Retrievers and Malamutes. Yes, they can cause damage when they bite, but then so can Border Collies and Dalmatians. Pit Bulls are one of the breeds that lead the lists for bite statistics, but those statistics are misleading.

Are Pit Bulls more dangerous because they make the list, or do they make the list because there are many more of them in the USA than there are, as an example, Old English Sheepdogs? It's difficult to know. The AKC lists the top 10 breeds in the USA each year, but Pit Bulls are not an AKC breed and so wouldn't be listed since they can't be registered. As a matter of fact, Pit Bulls aren't really a breed, but more of a type and include the American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and their mixes.

One of HAWS functions is as a bite case facility -- we quarantine animals who have bitten a human breaking skin to ensure that the animal does not have rabies. Many times we have at least one or more dogs in our kennels with "bite case" signs on their cages. Very rarely are those bite case dogs Pit Bulls (we see many other breeds such as German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Jack Russel Terriers, Border Collies, Poodles, etc). On the other hand it's not uncommon for anywhere from 25%-50% of our adoptable dogs to be Pit Bulls or mixes thereof.

Pit Bulls were bred to be tough dogs who could physically with stand the damage incurred by fighting other dogs. But they were also bred to be extremely tolerant of human interaction -- with aggression towards humans being bred out of them. Historically Pit Bulls have been highlighted in a positive manner. Sergeant Stubby is the most decorated dog in US military history for his work in WWI. Petey in the Little Rascals movie was a Pit Bull, as was Tige from the Buster Brown advertisements. Helen Keller had a Pit Bull as a pet, and Laura Ingalls Wilder's dog, Jack the brindle Bulldog is believed to have been a Pit Bull.

Pit Bulls are not a breed for everyone. They do have strong powerful jaws and they physically are strong animals. They should be well socialized as puppies, and go through training so that they have good manners. HAWS only places dogs we feel will be safe members of the community -- and that includes Pit Bulls who go through the same behavior evaluation that our other adoptable dogs go through.

Luckily Rascal passed our behavior evaluation. Boys from our Lad Lake program worked with him twice a week to instill some training and help him with his mental exercise. And our wonderful dog walkers made sure that he got out every day, sometimes three times a day, for exercise and attention. We would have preferred that Rascal find a home in less time than five months. However he is a great dog and we're happy we could give him a chance. We wish Rascal and his new family many years of love and happiness.

To Be or Not to Be

You're most likely familiar with that quote from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". This is the story of another Hamlet -- and the quote fits perfectly. Hamlet had a rough start in life, and there were many times he almost didn't make it.

HAWS periodically sends staff to the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission to take adoptable dogs for adoption here at HAWS. MADACC is the animal control facilty for Milwaukee County, but doesn't do adoptions. Once a stray's 7 day hold is up -- if they haven't been claimed, other shelters and rescue groups pull animals so that they can have a new chance at life.

In early July, 2006 one of our staff returned with 4 puppies estimated to be 4 or 5 days old. They'd been abandoned in a box at another facility and then taken to MADACC and now were going to be given a chance at life at HAWS -- however a foster home would have to be found for them.

At the same time we had a dog whose 8 week old puppies were ready for adoption. My heart melted at the sight of these helpless puppies no bigger than a guinea pig. And I thought that maybe the mother dog might still have some milk left. So I went home with 4 puppies and an adult female named Janet.

Janet was an excellent mother -- she stayed with the puppies and cleaned them with her tongue. She allowed them to nurse, however her milk had mostly dried up at that point and so I had to bottle feed the puppies. I decided to keep Janet as a surrogate mother. As a dog trainer I know how important a mother dog is to the puppies. They do so much more than provide nutrition -- they are instrumental in their development. Janet and I would have to share mothering duties.

One of the puppies wasn't doing well from the beginning, and I was sad, but not suprised when I found her dead one day. What I wasn't prepared for was that one of the other puppies stopped wanting to take the bottle. In desperation I took him to HAWS and we decided he was so far gone that he should be euthanized. A day later another of the puppies took a turn for the worse and I took him to HAWS as well. This time we tried to give him subcutaneus fluids in which fluids are injected with a syringe under the skin where the body absorbs them. He was still failing even after that, and I was left with no other choice other than to euthanize him as well.

I was devestated by this. I'd taken these puppies home expecting to see them thrive and grow, and now I'd lost all but one. I felt like a failure, and was terrified for the remaining puppy --even though he seemed to be doing well. I didn't want to name him because I didn't know if he'd make it or not.

My next few weeks consisted of sleeping on the couch so that I could hear him crying for his 2am feeding. The puppy and Janet accompanied me back and forth from home to work since the puppy needed to be fed every few hours. He grew bigger and stronger.

While I was fascinated to see first his eyes open, and then his ear canals, I also knew the significance of this developmental milestone. At about 3 weeks -- when the senses are all operational -- the canine critical socialization period begins. The puppy didn't have any littermates to interact with.

This can be a huge problem -- singleton puppies many times lack good bite inhibition since they don't have littermates to play with that can teach them that. They are also more prone to have problems dealing with frustration since they don't have competition from littermates for resources. And many times they don't learn appropriate canine communication.

Besides Janet I had 3 dogs of my own. I carefully introduced the puppy to my own dogs, and much to my suprise Mystic was the most interactive and extremely gentle with him, while the girls really didn't want much to do with him. Mystic turned out to be a fantastic surrogate father.

I also started to introduce him to other adult dogs belonging to HAWS staff if I was sure they would be appropriate to him. Getting him around as many appropriate adult dogs as I could would be the key to resolving some of his singleton puppy issues.

At about 3 weeks of age he had a name -- chosen by Anya -- the daughter of Dr. Wolterman -- the vet at HAWS. His name was Hamlet and I felt comfortable naming him since he was doing so well -- until the terrifying day he wasn't. Suddenly he stopped taking the bottle and became severely dehydrated. We did subcutaneous fluids with him, and I spent a tense day waiting to see if he would improve. He did, and after a day or two was back to his old self.

However, as the weeks went on I saw other signs that concerned me. Physically he was extremely healthy. However he started to show a severe lack of being able to deal with frustration. When confined to an exercise pen he would throw a temper tantrum at being confined by barking, growling and biting at the wires. When Janet would correct him he would become angry and go after her. While we didn't know what breed he was when he was just a few days old, it started to look like he was a pit bull mix. I knew he would be a large dog, and having these problems could make him a very dangerous dog as he grew older. I faced the prospect of euthanizing him if these behaviors continued -- not an easy thing to think about since those 2am feedings and time spent with him had made me very emotionally attached. But rationally -- as much as I loved Hamlet, I knew that I could not adopt him out if he was going to cause someone else heartache down the road.

As a dog trainer I knew what things I could do to try and change him around. I did a lot of restraint exercises -- restraining him in my arms, talking to him gently, and only releasing him when he relaxed. I also restrained him and reinforced him with treats. To teach him to deal with frustration I taught him sit at about 5 weeks of age and made him sit for treats, toys and play. I also made him sit before I would allow him to come out of his crate or out of the exercise pen. I interceded when he was being inappropriate with Janet so that he couldn't practice those behaviors.

To my relief and delight this behavior modification program worked. Hamlet developed into a very nice puppy, and at 8 weeks of age he went up for adoption. It broke my heart to see him confined to a kennel during the day, but that would give him the best chance for adoption, and at night he came home with me.

One day I found a crusty ring on his ear. At the time we had a ringworm outbreak with our cats and he must have picked it up at the shelter. He was removed as an adoptable candidate, and I took him home until the ringworm was gone when he was about 12 weeks old.

In the meantime there were several adopters that were interested in him. I found the greatest home for him -- a couple who had another pitbull they had adopted from HAWS. They melted at the sight of his cute little self, and I was impressed when they told me how much exercise their other dog had, the fact that he slept on their bed, and pretty much was their baby. Hamlet had a new home!

Hamlet's new name is Sam. I've seen him a few times over the years -- he always greets me joyously. I wonder if he remembers me as his caretaker when he was so young, or if he's just excited to see someone who is excited to see him. He's turned into a wonderful adult dog. He's gentle with children, great with other dogs, and doesn't have a mean bone in his body -- which is good since he now weighs a little over 100 pounds.

I saw Sam last week -- his big silly grin greeted me and it made me happy that I'd put in so much time, gone through so many emotions, and did as much work as I did to see him become the wonderful dog he is.

Lad Lake and Rascal

The boys from Lad Lake are doing wonderfully in our program. All the boys have started to really become good dog handlers and are developing training skills. But even more important -- and a key part to this program, I've seen a lot of growth from all the boys. Kevin is learning how to pay attention, Keanu is gaining confidence, Michael is getting over his disgust over putting treats in the dogs mouth and is better at following directions, Andrew is learning to be a team player, and Mike is developing some skills in coaching the other boys.

We've seen some of the dogs get adopted, however Mike and Michael have had an opportunity to work with one of the dogs for two months now. While that's a good thing for the boys since they've developed a bond for Rascal and have been able to teach him some amazing things, it's not so great for poor Rascal who's left homeless. While he's very handsome, his size and breed (pit bull possibly mixed with American Bulldog) make him a difficult placement

I credit this program for helping to provide Rascal with the mental enrichment he so desperately needs to make his days here good ones. And hopefully the video of Mike working with him that I just posted on his PetFinder posting helps to get him a home. And just how cute is that bow at the end -- the boys are so pleased with it!