Endings and Beginnings

I can't believe that the school year is almost over (already finished for some schools)!

I just graduated another group of boys from Lad Lake through our Positive Empathy Training Program. Each week 6 boys came to HAWS on Monday and Wednesdays to learn about a dog related topic and train HAWS adoptable dogs.

What was really interesting about working with the boys is that they would sometimes appear to be bored and not really paying attention, and then later they'd say something that told me they really were listening to what I had to say. It was very gratifying to hear them tell each other to ease up on a dog that was stressed, and point out all the stress signals the dog was displaying.

I will miss these young men, and hope nothing but the best for their futures. I look forward to working with a new group of Lad Lake boys next fall.

In the meantime I'm getting ready for another summer of our Kids 'N Critters Day Camp. With our building expansion we now have much more space and are actually going to be running two different camps concurrently. I'm looking forward to some of the new activities I've added to the schedule -- such as clicker training cats and dogs in their cages. It's another way for the kids to be hands on with the animals -- something both parents and campers have been asking about.

Keep an eye out for future blogs about camp -- especially the new specialty camp I'm calling "Camp Gone to the Dogs".

When Opportunity Knocks

One of the things I've learned over the years in my job is that you have to be flexible when doing presentations. Sometimes training demonstrations with dogs don't go as planned, sometimes kids ask questions that take you off track, and sometimes things happen that end up being a really great education opportunity.

Yesterday I participated in a High Interest Day at St. John Vianney School in Brookfield. Whether they're called High Interest Day, Try-It Day, or Kid's Choice Day (depending on the school) -- they are very popular this time of year. The school brings a variety of presenters in on topics as varied as karate, rock climbing, baking, criminal forensics, and pets. The idea is to give kids a way to try new things and perhaps find where their interests may take them.

This year St. John Vianney asked me to talk about pet care to three different groups of kids. As we were playing a pet care game some of the kids were petting Mystic, and interrupted me to ask about a bump they'd found near his ear. Thinking it was an irritation left over from the tick I had removed the day before I told them not to worry about it. But they were insistant that it was huge and I should look at it.

It turned out to be a dog tick -- already dead because I treat Mystic with Frontline. As I removed the tick I talked about how pet ownership sometimes involves doing something unpleasant - such as pulling out a tick. Then I talked about the fact that Mystic is treated with Frontline -- which is a tick and flea preventative and the fact that dogs can get Lyme disease from ticks.

Of course pulling a tick from Mystic wasn't part of my presentation, but what a great opportunity to show them one of the more unpleasant sides of pet ownership!

That same day I had another opporunity. Three years ago at a different school's High Interest Day I trained Mystic to "play the piano". I haven't had him around a piano since -- so when I saw that there was a piano in the room where I was working with the kids I decided to see if he still remembered how to do it. You can see the results in the video below.

Kids in a Shark Tank

What do you get when you put three innovative kids into a shark tank?

It turns yout that you get compassionate hearts, great ideas, and a generous donation to HAWS!

Brooke Zyla, Jacob Vance and Ashlyn Denniston took part in their school's Shark Tank contest -- based on the TV show of the same name.

Brooke, Jacob and Ashlyn put together a presentation that was given to the students and faculty of their school -- Merton Intermediate. They came up with the concept of selling suckers with the proceeds to benefit the needy animals of Waukesha County by donation to HAWS.

Not only did they win, but they sold enough suckers to donate $190.00 to HAWS -- a tremendous amount of money!

HAWS would like to thank not only Brooke, Jacob and Ashlyn, but all of Merton Intermediate for supporting our cause!

Wagging Tails

One of the myths I hear quite often from both children and adults is that a when a dog wags his tail it means he's happy. Unfortunately this is a misconception that can be dangerous to someone who thinks it's safe to approach a dog simply because he's wagging his tail.

The truth is that a wagging tail by itself only tells us how excited or aroused a dog may be. To know whether is a dog is friendly, aggressive, or fixated or something behaviorists and trainers look at other parts of the dog.

Learning how to "read dog" is not an easy thing to do. Professionals go to seminars, read books, watch videos and observe dogs for months or even years before they feel comfortable enough to say they are good at reading canine body language. "Reading dog" consists of looking at the eyes, ears, mouth, facial expression, tail and body posture. What makes it even more difficult is that some body language is fleeting and you need to be very focused and observant if you are watching a dog who is overly excited or aroused since you can easily miss a split second change in expression. (People have this too -- called "micro-expression". This was first discovered by Dr. Paul Ekman and is the basis for the TV show Lie to Me.)

While I talk extensively to children about when it is safe and when it is dangerous to approach a dog, I talk very little about body language since it's difficult enough for a professional to learn how to read. One thing I do tell them is that you can't just look at a wagging tail to tell you if a dog is safe or not. A happy friendly dog wags not just his entire tail, but his body as well.

In the videos below I have examples of two different tail wags. The first video is of my dogs. They aren't overly excited, but their whole bodies move along with their tails. The second is of a dog who is overly aroused by the movement of the scooter going past. His body is stiff as he runs back and forth, and his tail is held high and wags stiffly as well. Which dog would you want to pet?

Tour Season at HAWS

Tour season at HAWS official starts with the beginning of the school year in September - with about 1,700 people coming through to see our facility and learn about what it is we do in Waukesha County. But it really goes full force in April and May near the end of the school year.
Most of the tours are given to kids between the ages of 5 and 14 -- many of them scouts.

Tours generally begin with a talk about what we do at HAWS and the reasons animals end up there. We also discuss what kinds of responsibilities are involved with pet ownership and encourage kids to do research before they get a pet so that they can be sure that they are committed to proper can and that the type of animal they get is right for their lifestyle.

Then we walk through the shelter -- introduce our adoptable dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals. We walk through our kitchens and laundry area. If the visitors are old enough we stop in our SNIP clinic and talk about 0ver-population and the benefits of spaying and neutering pets.

Today's visitors were from Girl Scout Troop #2684. The 10 and 11 year old girls asked great questions, melted over the animals that they saw, and brought a ton of donations.
At the end of every tour we bring out a few animals for our guests to meet. Today the girls met Dotty the English Spot rabbit, and Jessie the puppy. They had such a great time they really didn't want to leave; we hope they come back soon.

Circus School For Dogs

What makes animals behave the way they do? How does our own behavior influence how an animal behaves? How can we get them to behave the way we want them to?

Last weekend 74 animal professionals congregated at Think Pawsitive Dog Training in Oconomowoc to learn the answers to these questions and more at a seminar hosted by HAWS with speaker Sophia Yin, DVM.

Police officers, humane officers, vets, vet techs, and dog trainers who wanted to learn more about how best to interact with the furry members of our community and gain new skills in their profession were in attendance. Dedicated animal rescuers and shelter volunteers also came to learn, as well as people with a strong interest in animal behavior and training.

After a day and a half of sitting and learning attendees had an opportunity to put some of what they learned in a Sunday afternoon program entitled "Circus School For Dogs".

101 Things to Do with a Box is a great training game for both dogs and people. It allows the human to learn how to train by letting the dog "offer" behaviors. It allows the dog to "figure it out" and use their brain.

Some of the other things attendees learned are profiled in the video below.

Boys, Alligators and Lion Cubs

I spent this last week -- the week most kids have off of school for spring break, with a group of really great kids from another organization. 3 or 4 kids who's lives have been affected by domestic violence came to spend time at HAWS, learn about what we do for animals and spent most of their days hands on with adoptable pets.

Two of the boys were brothers and were very enthusiastic about everything. They told me about a baby alligator they had been able to pet, and the fact that it had it's mouth taped shut. I know that many educational reptile organizations do this with alligators, and so it really didn't phase me.

Later that day one of the boys mentioned how cool it would be to have a lion cub as a pet. "A lion is a wild animal", I said. "Wild animals aren't pets".

"Sometimes they are", one of the boys replied.

"But they don't make good pets", I responded. "Look at that baby alligator you guys got to pet. It's mouth had to be taped shut so it didn't hurt you".

"But baby lions aren't dangerous", they argued.

Trying hard to stay calm I said, "Yes, but they don't stay babies forever. They grow very quickly, and once they get older they become very dangerous -- too dangerous to pet or play with. Would you want a pet like that?"

"No, but then we could give it here."

Trying to reason with them I responded -- "Why would HAWS want a lion? It wouldn't be safe to adopt out and we couldn't keep it here forever."

I'm not sure I got through to them -- the boys didn't seem to be getting the message. But I also know that sometimes you can plant a seed in a child's mind and that it stays with them and they get it later. I hope that a lot of what they experienced at HAWS this week takes root and makes an impact on their lives.