Dickie's Diary - Leaving Cues

Hello fellow pup-stars - Dickie Hill back again. I'm sure you've heard about how busy things are around here with all sorts of comings and goings. I don't think I've ever seen mum rushing around so much. Despite all that practice she's still not as quick as me, although I am super quick, and I don't think any hooman could ever be as fast as me.

No matter how busy she is - there's always some learning to do. Here she's playing... Well let's say that teaching is the truth of it - I'm almost a big dog now so I know what's really going on, but as there's usually tasty treats involved I don't mind. They're also fun (most of the time) so it's like playing if you think about it. See I'm cleverer, as well as bigger!

Anyway the game today is leaving queues which seems silly because I know all about queues. You sit and wait. Boring really, unless the queue is somewhere cool with exciting smells and hoomans to watch.

Apparently it's cues, not queues. Hoomans can be silly - why say the same thing if they mean something different. It's a strange game this one, and I've discovered that mum can do magic! Look how the chicken disappears and then re-appears as if by magic. She might not be as swift as me, but she's very clever. But so am I! Anyway, I best get focused, I only get the chimkin if I figure out what she wants. Bye for now and see all of you pup-stars again soon 🐾🐾🐾

And for those of you not as smart as me, mum says that this is what she's doing:

"Teaching Dickie to “leave it”. There is no point giving him the cue if he doesn’t understand what it means. So we teach him the behaviour and then tell him what he's doing. There's no shouting, no rush and definitely no fuss. He makes the choice. If he “leaves it” then he receives the treat. If he tries to take it or paw for it the chicken becomes unavailable. Once he learns the behaviour, as he backs off we will add the cue “leave it” then gradually start giving the cue sooner in the exercise, and ultimately this will also help with impulse control."

Mum also says that some of the new dogs that came in need our help. I will save them each a nice treat. Maybe... You hoomans can help here if you're able to!

https://gofund.me/0ff1f35b

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 42 - Meet Diesel

Day 41 of our 100 Days with 100 Dogs coincides with the American Kennel Club's 'Responsible Dog Ownership Day' and while we're obviously not American it does serve as a reminder for us. Dealing with rescues and amidst an ongoing rescue crisis in this country we should remember that the vast majority of dog owners are responsible and provide the proper care for their beloved dogs. It's also the special people amongst who step forward to adopt, or help in whatever they are able to. And we thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.

Meet Diesel

This handsome boy is Diesel. He's only 11 months old and looking for a forever home where he can grow. 

Diesel loves people but is reactive to other dogs. Because of this we will be looking for a pet free home for him. He's not lived with children, but we believe he would be fine with older children. Diesel isn't neutered yet because if his age.

He's currently located in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

If you'd like to offer Diesel (or any of our listed dogs) a home then please get in touch via the form on this page https://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/adopting-a-german-shepherd/

We're also in the final two weeks for our 2023 Calendar submissions - if you have any awesome photos of your German Shepherd then you can find out more here https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/2022/09/2023-calendar-comp.html

Only Two Weeks To Enter Your Calendar Photos!

Hi everyone - there's only two weeks left to enter your photos for our 2023 calendar, so please get those entries in quickly!

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Please note that the themes are intended as a guide to encourage a variety of fun images, we have no intention of them getting in the way of attracting great photos for the calendar. For example, a photo that relates to the theme anecdotally rather than as an explicit visual theme is fine - although please include the anecdote if that is the case.

To make sure that we also get your best and favourite photos we're adding a Wildcard option that isn't restricted by theme, so can be your favourite photo of your GSD. We'll use these as a back-up for any of the months if we judge a wildcard photo to be stronger than any of the theme submissions, or that theme doesn't receive any valid submissions. 

All submitted photos (themed or otherwise) will be considered for the cover photo selection.

Full details for submissions can be found here

https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/2022/09/2023-calendar-comp.html

Please like and share this post as widely as possible so we can get some awesome GSD photos for next year's calendar!

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 41 - Bella & Pups Appeal Update

First, we'd like to start this update with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to Bella and her Five Pups Appeal. Everyone's response has been simply awe-inspiring - we're almost a third of the way to our target already!

And of course, we want to keep you all up to date with how Bella and her pups are doing since we rescued them. Sadly clean up proved more difficult than hoped, so we have to shave the fur off completely for some of them. Other than that We're happy to report that they're responding as well as you all are! As you can see in the video they've enjoyed some running around in open space. They're also eating well, which again is not unexpected. Overall they're doing well, and we look forward to sharing their progress over the coming weeks.

Please Like and Share this post wherever you can, if we can attract more supporters then we'll hit that target that much quicker,

https://www.gofundme.com/manage/urgent-appeal-for-bella-and-her-five-pups

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 40 - Meet Sandy

The 40th day of our 100 Days with 100 Dogs feature is here and as we meet another lovely dog eager to join her new family, we'd also like to reflect and thank all of you who have come forward to enquire about adopting our dogs. 

And we hope that we can attract more, and give all of the dogs suitable for rehoming a chance at a new and better life. It might not be you; many dogs have experienced trauma that shapes their needs, and not everyone is in a position to take one on. But it might be someone you know, who'd never have known if you hadn't shared that particular post...

Meet Sandy

This lovely lady is Sandy, a 6 year old female German Shepherd. She's great with people - including children. She gets on fine with male dogs, but not with female ones.

It should also be a cat free household.

Sandy is currently located in Clacton, Essex.

If Sandy would fit in with your household then let us know via the form on our adoption page here

https://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/adopting-a-german-shepherd/

My young nephew is undertaking an endurance challenge to raise money for the dogs in our care - let's show him how we can respond and back his efforts and see what we achieve together. Any donation - no matter how small will put a grin on his face :-)

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/KiansEnduranceChallenge

And just look at that grin!

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 39 - Meet Smudge

It's been an eventful and for many, emotional past few days with the Queen passing, remembering 9/11, and for me personally a friend passing. We offer our condolences to everyone grieving or remembering loved ones. So we paused the 100 Days with 100 Dogs to allow that breathing space, but we must continue as the best future for these dogs is to find them loving households, that match their individual needs.

Meet Smudge

This cheerful looking lady is Smudge, and she is a 9 year old female German Shepherd.

Smudge is generally good with people and also does well with other dogs. Unfortunately, she doesn't do as well with children, and so would need a home without anyone under 16 years of age. She also cannot be in a house with cats.

Smudge is currently located in Clacton, Essex.

If you can offer Smudge the home she needs then please contact us via the form provided here

https://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/adopting-a-german-shepherd/

We would also like to thank everyone who has generously donated to the urgent appeal for Bella and her pups. Despite already stretched beyond capacity, we couldn't leave them in those circumstances. However, we do need your help so we can give them a chance of finding their furever home.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-appeal-for-bella-and-her-five-pups

Puppy Care Topic - First Walks

This Puppy Care article regarding their first walks is extracted from a handout provided to the adopters of Lexi's puppies. It was written by Lisa Hird, our resident behavioral expert who also runs the Dog Behaviour Clinic (https://www.dogbehaviourclinic.co.uk/), and she is available to support the needs of you and your dog.

Puppy Care Topic – First Walks 

FIRST WALKS - SOCIALISING IN THE PARK – OR JUST A BIT OF A NIGHTMARE?

What the puppy sees:

The park is HUGE compared to the safety of my house and garden. It smells AMAZING! There are so many smells to sniff and so many things to see, and then there is that ball to play with, and look at all those dogs, and all those people who keep coming over to see me, and pat me on the head, and play with me, and this is just SO EXCITING

Or what the puppy might see:

The park is HUGE compared to my garden and house. Everything is moving so fast. Everything smells strange. There are too many people about and they feel scary. There are too many dogs around and they are getting way too close, and even though I normally love playing with my ball, I cannot even look at it right now.

There are very few puppies who do not feel like either one of these two. And, even though the first one may seem as if she is dealing with things ok, neither of them is in a good state of mind where they can learn what they need to about being in the park.

KEEP IT CALM

Puppies need to be calm to be well socialised. Over-excited puppies quickly become tired and overwhelmed. Scared puppies are already overwhelmed. The only way that a puppy can learn anything that she needs to about her new world is if she is calm:

A CALM puppy can CONCENTRATE and CONNECT with her handler, in order to make the right CHOICES and to build CONFIDENCE through her new experiences.

THE SOCIALISING RULE

A puppy’s first experience of something new needs to Feel Good.

Then the next 10 experiences of that same new thing need to Feel Good

Only then is it alright for an experience of that new thing to just Feel Ok

You need AT LEAST 20 good experiences of something before one of those experiences can Feel Bad, otherwise, your puppy may develop fear issues.

Even a puppy who has been brought up in a litter with many brothers and sisters can become fearful of other dogs. In fact, puppies living with dogs of all ages can become fearful of other dogs if new introductions are not managed carefully in the first 8 weeks of living with you.

During this period, she needs to be introduced to as many calm, well-mannered dogs as possible, preferably dogs who are older than she is. Ideally, she needs to meet at least 10 CALM dogs before she meets another puppy. Those calm, well-mannered dogs will help her Feel Good about dogs.

After she has met 10 calm dogs, then it is ok for her to play with another puppy, in a carefully managed, brief period together. This will be her one Feel Ok experience of another dog, and it will need to be balanced with interacting with her 10 calm and well-mannered friends so that she does not associate dogs with feeling excited and playing with them all the time.

We all want our dogs to have other dog friends and feel comfortable with them, but we also want our dogs to walk calmly past other dogs in the street. If a puppy gets to play too frequently with other puppies, or with over-excitable dogs in these early 8 weeks, she will associate all other dogs with feeling excited, which soon turns to barking at other dogs in the street. Being around other calm dogs will help her to stay calm.

For this reason, avoid puppy parties organised by Vets, pet shops, or Creches. All meetings between your puppy and other dogs need to happen in the safety of your garden and to be carefully supervised by you, with plenty of time away from each other and with opportunities to rest. If your puppy keeps trying to play with the older dog, intervene and put her in her den/crate/pen with a frozen Kong so that she learns to calm herself down.

During this 8-week fear period, it is vital that she doesn’t have any interaction with dogs that make her feel intimidated. If another dog is too pushy with her, and she tries to hide from him, remove the other dog straight away. Never let your puppy feel overwhelmed by a dog who is trying to sniff her, paw at her, or loom over her. If your puppy has thrown herself onto the floor, with her head turned away and is showing the whites of her eyes, then she feels scared of the other dog. Do not let them work it out themselves, and don’t try to encourage her to play with the dog – this kind of interaction can result in puppies feeling very uncertain of other dogs and may create issues later in life.

If you do not know 10 dogs who are polite and well-mannered, then just 2 or 3 calm dogs are better than any excitable ones. It is much better that your puppy only meets a few calm, well-mannered dogs and is happy with them, than risking taking her into a park with off-lead dogs and having any unpleasant or over-excitable meetings.

You can discover more Puppy Care Topics, as well as other useful articles in our Article Archive here:

https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html