Calling on the 5,000

WE NEED YOU TO BECOME ONE OF THE 5,000!

Dog rescues across the country are in a state of crisis - we operate thanks to the amazing generosity and here is an opportunity to make a significant change.

Generate free donations when you shop online and earn us an additional £10 donation when you sign up and shop at any of the supported stores three times before the end of December.

If 5,000 people signed up and generated £5 donations each would cover most, if not all of our monthly running costs - AT NO COST TO YOU! So even with the current financial crisis, you can increase your support without impacting your household budget.

A few extra clicks while shopping online and you're contributing directly to helping us save vulnerable German Shepherds and caring for them while we find them new homes. That level of funding would be a game-changer for us and keep us operating well into the future. 

Will you become one of the 5,000 and make the difference?

https://www.giveasyoulive.com/join/gsdwelfarefund?utm_source=charitytoolkit&utm_content=585608&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=CT10kGiveawayCampaign

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 70 - Farewell Sandy

If you're a fan of traditional British puddings then today is a doubly good day! Not only is it British Pudding Day (a real thing apparently - https://nationaltoday.com/british-pudding-day/) and so a patriotic duty to treat yourself, but we also say a fond farewell to Sandy.

We introduced Sandy all the way back on day 40. She's a six year old bitch who ended up in a fight with another bitch at her previous home. Apart from that incident, she's been a joy and we're so happy that she's found her forever home. We thank her new parents for providing their home for Sandy and wish them all the best for their future.

If you'd like to adopt one of our dogs then take a look at the too many we have eager to find their future on our website:

http://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/dogslist/

Please Like, Follow and Share so we can reach as many people as possible and find homes for the 120+ dogs currently in our care. Thank you!

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 69 - Meet Teddy

We continue with our journey through 100 Days with 100 Dogs and we've passed the two-thirds point! We're trying to put something together to mark the 75th day so fingers crossed that it comes together!

Today we meet a dog ready for his new home with fairly relaxed requirements, so hopefully, he'll find one easily! Please Like, Comment and Share to bring this lovely boy to the attention of his future parents - this also strengthens our visibility on the various platforms - so double bonus!

Meet Teddy

This Handsome boy is Teddy. He is a dark long coated 3 year old male German Shepherd. He was very barky and standoffish when he first arrived but since then has settled well and is now ready for homing. 

He is very food motivated which could be a good thing for future training purposes. Once he is comfortable around you he likes to be with you although still a little untrusting. It takes him time to build trust even after getting to know you so a little extra patience may be needed. 

He's not shown any aggression towards other dogs since he has been with us. Teddy has not been tested with cats. He has been neutered and has previously lived with other dogs.

Teddy is currently located in Cleaveland.

If you can offer Teddy his forever home then please contact us via the form here:

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

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 68 - Meet Kosmo

An illness-caused gap has disrupted service for a few days, but hopefully, we're now back on track! Day 68 of our 100 Days with 100 Dogs journey lands on Dog Film Festival day - a day for celebrating our furry friends in short films. Naturally, it's a US event, but that doesn't stop the rest of us from having fun with it too :-) 

My entry is an advert idea to try and attract more people to adopt our rescues - it was a fun idea :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3kuQrLUl0M

Today we meet a young dog that will soon be ready for a new home.

Meet Kosmo

Kosmo is an attractive black male German Shepherd. He's a very barky lad, sometimes in a playful manner, other times he barks aggressively. We feel eventually a home with an older, confident female is likely to be good for him.  

He is 2 years old and any prospective adopter will need to visit several times to gain his trust. However, he isn't quite ready for home at the moment. He's currently located in Cleveland.

He's certainly come along though:

https://youtube.com/shorts/qJzKubjl4MA

Discover more dogs looking for their furever homes here:

http://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/dogslist/

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 67 - Meet Roxy

With the excitement of Halloween done (although there's one special auction left - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364034132187) we resume our journey through 100 Days with 100 Dogs - unfortunately, it's now 120 dogs :-( Today we meet a lovely young lady who hopefully will be off to her new home soon.

Meet Roxy

This pretty girl is Roxy she is an 18 month old, black and tan short-coated female German Shepherd. She is good with dogs, cats, children and adults. In fact, she is an absolute sweetheart all round. 

Her family were devastated to part with her but it was circumstances beyond their control. They have done a wonderful job in raising Roxy. Thankfully we have a possible family lined up for her who have been waiting for a while so fingers crossed. 

It makes our lives so much easier when they come to us so well-adjusted. Roxy will still have to stay with us for a minimum of 1 month but how could anyone refuse her ❤

Roxy is currently located in Clacton, Essex. She hasn't been neutered yet as she's too young.

Discover more GSDs looking for their new homes on our website: 

http://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/dogslist/

Helping your puppy to Feel Good about scary stimuli

As part of a series of articles on caring for your puppy, expert dog behaviourist Lisa Hird from the Dog Behaviour Clinic provides advice on how to help your puppy Feel Good about the many things that you have around the home.

To learn more about Lisa's background, experience, qualifications and services visit her website: dogbehaviourclinic

STAGE ONE

1. Make it all Feel Good. Put your puppy on her mat or in her puppy den and give her a stuffed frozen Kong or similar long-lasting treat. Bring the vacuum cleaner into the same room as your puppy but DON’T TURN IT ON.

2. When she looks up at it, praise her. If she goes back to her Kong and does not seem bothered by the vacuum cleaner, move it a little closer to her.

3. If she does not move away, or show any anxiety, praise her.

4. Gradually move the vacuum cleaner closer and closer, as long as she is still showing signs that she is ok with it, until it is right next to her. If she sniffs at it, praise her (you can give her a tiny, tasty treat as well to make the experience feel even better).

5. Take the vacuum cleaner away calmly and put it away.

6. Leave her to finish her Kong then let her out of her puppy pen once she is calm.

7. If she shows any uncertainty at all during this process, move the vacuum cleaner further away from her but do not make a fuss of her. This kind of reassuring around worrying things creates anxious puppies – what she needs is an upbeat, cheery approach from you. As soon as she is eating her Kong and relaxed around the vacuum cleaner you can go back to step 2 and follow each step, always checking that she is calm and relaxed.

REMEMBER to leave the vacuum cleaner turned off throughout Stage one. Your puppy needs to adjust to it being silent at first so that she is not afraid of it.

STAGE TWO

1. Put your puppy in her puppy den and give her a stuffed frozen Kong.

2. Put the vacuum cleaner in another room, (possibly upstairs if you already know that your puppy is easily startled by loud noises) and turn it on.

3. Go into the room with your puppy and praise her if she continues chewing the Kong and shows no uneasiness about the noise of the hoover. 

4. If she is comfortable with the noise and continues chewing her Kong, move the hoovercloser to her room, but don’t bring it inside.

5. Before she finishes her Kong, turn the vacuum cleaner off. Leave it just outside the roomso that she can investigate it when she comes near it.

6. Let her finish the Kong and then let her out of her puppy den once she is calm.

7. Praise and give her a tiny, tasty treat if she approaches or touches the vacuum cleaner.

8. If she does look uneasy at any time, just crouch near her, and smile at her. Do not say anything. The instant she goes back to chewing her Kong, praise her, and give her a tiny, tasty treat to boost the Feel Good of the experience.

9. If she trembles, looks anxious, whines or tries to move away from you or the sound of the vacuum cleaner, turn your head away from her, count to 5, then go and move the vacuum cleaner further away into another room.

10. Come back into her room and repeat steps 1 -4. If the noise is still overwhelming her, go and turn the vacuum cleaner off, and repeat steps 5 and 6 of STAGE ONE. When you next repeat socialising with a vacuum cleaner, go back to the beginning of STAGE ONE for a couple of days.

11. You can then build-up to STAGE TWO again, but make sure the vacuum cleaner is several rooms away so that it isn’t too loud. It is very rare that a puppy has such an extreme response as this, and if she does, contact me so that I can help you with her response to noises.

STAGE 3

1. Repeat steps 1 to 7. This time, you can move the vacuum cleaner up and down outside the door to the room she is in. Remember to stop the exercise before she finishes her Kong.

2. If she looks at all uneasy, either move the vacuum cleaner further away, or turn it off. Try to remember not to fuss her or give her attention for being nervous. Then praise her when she can look calmly at the vacuum cleaner. 

STAGE 4

1. Repeat steps 1 to 7 but bring the vacuum cleaner inside the room where your puppy is eating her Kong. If she is comfortable, you can move it up and down a little bit inside the door, but do not bring it too close to her.

2. If she continues to ignore it, you can gradually move it closer to her, but NEVER have a vacuum cleaner closer than about 2 metres to a dog unless you can guarantee they are completely unbothered by it. They are noisy machines and dogs’ hearing is over 100 times more sensitive than ours, so very few dogs like vacuum cleaners. 

KEEP THE VACUUM CLEANER AWAY from your puppy if she is stressed by it and arrange to do the vacuuming when she is out of the house or in the car (supervised by somebody, with a stuffed frozen Kong) until she’s comfortable around it.

Noise-sensitive dogs can be de-sensitised to anything, but it does take time and it is vital that you take things very slowly with your puppy if she shows any uncertainty around loud noises.

You can use the above method with many things that you have around the home, such as:

• Washing machine – obviously, with stationary objects you need to move your puppy closer to them, rather than move the object!
• Dishwasher
• Hair dryer
• Wheelie bin
• Noises on the TV (this method is particularly good when you hear barking dogs on the TV)
• Door bell
• People dropping and breaking things – you can try this method with somebody dropping a saucepan lid, starting with them doing it in another room!

https://www.facebook.com/germanshepherddogwelfarefund

How You Can Help - Adoption

Like many rescues and shelters across the country, we are experiencing the busiest time in our nearly 50-year history. The pandemic, financial squeeze and a host of other factors have combined in a perfect storm. We are always appreciative of the generous support we receive and are often asked in what ways people can help. We do have a page that lists most of the options available, although it is a large and not very user-friendly page so we're starting a new regular feature to call out the individual opportunities and so make people aware of what they can hopefully engage in.

We're starting with the biggest and most important of all the ways to help and that's adopting our dogs.  Not only does this support our primary focus, but in these tight times, it helps free up resources and make the difference if we can rescue another dog or not. Many of our rescues require specific conditions for the dogs and we know that not everyone's circumstances allow them to adopt - much as they'd love to. Here everyone can help by sharing our posts about these dogs as far and wide as you can - the further we can reach the more likely we'll find a new home for another dog.

Below we have a short piece in text and image form to make it nice and easy to share on any platform.

ADOPTING

The ultimate goal for any of the dogs we rescue is to set them up in a new, loving home and so enable them to live the life they deserve and not the one they’ve suffered. We have an established process to ensure the best possible match between the dog and their new family. 

If the dog has complex medical needs then we can help with advice and financial support. If the dog has certain behaviours then appropriate restrictions will be required for the safety and comfort of you and the dog.

Taking in a dog and aiding them in rehabilitating into a new life is incredibly rewarding. If you’re interested in sharing this journey then you can learn more about the adoption process here:

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

Discover dogs looking for homes on our website:

www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/dogslist/

And on our Facebook group:

www.facebook.com/groups/gsdwfadoptions