100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 90 - Don't Let Ignorance Harm Your Dog

We've reached Day 90 of our mammoth trek through 100 Days with 100 Dogs and today we're reiterating an important message. Unfortunately, many aspects of dog welfare are poorly regulated if they are at all. A key service here is behavioural training and even more so for many of the dogs coming into our care. 

Like all fields of human endeavour, there is a constant flow of research and new learning. This is notably the case for animal behavioural training where outdated techniques have been found to be harmful to the animal's development. Positive reinforcement encourages your dog to follow the behaviour you want. Fear or pain-based methods can appear to provide swift results but research has shown that this merely suppresses the unwanted behaviour.

Animal training, therefore, is an evolving field and with complex emotional creatures like dogs, there is still much to discover while their minds may not be as complicated as ours they do share many traits and are much richer than many people realise. With that in mind, it's sensible to seek professional help with training and behavioural problems in the same way you would consult a vet for health issues. The important difference here is that vets are required to have specific training but this is not the case for trainers or many other services. In this context, it's alarming how many adverts (especially on social media) offering a shortcut to a dog training career.

From Lisa Hird, the behaviouralist we work closely with

The wrong type of training can ruin a dog. It can mess them up completely. Dogs do not think like us. Therefore, when trying to use a human method to solve a problem the dog doesn't learn what you hope he is learning. It may suppress the behaviour for a while but chances are it will resurface with a vengeance. 

When posts are put in the group about celebrity trainers and we make negative comments it is not personal against the poster.   Part of the reason for this group is to educate dog guardians in the hope that fewer dogs end up in our care. 

Proper dog training is based on science. I prefer to follow science rather than some whim or fad. Some of the celebrity trainers do not have adequate training themselves. They show problems being solved in the hour that the program is on. They don't mention all the behind-the-scenes work and the times it went wrong. There is no such thing as an overnight fix. They also don't mention the aftermath when the problem rears its ugly head worse than it was originally. Rehabilitation takes time. Often there is an emotional issue at the root of the problem.  The emotional state of the dog needs to be addressed.  If you are hollering and shouting and I tell you to calm down it won't work. 

If you are a dog pawrent you owe it to your dog to look into the science of dog training and how dogs learn. That is only fair. You chose to share your life with another species. 

If we make negative remarks about trainers that are not using science-based training it's because we care so deeply that dogs are not getting a fair deal ❤

From Debbie Hill, GSD Welfare Fund chairman

Someone recently asked me for advice about their dog. From what they were describing, it sounded like the dog was a bite risk.  This problem needed to be handled with care. It needed qualified behaviourist advice. I make no secret of the fact that I don’t trust many behaviourists. We see the problems they cause and the dogs that come to us because of it.   I suggested that they arranged a zoom consultation with Lisa Hird from Dog Behaviour Clinic. I made a follow-up call to see how it was going.  They informed me they hadn’t contacted Lisa as they couldn’t see how a zoom meeting would help. They needed someone to come and see the dog so they found one on Facebook!!!  I cringed. 

Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that an in-person consultation is best, I also know that the trainer/behaviourist cannot train your dog or do what is needed to help your dog. YOU need to do that. I also know that an in-person consultation with the wrong behaviourist can lead to your dog going into rescue or worse still, euthanasia. What the zoom consultation can do is give you the tools to work with the problem.   But it has to be the right advice and the right tools.   Some of the dogs we have come in can be very difficult. Lisa is always my “go-to”. Obviously, she cannot get to see every dog in our care so we have online discussions and it works really well.  Most of the dogs that are here with me are bite cases which could have gone horribly wrong. 

People often ignore the little problems with their dogs thinking they will grow out of them. The truth is they will grow into it. Then it escalates until it cannot be ignored. These problems do not need training advice. They need behaviour advice. There is a big difference. A zoom consultation with a behaviourist such as Lisa can save a dog's life. 

If you know someone having problems with a dog, what a great Christmas present an online consult with Lisa would be ❤️

We obviously love Lisa and if you frequent our groups especially our Friends of GSD Welfare group she is incredibly generous with her advice and support.

https://www.dogbehaviourclinic.co.uk/

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 89 - Such a Floozy

Day 89 of our 100 Days series sees and Tia's Pupdate is a little late on being posted so to prevent a bottom-biting, she can also provide our New Year's Eve entertainment. No matter what you have planned for this evening we hope that you enjoy a good start to the New Year - take care and be safe!

And now let's discover Tia's latest shenanigans :-)

Hello everypawdy! Tia here with a quick pupdate. It appears I’m having another one of those season things again. I quite like it because all the boys want to be my friend.   Rodney and Bruce don’t even want to go out for their walks as they don’t want to leave me.   

When I go out for my walk I go and see Charlie. The hooman says I’m a floozy because I push my backside up to his kennel. It makes Charlie happy though so I guess that's what she means. 

Naturally, I am still being good and helping the hooman whenever I can although she never appreciates it. Apparently, we will be getting presents for Christmas so I am excited to see what I get. The hooman says there are lots of dogs that won’t get presents at Christmas which is very sad. I’m hoping that Santa will bring them a new home.  I’m off to see Charlie now to be a floozy.  Love Tia xxx

Can you help provide a loving home for one of our dogs and give the ultimate gift for the New Year?

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

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 88 - Farewell to Roxy

For Day 88 in our 100 Days with 100 Dogs journey, we say a fond farewell to the lovely Roxy. There's definitely no better feeling than when one of the dogs finds a lovely home.

We're pleased to see that Roxy is already making herself comfy! We'd like to thank her new parents for offering a loving home and wish them all the best for the future.

Could you give such an amazing gift to one of our other dogs seeking their forever home?

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

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 87 - Thanks for the doggy pressies

Day 87 of our 100 Day journey is one of heartfelt thanks. On behalf of all the dogs in our care, we'd like to thank everyone for their generous donations which meant they all received a Christmas gift. As you can see from just a few we recorded they were gratefully received and as always we're humbled by everyone's generosity - thank you so much!

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 86 - Dog Rescue in Crisis

We've reached Day 86 on our 100 Days with 100 Dogs journey and as it's Boxing Day we wanted to take a step back and examine our current status. It's a bit of a lengthy post, but will aid the digestion of any large meals you may have eaten over the last day or two!

As a charity, our primary mission is to rescue German Shepherds across the mainland UK. To perform this mission we have three supporting pillars:

1. Rescue GSDs and place them in safe environments, temporarily at first but ultimately in adopted homes. If that isn't possible then they are kept in our permanent care as long as they are able to enjoy a fulfilling life. This often involves rehabilitation work to help them recover from whatever trauma they have been rescued from.
2. Fundraising activities and awareness activities to find suitable homes and pay for our mission. We are not supported in any way by government funds and are completely reliant on public donations.
3. Education and awareness. Dogs are complex creatures. They have their own personalities and physiologies. Whilst the level of research is far lower than for humans there has still been significant progress in recent years. And we want to ensure that this up-to-date knowledge is available.

In an ideal world, there would be no need for our services although even if people looked after their pets correctly circumstances can change and some form of safety net will always be needed. Whilst it would be lovely to assume that the government could provide such a system it would be naive to assume that they will do so - especially when potential existential threats to the human population are taken into account.

As many of you are aware the past few years have presented challenges to the point where we are teetering on the edge of what we can do. We are not alone in this situation and even much larger organisations are reporting issues handling the influx of dogs needing rescue. It's easy to look at the pandemic and other major situations in recent years and assume they are the cause for the crisis in dog rescue. There is no doubt about their massive impact but that only hides the fact that many key problems already existed.

A report has been put together to identify the key problems that need solving to enable dog rescue across the sector but also to minimise the need for our services as much as possible. Over the coming weeks, I will reach out to other rescue and welfare organisations to invite their feedback and support. I mentioned earlier that we shouldn't rely on the government to fix things however they can be instrumental in helping things change, To that end, the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (https://apdawg.co.uk/) already have the report and has swiftly responded by setting up a panel to review the issue. This will take place towards late February 2023 and I will share more details when I get them.

In the meantime please take a look at the document and comment with your feedback. I will reach out to as many rescues as I can, but if you are involved with a rescue or any appropriate organisation then do share this post and the document link with them. Note that this document isn't about solving the issues but making sure I have identified everything that needs consideration. Fixing problems is the next stage and will require lots of support!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRw-WQZubZe4oXnv-Xgn7F0OTkZE0h682zOJNxc3_SpjWPQrOuMiFhmFX2bl73V3JS22sEneDi5yaTF/pub

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

We hope everyone and their furry (and not-so-furry) companions are having a good day. Debbie has been busy capturing some of the dogs she looks after opening their presents so I'll edit some of that footage together as a Boxing Day treat. I'm also planning to post about one of the things we've been working on and on New Year's Day Debbie will post about what we're planning for 2023.

But today we would like to thank everyone who makes our mission possible. A big thank you to kennels which provide exemplary care to our dogs and always going the extra distance whenever needed. Thanks also to the vets we work with to make sure that the dogs are kept in the best possible health. A massive thank you also to the volunteers who keep things running including the committee members. Special thanks to Lisa Hird for coming on board and providing the expertise in aiding our behavioural training and rehabilitation.

And last but far from least, we'd like to tell you how much we appreciate the support we receive from you. From adopting dogs in desperate need of loving homes, donating money, time and gifts and even sharing our posts to gain awareness for our work. Supported by dedicated people like you we are able to continue making sure that vulnerable German Shepherds can live the life they deserve and not the one they've suffered.

In preparation for the New Year we have a new advert to help us spread awareness of our mission so please watch, like, comment and share:

https://youtube.com/shorts/09BCndj0gas

100 Days with 100 Dogs: Day 85 - Elda's First Christmas With Us

Day 85 of our journey through 100 Days with 100 Dogs and whilst you should never wish time away there are some exciting developments coming next year that we're ultra excited to share with you.

In the meantime let's reconnect with Elda. If you've not met her before poor Elda (her name was changed after joining us) spent two years in Police Custody thanks to her owner not doing as he was told. As you can imagine those two years weren't a pleasant experience for her but thankfully a judge released her to us rather than let her be put down. She is under a strict court order and so is under our chairman Debbie Hill's care.

Here's Debbie's latest update:

Saturday and Sunday were spent pretty much the same with me tossing treats into her run every time I passed. (Gaining her trust is happening at her pace. Attempting to force or shortcut the process will just make things worse. The damage to her took a long time and so does the rehabilitation). Lots of enrichment is available in her run. Most of the time now, she has changed from barking at me to a low, sad cry. Body language is still quite stiff and fearful. When I let her into her run this morning, she gave the “sad cry” but went straight to her snuffle mat that auntie Mary sent. 

This will be her first Christmas with us.

Even with the progress Elda is making, it is extremely unlikely she'll ever be suitable for general rehoming. Even so, she still gets to enjoy some of her life in a way she never could before just like the 30 or so other permanent residents we provide life long care for.

If you'd like to help dogs like Elda that we look after then please consider sponsoring one or more of them here:

https://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/product/sponsor-a-dog/