How to prevent Shelter dogs...

To sum it up; puppy needs training!

Now, to be a bit more specific.   A lot of this is taken from information and sensible ideas I've heard in Seminars from Ian Dunbar, Sue Alsbi, Grisha Stewart, Sohpia Yin and others.

Why are puppies or dogs taken to rescues, shelters or left abandoned?  The simplest answer might be that the dog was to smart for the people who had them.   Probably an oversimplification, but to put it another way; they weren't taught what to do right.

Let's go through a scenario.  Puppy comes home.  It's cute, everyone has (one hopes) good intentions!  Duties are assigned and things get done the first week or two, then things get a bit hectic and puppy duties maybe get a bit lax.   Puppy starts getting bored, and chews things that he shouldn't be chewing.... Puppy gets put outside, or in the basement or in a crate even when people are around.  Puppy gets bored more, wants company, starts barking.   Outside, and the neighbours complain, so puppy goes into the basement.  In the basement, puppy has no socialization; someone goes down one day and puppy bites them either in play, or defense (you've just invaded his safe zone and are trying to do something he doesn't like).  Guess where the puppy ends up now; if it's lucky and the bite wasn't bad or on a child, to the pound, or worse.

How do we counter this then?

Give the puppy it's places (short and long term confinement areas) and things it can chew on (lots of stuffed kongs, bones toys, etc) right from day one.  Don't start after puppy starts chewing on something else, like furniture, shoes... you, etc.   Keep the puppy on a schedule that it will follow (as much as possible) for most of it's future life.  One of the dangers in my opinion of "Christmas" puppies is that people will tend to play with the puppy over the holiday and then all of a sudden, when everyone goes to school or work after a week, the puppy is left all alone!   Good recipe for separation anxiety problems or just general havoc.

The whole idea is to do this right from the start to prevent shelter dogs in the first place.  Education of people who are getting dogs should be the primary skill vets, trainers, breeders (of any sort be they for CKC/AKC etc, "backyard" or accidental) should insist people at least read a good puppy book.  Any of the professionals mentioned above have good books that would help.

What else can be done?

Socialization, socialization, socialization.   Most puppies are supper social when they are very young, but they don't stay that way.   I don't know how many times I've heard the phrase "My dog is socialized, it knows the family, and plays with the neighbour dog every day!"   Imagine yourself in a world were all you saw was your family, and the family pig.  Someone dressed in strange clothing comes along riding an elephant.   Tell me honestly what you'd think about this...

Puppies have to be socialized to as many people as possible (Ian Dunbar suggests at least 200 by the time they're 12 to 16 weeks old!).   Depending on when you go to puppy class (1st, 2nd or 3rd set or shots) you might be able to catch the window, or miss it entirely with the puppy for other puppies.  Let's be honest though; the dog is more likely to see other people than it is other dogs.  Socialization is hard to accomplish after 18 weeks of age.  At this time, puppies aren't receptive to new things and it takes longer for them to trust; but if they've had lots of socialization before that, they look at new people and go "OH!  That looks a bit like the other long haired, hat wearing, cane wielding person I saw before... They might be friendly, lets go find out!".  So, imagine what kind of attitude a puppy that has only seen the 3 neighbours, some family members all of the same age suddenly sees some stranger carrying a huge box, dressed in funny cloths with a hat and some strange contraption in his hand as well comes and knocks on the door!!! 

Babies play strange but why don't we think of puppies doing the same thing?  They just do it way earlier than human babies (remember the 5-9 year multiplier for dog age - by the time a puppy is 16 weeks (about 2 years in people time) it's in about the same age range [ed. I know it's closer to a year in babies, but the principle idea is the same]. 

2 primary things need to be done.  1) Provide the puppy with a home and environment where it can learn to do what is right so eventually it can be left out, or in a larger environment to feel safe in when you're not there.   2) Socialize the heck out of the puppy.  Concerning more with humans, then with other dogs.  There isn't a lot of reason why most puppies by the time they reach 6 months of age, baring a medical condition, shouldn't be capable of approaching any human nicely and quietly accepting (or even relishing) a nice pet on the head, or respecting people that don't want to do that for the puppy. 

I try my best to stay positive with people that bring their puppies to class after they are 18 weeks of age, but I wish I had a time machine to tell them to come when their puppy is much younger.  I wish vets would tell people that they could get a discount on services if they took their puppy to positive training classes (if I was a vet, I'd rather have puppies that could be handled with little fuss than one I had to get 3 or 4 assistants to hold down just so I could take blood).  I wish everyone who ever thought, or has had or is going to have a litter thinks to themselves, how can I make this puppies life happier? 

How do we prevent shelter and rescue dogs?   Do what's right for the puppy.

Mental Exercise

Throughout my time as a trainer and walker I've told people about mental exercise for their pups and dogs.   Why is mental exercise important?  Why is it important for us?   So we don't loose some of our abilities.  Granted, whenever we ask a dog to do something we're also asking for some degree of mental activity on their part because they don't speak human (although they understand it far better than we give them credit for - they even understand it better than we understand each other!).

Mental exercise in a dog can be anything from running random tricks or obedience drills to running full blown agility courses or even tracking, herding or other activities like that.  I always tell people that the reason border collie owners in the city take their dogs to the park 3 times a day for an hour at a time is to tire them out; the same amount of time giving the same dog mental exercise would tire them out too.

Treat games are a good way to tire a dog out -- numerous fancy treat dispensing toys can be used for this.  They can range from a pop bottle with a hole big enough for kibble to fall out in the neck filled with kibble, to fancy 40-60 dollar wooden puzzles (don't ask me how I know that some cost that much!).  The idea is that the dog has to work for it's food - which most of them love to do, once they realize what they're supposed to do.

Digging games, such as putting a toy in a pile of cloths/towels/rags and telling (esp. good for terrier) the dog to go get there toy after they've seen you bury it; once the dog gets good at it, you can keep them out of the room and then tell them to find the toy in one of numerous piles. 

Fetch/find games work the same way.  You could hide in a closet and tell the dog to come find you by just saying their name once while they're occupied somewhere else or with someone else.  

Lots of different games can be had, if you think about it.  If the dog is digging in the backyard, you could give them one place ONLY where they can dig, or find something for them to burn off that energy elsewhere.  Be creative, think like a dog; wag, and be happy!