Jan 22, 2010 1:18 PM Posted by Carol Erickson
I got a letter from Katherine who wanted me to address her concerns about barking…the barking of her neighbor’s dogs, bark collars and what to do. She wants me to do it on this blog. Her wish is my command!!
She obviously wants to keep good relations with this rowhouse neighbor woman and doesn’t want to give her address or other details. But in a nutshell, the 3 dogs apparently bark in the morning and at night. They bark so loudly that Katherine can’t hear her phone. Neighbors cross the street when they see the woman coming with the dogs and no one wants to bring up the issue of the barking noise.
First, barking is a perfectly normal dog behavior, but in excess it is likely triggered by boredom, loneliness, separation anxiety, territorial behavior, and/or learned, reinforced behavior (postman goes away, neighbors keep moving by the window, etc). There is a terrific link below that will discuss excess barking, what to do, and some great advice on whether bark collars cause more problems than they treat. Check it out!!
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/barking.pdf Jan 14, 2010 12:01 PM By Carol Erickson
One or two people can make such a difference, and it doesn’t have to be a difficult or hard to execute idea. A volunteer at the city animal shelter ACCT and at the PSPCA saw the needs for beds for the dogs…to get them off the floor. Some of the ACCT dogs have been there over 200 days. All you have to do it get some little doggie off the floor and into a bed is click on the link below. It is tax deductible and provides immediate benefit. We want them in a soft kennel bed now…and sleeping in a human’s bed as soon as possible.
http://bedsforshelterdogs.weebly.com
Jan 9, 2010 7:52 PM Posted by: Carol Erickson
At the start of this new decade, let your dogs prove what good citizens they are…or would like to be! Let them fulfill their ‘college’ dreams!! The PSPCA is offering Therapy Dog International (TDI) evaluation and certification!! You know that therapy dogs are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, schools, and those with learning difficulties. Well, the PSPCA can help make your dog into a therapy dog. Classes designed by their director of animal training and behavior (Nicole Larocco) will teach owners how it is done…and of course all training is positive! You have a choice of classes….from one day seminars to six week programs.
PUP-101: Puppy Kindergarten Class (six sessions):
Start your puppy off on the right paw with this class designed to teach basic commands, including sit, down, stay, come and leave-it, as well as polite leash manners and greetings with people and other dogs. The class also incorporates basic agility training in order to build the puppies’ confidence. This class is open to all dogs under six months of age and small breed dogs (under 35 pounds) under nine months of age.
-MORE-
Add One / Pennsylvania SPCA Winter Training Classes
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
January 20, 27 and February 3, 10, 17, 24
Professor: Nicole Larocco, CPDT (Certified Professional Dog Trainer)
Saturdays at 10 a.m.
January 23, 30 and February 6. 13. 20. 27
Professor: Dan Meller, ABCDT (Animal Behavior College Dog Trainer)
Tuition: $75 or $65 for Pennsylvania SPCA members
DOG-101: Adult Basic (six sessions):
This adult basic class is designed to teach adult or adolescent dogs foundation-level obedience, including the commands sit, down, stay, come, leave-it, as well as polite leash manners and greetings with people and other dogs. Problem solving and troubleshooting for basic nuisance behaviors will be addressed as needed. Basic agility training will also be incorporated to build the dogs’ confidence. Treats and positive reinforcement techniques are used to teach good manners. This class is open to all dogs over six months of age.
Wednesdays at 7:45 p.m.
January 20, 27 and February 3, 10, 17, 24
Professor: Nicole Larocco, CPDT
Saturdays at 11:30 a.m.
January 23, 30 and February 6. 13. 20. 27
Professor: George Todt, ABCDT
Tuition: $75 or $65 for Pennsylvania SPCA members
DOG-102A: Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Therapy Dog International (TDI) Preparation Class (Seven Sessions):
This class will prepare you and your dog to take the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Canine Good Citizen Test, a certification program designed to reward dogs that have good manners at home and in the community, and the Therapy Dog International Test. This class will focus on practicing all the exercises included on the tests. The final session will include taking the test for CGC certification on Thursday, March 4, 2010.
Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
January 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25 and March 4
Professors: Nicole Larocco, CPDT and Beth Strecker, CPDT
Tuition: $100 or $85 for Pennsylvania SPCA Members
Add Two / Pennsylvania SPCA Winter Training Classes
DOG-102B: Canine Good Citizen Test (One Session):
All dogs that pass the test will receive a special tag for their collar, a CGC patch, and have their name listed in the AKC’s record archives. You can take the class whether or not your dog has attended classes at the Pennsylvania SPCA. Pit bulls and pit bull mixes take the test for free!
Thursday, March 4.
Please call 215.426.6304 x259 for an appointment or further details
Evaluator: Beth Strecker
Tuition: $25; Pit bulls and pit bull mixes take the test for free!
DOG-102C: Therapy Dog International Test (One Session):
The Therapy Dog International (TDI) Test is a certification that will enable your dog to perform canine therapy at area hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities.
Saturday, March 6, 2010. Please call for appointment
Evaluator: John Bickel
Tuition: $25
Good Dog U class sizes are limited and pre-registration is required. For more information on all Pennsylvania SPCA training courses, including how to enroll, visit www.pspca.org, call the Good Dog U registrar at 215.426.6304 x 259, e-mail training@pspca.org, or stop by the Pennsylvania SPCA headquarters at 350 E. Erie Ave. in Philadelphia weekdays from 1p.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please include your name, phone number and the course in which you want to register. Dec 6, 2009 8:58 AM Posted by: Carol Erickson
Try to take a look at these dogs that have been in the city animal shelter for 100 plus days. The staff loves these guys and gals and THEY NEED TO GET OUT NOW!! Please spread the word about these dogs that are in a shelter through no fault of their own. For more information on the dogs CLICK HERE Dec 1, 2009 11:24 AM By Carol Erickson
Holiday time and for many of us it is a time to lavish attention on those who mean the most to us…our pets!!!! Here is a fun way to do it and help out other animals that don’t have families. Wednesday Night, Dec. 2, between 6 and 9 pm, the King of Prussia Mall is having PET PHOTO NIGHT. (Bloomingdales Court, lower level, at the Santa station).
They have asked me to host it, and I am thrilled to do it! Five dollars from every photo taken with your pet on Santa’s knee, or at his black booted feet, will go to the Montgomery County SPCA. They will also be there with a few adoptable animals and a board of pictures of other animals that are homeless and hoping for their only family. I will also be bringing copies of my children’s book NOT A USED DOG, AT ALL to sign and sell. The profits from any sales will also go to the Montgomery Co. SPCA. If you can’t get there but would like a copy of the book (I think you will love it and the great photos and message), head to www.NotAUsedDogAtAll.com. If you buy it between now and Saturday, the proceeds will also go to the Mont. Co. SPCA. I’ll write more about the book in a separate email. For now, hope to see you and your pets (they have to be on leashes or carriers) at the mall!! Nov 15, 2009 10:20 PM
Posted by: Carol Erickson
Okay, this is unbelievable, but true. Read to the end!! I’ve seen the pictures and corresponded with the owner of the dog…great people.
Here it is in a nutshell… newlyweds in an apt. in Bensalem leave their dog in the apartment, with instructions to the complex that if anyone comes to fix anything, THE RENTERS HAVE TO BE CALLED FIRST BECAUSE OF THE DOG. Well, they weren’t home, they weren’t called, but their boxer Lucy was home. The maintenance man props open an outside apartment hallway door, unlocks the apartment door and Lucy the boxer takes off in fright, right through the open doors.
FOR TEN DAYS the owners look for Lucy. Flyers put up in the apartment are taken down by the apartment management, who tells them: ‘guess we don’t have to call you first now’. But friends and other people join the search; Lucy is seen around the Neshaminy Mall, but no one can get there before she takes off again…thinner and thinner and more desperate. Finally, after miserable weather and no food and nights out alone, her owners, last weekend, SPOT HER!! They call her name…she comes toward them…and then as she gets closer…the wife screams at their baby’s horrendous condition. That scares Lucy..who takes off…toward the turnpike…WHERE SHE IS HIT BY A CAR.
But she is ALIVE…and rushed to the vet, where she is treated. Lucy lives…a 45 pound dog down to 21 pounds in 10 days. She is recovering at home (or rather the in-laws home) and the owners aren’t going to let this happen to anyone else. They have contacted a lawyer to try to get Lucy’s Law going…a law that would require apartment management to call first before entering an apartment with a dog in it.
This story has more twists than a roller coaster, but it ended great…and is a reminder of how dedicated some pet parents are. I wish all animals had a special person to be their guardian angel, as these people were for Lucy. And this apartment management needs a giant wake up call for sensitivity and training before and after this event. Oct 28, 2009 2:03 PM  Henry Wet. Cold. Thin. Afraid. Alone. But not alone.
There are so many dogs like Henry, the dog that Cares4Pets volunteers rescued
from City Line Avenue
on Saturday in that chilly downpour.
Henry needs a lot of groceries and a
warm soft bed. Overcrowded, financially strapped shelters really can't
meet his needs because they are meeting so many other dogs' needs. So
Cares4Pets is hoping to find a good foster or adoptive family for this sweet
sweet boy. He is an American Staffordshire Terrier (check out his picture...and
his backbone..you can count every bone).
This rescue is one of the many great
groups trying desperately to stop the abuse and neglect so many animals face.
Henry will be at the Adopt-A Boxer Rescue event this weekend in Rosetree Park,
Media,
PA. (they didn't include the date
or time...you can get that at cares4pets@hotmail.com) You can
also donate (tax deductible) for this boy and others just like him at
www.cares4pets.org or
Cares4Pets, PO Box 31942,
Philadelphia, PA
19104. Like all
animal groups, they need towels and blankets, etc. There are lots of ways
to help, even if you can't take the dog into your home.
Carol Erickson
Oct 18, 2009 2:15 PM
Posted By: Carol Erickson
Having a passion in life is a real gift. I hear that from people who don’t have a passion in life. They tell me how lucky I am to have one, and I agree- mostly. But passion is not all pleasure. A passion is something that you care about above and beyond yourself; it transcends the moment and is a constant interest for years and years. Spending time doing the thing you are passionate about or learning more about it is not a choice, it is something you just do naturally, that you are almost driven to do.
Animals and their welfare are my passion. I don’t question why it is…it just is. But with that passionate concern for animals comes the price of the gift – the pain of knowing about the stupid, cruel, thoughtless things that stupid, cruel, thoughtless people do to animals. The sad animal stories that we hear on the news can actually hurt. It is a powerless feeling to not be able to change many of these situations because the laws prevent it, you can’t get there, or it is too late. If you’re reading this, you probably know exactly what I mean. So we try to make life better for our own animals and try to make life better for animals that are on the receiving end of the worst of human behavior. Often it’s not easy, and often it’s not fun caring so much. But when a passion finds you, you pay attention and pay the price of the gift. Oct 10, 2009 11:14 PM By Carol Erickson
Go into any shelter (and I hope you do, to adopt, volunteer, foster, donate money and supplies) and you will see row upon row of boxy, eager faces. These are the pitbulls that, through no fault of their own, have found themselves literally on death’s door as they take their chances on getting either a home or a death sentence. The myths and truths of these dogs are complex and misunderstood. The bottom line is, this intelligent breed with the big heart, needs a reputation makeover. To the rescue, to do just that, PAWS, Phila. Animal Welfare Society. They have started the Save-A-Bull Initiative. The goal is to educate people about these very adoptable dogs, offer training advice, and tell the happy stories of homeless to homed pitties. Head to www.bulladelphia.org for more info on individual adoptable dogs, pitbull friendly events, businesses, services. As the great folks at PAWS say….they won’t make it without you. Also, make plans to go to the PAWS Mutt Strut on Oct. 31 at FDR Park. Look at Pets (and pet events) on this CBS3 website for the times and other events.
Also on Oct. 29, at Buzzy’s Bow Wow Meow (701 Montgomery Ave.) Narberth, PA, 610-617-3300, a great seminar called "Punish the Deed Not the Breed", the truth about pit bulls. They too are hoping that education will save pitbull lives. Sep 12, 2009 9:10 PM Posted by: Carol Erickson
I was in the elevator yesterday with an out of breath, wet co-worker. I asked him what was going on (he has a very demanding job), and he said he had just gone home on his lunch hour as usual to walk his 14 year old dog. He said “She can’t hold it very long anymore”, and he doesn’t want to stress her out. So he does the subway juggle, hoping to time the rides just right to get home, walk his dog, give her a hug, and race on back to the station. He does this every day. Every lunch hour “goes to the dogs”. Now THIS is the guy who deserves the roar of the crowd, who deserves to have his name on a jersey, who deserves 1.6 million, who deserves, but won’t need, 2nd chances. What he gets instead is a chance to scoop up after his dog, get hit with a wagging tail, and the opportunity to be looked at with the purest love ever ...from the eyes of his dog.
To all of you who skip lunches or dinners out, or vacations, or change your plans because your dog needs you, you are the real heroes. You are doing the right thing, even when no one telling you to, and it takes a very special person to do that. | |
