Paddington Pup's education

Paddington the Staffie pup is the latest pup to come into the North Clwyd Animal Rescue center. He came into the rescue at quite a crucial stage in his behavioural development. The first several months of a puppy's life creates the behavioural blue print for the dog the pup will grow up into.  This is why growing up in a rescue center environment presents big challenges and requires special considerations.
My advice to people taking on a puppy is to let it meet 100 people and 100 dogs calmly and politely  before the pup is 8 months old, with the bulk of this before they are 6 months old. In the rescue center environment this can be difficult as it requires a lot of time and arranged meetings with other well mannered polite dogs who can help teach them correct doggie behaviour.

Paddington got to meet many dogs and people during his stay at NCAR so his education was positive and will hopefully set him up for his progression into a family and continued education.
Fern the American Bulldog was a big help to Paddy, she was calm and considered providing Paddington with a good example to follow in all the situations they were in together.

Using older calmer dogs to help teach pups is something we try to do as often as possible at NCAR and we have had great success in this area. Very few of the well socialised and educated pups go on to develop behavioural problems, as opposed to under-educated dogs and/or socially unskilled pups who often develop behavioural issues.

some examples of such sessions...

Here Rhianna the lurcher taught these two collie pups both how to play chase games and also how to calmly explore their surroundings.

In this session the Welsh Corgi kept these 3 pups in order by not letting their play get too boisterous.

Big Jake got the excitable pup Dizzy to calm down and begin to consider things instead of just charging about.

Big Heidi also helped Dizzy by letting him know (in no uncertain terms) that jumping up at other dogs is not what you do!

Brittany the Staffie taught this staffie pup how to play without getting itself into trouble by being too rough.

This Beagle got this nervous pup playing by enticing it into some easy going chase games.

Chester the big easy going Akita gave Jasmine the chance to be around a big dog in a nice calm atmosphere without any worry of trouble.

Percy the tubby pup spent a lot of time with Kya the Staffie and Rhianna the Lurcher as these two grown ups played well and relaxed well together, Percy slotted right in with them.

Percy also went for walk with the less sociable Strider who taught him that not every dog wants to meet, greet and play! Sometimes just calmly walking together is enough.

Dumping puppys before they have had a chance of developing into well balanced, social and relaxed dog can cause huge behavioural problems in the not to distant future. At NCAR we'll continue to try and keep these abandoned pups on the right path so they don't end up with issues later and dumped back on our doorstep! Of course people often take on puppies with the best intentions but don't provide the youngster the education and social skills required to become a socially acceptable dog, issues unacceptable to humans develop and the dog ends up at rescues like NCAR.

Taking on a puppy means you are taking on all the responsibility for guiding that pup into a well balanced, well mannered dog. This means you have to show your pup how to behave in every situation it will ever be involved in. Also, how to behave in all possible scenarios they might be involved in. 

How should they behave in all of these situations and scenarios? With a calm adaptability that gives them the confidence not to react negatively when something unexpected happens.

If all puppies received the training, education and quality life style they deserve from an active positive family, they would grow up into fantastic companions making rescue centers such as NCAR almost empty!

Remember; a dog isn't a domestic pet until you (the owner) domesticate it!

Bonding through walking

The simplest way for dogs to bond with each other and with people is an easy relaxed group walk. At North Clwyd Animal Rescue we try hard to walk the dogs together as often as possible so they can practice their social skills and enjoy the company of other dogs.
If dogs aren't keen on other dogs this is often the best way to show them how to be calm around other dogs, and from there they can become curious and start to interact with the dogs which once scared them!

Del out with Snowy (who's now adopted)

Long term resident Strider going for a stroll with the lovely Rhianna

Staffies Sasha and Rebecca

Quiet Del and the fantastic Fern meet whilst on a walk

Fern also gets to go exploring with Rebecca

Kya (now adopted), Rhianna, Penny (adopted) and Juliet (adopted) loved their group walks

Socalising dogs in group walks does take a bit of organising and it doesn't happen as often as we'd like at NCAR, so any volunteers who would like to help out with this type of activity, just let us know!

Adam - www.K999.biz

Meeting Strider

Strider is an older Lab and has been a resident at North Clwyd Animal Rescue for a few long years now. He is a calm, sweet and affectionate lad whose big loves in life are walking, chasing balls, and curling up with you for some relaxed attention.

Unfortunately for Strider, during his time before the rescue he learned to distrust strangers and he actively discourages unknown people from trying to stroke him.  This is a tricky issue to resolve in a rescue centre environment, and is a sure fire way of ensuring Striders chances of finding a forever home are very slim.  It is very rare for a potential adopter to want to spend a few hours with a rescue dog in order to gain it’s trust before they can start to build a close and trusting relationship, and this is exactly what Strider needs.

In order to get a good idea of how long Strider takes before he is ready to accept affection and relax with a stranger I took him out for a walk.  Before this, Strider not only saw me as a stranger but has been actively avoiding me or acting defensively near me over the years I’ve volunteered at the rescue, so I was a good test candidate!

Here is the video of how I got on.....

Regular volunteers at NCAR who spend time with Strider have a wonderful relationship with him, he walks well, loves playing fetch the ball and is only too happy to sit on the grass with them and chill out in the sun.

Strider hasn't had much chance to socialise with other dogs, so he pretty much just ignores them. I will continue to socialise him and hopefully he will see that he can have fun with other dogs and expand his horizons (and re-homing chances!).

Here he is offlead with the fantastic Rhianna....

Anybody interested in giving this old boy a few good years in the comfort every dog deserves, be willing to spend quality time with Strider to earn his trust. This means, relaxing walks, a few treats along the way and maybe a few ball games to finish. The key is to not force Strider into interacting with you, or force your affection upon him, just enjoy his company and wait until you have proved yourself trustworthy. The long term rewards will be well worth the small amount of initial effort.

Also, anybody interested in helping Strider, or improving his quality of life, in the meantime would make a big difference to him. Offering to take him on walks or play sessions to show him strangers aren't all scary or will hurt you would be fantastic. Contact me and we can work on introducing you both up at the rescue and start a new mutually rewarding friendship. Adam at www.K999.biz

Striders photo profile - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncar/sets/72157631575856024/

Striders NCAR profile - http://www.ncar.org.uk/portfolio/strider/

Christmas Open Day

Just a quick reminder that our annual Christmas Open Day will take place on Sunday 2nd December 2012 with stalls, Father Christmas and much much more to see.

Hope to see you there between 11am and 4pm.

A focus on Penny

Penny is a stunning 2 year old ‘red’ Staffie who came into North Clwyd Animal rescue as a stray. She arrived very nervous and suffers from panicky stress in her kennel. I started taking her out with other dogs to hopefully help her gain some confidence and relax a bit. Penny was simply fantastic; she was very comfortable in the company of other dogs and showed great manners and social skills. Whilst out on group walks I was able to clip her lead to my belt and forget about her as she just trotted along next to me amongst the other dogs. When she was let off lead to play with the other dogs she once again proved to be a great dog. Penny showed great manners and skills whilst interacting with the other dogs and even when she had to deal with 2 or 3 pushy dogs at once, she still kept calm and never caused any trouble. Check out the video...

I took Penny and Kya on a day out to Delamere Forest to meet up with several other Staffies from the StaffieZone group (http://staffiezone.boardonly.com/forum) and spend a few hours walking in the woods there. Penny handled meeting the several staffiezone Staffies brilliantly and joined in with their pack as if she’d walked with them all her life. She met people and dogs of all shapes, sizes and types and each time greeted them in her usual friendly way.  We even encountered some rather forceful dogs (the type who often create fights) but she did a great job appeasing these dogs and prevented any trouble erupting! She also handled the car journey from the rescue centre to the forest, which was close to an hour, very well.

here is a video of their day...

Not only does Penny love being with dogs, she adores people! She does fancy herself as a bit of a lapdog and is a big fan of curling up next to you (or on you!) as soon as you sit down. She is ever so friendly and a great credit to her breed. She has massive potential and as yet has received very little of even the most basic training.

The staff and I will continue to mix her as much as possible at the rescue centre, which will be made easier by the fact she has become one of my helper dogs. Due to her calm friendly temperament I do use her to help problem dogs overcome their issues, especially dog aggression. She has already been involved helping with several such cases and behaved perfectly each time. The irony is of course she is the one who needs somebody to help her by simply giving her a chance!

Although happy out of her pen she still really struggles being in her kennel, which is hard to witness as she is such a good all round dog she would be a great family companion and really shouldn't be stuck in a rescue centre.

Adam – www.K999.biz

Recall with deaf Joey

Joey the deaf terrier is having a tough time coping back in rescue so I though I'd do some recall training with him. Obviously, being deaf makes recall work a bit tricky, so I bought a laser pointer along with me to help. I put some sausage on the floor and flashed the laser over it until Joey noticed it, hopefully getting Jo to associate the light with the sausage. We did this a couple of times then started increasing the distance I beamed the laser from the sausage. Joey learnt very quickly and began chasing the laser back from up to 8m (the length of the flexy lead) for his treat. He also did well with other dogs distracting him, he still came back with the laser.
The next session will be off lead! Adam - www.K999.biz

Joey's photo profile -http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncar/sets/72157630880455682/with/7642366468/

North Clwyd Animal Rescue - http://www.ncar.org.uk/

New Website Launched

The new website was launched yesterday and is now up and running, with more content being added all the time. The new website is much easier to navigate and we hope you like it.

Why not road test it today?

Army Sniffer Dog gets posthumous award

An Army explosives sniffer dog who died hours after his handler was killed in Afghanistan has been given a posthumous award.

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, 26, was shot by insurgents on March 1 last year while on patrol in Helmand Province with his dog Theo, who died of a seizure shortly afterwards.
The pair, who were said to have been inseparable, found a record 14 Taliban roadside bombs and weapons caches in five months.
Their role was to provide search and clearance support, uncovering hidden weapons, improvised explosive devices and bomb-making equipment.
Springer spaniel Theo was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal , known as the animals' Victoria Cross, at Wellington Barracks, London.
The award is said to be the highest accolade any animal can receive in recognition of devotion to duty in saving human life while serving in military conflict. It was established by the veterinary charity's founder, Maria Dickin, in 1943.
L/Cpl Tasker, from Tayport in Fife, was posthumously honoured with an MBE in September last year. He served in The Royal Army Veterinary Corps, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment.
His mother, Jane Duffy, described Theo as her son's "best mate" and said they were together "24/7" in Afghanistan.
She went on: "Liam got his mention in dispatches, so it's lovely that Theo is getting his PDSA Dickin Medal and he's being recognised for his bravery as well.
"They'll be watching us and they'll be so proud. I just wish they were here to get it themselves. Theo and Liam saved so many lives out there."
Theo made the most confirmed operational finds by any arms and explosives search dog in Afghanistan to date.
On one occasion, he is said to have discovered an underground tunnel leading to a room in which insurgents were suspected of making bombs and hiding from coalition forces.

TV outcry with his unconventional techniques to 'rehabilitate' ill-disciplined dogs.

• Alan Titchmarsh grilled his guest Cesar Millan on the 'totally unacceptable' way that he trains dogs. 
• Members of the public had earlier called for the show to be cancelled because of 
• Millan's 'barbaric' methods.But after the show opinion was split over whether Titchmarsh was too 'abusive' to his guest
• 
  

By PAUL SIMS Daily Mail

As television’s mild-mannered horticulturalist turned daytime chat-show host, Alan Titchmarsh rarely courts controversy.

But when he invited ‘dog whisperer’ Cesar Millan to appear as a guest it was never going to please everyone.

US-based Millan’s unconventional training methods to ‘rehabilitate’ ill-disciplined dogs, including physically attacking

them, using electric shocks and spikes on collars, have split public opinion worldwide and led many to brand him ‘barbaric’.

Scroll down for video

Alan Titchmarsh and Dog whisperer Cesar Millan during the heated interview on the 'The Alan Titchmarsh Show' yesterday

Controversy: Millan's methods with training dogs have split opinion

A wave of protests was unleashed even before The Alan Titchmarsh Show went out on ITV yesterday afternoon. 

More than 1,000 people joined a Twitter campaign demanding Millan’s appearance be cancelled. Production staff were inundated with calls and Titchmarsh was bombarded with hundreds of emails, while a Facebook page set up by protesters attracted 1,600 followers.

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And when animal welfare campaigners threatened to disrupt the live show, extra security staff were drafted in. 

Alan Titchmarsh, left, gave his guest, dog whisperer Cesar Millan, right, a tough grilling on his show

Although Titchmarsh, 63, refused to cancel the interview, he took on his guest in an uncharacteristically confrontational style.

TWEETERS HAMMER TITCHMARSH

‏

@iChristianMark: Alan titchmarsh clearly has no idea what he's talking about. Cesar Milan has so much respect and affection for dogs.

‏@JenLant: Shocked to see how Alan Titchmarsh treated @cesarmillan on his tv show. Cesar is nothing but professional and works well with dogs. 

‏@floatygoat: Alan Titchmarsh interviewing Cesar Milan was so frustrating. Less of an interview, more of a series of stupid accusations. 

‏@kjvjude113: Titchmarsh was a complete a***

‏@bigGstacey: very frustrating, the guys has clearly never watched dog whisperer.... I wana punch titchmarsh now. #mynanwillhateme 

@ShelleyWolfson: Appalling treatment by Alan Titchmarsh on @ITV of @cesarmillan. Where is your evidence? I have seen nothing but good from Cesar. 

Titchmarsh told Millan: ‘You punish dogs, you hit them. I’ve seen you punch a dog in the throat to get it to behave and to most people, like myself, I would say that is totally unacceptable as a way of training a dog.’

An unsettled Millan replied: ‘Well obviously I would respectfully disagree with that. It’s not a punch, it’s a touch.’

Titchmarsh countered: ‘I watched the video of it and if somebody touched me like that I would be hurt. You went for the throat and you punched the dog back and the dog bit you and held on to your hand.

‘Having watched a lot of boxing matches it looked like something Henry Cooper would deliver.’

Millan again insisted that it was nothing more than a touch. ‘But you also work with electric shocks and collars and spikes on collars that really hurt them,’ continued Titchmarsh.

‘You know, this is pretty barbaric treatment. What’s your reasoning for treating dogs like this?’
Millan insisted that his methods were simply used to ‘snap the (dog’s) brain out of it’.

After the interview opinion on Twitter and other social media was divided, with some backing Titchmarsh, while others rounded on him for being ‘abusive’. 

In a statement read out on air, the RSPCA said: ‘Adverse training techniques which have been seen to be used by Cesar Millan can cause pain and fear for dogs and may worsen their behavioural problems.

‘The RSPCA believes that using such techniques is unacceptable, nor are they necessary to change dog behaviour for the better when other dog trainers use reward-based methods to train dogs very effectively.’

VIDEO: Titchmarsh savages 'dog whisperer' Cesar Millan on the chat show

Controversy: Mexocan-born Millan with one of the animals he has trained

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Puppy Smuggling Foiled in Dublin

A second attempt within a week to traffic a large number of puppies bred in illegal Irish puppy farms to the UK has been foiled.

Some 56 dogs were discovered in a van at Dublin Port.

The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) said this brought the total number of pups seized to 92 in just three days.

Chief executive Brian Gillen warned people buying a puppy to be vigilant against trafficking.

"This second seizure in a week has to make people aware of the problems of buying from an unreliable source," said Mr Gillen.

"Do not buy from the boot of a car or a van and always arrange to meet the puppy with its parents at the breeders home - the conditions the mother is living in is a good indication of the health and welfare of the animals."

The dogs, which are now being cared for by the DSPCA, were discovered in a transit van on Thursday.

In a separate case earlier this week, Gardai uncovered 36 animals in two cars in the Coolock area of Dublin.

Two men involved were arrested in connection with animal cruelty. They were subsequently released.

The latest seizure of dogs includes mainly small breeds, aged between six and 10 weeks. All the animals are being examined by DSPCA vets but a spokesman said most appeared to be in good condition.

Wish12

Just a reminder to everyone that is collecting the tokens for us in the Daily Post that the more tokens we collect the greater the share of the £25,000 we will get so please, please ask your family and friends to collect the tokens for us as well.

Any questions can be forwarded to me so if you have questions please Click Here

Dog Wardens get Award

Denbighshire's dog warden team has been awarded the RSPCA’s gold footprint award for its work with stray dogs.

The Community Animal Welfare Footprint Awards was introduced by the RSPCA in 2008 to recognise and promote those that have made an extra effort and gone beyond basic service requirements to ensure higher welfare standards in the service they provide.

This is the first time that the council has applied for the award and is now entitled for the next 12 months to use an accredited logo on its website and publications.

The council also acknowledged the support of the North Clwyd Animal Rescue for their support, Denbighshire's stray dogs are brought to North Clwyd Animal Rescue until their owners are found or until they are re-homed.

Wrexham County Borough Council has all been awarded a Platinum footprint award for maintaining their gold standard in the stray dogs category for the past five years, since the Community Animal Welfare Footprint (CAWF) scheme was launched.

The RSPCA CAWF scheme is split into four main categories – animal welfare principles, contingency planning, housing and stray dogs. Depending on the standards of the level of service, either: gold, silver or bronze footprints are awarded.

Since the schemes’ inception in 2008, the Stray Dog Footprint award has been the most popular, with achievers inspiring others to develop and improve their service. The main aim of the Stray Dogs Footprint is to encourage local councils to improve services.

Please Help!!!

Just a quick reminder about the Daily Post  Wish 2012 tokens.

If you want something to keep the tokens on you can download a form off the internet by following this link. Collection Sheet

If anyone wants one sending by post or e-mail or require any more information then please Click Here

This is running until 19th November 2012 and the more tokens we collect the greater the share of the £25,000 we get so please get collecting for us now.

We need YOUR help

The Daily Post are giving £25,000 away to local not-for-profit groups.

We need your help to collect as many tokens as you can to give us a chance to gain a share of that £25,000

Wish tokens are now being printed in the Daily Post Wales every day until Monday, 19 November 2012. All you have to do is cut them out to send them to us. Don't forget that every single token could mean more money for us, so please, get collecting today!

The tokens look like this and are printed 6 days a week, so please ask your friends to collect the tokens for us as well, it can make a huge difference to the rescue.

For more details of the Wish 2012 promotion please visit the Daily Post website 

Any questions about where to send these tokens - Click Here

Rhianna's rehab at NCAR

When dogs come into the rescue as as stray it takes time for staff to get to know them, they are not at their best as they are confused, anxious and stressed in a kennel environment.

Adam Hobbs is a behaviorist who works with the animals at NCAR he video's the work he does and it clearly shows the difference he makes, by working with them it helps give the dogs confidence and makes it easier to find them new homes. Adam will always help new adopters to make sure that the dogs settle well

Rhianna is shown in this video responding to him and going from a very nervous dog to the great dog she really is.

Rhianna's Rehab at North Clwyd Animal Rescue

New Web site coming soon

The North Clwyd Animal Rescue website is undergoing a massive overhaul and the new web site is almost ready so keep watching and be one of the first to visit the new site

Pet Pamper & Dog Show

The weather held for our re-scheduled Dog Show on the 23rd September, the previous date having been a total washout. It was decided that we would combine the Dog Show with the Pet Pamper Day, the result - a great day for all. It turned out to be one of our best days ever for attendance. So much so that we ran out of parking space and had to make arrangements for additional parking at an adjoining farm, so thank you all for your support, we hope you enjoyed the day and hope to see you at out Christmas Open Day on 2nd December 2012.

Foster Homes become Forever Homes

Kennels flooded 

A week ago NCAR was struggling with flooding, one kennel block was flooded and we had to make an appeal for temporary foster homes for some of the dogs over the following 24 to 48 hours.

The response to the appeal was overwhelming, the phone never stopped and about 40 dogs went out that day.

One week later and not all the dogs have been returned, instead of returning the dogs some actually found their forever homes. In four cases these dogs made such an impression on the temporary foster family that the temporary foster homes became home for life.

A happy ending to what was at the time a disaster.

Floods

As you will have seen there was flooding at the Rescue on Monday, it was worse than last time and it was shown on the BBC and ITV News that evening. This time things were worse with over 20 dogs having to be fostered out over a period of 24 to 48 hours due to their kennel being flooded.
We asked via the media and Facebook for temporary foster homes and were completely overwhelmed by the response, the phone never stopped, as soon as we hung up from one call it rang immediately, a fantastic response. It is at times of crisis that you really find out how kind and helpful people can be.
The car park was under 1ft (30cm) of water with only our 4x4 being able to carry people and animals in and out of the rescue. Following an appeal on the television we had a fantastic response with companies offering to help solve the problem on a permanent basis, help we desperately need and hopefully now future problems will be avoided, depending of course on costs.

To help with the flooded car park we had pumps offered and a team of Marine Biologists from Anglesey, some 60 miles away, battled the weather to bring pumps to clear the car park and allow access.

We are very grateful to everyone that responded to the appeal and offered help in one way or another, it was an absolutely fantastic response, even people that had not seen the news or were on Facebook contacted us because a husband, wife, daughter or whatever had seen it there and rang them to offer help.


So a massive thank you to everyone, we were amazed at the response, diolch yn fawr i bawb.

Flooded - Again!!!!

 For the second time this year the Rescue has been flooded with water running through the kennels in New Barns. About 8am this morning we saw the waters rise until the car park flooded and the water started pouring through New Barns once again, this time we had to evacuate some of the dogs whilst we put others on pallets to keep them off the floor. The situation has not improved ands following a fantastic response we are fostering some 20 to 25 dogs out to temporary foster homes until the kennels are useable again.

BBC Wales News