Di-Di Dance

There's a reason why puppies are so adorable. Our foster homes are discovering that reason as they struggle with the lack of sleep, the mess, and the expense of pups with intestinal issues.

For some reason, there's always a stage with just about every pup where food just starts to go right through them. Whether it has to do with the fact that dogs in general (and retrievers in particular) have rather indiscriminate tastes and will eat almost anything they can swallow, just part of the maturation of their immune systems or something else entirely is hard to say. It just is. And "it" is a mess.

I wish I could do more to help other than meager words (CAUTION: This advice is not meant to counter anything your vet tells you to do), but for what it's worth...

• Make buckets of white rice - store it in single serving portions in the freezer;

• Keep cans of pumpkin (not pie pumpkin - just pumpkin) in your cupboard and mix with the rice. My vet recommended this as a natural form of fiber. I can't promise it will work for what ails all dogs, but it works well with my dogs. Better yet, it's cheap and it can't hurt them;

• The solution to pollution is dilution. Buy the best hose sprayer you can find and flush each poo puddle immediately;

• Buy a bag of barn lime at Fleet Farm and treat your yard. It won't hurt your pets, it's a great natural fertilizer, and it will actually kill giardia - a bug that often causes doggie di-di, but is also hard to culture from stool samples.

• Keep your dog as far as possible from lakes, ponds, golf courses or other goose poop collection sites (see above about indiscriminate tastes). Goose poop is laden with giardia.

• Finally, find ways to laugh at it. It won't stop the flow, but it does help to cope. Check out this link to see what helped me get through it with my second dog.

Gotta run.

.

A Log of Dog Blogs

For those of you that love puppy fixes, there are some awesome blogs recently begun by foster homes from the newest litter to begin their training for Helping Paws.

Pawl's Paws - About Dempsey, the bruiser of the bunch (size wise that is). Check out the video of this little one already "getting dressed" in his pack!

(Dempsey's photo used by permission)

Four Paws To Serve - The story of a service dog named Izzo. This little one is already melting hearts in her new hometown. (Izzo's photo used by permission)

Boston's Marathon - About Boston and her new life with an

experienced foster home.

(Boston's photo used by permission)

In addition to the great pictures, videos and stories in these blogs is the fact that each foster home has a unique perspective; Dempsey is fostered by a first time foster home, Izzo's foster parents are a first time foster home but are also the parents of one of our Helping Paws graduate pairs, and finally, Boston is the third dog trained and fostered for Helping Paws by one of our most dedicated volunteers and a board member to boot.

Each blog is wonderful. I know from experience how encouraging the on-line community can be in supporting our foster homes in their quest. Your comments and fellowship will mean the world to them as they tell their stories over the next few years.

Juxtapose or Just Suppose?

In an e-mail this week, our HP instructor for the Monday class gave an excellent explanation of the difference between click and treat and luring the puppy to perform a certain cue. Her point was primarily that treats as a lure are short-term solution that ultimately inhibits our long term goal of encouraging our dogs to offer behaviors to solve problems to earn their reward. In short, to learn how to learn.

Those of you that have read my previous posts know that this topic is near and dear to my heart as well - particularly as it translates to raising our human children. Yesterday's op-ed piece on raising our collective I.Q.'s by Pulitzer Prize winning editorialist, Nicholas D. Kristof illustrates the applicability of the Helping Paws method for all - human or other. Mr. Kristof summarizes the research of Professor Nisbett on how to raise how collective I.Q.'s as follows:

Professor Nisbett provides suggestions for transforming your own urchins into geniuses — praise effort more than achievement, teach delayed gratification, limit reprimands and use praise to stimulate curiosity — but focuses on how to raise America’s collective I.Q. That’s important, because while I.Q. doesn’t measure pure intellect — we’re not certain exactly what it does measure — differences do matter, and a higher I.Q. correlates to greater success in life.

I do disagree with Kristof's conclusion that more intensive early-childhood education programs are the answer as long as the focus of that intent remains on the child. To be truly successful, the intensive education must be directed on the most important teacher any child will ever have - its' parent.

Pass Master

Belle and I are pleased to announce that Belle successfully completed her public access test yesterday. The test was held at Southdale Mall and is intended to "ensure that dogs who have public access are stable, well-behaved, and unobtrusive to the public". This test is a requirement for all service dogs placed by Helping Paws dogs regardless of whether they are placed with a client or are part of a demonstration team. Belle and I thank all the Helping Paws examiners and volunteers who participated in yesterday's test.

Taking a Page(y)

A friend of mine sent me a link about the life of a woman, Pagey Elliott who meant the world to the world of golden retriever lovers. She died recently at the age of 96.

She is credited with being one of the first to bring golden retrievers to the U.S. She bred them - raising 50 litters over the course of her lifetime. But more importantly, she was a mentor and an educator for breeders all over the world. Her work is reflected in the breeding program at Helping Paws.

We can all take a page from Pagey's life. What it means to love and learn and share what's been learned with all that are willing to listen. To find what we are passionate about and to give ourselves up to the quest of giving back or passing on the great knowledge we accumulate as a result of our curiosity. Her golden years are over now, but they will continue to gleam in hearts and minds and coats of those she leaves behind.

Anticipation

This morning, there are ten families waking up for the last time before forever taking on the title of Helping Paws Foster Home.

Of course, the person who wasn't excited for the arrival of a new puppy would be a very odd individual. But after meeting each of the foster families over the course of the last four weeks, and hearing their stories of why they decided to become fosters, I see again what the power of love for others can do. These families are taking on an awesome responsibility. Yet each is enthusiastic, excited, just-can't-wait-to-get-started-anxious for tonight's big delivery of their long-awaited pup.

As the journey begins I have just one piece of advice. Enjoy every minute - fostering this pup will always be one of the best things you will ever do.

Are You A Future Foster Home?

I went out to Fox9 to try and find the video played on yesterday's 5 PM news on the Hands On Volunteer Expo, but as yet the video is not yet posted. Instead, my search yielded another video on Helping Paws, done the summer of 2007, that demonstrates better than mere words could ever do, the joy, the freedom, and the love that these special dogs provide to everyone blessed with the opportunity to share their life and training.

For those who visited our booth yesterday, or saw our demonstration on the Best Buy Rotunda stage and are considering becoming a foster home for Helping Paws, this video puts paid to the value of what you will do and mean to the life of another - usually a total stranger. Belle and I hope you will join us soon. I can guarantee the experience will be one of the highlights of your life.

Fox9 provided the embed code for the video.