Saving just one dog won’t change the world...but, surely, the world will change for that one dog...

MAY 2016 the official speaking of dogs monthly newsletter

In this month’s newsletterDogs looking for homes ................................2 Events ...........................................................4 Ask the trainer ..............................................5 Bits & bites ....................................................6 Recent adoptions ..........................................7 In memoriam ................................................9 Mother’s day ...............................................10

About Speaking of DogsSpeaking of Dogs is a Toronto-based organization that launched in 2001 and is dedicated to educating and enlightening people about dogs through seminars, workshop forums, outreach and rescue. Our goal is to end cruelty, abandonment, mistreatment and homelessness of man’s best friend.

Speaking of Dogs Rescue is the operating name of Speaking of Dogs Rescue Program, a not-for-profit charitable corporation in the Province of Ontario.

Contact Speaking of Dogs1277 York Mills Road, Box 33508 Toronto, ON Canada M3A 3R5 Phone: 416-444-4190 | Fax: 416-444-7116 Email: info@speakingofdogs.com Web: www.speakingofdogs.com

Newsletter TeamEditor: Nancy Foran Design: Cathy Vandergeest at www.gawck.ca Contributors: Nancy Foran, Lorraine Houston, Kim Gladding and Mirkka Koivusalo

NewslettersIf you no longer want to receive our newsletter, email newsletter@speakingofdogs.com, with “unsubscribe” written in the subject line.

Speaking of Dogs Newsletter | May 2016 | 1

On July 16th, animal lover and avid runner Madeleine will be running the Laugavegur Marathon, an ultra marathon of 55km in Iceland. As part of Run4Paws, she is using this run as an opportunity to raise funds for three local animal rescues, including Speaking of Dogs Rescue.

Madeleine’s goal is to raise $55,000 to share among the rescues.

Please help Madeleine achieve her goal so we can help more dogs find loving forever homes.

To find out more about Madeleine and how you can donate, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/run4paws.

Please Support Madeleine as She Supports Our Dogs!

Jack is a four-year-old Australian Shepherd/cattle dog mix. His foster mom says his three favourite things are: 1) smelling pee mail and marking every tree and post on his walks, 2) playing fetch with squeaky toys, and 3) digging holes, depositing his squeaky toy, using his nose to cover the toy up with dirt, and then digging the toy up again two minutes later! He’s quite the character.

Jack walks nicely on leash and is housetrained and crate trained, though he is quite anxious when crated. He’s dog social, but he isn’t a rough-and-rowdy guy and prefers to be on the sidelines, so a calmer dog friend might be a good match.

He is not a “dog park dog” and would be overwhelmed in that environment. He was cat tested and might enjoy a feline companion. Jack can be nervous meeting new people and is more apprehensive of men than women.

New folks should be instructed to ignore him and give him space until he feels comfortable initiating the interaction. His new guardian should be dog experienced and able to recognize when he is fearful. Jack can be vocal when left alone, so apartment living would not be appropriate for him.

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Baby mastiff / shepherd mix x-large, young, female

Clifford hound mix

large, adult, male

feAtureD DOg:

Jack australian cattle dog mix medium, adult, male

Snickers cocker spaniel

medium, adult, male

Clem beagle mix

medium, adult, male

Barney poodle / shih tzu mix

small, senior, male

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Without a doubt, a dog is a real friend. Our dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common – they all need loving forever homes. Open your heart and your home to a rescue dog. You’ll be glad you did. For complete information about the adoption process, please visit www.speakingofdogs.com/adoption-process.

For more information on each dog, simply click on their name.

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Buster beagle

medium, young, male

Ubu basset hound mix

medium, adult, male

can you lend a paw?Although we have a partnership with a doggy daycare, we do not have a physical shelter; our dogs are in-home fostered by caring, loving volunteers. Because of the way our rescue is structured, the only hands-on volunteer position with our dogs is fostering. Can’t foster but want to help our dogs? Consider donating new or gently used items for them. We are always in need of

• Gasgiftcards• GlobalPetFoodsorPetValugiftcards• Kongorothertreat-disensingtoys• Cannedanddryqualitydogfoods• Martingalecollars• Kurandabeds• ThunderShirts

Sasha bernese mountain dog mix

x-large, adult, female

Kuma akita / shepherd mix

large, senior, female

Rosie hound / vizsla mix

medium, adult, female

Beauty yorkie / poodle mix

small, young, female

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the YArD SAle IS thIS MOnth!

TheSpeakingofDogsRescueannualyard sale is taking place during the May long weekend rain or shine!

Saturday, May 21 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, May 22 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location: 58 Dukinfield Crescent (near the DVP and York Mills), Toronto

Therewillbebooks,collectibles,clothing,children’s games and toys, housewares, electronics, CDs and DVDs,petsupplies,artwork,sportsequipment,small appliances, and quality items of all types and kinds.

We are now accepting donations, but space is limited, so the longer you can hold on to your items the better.

Please join us for the sale to end all sales, and it’s all to help homeless dogs!

We are also looking for volunteers to help set up and take down the sale. For information about donating or volunteering, pleaseemailKimGladdingatkim@speakingofdogs.com.

GIANT YARD SALE!

fuNDRAISER foR SPEAKING of DoGS RESCuE

Saturday & Sunday

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eMOtIOnS Are PArt Of the leArnIng PrOceSSAs humans we have all experienced how emotions affect our ability to learn. For example, think back to when you were learning a new language at school: if you were feeling happy and your teacher was encouraging and supportive, you put time and effort into mastering the skill so you could put it to good use. And even now, when you speak that particular language it may bring back good memories and feelings.

On the other hand, if you were always feeling tired and cranky when going to class, and on top of that the teacher scolded you when you made a mistake and shamed you in front of the whole class, you probably started to dislike the new language and had no desire to use it then and still have no desire to use it now.

Thesesameconceptsapplytodogtraining. Why do dogs absolutely love offering us tricks but getting them to sit sometimes takes several repetitions of the cue (and even then the dog only offers the behaviour really slowly).

One reason for this can be how both the dog and the person are feeling when practising these behaviours. We train tricks, such as shake a paw or rollover, when we are feeling happy and usually ask for them proudly so the dog can show them off as a party trick. We then, of course, also tend to lavish the dog with tasty treats.

However, we usually train behaviours such as sit quite differently. We often ask for such behaviours quickly and in situations when the dog may be feeling stressed. For example, when a reactive dog sees another dog and starts barking and lunging or when an overly exuberant greeter tries to jump on people in an attempt to get attention,

us humans will often start yelling “sit” and keep yelling it until we get the desired behaviour.

In other words, to prevent behaviours from getting unwanted “emotional baggage,” it is important to first train them to fluency when the dog is feeling relaxed and receptive to learning.

It is important to remember that “relaxed” and “receptive to learning” are conditions determined by the dog, not by us: if asking the dog to do a sit on a busy street corner only gets you a wide-eyed stare and lots of stress signals, there is no point in asking them to do it. A more effective approach is to practise first in calmer surroundings. Also, if you’ve had a stressful day and are feeling tense, it might be better to just postpone the training session until you are feeling better, as your dog will be able to sense your foul mood.

Lately, one context in which I have been thinking about emotions as part of learning is conditioning reactive dogs to their triggers. When training reactive dogs, we do a lot of desensitization and counter-conditioning to change the dog’s emotional associations toward their triggers (such as other dogs or people).

When the dog sees a trigger, we feed them amazing treats, and when the trigger goes away so does the food. When training reactive dogs, we’re always very careful to only train when the dog is calm and not yet in a reactive state of mind. Eventually the dog will start to associate the food with the trigger, and they will begin to orient towardus,expectingthefood.Thisis called a conditioned emotional response (CER) or “auto-watch,” and it means the dog actually feels good when they see the trigger.

Achieving a calm learning environment for counter-conditioning can be difficult in urban environments,

where everything is so unpredictable. Often, we end up feeding the dog when they are already feeling stressed. Sometimes the stress diffuses because they’re getting the very best of the best food and they start to feel better and offer the CER.

At other times, however, the process can backfire: even though the dog eats when they see the trigger, it may just be a reflex, and the sight of the trigger is still overwhelming them.

A lot of trainers (including myself) will say that you cannot increase fear, stress, or frustration by feeding the dog when they are already experiencing those feelings. As such, you may think feeding a stressed-out dog does not actually cause any harm. However, I have come to believe that even though feeding a stressed dog does not increase their fear, stress, or frustration, we will still not get the desired result as the dog is unable to relax because of the stress hormones running through their system.

You may still get the “auto-watch” back toward you, but it ends up being just a learned behaviour: “I disengage and then I get food, but I’m still feeling pretty stressed and worried about thedogstaringatme.”Therefore,doing counter-conditioning first in controlled settings, where we can control the proximity of the trigger and make sure that the dog stays relaxed, is key to ensuring the dog has a happy learning experience and is in the right state of mind to repeat the behaviour when prompted.

Mirkka Koivusalo, MSc, PhD, owner of Mindful Behaviors and co-owner of the Toronto Centre For Canine Education

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BItS & BIteS

Following a rabies outbreak among Hamilton’s skunks and raccoons, the province is spreading anti-rabies vaccine baits.

Jill Priest lists five dog park rules everyone should follow.

May is Dog Bite Prevention Month, so why not get some dog bite safety tips from Doggone Safe?

Thisinformativeblog post explains “trigger stacking” and how it can make a rescue dog’s first few hours and

days in their new home so difficult, which can have lasting effects.

Thisheadlinesaysitall: “Stop Hugging Dogs – It Stresses ThemOut,SaysUBC Researcher.”

Jean Donaldson has compiled a list of the top-ten myths about dog behaviour.

Angry about dog fighting? Learn more about the OSPCA’s campaign to #EndDogFighting.

Video Bits and BitesA recent episode ofTheNatureofThingstookviewers inside the veterinary’s office to witness cutting-edge

technology being used to treat pets. If you missed the episode, called “Pets, VetsandDebts,”youcanwatchitonline.

If you’ve ever doubted the power of puppies, you should watch this video.

wIggleS AnD wAgS fOr rAMBle & reScue!Big thanks to Ramble & Rescue for choosing Speaking of Dogs as their April rescue of the month and for their verygenerousdonation.ThankyouLauren and Trevor for helping dogs like Arwen, Barney, Diesel and Ella – just a few of our April adoptees!

You can find out more about Ramble & Rescue by visiting www.rambleandrescue.com.

reScue DOg

cAlenDAr PhOtOSIt’s only spring, but we already have 2017 on the brain and have started collecting photos for the 2017 Speaking of Dogs Rescue calendar! We’d love to include a photo of your special canine companion.

Ideal photos would not include people but can include a four-legged friend. Pictures should be 300 dots per inch (DPI) and at least 5 inches x 7 inches in size, and they can be colour or black and white. Please email photos to lorraine@speakingofdogs.com.

wOOf, wOOf, wOOfStOck!Woofstock will be taking place at Woodbine Park again this year, on Saturday May 28 and Sunday May 29. Woofstock is North America’s largest outdoor festival for dogs and a fun day out for you and your favourite furry friends.There’saplethoraofvendors,contests, and special events, and – best of all – Speaking of Dogs Rescue will be there! Make sure you stop by the rescue’s booth to meet some of our volunteers and findoutabitmoreaboutourdogs.Thenext best thing about Woofstock? It’s free!

For more information about the event please visit www.woofstock.ca.

SpeakingofDogsRescuethanksKarenof MacDonald-Cole Associates Inc. for providing us with the corporate sponsorship we needed to participate in Woofstock.

bits &

bites

Simply click on a summary to be whisked away to the internet page where you can read the full story.

2016 reScue DIrectOrY IS AvAIlABle!The 2016 Rescue Directory is now in stock. If you would like a copy, please email lorraine@speakingofdogs.com.

PROVINCE OF ONTARIOBreed Specific and

All Breed Rescue Contacts 2016*

“Pearl”Loved by: The Animalert TeamPhoto by: Carole Dutton*Includes Provincial Shelters

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Arwin

TessaBear

SnoopyJacques

Olive

Maximus

DieselParker

EllaMac Diva

Teddyloved by doreen & mike,

staff at cedarbrae veterinary clinic

forever in foster

July 2013 - april 28, 2016

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Bonnieloved by sandy & ernie hamilton, James & lorraine adopted april 2006 passed april 2016

Charlieloved by kelly & bernard

adopted february 2012

passed april 2016

Dixie Cuploved by miriam maaranen

adopted february 2005

passed april 2016

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Mollyloved by cathy, erick, miley & maggie march 30, 2000 - april 30, 2016

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Speaking of Dogs Rescue would like to thank all of our foster moms, who give their time and unconditional love to help our dogs become healthy, happy and trusting. When a dog goes to their forever home, these compassionate foster moms open up their home and heart again to a new dog in need of love and stability. Rescuing dogs is a big job, and it would be impossible to give these dogs their second chance without our amazingfostermoms.Thanksmoms, from everyone and all the dogs at Speaking of Dogs Rescue. We salute you and wish you a warm and wonderful Mother’s Day.