The Potsdam Humane Society finally opened up its training sessions for volunteers in April. To say I was ready to spend some quality time with the pups would be the understatement of the year. Almost every week since then I’ve spent a few hours hanging out with the dogs. Today I met Angel Joleen.
Angel heading back to get a few more butt rubs.
Angel spent lots of her time just standing next to me while I petted her. I sat on the ground and started at her shoulders and moved my way down. When she figured that was enough she’d turn around so I could do the other side. Occasionally she’d head off to investigate the rest of the enclosure, and she was glad enough to chase a tennis ball a few times, but it was never long before we got back to the real business – a full back massage followed by a butt rub. At six and a half years old, her age might make some people overlook her, but with that beautiful brindle coat and that sweet disposition, I’m hoping someone finds their perfect match when they meet her.
Here’s another girl at the shelter: Belle.
Belle’s two year and a half years old. I’ve visited with her five or six times. At the beginning of the first session she did a bit of jumping up, but she gave that up when I simply turned my back on her. Two facts to know about Belle: 1) She is a dog that sees one of her missions in life as destroying any toy she can get her teeth into – at the shelter they’ve hung the laundry basket that’s full of balls of all sorts high up on the chain link fence of the outdoor exercise yard.The first time I brought her there, I unhooked her leash and she bolted to the other end of the yard, leapt, and bopped the basket from underneath. Half-inflated basketballs and soccer balls and a couple of tennis balls went flying.
So, how’d I get a photo of Belle sitting calmly when there was a basket of balls to destroy just a few feet away? Fortunately, here’s fact: 2) Belle’s other mission in life is to figure out how to get treats. A food-motivated dog can be a thing of joy, and Belle fits that bill.
When I met her she already knew how to do a perfect “sit.” We’ve been working on adding “wait” to her catalog of commands. The best case scenario of training a dog is frequent, short training sessions – ideally, training would be interspersed throughout the day. But Belle and I don’t have all day – just 20-30 minutes. Given that on the first day she’d sit perfectly and then stand right back up, I’m pretty happy with our progress. Now, after asking for some super short wait times to remind her of the game, I’m able to move up to taking a couple of steps away and returning to her – or calling her to come to me – without her breaking from the sit.
Today I started working with her on “back up.” I do this simply by stepping close in to her and when she scoots back, giving the command “back up” and giving her the treat while I say “yes.” She caught on to this very quickly, although I’m not sure how I’ll get a good photo of that.
At the end of any visit, I try to create a few moments of calm. After 20 minutes of figuring out how to get treats, Belle’s ready to lay down and hang out. But I can tell she hasn’t forgotten about the treats.
Our shelter does a great job matching up good dogs with good people, and I know the dog I work with today might not be here the next time I visit. Of course, that’s more than okay – it’s always good news when a dog’s been adopted. So for today, hats off to Angel and Belle: two sweet girls trusting us to find them good homes.
Eudora Watson 