Love is Not Enough Seminar

Julie Iles, one of Bill Foundation's favorite trainers, organized a training session to benefit the Burbank Animal Shelter.  The seminar was aimed at rescue organizations interested in giving their dogs the best possible chance at adoption through training and behavioral tips.  Entitled, "Love is Not Enough", Julie took us through everything from theory to practical tips.  She covered understanding why your dog behaves the way he/she does and what to do about it. Her goal was to reach as many of the rescue organizations as possilbe so that they could pass this important knowledge on to the new adoptive parents.

"Many dogs are returned more for lack of understanding on the part of humans than because of an incoragable dog", she explained. Training and understanding can solve many of the problems that the uneducated view as unsolvable. We have even had dogs returned because people didn't understand the concepts of housebreaking a dog, food aggression or guarding. 

During the practical portion of the seminar, several dogs were brought in to demonstrate training techniques. Julie showed us how applying these techniques can help reduce the rate of return, thus giving our dogs a better chance at a permanent home, and after all, that's what rescue is all about.

Julie has created a one page handout which is sent home with all our rescues.  It offers training and advice to the new dog parent. If the new parents read and follow her advice, both dog and human stand a much better chance of making the match stick.

Tips from Julie:

1. Give your new dog time to adjust to their new home.  This can be a very stressful time for both of you and bad behaviours may occur.
2. Confinement in a crate can actually be comforting to your new pet while they learn the house rules.
3. Dogs that get daily walks are generally better behaved than dogs that don't. Not only is it healthy for your dog but is a bonding experience as well.
4. Using a stationing mat in your home helps your dog learn to be calm in your house.

We recommend everyone enroll their new dog in a training class or even hire a personal trainer (we recommend several on our website). Good training can help save your dog's life (see Door Darting article), or at the very least create a well mannered friend. It also bonds you and your dog.  Your dog will adore the attention and most dogs want nothing more than to please you. At Bill Foundation we often enroll our rescues in obedience classes to give them a paw-up with potential adopters.  However, it is still important for new parents to go through the bonding process of a training class.  Just because they mind our volunteers, they may not mind you. 

Whether you simply want your dog to "sit" or dream of moving on to dog agility competitions, this is an important step to a happy life for both of you.

If you would like to contact Julie for training she can be reached at Blue Dog Ranch (818-729-0550).  She offers classes as well as private training.