This blog aims to educate, inform and entertain!

Many people come across habits and behaviors in their newly adopted dog that concern or frustrate them and they just don’t know where to turn. Their expectations are not met, patience runs out and the dog goes back. I want to change that. The dogs can’t speak, so I aim to be the voice that says give them a chance to be the best dog they can be and this is how you do it!

My goal is to help new families and their newly adopted dogs get sticky!

So sticky that they become part of the family and their new home is their forever home.

I will share my experiences of rescuing and fostering shelter dogs in my own home, works in progress, on their way to their forever home.

Death Row dogs.

All my shelter dogs are shelter rejects, they were considered unadoptable and were all on the daily kill list, most of them on their last day. One or two on their last hour on this earth.

Their crimes varied from being homeless, to just being old, from being wild, to just being big and black or even just because they resemble a less popular breed.

Although labelled “unadoptable” by the shelter, and I will have more to say about that in due course, none of them are “bad” dogs or “dangerous” dogs.

Mostly they were just being dogs and we failed them.

I tell you this not to impress you, but to impress upon you that whatever the behaviors that are troubling you and your rescued dog I have already seen worse, sometimes much worse, and have turned the dog around.

500,000 dogs a year are killed in the name of humane society protocol just here in California. One every minute. Day and night. Every day, every month, every year.

It is just not right.

It is my opinion that we humans have a moral obligation to find a better way of living where dogs are not disposable just because they may be temporarily socially inconvenient or not quite perfect yet.

Dog Training and behavior specialist.

I will cover topics that come up repeatedly in my dog training and behavior modification programs (www.witsenddogtraining.com).

I am fortunate in that I also meet dogs every day in my dog training business. I take dogs into my home to quickly resolve behavior concerns in a matter of days. I also deal one on one with behavior issues, visiting clients in their home, evaluating behaviors and observing family dynamics in action. I know what works and how even with the best of intentions people can sometimes, unwittingly, sabotage their own success. I specialize in behavior modification, not just telling you what to do but showing you personally the what, why and how of behavior change. You will see the change.

I am passionate about rescuing shelter dogs and giving them a second chance.

If I can share my knowledge and help you have a successful adoption I can make a difference in your life and the life of your dog. I like feeling I am making a difference.

In my experience most shelters are so overwhelmed by the volume of dogs that they rarely have time to hold your hand as you start on your journey with a new shelter dog.

I intend to bridge that gap.

Because of my experience I think of it as common sense, but clearly a lot of these things are just not part of most peoples life experiences.

For the dog’s sake and yours ASK ME

Ask me any questions at any time, add comments or criticism, suggest a topic you would like covered. I want to make a difference, I want to make the dogs sticky and set everyone up for success.

Beware! I can be opinionated, sometimes feel angry and frustrated and have a reputation for being blunt. Just like some of my dogs!

You will hear my truth, I might not sugar coat it but what you hear will work.

Most of the problems I see are not dog problems, the dog is just being a dog trying to make its way in an alien culture!

Yes, I am talking about you, your home and family!

To a dog who may have never been allowed in the house, fed intermittently, never taken out in public, taught what a leash was, or had children over to the house, kept in a cage in the yard, never thrown a ball or fetched a stick or run off leash along the beach in and out of the water, you might just as well be aliens!