 Preparations are in full swing for our Paws in the Park event on Sunday, October 3 at the Cedar Park Regional Medical Center Campus. This year, in addition to vendors who work in the dog field, we have invited health related businesses and organizations that work with the Autism community. It's exciting to see the synergy between the health community and the dog community working together to promote the role of dogs in a healthy lifestyle. If you are interested in adding a furry friend to your family, there will be plenty of rescue dogs to choose from. For the kids, we have a "Pawsport" adventure, complete with stickers, activities and prizes. Our costume parade kicks off the event at 11:30 and music by the Aviators and the Kopy Kats will keep things rockin' all day. Join us - it's going to be alot of fun!
If you would like more information about training your dog to volunteer in a school or hospital or with our Autism program, send me an e-mail. We have a waitlist of sites looking for dogs and their handlers to visit.
Thanks to all of you who support our work in so many ways. Together, we are making a difference.
Sincerely,
Debi Krakar, CPDT
Executive Director, Austin Dog Alliance
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| Paws in the Park - 2010 | 
Sunday, October 3rd 2010
11:30am -4:00pm
Cedar Park Regional Medical Center Campus
(east of 183A toll road and 1431 - behind Target)
11:30 Costume Contest and Parade ($10, includes t-shirt)
1:00 Austin Dogs Got Talent Contest ($10, includes t-shirt)
12 - 4 "Pawsport" Adventure for Kids (FREE)
Demonstrations, Games for Kids and Dogs (FREE)
Story Time, Crafts, Music and More (FREE)
Over 50 Dog Rescue, Health, Pet, and Community Vendor Booths
Top Sponsors
Vendor Booths - more being added each day!
Alaskan Malamute Rescue - Texas
Austin Regional Clinic
Autism Society of Greater Austin
Bentley's Biscuits & Bones
Capital Area Veterinary Specialists
Central Texas Dachshund Rescue
Dogadillo
Doggy Day Out Kennel & Daycare
Greening Law Firm
Heart of Texas Lab Rescue
Helping Hands Basset Rescue
Hey Cupcake
Invisible Fence
Jami Osterlund-PartyLite
Mud Puppies
Nature's Logic
Pet Allergy Laboratory
Pets America
Rising Stars Pediatric Dentistry
Southern Lights Team-Scentsy
Texas State Animal Response Team
The Pink Company
Woofstock at Waterloo
Sponsorship Packet. |
| Training Tip of the Month -- Would you work for peanuts?
by Elizabeth Smith, CPDT |  Imagine that the company you work for has decided to pay employees with peanuts. Would you be working there for long? Probably not. Unfortunately, we sometimes pay our dogs with the equivalent of peanuts. This happens when we "reward" them with something that is not meaningful to them! For instance, some dogs, sometimes, don't enjoy being petted or praised. It may in fact be what is called "positive punishment" if it makes them uncomfortable.
Let's look at it from an employee's standpoint. Say you did a terrific job on a particular report and your boss wants to reward you in the hopes of encouraging this sort of hard work. He happens to be a collector of old tin toy cars and he gives one that is especially valuable. While it is valuable and precious to him, you really have no interest in old tin toy cards. Therefore, it really wasn't much of a reward. So how does this relate to dogs? Read the Article -- Would you work for peanuts?
Elizabeth Smith is a dog trainer at Austin Dog Alliance. She teaches a variety of classes on Sunday afternoons. For more training tips, dog news and stories from Elizabeth Smith, visit Today's Woof at http://blog.dogbreedstore.com. Elizabeth is also the Online Marketing Manager for www.dogbreedstore.com. |
Upcoming Training Classes
|  Puppy Manners I (ages 7 weeks - 15 weeks) and Dog Manners I & II (16 weeks and older) classes are held on a regular basis during the day (Wednesday mornings), evenings, Saturdays and Sundays. Please check our website for availability and registration.
All of our training classes meet inside at 12129 RR 620 N in NorthWest Austin. (HWY 183 and RR 620 area) Unless otherwise noted, classes are 6 weeks in length for one hour each class. Highlights of some of our offerings are listed below.
Pet Therapy Seminar - Bring your well trained and friendly dog to the seminar for a mini-assessment of your readiness to begin volunteering as a team. October 9th at 1:30 pm with Carolyn Honish, CPDT , Delta Society Evaluator and Instructor
Pet Therapy 6 week Class - This class will prepare you for volunteering in a variety of pet therapy environments with your dog. This class is unique in that we are not just going to refine your dog's obedience skills, but we are also going to help you and your dog become a team and feel confident in a variety of challenging situations. Our pet therapy classes are taught by proffesional dog trainers who are also Delta Society Pet Partner Instructors and Evaluators.
Class is offered on Saturday Mornings, Tuesday Evenings and Wednesday Mornings. Barking and Growling Dog Class - Does your bark or growl at other dogs while out for a walk. These dogs are often called reactive. Learn what's triggering your dog's response and how to control it. Learn about leadership, getting your dog's attention with distractions and improving your basic skills such as leash walking and stay when out in public. Class is offered on Sunday afternoons. Class size is very limited.
Tricks, Tricks and More Tricks - Learn dozens of new tricks to impress your friends. Training and having fun are great for bonding with your dog.
Class is offered on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings. For more information and to register, please see our website at AustinDogAlliance.org or call the Training Center at 335-7100. |
| Magic of Dogs in the Classroom
Submitted by Carolyn Honish, CPDT |
Buzz the Therapy Dog |
Back to school is not always easy for teachers and students. This year is my first in a functional academic classroom with students who are deaf with other disabling conditions (autism, cognitive delays, etc.)...the students receive the majority of their instruction in a self-contained classroom.
School started last Tuesday, and one of my students was not doing well at all with the transition into a different classroom, different teacher, different expectations, etc. She was in the midst of a major melt down - on the floor, kicking and screaming, throwing off her shoes, socks, and anything we could give her to try to calm her down. I decided to bring out Buzz, my deaf therapy dog, to occupy the attention of the other students in the room. As soon as this child saw Buzz, there was a COMPLETE and INSTANT change in her demeanor. She calmed down, started petting Buzz gently, began imitating us in signing his name, put on her shoes and socks, and walked him around in the hallways at school. It was amazing to see Buzz's magic work on this child.
The rest of the day wasn't without challenges, but with this child - any time she started to become frustrated, all I had to do was bring out Buzz & let her interact with him and walk him around the school.
How's that for the "magic of dogs"??!!
Editor's Note: Carolyn Honish is one of our K9 Club - Autism/Asperger's instructors as well as a primary instructor for our pet therapy seminars and 6 week pet therapy classes. |
| Volunteer Thank You's
Submitted by Su Tu, Volunteer Director |  We want to give a very special thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who helped us with our Delta Evaluations last month. With your help, we were able to get more pet therapy teams out into the community!
Thank You: Erika H., Straley W., Cassy W., Amelia M., Lisa M., Zion C., Amber W., Susan W., Sara M., Morgan M., Nathan M., David R., Bea R., Sarah C., Darla C.
Please also thank Mary Pomeroy, our retiring Intake Coordinator for her year of dedication and endless hours. Please join me in thanking Judy McCarthy, Debby Hylton and Colleen Kawamura for stepping up to help out during this transition of our rescue and adoption program.
Thank you to all of you who help us out. We appreciate each and every one of you. |
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Austin Dog Alliance is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, with the mission of making dogs an integral part of our community through the use of positive, science-based training methods and the human-canine bond. This special bond improves the lives of families and benefits the community through hospital and nursing home visits, reading dog programs, and educational programs that enhance the self-esteem of our children.
Austin Dog Alliance is funded by the revenue generated from our training classes and donations by individuals and corporations. All donations are tax deductible. Please donate today! |
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| Contact Us | | Board of Directors
Executive Director
Romp N Run Ranch
Leadership Team
Adoption Application Managers
Adoption Support and Newsletter
Pet Therapy Volunteer Coordinator
Office Manager |
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