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 Bambi  Bridget  Chandler  Chelsea  Dakota  Dexter  Diesel  Douglas  Goofy  Happy  Luna  Mastiff  Mimi  Mister  Oreo  Plato  Rosie  Rusty  Sue  Sweetie  Taylor  Trotter 
Valentine |
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Quick Link to our WEBSITE
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www.paws4you.org
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Visit Us
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Every Sunday at PetSmart on SW 136th Street and US1
(across from The Falls)
11-3pm
Every second Saturday of the month on South Beach at
831 Lincoln Road
(in front of TeNo)
1-4 pm
Every fourth Saturday of the month from now until April at CocoWalk's Family Fun Day
2-5pm
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Paws 4 You Rescue Newsletter
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Season Greetings from our Rescue to your Family!
Looking after your family, working, volunteering and Holiday shopping can be overwhelming. December's Newsletter wants to remind all of our friends out there about how to keep every one in your home safe. Some times the little details are looked over and the family pets are the ones that could suffer unnecessarily. Three of our volunteers chose to educate our readers this month on matters that may not be so obvious to some. Please continue to read about how micro-chips and pet IDs save lives, keeping an eye on your four legged friend can prevent unexpected pool accidents AND some useful tips on training the new dog in your life. Thank you Misty, Jeannie and Dee!And if you haven't looked at our website lately, please do! This month, we will be launching a new and improved communication tool that will prove valuable when needing to access information on our Rescue.Sandy Paws is making his appearance on Key Biscayne again this year! On Saturday, December 6, Sandy Paws (aka Santa!) will be available to take pictures with your pet. All proceeds benefit one of our rescued dogs that needed specialized surgery last month, Happy. Every year, families from not only Key Biscayne, but all over Miami, leave with a Holiday keepsake of their family including their four legged friends. Thank you Dr. Eastman of Island Veterinary Clinic! (Please email chris@paws4you.org for more info on this annual festivity!)Paws 4 You Rescue wants you to have a wonderful Holiday Season and the best New Year! That means taking precautions to ensure your whole family is safe! If your New Year's Resolution includes giving back to your community through volunteering for a local charitable organization, please don't hesitate to contact us to find out how you can help our homeless dogs find forever love.If you are looking for a unique way to give a gift this Season, donate money to Paws 4 You Rescue in another person's name. A special THANK YOU note from me will go out in the mail acknowledging your gift. You can go to PayPal on our site and then send me an email with specifics or send a check to the PO Box with a note detailing who should receive the THANK YOU note.Thank you for receiving and reading our monthly newsletters!Happy Holidays!
 
Carol CaridadPresident, Paws 4 You Rescuecarol@paws4you.org
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The Importance of Pet Identification
 Every pet owner can tell you that caring for an animal is a lot of responsibility. And even those who are the most cautious sometimes forget one crucial step to ensuring their pet's safety-identification. A large part of the reason we have so many animals in our shelters is that the pet does not have proper identification and therefore cannot be returned to its owner. This problem could easily be solved if every pet owner took the time to set his or her pet up with proper identification. There are several options when it comes to pet IDs including collar tags, microchips and even tattoos.
The most basic way to identify a dog is with collar tags. Collar identification tags are available through a wide variety of sources including wherever pet products are sold. What's great about collar tags is that they range in color, shape and size so that there's something to fit every owner's budget and every pet's personality. However, be sure to check these tags regularly for readability. Sometimes even though tags are engraved, they can become worn out and hard to read.
Another well-known method to maximize your pet's identification is with a microchip. Microchips are tiny chips that are inserted under the animals skin usually between the shoulder blades. When an animal is lost, veterinarians or shelters will scan the animal for a microchip. The scan produces an identification code, which is then called into the microchip company and used to trace the owner's information. It's not uncommon to adopt a new pet that already has a microchip as many breeders and adoption organizations provide this service. For example, Paws 4 You mails in the new registration of their adopted animals as a courtesy for the new owners.
Pet owners might also choose to use a tattoo system to ID their pets. Although not as popular as collar tags and microchips, tattoos can also be an efficient approach to identification. Similar to microchips, tattooed identification codes help locate owners. The codes are tattooed onto the animal in areas with little hair, such as the inside of an ear or abdomen.
Regardless of what identification method you use, it is crucial to make sure that your pet has at least one form of identification. And because collar tags can sometimes get misplaced, I recommend using either the microchip or tattoo method as a back up. And please keep all info current (change of address, for example) because many animals end up at shelters with outdated info that can not be traced back to the families.
Misty
Volunteer
misty@paws4you.org
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Dogs and Pool Safety
We all know how much fun it can be to see dogs with water. We've seen acts on TV and have seen our own or other dogs enjoying swimming in the home pool. The other side to safe fun is tragedy - two of my friends have lost dogs to home pool accidents. One was a golden retriever puppy, the largest of her litter, who managed to escape from a "secure" pen and was found at the bottom of a pool. The other was a grown dog, who fell in and could swim, but no one was home and he didn't know how to find the steps. He was found dead, with bloody paws where he tried for hours to haul himself out.
So how do we enjoy our dogs and prevent tragedy? We have to indoctrinate them into pool safety as soon as we get them home.
If you're fostering or adopting an adult dog, do not assume that she has been near a pool before. Even if she has been, she doesn't know YOUR pool. Walk outside with her and show her your yard, and then show her the pool. It's best if you can get in the pool by the steps yourself and sit at the top so she can see how you get in and out. Dogs are amazingly smart, and they learn pool safety very quickly.
My first foster dog was an adult when I got her, and within one minute of being in the backyard she was in the pool! She looked VERY surprised when she realized it wasn't a hard surface!!! Fortunately I was standing next to her and could pull her out. From that time on, no matter how much she ran around the pool, she never took a dip again.
When I've had puppies to foster, I've shown them the pool right away. I take them with me to the pool and put them in it on the top step (about 3 inches deep). They might not like it, and might turn and try to get out, but at least they know where the exit is. One time, right after I did that, the litter of puppies was joyfully chasing each other around the pool when the largest fell in (while trying to win the race). I could have reached out and grabbed him, but I waited a second and he swam right to the top step. Good boy!!! He was more careful after that and never fell in again. . .
If you're adopting or fostering a dog, please take just a few minutes to make your yard a safer place for your new best friend. And until you're sure that your pool is not a danger, never leave your dog alone in the yard.
Jeannie
Volunteer
jeannie@paws4you.org
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Barking Up the Right Tree:
Helping Hints for Training a Shelter Dog
We're all guilty of having our heartstrings pulled after seeing those big brown eyes, floppy ears, and wet noses. Walking through a shelter it's easy to feel sorry for our four legged friends who have been abandoned by their previous owners - either through a lack of loss prevention (such as a simple ID tag or microchip) or through being dumped on the street. Some of us end up with dogs simply because we can't bear to have them sleep another night on the cold, hard, concrete of a kennel. It's during the first few weeks of bringing our new furry companion home that these feelings lead us straight into an unproductive and unhealthy relationship with our dog.
Imagine being locked up, without access to proper socialization, without the opportunity to have long walks each day, and with little, if any, challenging mental stimulation. The most excitement in a shelter dog's life is that five minutes a day when food, water, and clean bedding is provided. "It's no wonder these dogs are wound up so tight when you take them out on a leash," says local dog behaviorist Denisa C. Hoult of Applause your Paws Dog Training. "In working with shelter dogs, it's extra important that right away new owners establish a sense of leadership, security, and stability." Hoult believes that "the tendency however, is to give the dog no leadership to make up for the hard life they presumably have had. Unfortunately, this lack of leadership results in dogs remaining insecure, fearful, becoming destructive or even aggressive."
So what kinds of things can you do when you bring your dog home that first night? Here are a few ideas:
1. Keep your dog on leash the first few hours in your home. This immediately establishes the house as your territory, your rules, and that the dog is to follow you - literally! Using a leash in the house during introductory periods is a great way to establish leadership while at the same time builds a strong, trustworthy bond between you and your dog. A dog that feels secure while tethered is a dog that feels confident that his leader will protect him.
2. Enforce entry and exit etiquette by making your dog sit and wait patiently by all doors in the house. If your dog tries to rush the door, simply remove your hand from the handle until the dog is calm. Walk away from the door if necessary. Then, when the dog is calm, walk back to open the door. End result? A dog who sits at your feet instead of jumping on you whenever you enter or exit the door.
3. Practice having your dog wait for food. This helps to establish that the leader provides and controls the food, and is responsible for the eating ritual. Having a structured meal time diminishes mild food aggression that the dog may have acquired in the shelter.
4. Ensure that your new pooch gets at an hour of exercise each day, especially during training. A majority of this exercise should be through walking with your dog while encouraging him to stay by your side instead of pulling, or walking sporadically on the leash. There is no better remedy for an anxious mind and body than a long walk. After all, dogs are genetically programmed to move as a pack. Walking with a human, or other dogs, is therapeutic!
5. Lastly, remember that when you leave the house not to make it a farewell production. Shelter dogs already suffer from separation anxiety, so there is no need to add to it. The best thing to do is to invest is an interactive dog toy like a rubber treat-dispensing Kong ball. When you leave the house the dog gets the ball. You leaving the house then equals fun (the ball) and a positive reward for not being anxious about you leaving (the treats).
The beauty of dogs is that they don't remember the bad things that happened yesterday, or who was responsible for those things. Yes, I agree that dogs do have memories, but that those memories are based on associations of positive and negative experiences, not necessarily on places and things. That's why it is so crucial that as soon as a dog is removed from a situation where he or she has been subjected to negative or traumatic experiences, that the only associations the dog is making with you are positive ones! Stick to the five basics of everyday training above and you're on your way to barking up the right tree.
Dee Hoult of Applause Your Paws Dog Training is offering a free class on the first Thursday of every month starting December 4th at 7pm in South Miami. So spread the word and email Dee at dee@paws4you.org for more information on the location and what to bring. Check out her professional website by clicking on her business card below.
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Recycle your old CDs and Save Cats & Dogs!
Do you have old CDs or DVDs in your house that are just collecting dust? Have you ever tried selling those old discs at a second-hand CD store, only to be told that they were unacceptable because they were too scratched, had missing or damaged artwork or because the store just wasn't interested in those titles? Gather up all your old music CDs or DVDs that you were probably going to throw away any way and check out www.discsfordogs.org!!! This site gives you a free and convenient way to turn those old useless discs into a second chance for a stray dog or cat at the local SPCA and to decrease landfill waste at the same time. The Discs for Dogs Program recycles CDs while also helping abused and neglected animals. The CDs are sold in their store for 50 cents to $1 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the SPCA. They will even reimburse you for shipping costs!
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DID YOU KNOW?
There are 45 cats and dogs for every one person born.
Only one out of 10 dogs born ever find a permanent home.
Only one out of 12 cats born ever find a permanent home.
800 dogs and cats are destroyed each HOUR in the U.S. because there are not enough homes for them! |
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