AnimalERroom.com 

It's been said time and time again that "every dog has its day," and for the small German Shepherd named Pearl that day came in mid-March of 2010 when she came to live with her two new Paws 4 You foster parents. Valerie and Tim, having fostered many dogs before Pearl, had plenty of experience handling dogs of different sizes, temperaments, and character, but nothing had prepared them for the ride that Pearl took them on for the one year of her fostering. Valerie and Tim's consistency, leadership, steady exercise regimen, and love for animals proved to be exactly what Pearl needed to become the best dog she could be. When questioning Valerie on her first impression of Pearl when introduced to each other at PetSmart her eyes widened, and she shook her head slowly as if she was reliving the disbelief of those first few moments.

Pearl had the worst case of mange (officially known as Demodex) Valerie had ever seen any dog with, and the many cuts on her skin formed infections and deep scabbing across her body. The tiny mites had quickly spread all over her body like a dingy rug soaking up spilt milk, and in many desperate attempts to relieve the itchy discomfort she scratched endlessly on her neck, on her snout, and behind her ears. As Pearl walked around Valerie and Tim's backyard for the first time familiarizing herself with the new territory, she appeared to them like a hyena aimlessly roaming the African wilderness. She was scrawny, scabby, big-eared, and missing hair on most of her body. Valerie and Tim knew this would be a challenge for them, like no other dog had previously given them, but they also knew in their hearts taking on this challenge was the right thing for them to do.

Over the next two weeks Valerie and Tim dedicated most of their time to training Pearl with common household etiquette-no eating plants, no biting the furniture and carpet, no attacking the cat, and playing gently with the other dog. Urinating and eliminating outside of the house were the two tasks Pearl learned easily since she was such an intelligent dog. But, regardless, all efforts proved difficult to some degree since Pearl was very disobedient at first; she had no previous training of any kind. When Pearl was first found she was wandering the streets alone. She was taken to Animal Services and soon after her arrival she was put on a Euthanasia list because of how badly she looked. Unfortunately dogs with severe cases of mange never last very long at Animal Services before they are put down. Fortunately for Pearl Paws 4 You quickly stepped in and rescued her. It's easy to see why Pearl's history would lead her to be so undomesticated and disinterested in people.

When a task was demanded of her Pearl often barked loudly in an attempt to back-talk Valerie. Pearl challenged her fosters often to verify what their weaknesses were; she was always testing to see how much she could get away with. Her high intelligence level was one they had not dealt with previously with any other dog, so their consistency and repetition with the tasks meant everything in Pearl's training. Pearl was rude, messy, mischievous, and had a high energy level that bordered on complete obnoxiousness. As far as anyone could tell she had never before been socialized with any other animals or people, and her constant nipping and snapping often proved this to be true. To expend some of her energy she often needed many walks throughout the day. The walks, however, were not enough, and soon Tim was biking with Pearl once a day for 30 minutes at a time. This activity seemed to regulate her mood more, and they were then able to train Pearl to sit and lie down. They quickly came to realize the addition of exercise in Pearl's everyday routine was vital to their ability to keep Pearl focused and intent on learning.

During the course of the year Pearl had many adoption applications submitted for her. The glamorous picture of Pearl's Paws 4 You calendar appearance proved to be a remarkable way for her to get frequent applications from people wanting to adopt her. She was adopted out and quickly returned to Valerie and Tim twice within a few months of each other. The applicants were just not ready for a dog of Pearl's high demanding energy. Over time and with a lot of attention Pearl's cuts and scabs had cleared up, her thick black coat had almost entirely grown back, and her posture was upright and elegant. But Pearl continued to struggle with the Demodex infection. Even after the worst of the mites had dissipated Pearl would still scratch herself and nip her hair out from time to time to alleviate the itching from her skin condition. She was promptly put on specific medication treatments, got monthly skin check-ups and vaccinations, visited a skin specialist, was bathed weekly with special medicated shampoo, was given flea/tick preventions and heart-worm checkups, and was overall closely monitored each day by her fosters.

With Valerie and Tim's constant attention Pearl had made considerable progress in her physical health and appearance, but her overall temperament still needed a lot of improvement. They both realized the more exercise Pearl was given the more calmly she would later behave within the house and with strangers. Pearl often went outside for bike rides where she would run alongside the bike, which was her favorite daily activity. She was able to expend a lot of energy during this activity, and therefore her energy throughout the remainder of the day would be more relaxed and easy going. It also allowed her to be more receptive in learning to sit, stay, lie down, give fives, roll over, come, and other tricks when practicing in the kitchen and backyard of their home. The twenty to sixty minute bike rides were a great way to exhaust Pearl's high energy levels without exhausting the biker. On these days Pearl would later walk or lightly trot around the house instead of bolting from one side of the house to another at any random moment. She would lie tranquilly in any room of the house that Valerie and Tim were in, she would display soothing affection to her fosters, and she learned to play wrestle the correct way with her best friend Chloe, the lovable and friendly beagle of the house, instead of hurting her with unnecessary roughness.

The times when Pearl did not get her daily beloved bike ride she was mouthy, unable to sit still, and wanting constant attention; she would yank hard on Chloe's ears from time to time, she would chase and bark at the cat, she would run around the house at a speed the distance of the walls would allow, and she would bark loudly in stark defiance whenever Valerie or Tim would try to give her a command. To combat this wild behavior Valerie and Tim made a promise to never let one day go by without their dogs getting some form of real exercise. As a welcomed addition to the walks, jogs, bike rides, and dog park visits (which was a big part of her training and socializing with other dogs), Valerie and Tim were also coached by Bert Rivero-the founder and owner of The Ruff Break, a team of specialists that provide consistent exercise and consistent rules grounded in love to all dogs that need it-in a weight-pull training regimen for dogs.

Pearl was given a harness that had a four pound chain link attached to it and was shown to run with the weight for short distances to start with while she got used to the movements. The more Pearl ran with the weight the more she looked forward to this exercise every day, and soon she was pulling more chain links and more weight, even often during her daily walks. Over the course of three months Pearl had slowly built up her weight-pull training to pulling almost half of her body weight. Now that Pearl had a job to do it was clear she was feeling important and accomplished in her efforts. With Pearl's new purpose her snappy attitude had melted away, and she became a very treasured member of Valerie and Tim's household. When asked what the single best technique for getting a high energy dog to behave well was, both Valerie and Tim agreed it was the consistent exercise, and specifically for Pearl-the weight-pull training. Pearl was now able to channel her high energy into a safe physical activity that allowed her to get her instinctual desires to run, be a leader, and be challenged out in a positive and healthy way.

Just three months after Pearl started to pull weight she received an application from a nice woman named Jill that seemed like a perfect fit for the amazing and beautiful dog Pearl had grown to become over the year. The applicant loved the outdoors, was a strong leader, and loved adventure. She drove down from Jupiter, FL. to meet Pearl in Miami one day in March of 2011, almost exactly one year from when Valerie and Tim had first taken her in, and that same night she called Valerie and committed to adopting Pearl into her forever home. To this day, nine months later, Pearl and her owner are sharing a wonderful life together of adventure, exercise, discipline, leadership, and love. The owner and pet love to spend time together kayaking in lakes, rivers, and oceans, hiking trails through the woods, biking, swimming, weight-pulling, and any other outdoor activities that call for some kind of fun adventure. The scrawny, scabby, hairless dog that once disobeyed and would never look a human in the eyes is now in a loved home, with a loving owner, and living a healthy, happy, fun, and disciplined life. It just goes to show how love, leadership, and especially consistent exercise will create a friend for life in any dog that anyone truly cares about. Many thanks and appreciation to Paws 4 You and its dedicated fosters that gave a wonderful and innocent animal a new life, and in the process transformed the Pearl in the rough to a Pearl with enough.