4/8/11
Fosters help keep HOPE alive
Like all of our rescue work, as important as it is, we need a special foster home for our HOPE FOR A BETTER LIFE ™ Goldens so that they can continue to assimilate back into a normal home setting. Returning them to a kennel would be a definite step backward and would probably dilute much of their progress and training.
A special foster home is one that has no other dogs in residence and the fosters are committed to participating in the dog’s on-going training.
If you can make the commitment to one of these special dogs or you know of someone that you could recommend, please contact us.
Making room in your heart and your home holds special rewards both for you and the Golden you help. There is no question that this is a special commitment and isn’t for everyone. Think about it, call or e-mail comments, questions or recommendations.
We look forward to hearing from you and we know for sure our Goldens do as well.
A special foster home is one that has no other dogs in residence and the fosters are committed to participating in the dog’s on-going training.
If you can make the commitment to one of these special dogs or you know of someone that you could recommend, please contact us.
Making room in your heart and your home holds special rewards both for you and the Golden you help. There is no question that this is a special commitment and isn’t for everyone. Think about it, call or e-mail comments, questions or recommendations.
We look forward to hearing from you and we know for sure our Goldens do as well.
3/24/11
Congratulations Euphoria!
Euphoria came to us in February, 2010, from an LA County shelter where he was turned in by his owners for food aggression. It became apparent to IE Team members that his food aggression was much more serious than anticipated with reports from the kennel that he growled and threatened over food. In addition, a food bowl test confirmed that he was serious about keeping people away from his food. While Euphoria's behavior was not acceptable, it was also clear that this was the kind of dog who, if trained properly, stood a good chance of improving enough to be placed successfully.
With the formal implementation of our Hope For A Better Life Program™ for behaviorally challenged dogs in Summer, 2010, Euphoria entered the program as one of our initial and most challenging candidates.
Euphoria went to Wags & Wiggles for a 6-week residential behavior rehabilitation program with specialists. His story and progress is documented here.
Thanks to the specialists at Wags & Wiggles, Euphoria made progress to continue his rehabilitation in a home environment. Volunteer and foster, Janet B. stepped up to the plate and participated in training sessions with the team at W&W to learn the techniques regarding feeding Euphoria as well as overall management of his behavior around food. Through Janet’s disciplined focus and handling of Euphoria over the past 4 months, he demonstrated a reconditioning of his behavior around food and is no longer a risk to himself or those around him. Janet appreciated where he’d come from and the progress he’d made so much that she adopted him in order to continue her commitment to this sweet Golden.
Euphoria thanks the Rescue knowing things could have taken a very different direction for him without GCGLARescue's Hope for a Better Life™ program.
With the formal implementation of our Hope For A Better Life Program™ for behaviorally challenged dogs in Summer, 2010, Euphoria entered the program as one of our initial and most challenging candidates.
Euphoria went to Wags & Wiggles for a 6-week residential behavior rehabilitation program with specialists. His story and progress is documented here.
Thanks to the specialists at Wags & Wiggles, Euphoria made progress to continue his rehabilitation in a home environment. Volunteer and foster, Janet B. stepped up to the plate and participated in training sessions with the team at W&W to learn the techniques regarding feeding Euphoria as well as overall management of his behavior around food. Through Janet’s disciplined focus and handling of Euphoria over the past 4 months, he demonstrated a reconditioning of his behavior around food and is no longer a risk to himself or those around him. Janet appreciated where he’d come from and the progress he’d made so much that she adopted him in order to continue her commitment to this sweet Golden.
Euphoria thanks the Rescue knowing things could have taken a very different direction for him without GCGLARescue's Hope for a Better Life™ program.
2/15/11
Hiram Flaversham progress report
Hiram's been busy at boarding school. He was extremely anxious and a bit depressed when he arrived, but he's brightened up quite a bit and had become the favorite of his instructor. Hiram is a relatively mellow fellow, but is very uncomfortable with other animals, particularly smaller ones, including little dogs, cats, birds, etc.
Hiram's been acing his homework and is coming along nicely in all his subjects, but it is very unlikely that he's going to change his mind about the other animal situation anytime soon. He does very well in school and enjoys it a great deal, so people who would want to continue his training would be his first choice. Once he's done with school, he'll be looking for an all-adult home where he'll be the only non-human in residence as other critters make him nervous. He's learning to tolerate their presence in a social setting, but he would prefer they kept a respectful distance; his personal "bubble" is about 10 feet right now. With time and work that could be improved, but that's where we are right now.
Hiram's been acing his homework and is coming along nicely in all his subjects, but it is very unlikely that he's going to change his mind about the other animal situation anytime soon. He does very well in school and enjoys it a great deal, so people who would want to continue his training would be his first choice. Once he's done with school, he'll be looking for an all-adult home where he'll be the only non-human in residence as other critters make him nervous. He's learning to tolerate their presence in a social setting, but he would prefer they kept a respectful distance; his personal "bubble" is about 10 feet right now. With time and work that could be improved, but that's where we are right now.
Witch King progress report
Witch King, called "King", has been at boarding school almost a month now. Initially, it seemed that we had a dog whose impulse control issues were so acute that we were not going to be able to do much with him. His attention span was so poor, he couldn't focus for a moment, and his social skills were so bad that he literally posed a danger to any dog he may have come into contact with.
But after completing this first round of training, King shows a great deal of improvement. As you can see from the video, while he's working he has a reasonably decent attention span, can follow his trainer's cues and performs quite well, quite a bit better than we would have hoped for a month ago. He still is quite impulsive, and he gets frustrated easily; you can see him wiggling around in the video. But he does have the capacity to relax, and with continued work with his trainers, and we hope, his adopters, King has the capacity to improve even more.
King will be looking for an all-adult home, where someone is home a good deal of the time, and where the folks are exceptionally dog savvy. Of course, his new family will need to be committed to his on-going training; it's likely he'll need maintenance for life in this area. But he's really a sweet kid, and can be pretty charming, so he's bound to win the right family over soon.
But after completing this first round of training, King shows a great deal of improvement. As you can see from the video, while he's working he has a reasonably decent attention span, can follow his trainer's cues and performs quite well, quite a bit better than we would have hoped for a month ago. He still is quite impulsive, and he gets frustrated easily; you can see him wiggling around in the video. But he does have the capacity to relax, and with continued work with his trainers, and we hope, his adopters, King has the capacity to improve even more.
King will be looking for an all-adult home, where someone is home a good deal of the time, and where the folks are exceptionally dog savvy. Of course, his new family will need to be committed to his on-going training; it's likely he'll need maintenance for life in this area. But he's really a sweet kid, and can be pretty charming, so he's bound to win the right family over soon.
1/12/11
Euphoria happy in foster care
Euphoria is doing very very well and has made great progress in the care of his foster. A home environment really suits him and brings out the best in him...particularly where he feels safe, gets a lot of affection and enjoys the toys which delight him. His continued training around food has progressed where he is relaxed with no reactive behavior as people prepare or eat food in his presence. We are pleased to see the results of his rehabilitation training as a result of the experienced behavior specialists at Wags & Wiggles and the continued reinforcement and progression under the care of a diligent and compassionate foster. Euphoria is looking for a home where he can build a bond with humans that continue the great work achieved under the Hope For A Better Life program. This boy has truly blossomed into a confident, sweet, affectionate golden and is a true gem.
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