Sorry!

I apologize for not updating sooner.

On Wednesday, the most active Pen Pal volunteers gathered at ACCT to share ideas about training and marketing of our Pen Pals. Erin shared with us some great news -- Natalie OK'ed a generous offer by Portia of Central Bark Doggie Day Care to allow us to bring our Pen Pals on Sundays to run off-leash in their enclosed (indoor!) dog runs! Thank you, Portia!

On Saturday, Megan and I met at ACCT at 8:45, and attempted to ambush Leo with a Gentle Leader head collar. This is a dog wearing a Gentle Leader:


As you can see, a dog can still hold a ball, eat food, and take a drink. It is NOT a muzzle. It gives the owner control over the dog's head, which in turn, gives the owner control over the dog's body.

Unfortunately, most dogs do not immediately adjust to wearing this type of collar, because they are not used to having something around their nose. It usually takes time to get the dog to adjust to it, using positive reinforcement for walking nicely, without trying to paw it off.

Leo HATED it. He shook his head so vigorously trying to get it off. We managed to get from the shelter into my car for a ride down to Kelly Drive. However, in the car, he did get the loop off of his nose.

Once at Kelly Drive, we decided to leave the Gentle Leader off. He was shaking so much, we thought his shaking would be more of a turn-off for potential adopters than his energetic pulling on my regular leash.

We met John down there, and introduced him to Leo. John can't have dogs in his apartment, but he did sign up to be a volunteer for the PSPCA/ACCT!

Due to time constraints, Leo's journey to Kelly Drive didn't last too long, and didn't even put a dent in his energy level. We're hoping to take him to Central Bark on Sunday, January 31st, where he can RUN RUN RUN!

Also, because of a shortage of "Adopt Me" vests at ACCT, Megan ordered one on her own from Dog Booties. When we went down to Kelly Drive, nobody knew that he was available for adoption.

Coolio

My Pen Pal's name (for now) is Coolio. He is a 1- to 2-year-old pit mix who was found as a stray. He has been at ACCT since August 6th, 2009. That's 150 days (4 months, 28 days).

I interacted with him for the first time today. I determined that he already knows both the verbal command, and the hand signal (a raised, closed fist) for "sit." I also determined that he has selective hearing. He listens when he wants to.

My first two goals are to introduce loose-leash walking, and to teach him "down." We worked on the second one today. I was able to easily lure him with treats into a down position several times.
I'll work on loose-leash walking once I fit him for a Gentle Leader head collar. It is a special training collar which loops over his muzzle. To some, it looks like a muzzle, but it's not. The dog can still open his mouth to take treats and drink water. But it gives the walker control over the dog's head, which (if you're familiar with walking a horse), gives the walker control over the dog's body.

He is a very energetic dog, and VERY curious. Since it was below freezing outside, we were working in the "bowl room" of ACCT, and he was interested in exploring EVERYTHING.

His behavior notes say that he has not been cat-tested yet, but does well with most other dogs.