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NOTE: Our 360 Degree Dog program is not
an outlet for owners who want to discard their unruly dogs.
It is specifically for truly homeless dogs that are a day or so shy
of euthanasia due to behavioral issues. With our limited
resources, we are able to have 2-4 dogs at a time in our program.
If you own a dog that requires rehabilitation, please see our
Dog Training pages that will
describe our services and how we can help you and your dog.
There is hope, and we can resolve your dog's issues so that you can
keep your own dog, rather than give it away for someone else to
inherit the problems.
Dogs become homeless for a number of
reasons. Sometimes, lack of training and socialization makes
them overly challenging for their owners who relinquish them to a
Shelter or Rescue. We wish that Shelters and Rescue groups
would explain to those folks that there IS help available and refer
them to truly professional dog trainers that have the skills to
rehabilitate dogs and their people. But, that is not always an
option because, frankly, there are not many really great dog
professionals who truly know how to rehabilitate problem dogs. The dogs are difficult to place into a new
family situation because they maintain their anti-social tendencies,
resulting in unacceptable behavior. Other dogs are simply
dumped and picked up by Animal Control where, due to over crowded
conditions or lack of resources, they are given just 7-10 days
before being euthanized. Dogs that are relinquished by their
owners can actually be put down the very next day.
Over
the years, because we are known in our community as the "Dog
Training People", we have been contacted by local animal groups or
individuals when they identify a dog that seems just too nice, or
too young, or too friendly (albeit they have some behavioral issues)
to simply be killed. We have received these dogs into our
facility, taken them to the vet for routine care, vaccines and
neutering, fed and managed them, spent time "marketing them" until
we were able to secure a forever home. We have always done
this at a cost to us- charging their new owners only the actual
veterinary care that we had paid. We have been able to
do this sort of intensive work, now and again, when we felt that we
had the resources to accommodate their needs. But, we also had
to turn away many dogs because we simply did not have the time or
other resources to help every dog that was brought to our attention
as in dire need.
We have come to realize that we have
something special to offer dogs and their owners. It has taken
us almost a decade to figure it out. We thank the
hundreds of paying clients who have brought us their dogs for our
standard "Training" when what they truly required was social
reprogramming and psychological rehabilitation before we could even
begin the dog's training! That's why we consider a complete
canine education the sum of Socialization, Management and Training.
Because, without the socialization component, it's nearly impossible
to train a dog and have the lessons "stick". A dog that has
little respect for people (which we call anti-social) isn't going to
maintain his sense of compliance to his owner's authority.
Because nearly ever dog that comes to us for our professional
training services has at least a minor social imbalance, we get lots
of experience developing our methods. We are truly exceptional
with rehabilitation - both fear and aggression based bad behaviors
as well as naughty excessive exuberance. And, we know that now,
because we have years of data to support that claim. We
know how to create a balanced pack of individually well balanced
dogs. That means we know how to make dogs happy!
We also have come to realize that
many people want to rescue homeless or displaced dogs. But,
they know that there is a risk in doing so. Many dogs (even
those that have been raised in a loving home) are unbalanced
socially and/or psychologically. They have issues. They
are destructive. They are dominant over people or other
animals. They are shy and fearful. They are simply
naughty and present with unwanted behaviors because they have never
experienced boundaries or limits established by a competent leader.
Many Shelters in the USA choose to euthanize these dogs rather than
spend the money to rehabilitate them. It's the American Way to
simply discard and get a new one rather than refurbish and
rehabilitate. We believe nearly every dog can be
rehabilitated. It is just a matter of resources and someone
who cares enough to take on the job.
We have defined a way that allows
folks to feel good about adopting a homeless dog while reducing the
risk that they will be unable to manage the dog's potential issues.
It's really a merger between rescuing the dogs (as we have been
doing all along), and adding our highly successful, professional
training. Every dog deserves exceptional management, great
socialization and training. So, although the dogs in our 360
Degree program don't have an owner to pay us, up front, for our
services, we are confident that they will be far easier to place
once they are exposed to our exceptional rehabilitation program.
Then, it's a matter of doing a very good job of screening
prospective homes, training the new owners, and providing good
follow-up, if necessary.
Our 360 Degree Dogs are
dogs that found themselves homeless (for one reason or another).
They are tough to place cases that we have rehabilitated and
trained. They have made a complete turn-around and are ready
for life with their forever families. For folks who ache to
rescue a dog from a Shelter but who worry about the problems they
may encounter, we offer our professionally trained 360-Degree Dogs.
It is critical for a dog's owner to
be as educated as the dog. So, to ensure the successful
placement of our 360 Degree Dogs, we require the new owners to come
to a New Owner Education & Training Session, much like our clients receive after
we have professionally trained their dogs for them. This
intensive, 3-4 hour session prepares the new owners to handle and
maintain the dog's training, once it goes to their new home.
Dogs are so often simply a reflection of their relationship with
their people. So, it's important to teach the humans, too!
We have a strict adoption process.
We will have put a lot of our heart and soul into each of our 360
Degree Dogs. They have been displaced at least once prior to
coming to us, so we want to make certain that they get into great
forever homes. So, please expect us to ask you some tough
questions. You are welcome to inquire about our training and
socialization program, too. But, you will probably receive
more information in the New Owner Education Session than you ever
expected to gain because, to us, the best way to assure success is
to provide you with everything you'll need to keep your new dog
happy.
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