By Judy A.

I have always believed the purpose of life is to be useful. After retirement I considered volunteering at the shelter many times. Somehow, in the end, I always decided it would be too sad and not a good fit for me. It was difficult to find something to commit to doing. I was resistant. In 2014 things changed when my husband and I lost our two 18-year-old tomcats just two months apart. I was devastated. I cried every day. Desperate to be around animals, I decided to give the shelter a go. I might like it. I might not, but at least I could spend time with animals and perhaps help them in some small way.

After going through orientation, I signed up for both cattery companion and dog walking training. Since I wanted to start right away, I began kennel cleaning immediately as it required no formal training. All I had to do was show up and they would show me what to do. On my very first day, I met another volunteer who ended up being my dog walking trainer and eventually my friend and partner in crime. Friendship was not the reason I came to volunteer at the shelter but it is one of the reasons I keep coming back week after week. I have made lifelong friends with likeminded individuals just doing what I love, being around animals. I belong to a group of walkers who get together once a month for dinner and a drink to celebrate the dogs who went to their forever homes. I always look forward to seeing them and talking about dogs.

I try to figure out what a dog wants to do. Some like the ball and I will throw it until my arm falls off. Some like to walk and I can walk for miles just for fun. Some like to sniff and I am very patient. Some like quiet snuggle time and that is where I really shine. I have a nubby blanket, toys, water and treats in the backseat of my car. I call it the Love Cabana. We hang out. We snuggle. We do the tummy tickle, the back scratch and sing silly rhyming songs with their name in it. This is my purpose in life, my second career and I call it, “Making the world a better place, one dog at a time.” I am paid in doggy smiles, snugs, soulful looks and kisses. When I get home from my shift my glasses are so slobbered up I can barely see.

I have performed a variety of jobs since coming to Greenhill. I have cleaned dog kennels, walked dogs, taken dogs to visit seniors in an assisted living facility, served as a kennel team leader, dog walking trainer, dog walking shadow shift trainer, dog handler for the video team, dog handler at special events and a cattery main floor cleaner. Whether I am picking up poop or all dressed up with a dog at An Evening for Animals, I am serving those who are temporarily in our care while finding their forever homes. I am thrilled when they get adopted.

As it turned out, the shelter isn’t a sad place after all. My husband and I found love again at First Avenue when we adopted a 10-year-old male orange tabby. He is typical for an orange tabby: friendly, curious and sweet as sugar. He fills our house with love and that is what makes it a home.

By Laurel H.

Define it

I think we all have a different idea of what loose leash walking is. Some of us think of it as a “heel,” where the dog stays by your side throughout the walk. Some of us think of it as a more casual thing – mostly just the dog not dragging you down the street. For the purposes of this article, I am going to use the second definition, though the teaching is fairly similar.

Get Ready

We teach the shelter dogs with a clicker. If you don’t want to take a clicker with you on a walk, pick a marker word (a word to tell the dog they did well and a treat is coming) to use. I like “good,” because I think it sounds nice and consistent. Other people use “yes” or odd things like “yip.” When I say click from here on out, that word can act in the same way as the clicker.

Here’s how I set myself up for a walk. This might actually be the hardest part, because it can feel awkward at first. Don’t give up. It gets easier, I promise.

• Treats on the same side as I want the dog to walk, in a pocket or a treat bag, easy to get to
• Leash in the hand opposite to the dog
• Clicker, if I’m using one, in the same hand as the leash
• Dog wearing a harness and leash(es) – the leash crosses my body in front so I can hold it opposite of the dog.

Attention

The first thing you actually need to work on has nothing to do with walking… it’s just getting the dog’s attention on you. I think a lot of the shelter dogs that have no leash manners may actually not know that there is a person on the other end of the leash; there’s just a dead weight back there keeping them from going where they want to go. So, you have to get their attention.

Stand facing the dog. Have yummy treats. Click and treat a few times for nothing at all. When they are giving you attention, start clicking when they look at you, then treat to the ground. When they look back up at you, click again. Do this as fast as you can with the dog to get them really excited about working with you and keep their attention on you.

You have to be more interesting that the environment (smells, traffic, other dogs, etc). Otherwise, the dog has no reason to pay attention to that dead weight at the end of the leash, because SQUIRREL!

First Steps

We share some videos with our volunteers on how to get started with loose leash walking. Here are the links:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Even if you don’t teach it with as many steps and precision as those videos, here are some basic concepts:

• Once you have attention, click and treat every step to start. You are trying to click and treat before the dog dives out in front of you.
• As you increase the number of steps between each click/treat, make sure you are being unpredictable. If you always click after 3 steps, the dog is no dummy. He’s going to wait 3 steps, look for the treat, and if you don’t deliver it’s time to start dragging you down the street! So, don’t make it the same every time. Just keep the average going up over time, from walk to walk.

Add a Cue

After you’ve got about 3 or 4 steps between click/treats, add a cue. Say “with me” before you start walking. After you’ve gone a ways, say “okay” or “go sniff,” then let the dog take a break and sniff around. Use “with me” when you are ready to start practicing again.

Watch for Triggers

If you’re walking a dog that you know reacts to something (dogs, cars, skateboards, bikes, cats, clowns, etc) and you see that kind of trigger headed your way, make as much as space as you can. If getting away from the trigger means going back the way you came (and you can do so), do it. Click/treat rapidly until the trigger is safely away from you.

Let the Dog Sniff

Dogs need opportunities to sniff and just be dogs. Sniffing helps them relieve stress and take in information about the world. Dogs experience the world through their noses kind of like we do visually. Imagine if you were so excited to go for a walk at sunset along the beach, but you had to keep a blindfold on so you couldn’t actually enjoy it the way you imagined. BORING. Walks are a chance to enrich the dogs’ lives, not just march them down the street. Be sure to give them time to enjoy it!