Times Are Tough All Over

You just got laid off. Or you got evicted. Or you just took a pay cut. Or your landlord has decided to put in effect a strict, no-exceptions no-pet policy. In times of stress it's difficult enough to find a new job or a new home for yourself, let alone for a pet that you can no longer afford to keep.

Training Humans is not going to tell you to make your pet the number-one priority when you find yourself in any number of situations mentioned above. We get it. What we have done, however, is devised for you a handy Do's and Don'ts list so that you improve your pet's odds at finding a safe and happy new home.

Do:

• Contact Training Humans via the comments section in this blog or via our Facebook page (see link on the right of the page). Seriously.
• Network. You have Facebook? Twitter? Make a Facebook page for your pet and explain the situation and let people know you need to find it a new home. Be honest about your pet. What breed is it? How old is it? Is it housebroken? Why do you need to get rid of it? Tweet a link to that Facebook page and ask people to help you spread the word.
• Google. If your dog a senior? A pure breed? A mutt? Look up rescues that work specifically with seniors or the pure breed you have. Or ask Training Humans to do it. We know a bunch of rescues and are happy to help you find a good place for your pet.

Don't:

• Keep a pet you cannot afford to have and stop feeding it. 
• Leave the pet chained to a tree or fence hoping someone takes it.
• Set the dog loose in the street.
• Take the dog to a high-kill shelter.
• Wait until the day you are moving to try to find your pet a new home.

Remember, when you got your pet, you made yourself responsible for providing it with food, clean water, maintenance, and veterinary care. It certainly depends on you for its basic survival needs. 

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot afford unexpected veterinary bills or provide it with its daily food requirements, reach out for help immediately. Do not wait. Contact Training Humans. We will help you find a humane solution. We will help you find a no-kill shelter or rescue organization that can help you. 

And don't lose heart. If your situation is temporary and you need a reprieve while you get back on your feet, work with a foster who will return your pet to you once you are stable enough to care for it properly again.

So You Want to Get a Dog...

Or a cat. 


Or both! 


Where do you start? You have very specific needs. And why shouldn't you? It's going to be your pet. Perhaps you grew up with a specific breed, so you really want to have one of those again. You don't have much free time, so it can't be a puppy or kitten or any type of high-maintenance pet. You want to have it for a long time, so seniors are out, too, as well as any special-needs or ill pets. It must be healthy. And it HAS to be a boy. Or a girl. 

So those shelters, where large numbers of dogs and cats wait for someone to foster or adopt them, are surely out of the question. They only have injured or sickly animals, and just a bunch of mixed breeds that are probably aggressive. Right? 

Wrong!

You'll be surprised to find pure breeds of all ages available at high-kill shelters. Many no-kill shelters also make available lists of dogs and cats looking for new best friends and forever homes via their Facebook pages, official websites, Petfinder.com, or any combination of those. Furthermore, even if you find your new best bud at a no-kill, you've helped a greater cause: you've freed up a space for that shelter to go and save one from a high-kill facility. 

Owners surrender their animals for all sorts of reasons: some move to places that don't allow pets, some are evicted, some have babies and have no time for their pets anymore, and some pass away. So there are many awesome animals available, and all you need to do is look for one. 

No time to go through lists? No problem! Training Humans wants to help you. We'll do the research for you! Simply leave us a comment on this blog or visit our Facebook page and leave us a message and we will put you in touch with a rescue organization or shelter that has the pet you are looking for. Be sure to check back here for tips on what to purchase in preparation for receiving a new pet into your household (we'll link to the relevant blog post once it's live). 

When adopting a new pet, you have to complete an application, and if you go through a rescue organization, they will follow up with you to make sure the dog or cat is doing nicely. Remember that sometimes these things don't work out, so if you decide the dog or cat you get is too much work or simply not for you, then please return it to the rescue group from where you got it. If you got the pet directly from a high-kill shelter (sans middle man) then please contact Training Humans and we will help you find a no-kill shelter. 

Training Humans wishes you the best of luck with your new pet.

Layla and Dieter, Sitting in a Tree...

Monica considers herself a dog person, even though she hasn't always had a pet. She grew up with dogs in her household - had three of them, one after the other, with the last of them passing away 7 years ago. 

She has since moved in with her boyfriend and his 4½-year-old pug, Layla. Monica's boyfriend has had Layla since she was 6 months old, when he answered a local classified ad announcing her owner needed to surrender her. After years of Layla being the only household pooch, Monica decided it was time for her to have a dog to call her own and to keep Layla some company. She adopted 8-year-old Dieter - a long-haired dachshund - from Circle of Friends Animal Society.

The idea of bringing in a new dog into your home when you already have a dog can be a little daunting. As with most things regarding pet ownership, it requires time, patience, and an adjustment period. Things don't always work out, either. Chances are if you got your second dog from a shelter (which is always ideal) then the folks at the shelter will let you know to simply bring the dog back if this is the case. 

It wasn't the case with Layla and Dieter, however, which was happy news for Monica and her boyfriend. She took certain advisable steps when she first brought Dieter home. 

Here's what Monica had to say: 

I was very happy to see that Layla reacted well to Dieter upon meeting him. I think she was very curious about him because he's the polar opposite of her (she's a pug and he's a dachshund)! We first had them sniff each other on loose leashes, then relocated to an enclosed room off-leash so they could run around together. After that, we took them outside for a walk. A few more sniffs and licks to his face later, Layla seemed to accept Dieter as a potential addition to our family so we adopted him that day!

A month later, Layla and Dieter look like they are old familiars. 

Monica happily reports that they get along better and better each day. They nap together and have become huge cuddle-buddies. Neither dog gets territorial over food or toys. In fact, Dieter doesn't pay much attention to the toys Monica got for him.

Monica's lucky - the two pooches just took to each other in the most ideal possible way. But what about money? I asked Monica whether she felt a financial hit now that she'd taken in a second dog. 

I don't believe there has been much of a change financially caring for another dog. It was somewhat more expensive initially because we had to buy things for a new dog (crate, leash, collar, etc.) but thankfully you only buy those things once! Overall, there hasn't been a giant leap in costs.

Steps Monica took:

• She adopted Dieter from a rescue organization that pulls dogs from high-kill shelters. That opens up a space for another dog that the organization can pull out of harm's way.
• She didn't adopt him right away. She was honest about having a dog in the house who had been used to being top and only dog for 4 years and asked to introduce him to Layla the pug to see how things went.
• She leashed both dogs before bringing them into the same space together for the first time. Leashing them helps equalize the playing field, neutralizes it so that Layla does not feel like Dieter is trampling on her turf.
• She took them into another space and let them off leash while supervising them to see how they would behave after initial sniffing.
• She leashed them again and took them both for a walk. This helps them burn a little energy and lets you get a feel of how they will do outside together. 

If you are considering the possibility of bringing a second dog into your home and have any concerns, leave me a comment below and I will be happy to give advice and answer any questions you may have. Consider, too, checking out your local shelters. There are a vast number of dogs available, many of them pure breed, and you never know: you may end up saving a dog's life and giving your pooch a new best bud.

Training Humans wishes Monica's family the best of luck.