Author: Jennifer

More and more people are opening up to the wonderful, kind idea that Thanksgiving can be a celebration of family and helping others – no turkey needed! We can’t think of a better way to commemorate the spirit of that day in 1621, when Native Americans feasted with the pilgrims at Plymouth, after helping the pilgrims survive their first year in the New World. In the Adopt-a-Pet.com world, helping “others” definitely includes animals. So we came up with a few new Thanksgiving Traditions we hope you’ll make a part of your annual thankful day.

– Volunteer to help homeless farm animals, like turkeys! You can register as a volunteer on Adopt-a-Pet.com and check “Farm Animals” under the type of animals you’d like to help.

– Search for any type of homeless pet near you on Adopt-a-Pet.com and then click the “share” button to share with your Facebook friends or Twitter followers. You might help a homeless pet near you spend their first year in a new home! Lots of furry pilgrims out there could use your help in being seen, so they can be adopted.

– A traditional Thanksgiving feast already offers a mouth watering array of vegetarian and vegan (or easy to vegan-ize) dishes. Try skipping the turkey this year – we bet you won’t even miss it! Check out the delicious & humane Thanksgiving recipes made by our friends over at Care2 in case you need some inspiration.

– In the spirit of NSAL’s Paws to Give Thanks campaign, remember and give thanks the unconditional love, loyalty and joy your pets bring to your lives everyday by donating to an animal welfare cause.

– And finally, for the safety of your pets in your home, we highly recommend making a tradition of following NSAL’s Thanksgiving safety tips we link to in our our previous blog.

Have a humane & happy Thanksgiving!

Help a New Pet Find a Home Every Day! Here’s an easy way to help pets find homes every day. It’s easy to do just by adding Adopt-a-Pet.com’s new Pet of the Day widget to your website or blog! First, go to http://www.adoptapet.com/public/searchtools/pet-of-the-day. Then you can enter in your zip code, customize the background colors if you wish, or choose one of our stylish preset options. Copy and paste the code into your web site, and we’ll automatically display a different adoptable pet for your visitors every day. Your visitors can click on the pet’s photo or the ‘details’ button to see that pet’s full listing on Adopt-a-Pet.com, with their shelter or rescue’s contact information. And, they can also easily share that pet on their Facebook and Twitter accounts by clicking on the icons under the pet’s photo! With your help, even more potential adopters will see the pets for adoption in your area that are listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

Recall is when your dog or puppy comes to you when called. There are two main types of recall. One is a more casual coming to you when called, like when you want your dog to come inside. The second is an emergency recall, which is THE most important thing you can ever teach your dog. Even if your dog obeys nothing else, having them come to you when called can save their life. To teach your dog to come when called in more casual situations using the word “come” see our other Teach your dog to come when called article with its awesome training video! The tips below will help you teach your dog the second kind of recall, the emergency recall.

Step 1: Emergency Recall Word

Decide precisely what one word you’ll use to call your dog in an emergency situation Keep it simple. Everyone in your household should agree on exactly what word will be used. Pick a word that you don’t say very often, shorter is better. Imagine your dog escaped and is running into traffic! Pick a word you don’t say often, maybe “Bacon!!!!” or “Cake!!!” or yes even “Recall!” could work too.

Always say your emergency recall word in a loud happy tone. Imagine if your dog’s leash broke and he is running into traffic: You want word to be heard!

Do not repeatedly say your recall word in a row. Only say it ONCE.

Instead of a word, you could use a whistle sound made with your mouth if everyone who will ever be calling your dog can do the SAME whistle as loud or louder than they can yell a word. Training emergency recall with an actual metal or plastic whistle isn’t recommended as you may not have it handy in an emergency situation. Clapping can work, but only if you never clap to tell a dog not to do something, nor at other times like while you watch sports on TV.

Step 2: Load Your Recall Word

Load your recall word up with lots of “credit”. Imagine your recall word is a debit card. You need to make a deposit before you can use it. You don’t want your dog to ignore you due to “insufficient funds” or a word that has “expired” for lack of practice. How to load your word depends on your dog’s motivation:

A) Foodie Big Payoff. This works for food-motivated dogs and if you’re not free feeding. When does your dog get whole lot of yummy food all at once? Mealtime! Before you put your dog’s food bowl down, with your dog looking at you and the newly-filled food bowl, say your word once and loudly as you put the food bowl down. Repeat every mealtime for a week.

B) Play/Praise/Petting: Similar to above, hide your dogs favorite toy and only take it out twice a day. Or reserve your happiest praise and lots of petting for recall. Stand right next to your dog. Call your recall word then “load” the word by giving your dog the toy/praise/petting for up to 10 seconds. Repeat a few times a day for one week inside where least distracted, and gradually generalize in new locations with more and more distractions.

If your dog isn’t motivated by food, play, praise, or petting seek the help of a professional trainer for recall.

3. Recall Exercises: Teach your dog to come when called

WEEK TWO: After at least one week of “loading” as described above, you can advance to preparing the reward (food/toy/person)  and now say your emergency recall word after backing up a few steps, so your dog has to come towards you to get the reward.

WEEK THREE: Advance to generalizing by rewarding in different places around your home, in your yard, and while on leash out on walks. Foodies can switch from getting their meal to huge handful of favorite treats for on leash recall work out on walks. Only practice ONE TIME each new place, You don’t want to desensitize them, i.e. don’t withdraw all your loaded credit! Also for this week, try to pick a time when the dog is not distracted.

WEEK FOUR: Add in touching your dog’s collar too, like you’d have to do if the dog escaped and you needed to attach a leash. Touch the collar as you reward, just for a second. Also you can start advancing to bigger distractions, like if your dog sees a squirrel in a tree or another dog down the block.

OFF-LEASH RECALL: Please be safe! When you’re ready to practice recall off-leash, do so in a fenced-in dog-safe area. Some dogs (like scent or sight hounds) can never be off-leash trained. All dogs take lots of training and lifelong practice to recall around compelling distractions.

ONCE A MONTH, FOREVER: Don’t let your emergency recall word expire. Practice once a month will prevent your emergency recall word from being forgotten. A solid emergency recall may save your dog’s life one day, and allow you and your dog to safely enjoy many more activities and a richer life together.

Photo by Jerry Xu www.jerry–xu.com

When you first hear or read the name Pinky von Petersburg, a small lap dog probably comes to mind. But this Pinky, who is November’s featured Adopt-a-Pet.com pet for adoption over at MyPetHealthGuide.com, is a smart and stunning two-year-old female German Shepherd/Malinois who deserves every letter of her regal-sounding title. When she gazes at you with those beautiful dark eyes, you’ll understand. She is available through Westside German Shepherd Rescue and you can view her full Adopt-a-Pet.com listing here.

Your typical Los Angeles native, Pinky is a confident, fun loving and outgoing pup who gets along well with other dogs. She has an even temperament and is very easy to train. Because she loves to learn new things, Pinky picks up commands quickly (after all, there’s a reason this breed is the world’s leading police and military dog!) Walking Pinky on a leash is, well, a walk in the park. She’ll even sit patiently at the corner and wait when you ask her to.

For more information and to meet Pinky von Petersburg, please use the contact information on her listing at http://www.adoptapet.com/pet4533331.html

This story is brought to us by Conscious Cat, and is about a senior cat who was put up for adoption at the age of 16. A big thanks goes out to the hard working volunteers at the Sacramento Cat Rescue. This story is about Rita, who lived with the same owner for her whole life. Then her owner decided she didn’t want Rita anymore and pulled the rug out from under the senior cat’s world. The cat’s young owner had grown up alongside Rita; she was only 4 years old when the then-kitten came home. But the young woman decided to move in with her boyfriend and his parents, who already had one cat and didn’t want more. She waited until three days before she was moving out and then contacted a Sacramento, CA cat rescue group. She said she would be leaving the now 16-year-old cat behind in an empty trailer. Follow Rita’s journey to a new home at Conscious Cat.

View more cartoon’s from Jim George at Draw the Dog.

Adopt-a-Pet.com’s partnership PEOPLEPets.com is raising awareness of animals adoption! Each month, PEOPLEPets.com highlights a pet from AdoptaPet.com who is looking for a home. This month, it’s Sunday who was found on, appropriately, a Sunday night, roaming the streets in a stray-heavy Cleveland, Ohio, area. Though his rough background cause him to fight with other cats, he just adores people, Helping Hands representative Tia Kocianic tells PEOPLEPets.com. “He is a real lap cat, and is very chatty and sweet. He loves to follow people around the house ‘talking’ to them,” she says.

Though he was adopted last spring, his new “parents” recently divorced, and are unable to keep him. “He needs a family who understands that he is a one-and-only cat, but who will love him regardless for who he is,” Kocianic says. The young adult is neutered and healthy.

Helping Hands Pet Adoption Network is a small group of foster families that helps animals in transition find loving homes. The organization — which is currently at capacity — takes in dogs and cats from all walks of life, regardless of health or age, and works to find them forever families in the Cleveland area.

Read more about Sunday and how to adopt him here.

View more cartoon’s from Jim George at Draw the Dog.

If you are thinking of adding a pet to your family, getting your children involved with the daily responsibility of caring for your new family member is an excellent way to teach kids some value lessons. We recently caught up with Christi Drue Dunlap who has authored “Lucky Me” which is told from the point-of-view of Rocky, an adorable rescued pug, this book will show children (and their parents) what it feels like to be a pet without a home; what the inside of a Humane Society looks like; ways to make sure your new pet feels at home, right away; and how animals tell us what they like and what they don’t.

Author/photographer/mom/blogger Christi Drue Dunlap loves animals. Her blog, Life in the Fur Lane, finds humor and beauty in the chaos of having a child and many pets. She writes and blogs because “family and furry friends make her house a home,” she says. “And life without fetch playing and the occasional furball just wouldn’t be as love-filled and fun.” Learn more about her book here.