Evicted: Pets and the Foreclosure Crisis

Evicted: Pets and the Foreclosure Crisis
By Robert Forto, PhD

Dog Law is a weekly series in which I explore a different topic regarding canine law, legislation and procedures related to the legal side of owning our canine companions. I have been involved as an expert witness in many cases over the years, testifying on everything from breed bans, landlord-tenant disputes, aggressive dogs, dog bites and more. I am also a canine behaviorist and paralegal. If you have any questions regarding dogs and the law I would be happy to help. While I am not an attorney and I encourage you to seek out competent legal assistance should it come to that, I can be retained in most cases by both plaintiff and defense counsel to assist in your case as an expert witness.

Pets and Foreclosure

This is a re-print of an article that I posted some time ago. I thought it would be timely to re-post as there is recent news that the foreclosure crisis is not behind us. Many of us still face mounting debt and many Americans are forced to move out of their homes and leave their pets behind.

Just last week a county shelter in Washington State, enacted a policy stating that they would not allow any more “unwanted pets” in their facilities. These pets are often turned in as result of their owner’s dire financial straits. Please read the following article and post you comments and opinions. I look forward to hearing from you.

The house was ravaged — its floors ripped, walls busted and lights smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. Hidden in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family: a starving pit bull-- this was the image of a home in suburban California.The dog was too far gone to save — another example of how pets are becoming the newest victims of the nation’s mortgage crisis as homeowners leave animals behind when they can no longer afford their property.Pets “are getting dumped all over,” said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane Society of Stanislaus County in northern California. “Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies.”

The abandoned pets are overwhelming animal shelters and drawing fury from bloggers, trainers, activists and rescue groups, especially as photos of emaciated animals circulate on the Internet.

Denver Dog Works in Colorado has seen an influx of shelter-saved dogs at the training center in recent months. All of the new owners say the same thing: “I don’t know the dog’s history we just wanted to save his life,” as quoted verbatim from more than one client. While this is admirable at best, and a challenge none-the-least when it comes to training the dog to accept a new home and new owners are facing an up-hill battle.

The first people to enter an abandoned house, such as property inspectors and real estate brokers, have discovered dogs tied to trees in backyards, cats in garages, and turtles, rabbits and lizards in children’s bedrooms.

No one keeps track of the numbers of abandoned pets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are climbing. Denver is reported to have the highest number of foreclosures per capita. Colorado also has some of the highest number of dogs per household. The two combined equal a disaster on an epidemic scale for wayward pets.

Despite months of warning before a foreclosure, many desperate homeowners run out the clock hoping to forestall an eviction. Then they panic, particularly if they are moving to a home where pets are not permitted.

Many of these people have no money, their credit mess and they cannot afford to move into an apartment and pay the extra fee for a security deposit for the pet, which is often hundreds of dollars.The situation has become so widespread that the Humane Society urges home owners faced with foreclosure to take their animals to a shelter. Many shelters even have a no-questions-asked policy.

In most cases, a pet owner is not required to give details about the reasons for them turning over the animal. Some organizations even have drop off boxes where an owner can take a pet anonymously.

Shelters are trying to keep up, but the spike in abandoned pets comes at a time when fewer people are adopting animals. Home sales are plunging to their lowest level in decades, and new homeowners are often the most likely to seek a pet.

Even people who are buying homes are not adopting pets.“People are not bringing home puppies because times are tough, and animals cost money,” says Dr. Robert Forto, training director for Denver Dog Works. “It is a sad fact that dogs in this country are disposable. That is uncalled for,” Dr. Forto says.

The mortgage crisis shows few signs of easing. Many real estate tracking companies announce that countless homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the past six months, setting the stage for record-number foreclosures this year. While the government and even our President have adopted programs for people in trouble, many do not meet the stringent qualification procedures.

For others, it is already too late.Shelters all over the Denver area are fielding more desperate calls from animal owners about to be evicted. Many call as a last resort after being turned down by various rescue groups with no room for more animals.“They’re usually breaking down on the phone,” said a shelter dispatcher recently quoted on a blog on the Internet. “I’m quite direct with them that there’s a 50-50 chance the animals might be put down.”

Still, shelter operators say, half a chance is better than none.“They may be euthanized at a shelter,” said Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States. “But they’ll be fed and have water and have a humane euthanasia, as opposed to spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard.”

Canine Behaviorists and trainers like Dr. Forto are furious with the “foreclosure pet” phenomenon, especially after seeing photos of emaciated animals on the Internet and those arriving at his training center in near feral condition.

Some critics say the pet owners have already proved they are irresponsible by buying houses they could not afford or mortgages they did not bother to understand.

The problem is exacerbated because most people grappling with foreclosure are returning to rental housing or moving in with relatives — two situations where it can be difficult or impossible to bring pets.

What we’ve always known is that when times are hard for people, they’re hard for their pets as well.

Abandoning animals is illegal in most states under anti-cruelty laws, but the laws are not rigidly enforced. In most cases it is just a fine of a few hundred dollars or the prospect of a misdemeanor on your record.

A relatively small price to pay when you are facing homelessness.Occasionally, albeit rarely, a family with will be reunited with the pet that they had left behind in their foreclosed house. In one case, a family was staying in a homeless shelter, and their dogs were being cared for by neighbors at the family’s behest. The family was able to find housing suitable for themselves and their dogs.

But happy endings elude a majority of foreclosure animals.“Their best shot is for the owners to plan ahead some,” Dr. Forto said. “But they did not plan when they bought their house. I do not see that happening anytime soon.”

Dr. Robert Forto, training director of Denver Dog Works, often trains many pets that are adopted from local shelters and offers discounts to those who call us and say they read this article. If you would like to schedule an evaluation with your dog please give us a call anytime at 303-578-9881 or via email at train@denverdogworks.com

Citation: American Humane Society website
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto hosts a weekly radio program, The Dog Doctor Radio Show every Saturday. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Household Projects May Pose Danger to Pets

Household Renovation Projects May Pose Danger to Pets
By Robert Forto, PhD

This weekend is the last big three-day weekend before most of the country settles in for winter and bides their time by watching football or attending the kid’s sporting events. Our family vacations are done and we have a “honey-do” list a mile long. So, before embarking on that “do-it-yourself” project, review these helpful hints to keep pets safe from the hazards that common home improvement materials can pose.

Paints - Most water-based latex paints are relatively low in toxicity, but could still produce gastrointestinal upset. Artist’s paints or other specialty paints could contain heavy metals that could potentially be harmful if large enough amounts are ingested. Should your pet get paint on its skin or hair coat, never use paint thinner or similar solvents to remove it—a chemical burn could result. Instead, a mild pet shampoo or liquid hand dishwashing detergent can be used to bathe the skin and fur. If the exposure to the hair coat is extensive, clipping or shaving by a local veterinarian may be required.

Adhesives/Glues - Depending on the type of adhesive involved, a variety of clinical effects are possible following ingestion. Certain construction glues may produce only mild gastrointestinal upset, while others can cause more significant irritation. Additionally, some expanding glue products can result in a potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal obstruction if ingested.

Solvents - Paint thinners, mineral spirits and other solvents can result in severe irritation or chemical burns to the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth and gastrointestinal tract. In addition, ingestion could produce central nervous system depression, and inhalation of these substances could lead to aspiration pneumonia.

Lead - Some older homes, particularly those built prior to 1978, may contain surfaces that have been painted with lead-based paints. Lead exposure can occur from eating paint chips or by inhaling paint dust from sanded/scraped surfaces. Other potential sources of lead can include drapery weights, plumbing parts, putty, rug pads and linoleum. Lead exposure can produce gastrointestinal, behavioral or neurologic effects, as well as clinical symptoms from anemia. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one source of information to help determine if your home could pose a lead threat. Information can be found at www.epa.gov/lead.

Mold - Mold can be found in many parts of the home, including under carpeting, behind walls, or in heating/cooling ducts. Certain species of mold can produce mycotoxins, which can produce gastrointestinal, cardiac and/or neurologic effects such as tremors and seizures. While most problematic mold exposures in pets involve the ingestion of spoiled foods, if mold is discovered in the home pet owners should contact the EPA at www.epa.gov/mold for information on mold hazards, including safe cleaning and removal in order to avoid the potential for problems.

Physical Hazards - Pets could be at risk from a wide variety of physical hazards in homes that are being renovated, including nails, tacks, staples, screws, insulation, electrical cords on power tools, and many others. Ingestion of nails and other small hardware fasteners can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract and could result in an obstruction as well. Pets chewing on plugged in electrical cords could become electrocuted and/or suffer electrical burns to the mouth.

As prevention is the key to avoiding problems from accidental exposures, pet owners should keep pets completely out of areas where renovation or other home improvement projects are occurring, and should always read and follow label directions for safe use and storage. In certain situations, it may be advisable to board pets in a kennel or daycare facility to eliminate the potential for exposure to hazardous substances. If an accidental exposure should occur, owners should seek veterinary assistance promptly by calling their local veterinarian or an animal poison hotline. Additionally, owners should have the product container or packaging available for reference, as critical ingredient information or instructions on how to manage accidental exposures may be on the label.

At Denver Dog Works we offer many classes and programs to help pet owners better understand the relationship they have with their companions. If you would like to consult with one of our trainers please contact us anytime at 303-752-2818.


ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, 1-888-426-4435

The Animal Poison Hotline, 888-232-8870 sponsored by North Shore Animal League America and PROSAR International Animal Poison Center (IAPC).

Citation: ABKA

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Dr. Robert Forto is a canine behaviorist and the training director of Denver Dog Works. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Expert Witness for Canine Aggression Litigation

Expert Witness for Canine Aggression Litigation
By: Robert Forto, PhD

Attorneys may be uncertain about the benefits of retaining an expert in animal behavior in dog bites cases, or how such an expert can help. This is understandable: In Colorado, and in many other states, the law specifies strict liability for injuries caused by a dog bite. Thus, when only damages are contested, the animal behavior expert's role may be limited. However, if liability is contested, then having an animal behavior expert on your side may mean the difference between winning and losing.

Ten areas in which the opinions of an animal behavior expert can help the dog bite attorney:

1. Whether provocation was a factor in causing the dog to bite;
2. Breed identification and behavioral proclivities of different breeds;
3. The side effects of drugs and how they impact aggressive responding and the safety and reliability of dog training equipment;
4. The behavioral capabilities of the dog at the time the incident happened;
5. The dangerous or vicious nature of the dog in question;
6. The care and maintenance of a dog and how these factors influence behavior;
7. Was the incident foreseeable to the dog owner, or a landlord?
8. How alleged gross misconduct of an owner impacts a dog's behavior.
9. Identification of the dog which did the biting when multiple dogs are involved in an incident;
10. Reconstruct how the incident must have happened for the purposes of discounting or supporting testimony in the case.

Dr. Robert Forto is a qualified expert for both plaintiff and defense counsel in canine behavior, aggression, bites and other pet related attacks. Dr. Forto has over 19 years direct hands-on experience as a canine behaviorist and trainer, lecture, columnist and educator.

Dr. Forto has conducted numerous seminars on the evaluation, assessment and investigation of pet related injuries for attorneys, in-house training programs, home owners associations and city councils. Dr. Forto is available to lecture to consumer attorney organizations, insurance firms, trial lawyers and city governments, municipalities, shelter organizations, non-profits, among others. Dr. Forto has developed a course on the subject and his articles have been published in numerous publications nationally and internationally.

You can follow Dr. Forto on Twitter and Facebook and listen a weekly radio show, The Dog Doctor Radio Show and his subscribe to his forum.
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If you would like to have Dr. Forto speak with your group concerning pet related injuries or aggression please contact him though his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Pets as Therapists

Pets as Therapists

By Robert Forto, PhD

This is the first entry in a series of posts about dog law. The subject of dog law is often misunderstood and I hope by providing education to dog owners that it is not just he said, she said, in regards to the rights of our canine companions. The topic today is about canines assisting in therapy for a variety of individuals.

Four out of five people who responded to a recent Psychology Today survey said that when they were lonely, or upset that their pets were often their closest companions. One woman in a difficult family situation wrote that without her dog she “could not tolerate life.”

This finding explains why the most visible benefits of an animal’s companionship are reaped by people who lack normal human relationships: disturbed children, lonely older people, or prison inmates. Therapists and administrators now routinely use animals to treat or manage such patients.

For the most part animals entered into the world of psychology therapy serendipitously. One psychiatrist for example happens to have his dog in his office when a young patient came early for an appointment, then dog became an integral part of the child’s therapy. In the 1970’s an entire course of research was triggered when troubled adolescents in an Ohio State University hospital—many of whom refused to communicate with staff—asked if they could play with dogs used for behavior research, which they had heard barking in a nearby kennel. Even the most withdrawn patients improved after contact with the dogs. Dr. Forto helped develop a study for at risk youth with violent tendencies and paired them up with aggressive dogs for training. The idea behind the premise is to have to individuals with internal conflict learn to work together and to assist one another, cross species, I might add in a way that has never been explored before. The results were nothing short of remarkable. It gave the youth a productive use of their time and they gained valuable skills in caring for and training dogs, but it also gave these aggressive dogs a second chance.

It is not an exaggeration to say that pets can give people a reason to live. Often people institutionalized in prisons have no goals, no responsibilities, and no variety in their lives. Dogs as residents in these prisons make an atmosphere more homelike and can have a wonderful enlivening effect on morale.

A prisoner that is allowed to care for, or even train, a dog while his/her doing time may become more alert, involved and sociable to other inmates and staff. As one prison program director put it “the therapeutic results are nothing short of miraculous.” Dr. Forto was the training coordinator for a prison service dog-training program for a number of years and he can see the benefits of this type of situation. Not only did it change the lives of these prisoners, many of them doing life sentences, but it was their way of giving back to the community as they were a puppy raiser program with a national service dog organization. Their training of these dogs was very successful, much better than the national average and many of these dogs went on to be placed with families in need of a service dog.

Now that scientists in the medical and psychiatric communities have accepted what pet owners have always known—that animals make people feel better—they have set about documenting the psychological effects animals have on people. When people pet dogs, especially ones they have grown attached to, their blood pressure drops. The same thing happens when people talk to a dog—although talking to another person usually raises blood pressure. Even the presence of a dog is comforting. In one study, people who took a standardized anxiety-measuring test when the experimenter’s dog was in the room scored lower than those who took the test with only the human present.

Let’s let Freud, who was an avid dog lover, have the last word on the psychology of dog-people relationships. Here’s how he described the “extraordinary intensity” with which he loved his dog, Topsy: “affection without ambivalence, the simplicity free from almost unbearable conflicts or civilization, the beauty of existence complete in itself…that feeling of intimate affinity of an undisputed solidarity.” While yes, that may sound like psycho-mumbo-jumbo, it is clear what Dr. Freud is trying to say isn’t it?

If you are a therapist and would like to find out more about using a dog in your counseling practice or if you are a prison administrator and would like to explore the benefits of a canine training program at your facility please give us a call. We would be happy to discuss this with you.

Next article: Dogs in the Law

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto is a certified canine behaviorist and develops training programs and consultations nationwide. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Socializing Sled Dogs to be Canine Good Citizens

Socializing Sled Dogs To Be Canine Good Citizens

Socialization is the key to making sled dogs safe for people and other dogs. This begins at puppyhood during a critical period of development between three and sixteen weeks. The sport of dog sledding is unique in the world of working dogs. These canine athletes are exposed to a plethora of experiences on the trail – other dogs, sights, sounds, environmental factors, and other circumstances. They encounter people at the start and the finish and along the trail. This could pose for a potential problem if these dogs are not properly socialized.

Sled dogs are raised in a group and are naturally socialized with each other and learn through interaction and what is considered acceptable socialization among dogs. Sled dogs will be expected to interact successfully with many other dogs during their lives, so it is imperative that they learn to behave in a group.

Sled dogs need to learn manners around people as well. Ideally this is done during the critical period of development, when all experiences are new to the puppy and a trainer can have maximum affect of a dog’s personality and temperament.

Dr. Robert Forto (2005) encourages trainers and sled dog enthusiasts to socialize their dogs. At a minimum these dogs should be socialized at least to the point of accepting handling from strangers and at a maximum, training the dogs to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test offered by the American Kennel Club. The purpose of the Canine Good Citizen testing program is to ensure that our favorite companion, the dog, can be a respectable member of the community on and off the trail. A Canine Good Citizen (CGC) dog has been trained to be well behaved in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs.

Can sled dogs be over socialized? You will often hear that many mushers prefer their dogs slightly “wild” fearing that too much socialization could make the dogs “soft” or less willing to work in harness. But taken to that extreme, these dogs can be unruly and downright dangerous to other teams, mushers, and the public.

By contrast, four-time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser often lets his dogs run loose as they come out of the dog truck and they stay right with him until they are hooked up to the sled. Forto explored this in is doctoral dissertation: Chasing the Dream: A Study of Human-Canine Communication in the Sport of Dog Sledding (2005). He arrived at some interesting findings.

To some extent, the amount of socialization is a personal preference, but it is certainly time that sled dogs can be treated as companions and still be hard workers. As all mushers know, a dog’s life on the trail is relatively short. If these dogs could be socialized starting at puppy hood and carry on becoming CGC dogs’ it would be of tremendous benefit to both dogs and people.

Further research could be conducted on the feasibility for sled dogs to become CGC dogs’ and well-trained companions. This would save thousands of dogs from euthanasia, culling by the musher or worse.

Forto laments, “If I were buying a puppy for a pet, I would check its early environment and make sure it was not raised in a kennel with little to no human interaction, with only its mother and littermates for immediate company the first eight weeks of life.”

During this time of critical brain development, it implies so much more than simply animal-to-animal or animal-to-human socialization. What this means is that many an imperfect dog makes a very good sled dog if the owner/trainer has paid strict attention to the socialization during this period of the puppy’s life.

A musher needs to expose his young sled dog puppies to countless situations – crowds, flashbulbs, race chutes, loose dogs, other teams, wild animals, deep snow, running water, ice, streets, ramps, vehicles, small places, strange places – the list is obviously endless. Mushers should get their puppies used to their dog trucks. They should take them to town, and let strangers handle them. While it is true that puppies have a window of say three to sixteen weeks where the capacity to learn can occur, socialization can occur at any time as long as you are careful. The old cliché goes; You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can socialize them to new situations as long as the dog does not perceive it as a fearful situation.

Raising puppies and especially raising them for special jobs as adult dogs requires attention to detail. When people raise puppies as companions they often get them at about eight weeks old, take them home, feed and cuddle them, housebreak them, take them for walks, and play with them. What they are doing (and they are not usually aware of) is providing specialized socialization activities that shape the dog’s future behavior.

The layering and interacting of development and socialization events that produce an adult working dog are precisely unfathomable. This complexity of the developing dog’s behavior should remind the reader how passé the nature versus nurture controversy really is. Although, it was once a compelling question for behaviorists; scientists now understand why nature can not be separated from nurture. When we look at the critical period for social development, we realize that the genetic nature of the dog is shaped by the environment in which the dog is growing up.

To some people this critical socialization period and nature versus nurture and vise-versa sounds like magic. But actually, something permanent is in the dog’s brain that causes it to become genetically unalterable after the critical period is over. For some reason, what is learned is limited to this period. Once “learned” the behavior cannot easily or completely be unlearned. Given how much we as dog trainers, and mushers, know about teaching and learning, it would seem that we could teach the sled dog, and our companions, to behave differently, but the dog does not appear to learn it after the critical period of socialization is over. People do know this: You can’t teach a dog new tricks. But now do they know why?

Resources:

Forto, R. and Bowersox, R., Canine Sciences Level I, course material. ed. 2004.
Forto, R., CHASING THE DREAM: A Study of Human-Canine Communication in the
Sport of Dog Sledding. Doctorate, Human-Canine Communication,
Madison University.

Volhard, J., and W., The Canine Good Citizen: Every Dog Can Be One. New York, NY:
Howell Book House, 1994.

Forsberg, W., “Training Good Citizens,” Mushing Magazine. March/April 1996.
pp. 12-13, & 18.

Coppinger, R., and L., DOGS: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and
Evolution. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
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Robert Forto, Ph.D. (Human-Canine Communication) is a graduate of Canine Communication Studies and is a musher. His research interests include: canine evolution, sled dog history, the Siberian Evaluation for Performance Program and Mushing in the Olympic Games. He can be contacted through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Redemption...Or Not?

Redemption…Or Not?
By Robert Forto, PhD

On this week’s edition of the Dog Doctor Radio Show we are going to talk about the big news story of the week—Michael Vick released from prison. The Dog Doctor Team weighs in on redemption, punishment and community service. While I am sure that most of you know the Michael Vick story unless you have been under a rock for the past two years, he was released from federal prison on dog fighting charges this past week. What brings this story to our forefront is that he is planning on working with the Humane Society of the United States on a campaign directed at at-risk youth. Our question to you is what does a person have to do to receive redemption?

When the story of Vick being released broke I posted on Facebook and Twitter this question and received a lot of responses. While I am sure you are aware our forum is mostly dog owners you will be surprised at what they all said.

The question I posted was: Vick to work with Humane Society. Your thoughts?

I have included some of the comments and they are listed below in bold. My thoughts are in italics. I encourage all of you to comment as well and let’s keep this story alive.

Comment 1: I think it is great. He served his time in jail, now it’s the reconciliation tour.

I agree with this comment and I also believe that we are using situational ethics in this case. I mean, if a pro-football player got in trouble for beating up his girlfriend he would be on the field the next week, right? What separates Vick from this is that it was the callousness and the atrocity of the act of dog fighting and what was done to those dogs. By no means am I condoning the behavior. I actually abhor this, but don’t we go to NASCAR racing for the wrecks, don’t we go to boxing matches for the knockout? Don’t we go to greyhound racing for the dog to catch the rabbit?

Comment 2: Whatever as long as he is serious...he was one of my favorite players in the NFL...cannot stomach him now.

This is also true and I think the same way of Woody Allen. I used to love to watch Vick play ball. His athleticism was second to none. He was entertaining and he brought a passion to a sport that is otherwise lacking but now it will be tough to watch him play. Just like it is tough to watch Woody Allen movies after he was caught in a child abuse scandal. It just makes him somehow “dirty” now.

Comment 3: It would be nothing more than a PR tactic to better his image. He could care less about the lives of the dogs he owned. I think he'd still be at it if he hadn't been caught. I also believe any NFL team that picks him up is in for a world of bad press and upset fans.

This is where redemption comes in for me. All of us have skeletons in our closets. All of us have ill deeds. This is what makes us uniquely human. What does a person have to pay for redemption? What price do they have to pay after they say I am sorry?

Comment 4: Listen as far as I am concerned the ONLY reason he is going to "work" with the Humane Society is because he got caught, I know people deserve a second chance but did these dogs get a second chance? Some did some have been given a life in a cage...hmmm..MAYBE he should spend life in a cage...I am sorry I will stop, seeing first hand what dog fighting does to the dogs...I just can't be objective about this.

Vick, or his PR people, approached the Humane Society and the director went to visit him in prison before his release. And while an article in USA Today says that the director does not condone Vick’s actions he believes he is sincere in his willingness to work with the Humane Society.

Comment 5: Last night on CNN, they had an individual that had adopted one of the dogs. Through love and patience, she gave "Jhumba?" a new life. They reported none of the surviving animals were in shelters. They had either been adopted or were in sanctuaries. "Redemption" for Vick? While I hate the actions, I can't hate the man. His future actions, while under scrutiny, will determine if he’s legitimate or not. I hope, if anything, his mess has exposed the prevalence of dog fighting and made the public more aware of the signs. Something good came from this.

I agree, something good has come from this and with discussions like this will hopefully continue to educate the public about dog fighting and the violence and criminal activities linked to dog fighting. I challenge the Humane Society and all shelters to campaign for more education about animal abuse. We are destined to repeat history unless we are educated about its ramifications.under scrutiny, will determine if he's legitimate or not. I hope. If anything, his mess has exposed the prevalence of dog fighting and made the public more aware of the signs. Something good came from this.

Comment 6: I know that some of these dogs are in "sanctuaries" such as Best Friend’s society. I still DO NOT agree that is a life for a dog, living in an aggressive stance not trusting and still LIVING a life in a "gilded" cage. Sorry I feel and (I know I will be BLASTED for this )but I feel a gentle death is better than living a life in a cage- no matter how "big" it is. I know many will not agree with my feelings on this but oh well!

I disagree with this comment. Many dogs find themselves living in sanctuaries or foster homes for many reasons including as foreclosure victims. I wrote an article about that very subject…… Retired sled dogs, greyhounds, and other working dogs spend their retirement years in some of these same circumstances; it’s still a decent life. Fighting dogs that are confiscated from their “homes” and placed into another sort of kennel environment can still have decent thriving lives. From the research that my wife/co-host Michele has done, all of the dogs have been placed in homes not “gilded” cages. Michele adds, what about all of the other dogs out there being raised to fight? We only know what happened to the dog’s Vick owned, what about the countless others’ that are still living that existence?

Comment 7: Personally I think what he did is unacceptable, but with the way our society works, if you do the time you get a second chance. I hope that he had plenty of time to reconsider what he did, and grew up. This should make him realize that he is not invincible, and he has no choice but to do charity work to reclaim any chance he has of going back to the NFL.

In my opinion what he is did is atrocious! But it is how our society works. My wife/co-host Michele added Martha Stewart received redemption. She is more successful since her release than before. People still tune into her show and buy her merchandise. She went to federal prison for securities fraud. No, she didn’t abuse animals, but her crime received a higher penalty and longer sentence. Not only that, but she didn’t do her time in Leavenworth, noted as one of the toughest federal facilities out there. This is not saying that her time wasn’t tough, I’m just saying that his was done in a harsher environment. Countless other celebrities and politicians have gone to federal prisons and received public redemption for their crimes. Again, I personally do not condone what Mr. Vick was involved in, I’m just asking what’s the price?

Comment 8: Honestly, if he has a change of heart and he finds a dog that he falls in love with...he will find it difficult to forgive himself. No one knows another man's heart...but, I would rather he use his fame and money to help our four-pawed angels than for his selfish endeavors.

I cannot agree more. This is the best comment of all I believe. It sums up all the qualities of forgiveness, human emotion, redemption, restitution and resolution.

Comment 9: Celebrities get the spotlight for whatever they do. Whatever Mr. Vick's intentions are for "volunteering" with the Humane Society, he will undoubtedly benefit from what he will be exposed to and he will learn. And, isn't that the whole point? As pet owners, trainers, and advocates for education, isn't our job to a bad behavior albeit a human bad behavior and teach that individual right from wrong? Rather than punishing them their entire lives for what they were involved in.job to take a bad behavior albeit a human bad behavior and teach that individual right from wrong? Rather than punishing them their entire lives for what they were involved in.job to take a bad behavior albeit a human bad behavior and teach that individual right from wrong? Rather than punishing them their entire lives for what they were involved in.job to take a bad behavior albeit a human bad behavior and teach that individual right from wrong? Rather than punishing them their entire lives for what they were involved in.

This is actually my wife, Michele’s comment to the question. Michele and I co-host the Dog Doctor Radio Show and she and I will speak about this topic in depth on the show.

Comment 10: I believe if he can use what he knows and what he's learned to help eliminate dog fighting than I embrace this idea. I say USE his notoriety to fight the good fight.

Comment 11: I think it all comes down to if you believe people can change, and if there's a point at which they can't or won't. I think that I almost agree with the comment posted earlier that if he finds an animal he cares about, his genuine guilt will punish him a great deal...

So, ladies and gentlemen, sports lovers, and dog enthusiast, what should happen next? Should this person receive redemption or not? Sure, someone has to be an advocate for the dogs. I work tirelessly doing that every day. I have spoken on countless occasions about breed bans, landlord/tenant disputes, canine aggression, bite statistics and much more, but when I do speak I speak the facts of the case and let my peers decide what is right and wrong. I am asking for you to do the same here. What is the price for redemption…in anyone’s case, not just Michael Vick?

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Dr. Robert Forto is the host of the acclaimed Dog Doctor Radio and the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com/

The Power of Your Mind in Dog Training

The Power of Your Mind In Dog Training
By Robert Forto, PHD

Think about it, you are about to head into the ring for a big obedience match or a conformation show. Of course you are nervous. You have worked so hard for this big day. Up until now you and your dog have been in perfect synchronicity. Haven't you? You have done your pre-game prep and you are up next.

Then something catches your dogs eye and your whole dog training world comes crumbling down. Your dog gets spooked, you tense up and your dog pulls away. Your run in the ring ends in chaos and you are disqualified. Something you have worked so hard on for the past two years: all of those individual lessons with your private trainer, the perfect pick of the litter puppy, all that money, gone in an instant!

What if you could change that just by harnessing the power of your mind? No, I am not talking about some freakish mind over matter, late night TV infomercial garbage. I am talking about a centuries old process known as Neuro Linguistic Programing (NLP). In a sense it is a model of how we communicate and our personality. While this process has been around for centuries, the NLP model was developed in the 1970's by Richard Bandler, John Grinder and others. This model explains how we process the information that comes from our outside world. Their belief is "the map is not the territory." And so the internal representations that we make about an outside event are not necessarily the event itself.

Makes sense doesn't it? Even in dog training we can use this process to make you and your dog the the best team in the world. Even if you don't compete and just have a "lazy mutt" that likes to play fetch in the back yard.

You see, Dr. Robert Fortois a practitioner of NLP, and his training school, Denver Dog Workshas a motto: We have the best and train the best. By employing the processes of NLP in our training programs we too can make your dog one of the best too. This is cutting edge training in the dog training world. Nobody does this and that is why they can not hold claim to our title.

Do you want to see how it works? Here's how. Typically what happen is that there is an external event (your dog getting spooked in the ring) an we then run that event though our internal processing. We then make an Internal Representation (I/R) of that event. That I/R of the event combines with a physiology and that creates a state. "State" refers to our emotional state--a happy state, a sad state, a motivated state, or in our case with our dog in the ring, and anxious state. Our I/R includes our internal pictures, sounds and dialogue and our feelings (for example, whether we feel anxious and challenged in our dog's training and performance). A given state is the result of the combination of an internal representations and a physiology. So what happens is that an event comes through our sensory input channels which I can teach you in NLP training and training your dog to be the best.

After the event becomes an I/R it is how our mind processes this information and the outcome that is achieved. We use filters in our mind to accomplish this and this is where the real power of NLP comes into play. For example I am just going to talk about one: Beliefs. Beliefs are generalizations about how our world is. One of the important elements in the NLP model is to find out a persons beliefs about a particular behavior we are trying to model. Richard Bandler says "Beliefs are those things we can't get around." Beliefs are the presuppositions that we have about the way of the world us that we either create or deny personal power to us. So beliefs are essentially our on/off switch for our ability to do anything in the world. In our dog training example. Make you and your dog the best dog team ever! Wouldn't that be great? Go into the ring and get a qualifying score every time? Heck yes it would!

So if you would like to find out more about mind-body dog training, I highly encourage you to give us a call. We truly to have the best and train the rest. Do you want to win too? Yes you do!

Citation: The Accelerated NLP Practitioner Certification Training Manual

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project. Dr. Forto is also a practitioner of NLP and is the host of a weekly show, The Dog Doctor Radio and can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com/

Denver Dog Works and Dogtopia

Denver Dog Works and Dogtopia

By Robert Forto, PHD

Starting this week Denver Dog Works and Dogtopia in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, have teamed up to offer training at the Dogtopia location on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Denver Dog Works specializes in canine sports and working dogs and everything that is fun with your furry friend. Under the direction of Dr. Robert Forto, the team at Denver Dog Works is like no other training school in the nation. We take a practical, balanced, experienced, approach to training your dog to compete (or just have fun) in all sorts of sporting events.

Dogtopia is a dog day care that just opened in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and is a full service doggie day care facility offering: boarding, grooming, extended stays and more. Dr. Forto is proud to associate his business with Dogtopia and hopes that clients throughout the Denver Metro will stop by and take advantage of all of the classes that Denver Dog Works has to offer. The Dogtopia facility has a 100-yard grass field in which we plan to utilize for all of our activities. And stay tuned for more information on the new Snowcrest Canine Sports Association in a blog post to come.

The following is the American Kennel Club Code of Sportsmanship and we atDenver Dog Works abide by these principles in training all of our dogs for competition or just plain fun.

AKC Code of Sportsmanship

PREFACE: The sport of purebred dog competitive events dates prior to 1884, the year of AKC's birth. Share values of those involved in the sport included principles of sportsmanship. They are practiced in all sectors of our sport: conformation, performance and companion. Many believe that these principles of sportsmanship are the prime reason why our sport has thrived for over one hundred years. With the belief that it is useful to periodically articulate the fundamentals of our sport, this code is presented.

Sportsmen respect the history, traditions, and integrity of the sport of purebred dogs.

Sportsmen commit themselves to values of fair play, honesty, courtesy, and vigorous competition, as well as winning and losing with grace.

Sportsmen refuse to compromise their commitment and obligation to the sport of purebred dogs by injecting personal advantage or consideration into their decisions or behaviors.

The sportsman judge judges only on the merits of the dogs and considers no other factors.

The sportsman judge or exhibitor accepts constructive criticism.

The sportsman exhibitor refuses to compromise the impartiality of a judge.

The sportsman respects the AKC bylaws, rules, regulations and policies governing the sport of purebred dogs.

Sportsmen find that vigorous competition and civility are not inconsistent and are able to appreciate the merit of their competition and the effort of competitors.

Sportsmen welcome, encourage and support newcomers to the sport.

Sportsmen will deal fairly with all those who trade with them.

Sportsmen are willing to share honest and open appraisals of both the strengths and weaknesses of their breeding stock.

Sportsmen spurn any opportunity to take personal advantage of positions offered or bestowed upon them.

Sportsmen always consider as paramount the welfare of their dog.

Sportsmen refuse to embarrass the sport, the American Kennel Club, or themselves while taking part in the sport.

Please check out our website, Denver Dog Works, for more information on upcoming classes, clinic and events. We always welcome new members and their dogs at any level or experience. Also be sure to listen to The Dog Doctor Radio Show ever Saturday at Denver Dog Works. We host the show on a variety of topics and have special guests on from all over the world. You can download the show anytime from iTunes or our website.

Citation: American Kennel Club

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. He can be reached through his website,http://www.denverdogworks.com

The Media, Captain Trips, and the Swine Flu

The Media, Captain Trips, and the Swine Flu
By Robert Forto, PhD

On Monday, April 27th, I was driving my wife to work to Denver Dog Works and I was listening to my regular morning radio on KHOW in Denver with the host, Peter Boyles. He had a short segment on the swine flu and how people are relating it to the Stephen King book, The Stand. The book is an epic thriller in which a man-made flu virus escapes from a government lab and wrecks havoc on the world. The super-flu kills 99.4% of the world’s population and the story is a good-versus-evil struggle that is close to 1000 pages in length. It is a must read if you are a Stephen King fan and a chilling read if you so chose to parallel it to the current panic with the outbreak of the swine flu.

I quickly posted my parallel to the book and the swine flu on Twitter and Facebook (as did a lot of other people I’m sure) it has kicked off a barrage of commentary from my followers on the popular social media sites. I was quickly followed by other twitter users, tweeters as they are affectionately known, that also capitalized on the parallel. One tweeter in particular goes by the name of @motherabigail. Mother Abigail is a key character in the King story and calls on a band of survivors to go to Boulder to start a new society. Another tweeter, @vegaswalkindude is the character in the book known as Randall Flagg. Flagg is the “evil” character in the book and he has his followers in the post-apocalyptic world.

"Captain Trips"

The novel (The Stand) is divided into three parts, or books. The first is titled "Captain Trips" and takes place over nineteen days, with the escape and spread of a human-made biological weapon, a superflu (influenza) virus known formally as "Project Blue" and colloquially as "Captain Trips." The epidemic leads to the death of most of the human population in North America (and the world: it is hinted that General Starkey’s men had released the virus in eastern Europe, China, and the Soviet Union; and Peru and Senegal are mentioned in discussion of post-epidemic deaths due to natural causes).

99.4% of people are susceptible to Captain Trips, and the disease has a mortality rate of 100%. King outlines the total breakdown and destruction of society through widespread violence, the failure of martial law to contain the outbreak, and eventually the death of virtually the entire population. The human toll is also dealt with, as the few survivors must care for their families and friends, dealing with confusion and grief as their loved ones ultimately succumb to the flu, which has inexplicably spared them.

The expanded edition opens with a prologue titled "The Circle Opens" that offers greater detail into the circumstances surrounding the development of the virus and the security breach that allowed its escape from the secret laboratory compound where it was created. (Citation: Wikipedia)

The Media

So just what is this swine flu that we are dealing with and can we equate it to popular fiction such as King’s The Stand? As you may know, the media has prompted us to believe this is a world-wide emergency. A pandemic of epic proportions. One like we have not seen in generations. Sure we have dealt with influenzas before. History will show us that the outbreak in 1917 and in 1957-58 were killer-flu’s of astronomical proportion. But, what about this one? The swine flu as it is being called, started on a pig farm in Mexico about two weeks ago and effectively shut down Mexico City, the world’s largest city because of it. It is rumored that this flu has killed up to 100 people and is spreading worldwide as we speak.

The swine flu has now spread to at least ten states, at the time of this post, and several towns in Texas have cancelled school at least for a week and other events like dog shows and sporting events. But did you know that the common-run-of-the-mill flu that most of us contract every winter kills seven people an hour? Now that is “astronomical proportions” if I do say so myself.
So what has us so worried about it this time? I think that the media and the talking heads think that it is time for us to have a pandemic. We haven’t had one in a long time have we? What I mean when I say that they think it is time is two-fold in my opinion. First pandemics occur kind of like earthquakes and tremors. You get a little blip and then you brace yourself for the big one. California has been bracing itself for decades.

The flu, any kind really, whether it be avian, human, or swine, must mutate before they reach their full potential and their true danger. True, this swine flu has mutated and “jumped” from host to host (pig to human) in this case and that is what scares us. So what is likely to happen? I think that this “version” of the super-flu will peter out and go underground just to resurface. Maybe this winter. Maybe next and we will be faced with a flu virus that we are ready to confront. We will have vaccines in place by then and protocols to deal with a true outbreak.
The second reason I think that the media thinks it is time is: most of the media is based on fear-mongering. They do it to us every day. Think about it. They are doing it with their nightly reports on the collapse of the economy, the foreclosures, the failure of the banks, the unemployment rate. But are any of those situations that bad? Let’s take the economy. Sure our spending as a whole is down but unless you have lost your job, have you really changed your lifestyle that much? It doesn’t look like it. The movie theaters and restaurants are packed and I had to take a number and wait an hour to be helped at the Apple store the other day.

Foreclosures are on the decline. A friend of mine, who is in the real estate business said that foreclosures are down 50% since January. With the banks: only 5% have failed and most of those were bought up by larger banks. Has your bank closed? I doubt it. And the unemployment rate is only up about three percent more than it is from the normal range here in Colorado. What is it 8%? That means that 92% of us still have jobs.

I am not trying to minimize any of this. I am a small business owner and I know that people have changed their spending habits just by looking at my bottom line. We had a much lower quarter that just passed than we did the same quarter last year. But what I am saying is that it is the media hype that has us all scared to death. Whether it is the swine-flu (Captain Trips or the super-flu) or our almighty dollar, the media has us just where they want us.

Why do we read books like King’s The Stand? Watch movies like Outbreak? And read books like The Hot Zone? Watch dramas like The Band Played On? Each of these stories scared us to the core about something that we cannot control. Whether it is Captain Trips, E-Bola or the A.I.D.S. virus. We watch (or read) this stuff because we like to be scared. Think about it. We go to horror movies and ride roller coasters because it is human nature to test our limits and walk out of there as a “survivor” having conquered the monster. Make believe or not.

That is what the media does as well. They provoke these same emotions that are primal in us all. Think about it. When was the last time you watched the news and it wasn’t doom and gloom? What is always the fist story? It’s not the feel good “how much is that puppy in the window” story is it? When the media reports they always report it as a slant. They will say something like: “the economy is rebounding---but---the unemployment rate remains steady” or “The swine-flu seems to have leveled off in Mexico---but there are now confirmed cases in ten U.S. states.”

So I ask you my fellow reader and provocateur of the fear, is this what really scares us or is it just another story in the days of our lives?

I welcome all of your comments and criticisms. Let’s keep the discussion alive while it is still a story and not just yesterday’s news as this story will pass soon enough.
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. He can be reached through is website at http://www.inekaproject.org or by phone at 303-522-1727.

The Price of Personal Liberty

The Price of Personal Liberty
By Robert Forto, PhD

I am sure you know me by now and my dog training school, Denver Dog Works. But I bet you don't know that I am a paralegal and a staunch defender of an individual's personal liberties and freedom. I have studied and became quite fluent in constitutional law and procedures over the years and have written several post conviction motions for those that are incarcerated and seeking relief either by a procedural error in the judicial process or other relief based on their position at the time. I have written articles on freedom of speech, protection of religious freedom, and censorship.

I am not an attorney, nor do I claim to be. I am a researcher and I am quite good at it. I have a keen ability to seek out case law and other documentation that will substantiate an argument and I often testify as a qualified expert witness in myriad canine cases from aggression to breed bans to landlord-tenant disputes. So this article is a little bit different from the normal weekly opinion from the "Dog Doctor" and it concerns my views on personal liberties and freedom based on a bill that is currently under review by the Colorado Legislature. In all honesty I love a good debate and this is one that has caught my attention.

This bill is a seat belt law. While you may ask how does that infringe on a person's liberty and freedom? Well, they want to make it a primary offense for the police to pull you over if you are not wearing your seat belt. Right now it is on the books as a secondary offense. This simply means that if a police officer pulls you over for speeding, an illegal left-hand turn on red, no brake light or any number of other offenses, the officer can then cite you for no seat belt if you are not wearing one at the time of the police contact. A primary offense means just that. They can pull you over for you not wearing your seat belt, even if you are driving like a driving instructor and you are obeying all of the rules of the road.

So why am I so up in arms about this? My first question is where does it stop? If they make it a crime not to wear your seat belt will it soon be a crime not to wear a helmet on your bicycle? Will it cause you to receive a citation if you aren't wearing kneepads on roller-blades? Will the doggie police send you to jail if you don't pick up after your dog?

Among the rights that constitute civil liberty and that the constitution guarantees are intended to protect is the right to individual personal liberty. There is not a specific guarantee, however, of individual personal liberty because it is assumed to be a part of any organized government. Individual personal liberty does not imply that each member of society is entitled to do what he or she pleases, free from all restraint, for that measure of liberty is inconsistent with social order and subversive of the very objectives of government. But it implies that each person shall have as much individual freedom from restraint as is consistent with other members of society. This is not what I am asking for. I am asking for a justifiable reason as to why this law should be enacted.

As stated by one constitutional scholar:

"If each cannot have all the rights he might have as a solitary being, he must have all which are consistent with the exercise of the highest practical rights of others. If there be a conflict, it must be reconciled by such compromise as will attain the best development, the highest happiness and well-being of all. Neither party must seek for itself a greater elevation by the deeper depression of the other; but each must so adjust to a social equilibrium, but the maximum elevation of each be avoided." This is what is happening here with this bill up for debate in the Legislature.
In my opinion, where two conflicting interests are combined in a society, civil liberty will be consistent in the preservation of that equilibrium, where the social rights of each so modify those of the other as to preserve to each the greatest amount of right and freedom consisting with their co-existence in social combination. Does a primary seat belt law in Colorado preserve that equilibrium?

In securing the civil rights of everyone, there must, of course, be some restraints made on personal liberty, which are therefore recognized as lawful. For example, a parent may properly exercise some control over the actions and conduct or his her child, a teacher may exercise authority over a student, those who are unable to care for themselves may be cared for by persons authorized for that purpose, and those who have committed a crime may be confined in pursuance of the provisions of criminal law. Personal liberty, like other civil rights, exists within the laws of the land.

But how can the lawmakers of the State of Colorado attempt to exercise this control over its citizens? I will tell you how. The Federal government made a "deal" with Colorado you see. If they pass this law, Colorado will get twenty million from the Feds. That's the true motivation behind this law. It's not to make the roads safer. Yes, seatbelts save lives but not always. When my brother was three years old he was in the backseat of a small car with his grandmother (He is my half-brother), his uncle, aunt, and another adult friend on a country road in Kentucky. A coal truck ran a stop sign and plowed into the car. My brother was ejected through the windshield and thrown down an embankment. Everyone else died at the scene. When the police showed up they didn't know a little boy was in the car until they heard screams from the steep embankment below. He was carried up the hill and only suffered minor injuries but if he was wearing a seatbelt he would have died. He is now 29 years old and in school to become a police officer in North Carolina.

This is not a crusade to dissuade you from buckling up. To the contrary. I wear my seatbelt, every time I drive my Jeep. It's not to conform to the rules of the road. It's so if I roll over I don't have road rash on my face.

I have no problem with seat belts and I have no problem with citations for not wearing one when you receive a ticket after the police contact you on the road for some other traffic offense. But do we truly need the police patrolling the streets pulling people over for not wearing their seat belts and only for that reason? Do we have the police manpower to adjudicate this offense? Shouldn't our men in blue be fighting crime not issuing a citation for a petty traffic infraction? Shouldn't we have the option of wearing our seat belts if we so choose? As you may know part of the lure of motorcycle ridding is the freedom of the road and lack of restraint. That's why people ride. But they are also totally aware of the dangers as soon as they pull out on the road.

So what is your personal freedom worth to you? Is it twenty million as proposed? How about twenty billion? You decide and let me know.
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Dr. Robert Forto holds a doctorate in communication. Dr. Forto hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor and is streamed on the Internet. Http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website http://www.denverdogworks.com/

Look Up in the Sky! Pet-Only Airline Starting Soon
By Robert Forto, PhD
The world has truly gone to the dogs! In a nation that is facing financial difficulty and people are canceling their summer vacation plans, Pet Airways has just announced it is launching the first pet-only airline with flights going to five major cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Denver beginning this summer.

"We believe there is truly a need for this," said Alysa Binder, one of Pet Airways' founders. "Putting your pet in cargo, just isn't the ideal situation, and it doesn't have to be your only choice." A one-way flight is not cheap in terms of dog standards.

It costs around $149.00 and the airline is now accepting reservations for its first New York to L.A. flight on July 14. I just wonder if carry-ons are an extra charge and does the dog's crate exceed size limits? Pet Airways is already talking about expansion. Which airline doesn't? They plan to fly to 25 cities in the next few years and they hope to cater to exotic pets, as well as dogs and cats. I guess it will be like Noah's Ark in the sky. There has been concern for years about pet's welfare on the airlines.

While one AVMA veterinarian notes that "you hear horror stories everywhere you look," he says he has never heard a negative story about a pet flying on a commercial airplane. "Within the last 20 years, there has been a great deal of concern and care over the welfare of pets, and airlines are now very restricted for where they can keep the animals, the temperature of the environment, the length of the flight, and things like that," said Greg Hammer, DVM, of Dover, Del."I think they do a very nice job of taking care of the animals -- they have to."

Yet in a press release, Pet Airways cited a study by the San Francisco SPCA, saying that of the two million pets that fly in cargo each year, approximately 5,000 of them are injured in transit.

This is a major concern for Pet Airways and a deciding factor in starting the airline that has been in the works since 2005. Rest assured, your pets will fly in relative first class by pet transport standards. They will spend time in the "pet lounge" before boarding a seat-free plane which can hold up to 50 dogs or cats. On the flight the animals are with a "pet attendant" at all times. according to Binder, as they are then loaded and secured into carrying cases on the plane. People are watching the pets at all times while they will not be allowed to roam the cabin of course. Their chairs must be upright and seat belts buckled at all times. I just wonder what is next? Frequent Flyer Miles? Web-cams like they have a doggie day cares so you can "view" your pet from your home P.C. or your cell phone? Do they get in-flight snacks, like dog biscuits and cat-nip to ease the anxiety or do those cost extra?

As a business that provides training for service dogs we often have to fly dogs around the country for delivery to their new homes or for training. It is a constant concern for us at Denver Dog Works for the pet's safety and one of our biggest hurdles comes when it is time to fly the dog. You are constantly monitoring the temperature of the airports for which your flight will stop and the times the dogs will be in the cargo-hold or occasionally on the tarmac.

And of course I have a story for you! Several years ago I was a professional musher (dog sledding) and my sponsor had a bright idea for me to run a race on the Italy-Switzerland border. Of course without thinking I gleefully said "Sure!" as I had never been to Europe. What it turned out to be was a logistical nightmare to say the least! My kennel was in Duluth Minnesota, otherwise known as the North Pole in terms of air travel with dogs, so I booked a flight from Duluth to New York and then a trans-atlantic flight from New York to London.

In England is where the fun really started. First off, we had a 7-hour lay-over in the middle of the night and during the lay-over all of my dogs, all 12 of them, went to the cargo area of the airline. I had to go over and feed them and walk them and otherwise clean up after them before our early morning flight. Without any sleep, we flew to Amsterdam and then boarded a train to Rome. In Rome we rented three vans and drove to Northern Italy to the race site. I raced a three day race and luckily don't remember much the race or the trip home. It was a nightmare! A week and a half of travel to come in 32nd place. I didn't see much of Europe that trip, well at least I don't recall what I saw. Would I ever do it again? Doubtful but I hear that it has gotten much easier now and dog sled teams travel from Norway and Germany all the time. Hey, maybe next time I will just fly on Pet Airways or be like a rock-star and rent a private jet. Who knows.

If you would like to learn more on this amazing business venture please listen to The Dog Doctor Radio Show this Saturday at 9:30 am MT or download the show anytime at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor.

To read more about Pet Airways please visit their website at Http://www.petairways.com or read an article posted online about the airline at http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/nationsfirstpetairlinetakesoff-1315

Of course we always welcome you comments and concerns. If you have a story about an airline flight with your pet we would love to hear it. Please call our studio line on Saturdays at 9:30-10:30 am MT at (646) 727-2978 or send us an email anytime at train@denverdogworks.com

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto is the host of The Dog Doctor Radio Show and he can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Part-time Dogs in a Full-time World
By Robert Forto, PhD

At Denver Dog Works we train people how to become dog trainers. We train them to become the best dog trainers in the world in my opinion, and in doing so we teach our students how to think outside the box and defend their position on a variety of topics. This past week we were discussing Dog Law and I asked my students to search for an interesting story with a legal angle in regards to dogs. One of my students, Christena Pastoor, found an interesting article on renting dogs and we talked about it for the whole three hour session. I found it such an intriguing concept as did everyone in the room. I even posted the question on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter and got an overwhelming response. So I decided it write about it on my blog and talk about it on my radio show this week, The Dog Doctor Radio Show heard weekly on Http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor. I welcome your feedback and your comments because this is a topic that is worth exploring.

There was an article written in September by Kathy McManus on the Internet that has really peaked my interest. It was titled: Renting a Dog Barking Up the Wrong Tree? about a service that is offered in New York City, Los Angeles and London where you can “rent” a dog. Yes folk, renting your best…err…temporary friend. You can lease them by the day from a company called Flexpet.

While this is not a new concept as upscale hotels have lent dogs to guests over the years, Flexpet is making a business out of renting dogs. It is not cheap either. According to the company’s website there is a $99.00 administration charge, a $99.00 monthly membership fee, a mandatory $150.00 training fee and orientation lesson and then the customer can rent as many dog day afternoons as desired for a $45.00 fee for day.

Flexpet says that all of their dogs—many of which are from animal shelters—wear GPS tracking collars with temperature sensors and feed “holistic dog food” and all have stable temperaments and between two and five years old. But of course there are many critics over this practice as they see it as promotion of dogs as accessories. If you are a frequent listener of The Dog Doctor Radio Show we often talk about what we call “Paris Hilton Dogs” the small dogs that are carried in purses and adorned with bejeweled collars—of course no disrespect to Ms. Hilton—we see these dogs as more of a fashion accessory than a pet. I mean when did we decide as a society that we should carry our dogs around in handbags? What would our forbearers think from 20,000 years ago when we first added dogs to our lives?

Flexpet is not without controversy of course. The company is banned in Boston after the City Council passed an ordinance making dog letting illegal. “To rent a dog just seems wrong,” said one legislator. “I’m not for legislating morality, but it just seems like cruel and unusual treatment of a poor, defenseless animal.” In the editorial pages in Boston they took issue with what they saw as people “who want the comfort of a pet, but not the full-time responsibility.”

So just who rents a pet? I would assume people that travel a lot, people who live in apartment buildings or high-rises or places that do not allow pets, people that have family members who may not like dogs in the house or people like Sarah Stevenson who moved from the U.K. to New York. “It’s been difficult for me to meet people because everyone in New York just kind of goes about their business,” Stevenson lamented. But when she is out walking a rented pooch named Oliver, “It becomes a nice way to meet people.”

My trainer, Christena Pastoor had plenty to say about this subject. “In terms of legality I can see how municipalities would allow a dog rental business to operate as long as the company can sufficiently prove quality care of their dogs while at their facility and through a screening process of the renters and their homes.” Mrs. Pastoor, who researched Flexpet thoroughly for her project on Dog Law also said, “According to their (Flexpet) website , they provide vet checks every three months, fit every dog with a GPS collar and require all renters to attend mandatory training sessions before taking a dog.”

Of course there are other concerns than the legal ones. Dogs are pack animals that thrive on routine and security. Renting dogs to any number of people for short periods of time does not provide the consistency that they need to thrive. While Flexpet asserts that these dogs do not live in kennels and they stay with a primary caregiver when not being “rented” there is still a constant flux with different dogs at “home” and ever-changing renters. Dogs can become stressed when they do not have a consistent environment and behavior problems are likely to ensue.

According to Mrs. Pastoor, putting a cash value on time spent with a dog automatically makes the dog a commodity in the eye of the renter. It also creates the risk of the dog simply being viewed as an accessory. Dogs are living beings and should be valued as such, not as an accessory that makes people more noticeable.

Of course, many people cannot take the care of a dog on full-time, however there are many other positive outlets for fulfilling a person’s desire for canine companionship. Shelters and rescue organizations are in desperate need for people to walk dogs and spend time socializing them. All dogs in shelters can benefit dramatically from socialization, which may in turn help then find a new home. Fostering a dog is also an option. Many, if not all, shelters are filled to capacity and of course fostering takes a greater time commitment than renting, but it is not a “permanent dog”. Or if a person cannot find time to volunteer to foster, or work at a shelter, maybe they could find friends or neighbors who would be willing to have them spend quality time with their dog that they might not be able to give themselves. As you may know that the number one cause of behavior problems in dogs in lack of exercise and positive stimulation and that is why most dogs end up in a shelter situation in the first place.

I have a little bit of a different spin on it. Of course I love dogs. They are my passion and my livelihood and I cannot understand just how this business of renting dogs is not only morally irresponsible but financially irresponsible as well, but what about people that volunteer for programs such as Big Brothers or Big Sisters? I am sure they do that to “give back” or to enrich a young child’s life. But doesn’t that work the same if you are “renting” a dog? Also what about dogs that suffer from what I call “kennel craziness”, that is dogs that are in a kennel situation and through lack of positive stimulation or people contact begin to pace and bark and spin, very similar to people in correctional institutions. Even a psychologist counters that people that want to borrow a dog usually just want some companionship. “It may be a short bond,” he said, “but it’s a real bond.”

What do you think? Should people rent dogs? Listen to our show this Saturday, 4/18/09 and call in to our studio and tell us your opinion. Our studio number is (646)727-2978 or you can reach us anytime by email at train@denverdogworks.com

Written in conjunction with Christena Pastoor, Student at Denver Dog Works
Citation: Katy McManus’ 9/24/09 article: Renting a Dog: Barking Up the Wrong Tree?
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto also hosts The Dog Doctor Radio Show weekly from his training center. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

A Dog Named DASY

A Dog Named DASY
By Robert Forto, PhD

I am sure you have heard. Maybe you haven’t because the national media has not picked up this story and I don’t know why because it is a national outrage. All it took was a gunshot in the middle of the night for former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell to spring to action. You see, he can’t sleep. He is afraid of the dark from the atrocities of what happened to him in the war on terror in Afghanistan. Luttrell was the lone survivor of a dramatic battle in the war torn country in 2005. And when he heard the gunshots outside his house on April, 1, 2009 his training took over and Luttrell began a sweep of the house.

First, Luttrell checked on his mother with his gun drawn and told her to stay put until he came back to get her then he bolted for his front door. He then swept the yard and he found his beloved Labrador Retriever dead in a ditch with a head wound from a .357 magnum. He also saw car lights and heard people laughing--but we will get to that in a minute. You see, the Labrador Retriever was not just a dog, she was a service dog to help Luttrell recover from his own wounds both physically and mentally. Her name was DASY, named after Luttrell’s Navy SEAL team comrades. They all died in the fight one night in Afghanistan where Luttrell was the lone survivor.

“I could tell she tried to get away because there was a blood trail,” Luttrell recalled on a phone interview on Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Show. “When I saw she was dead, the only thing that popped in my head was, I’ve got to take these guys out,” Luttrell said.

In the middle of the night with his service dog dead and hearing laughter in the distance, Luttrell who had just been released from the hospital after another round of agonizing surgeries to mend a bad back, crawled under a fence and sneaked up on four strangers in a car who apparently killed DASY on a whim, for pure sport, for fun! Luttrell said they were unmindful and oblivious as he raised his 9-mm pistol from about two hundred feet away and he had one of them dead in his sights.

Their car pulled away and Luttrell did not fire. It took all he had not to pull the trigger. He was trained to kill. He was the best of the best that the United States Military has to offer but he held back.

Instead, Luttrell jumped into his truck and sped, sometimes over 100 miles per hour, after them through four counties in rural Texas staying in contact with each county’s dispatcher as he sped through the night intent on catching the thugs that murdered his service dog, DASY. Luttrell recalled telling the 911 operator, “You need to get somebody out here before I catch them, I’m going to kill them.”

The killing of such a special dog for the former SEAL played right into Luttrell’s deep wounds. The four-year old Labrador was given to him upon his return from the war to help him heal and return to somewhat of a normal life. Luttrell named the dog DASY after his fallen comrades. The acronym was for his SEAL team members lost in a bloody fight in which they were far outnumbered by Taliban fighters. Luttrell escaped death that night and was taken hostage by the Taliban fighters and worked over pretty good. The enemy then took him to a cave and he touted them to kill him but they did not. He was ready to die for his country that he was trained to fight for. Luttrell wrote a book about the experience, The Lone Survivor and it is a national best seller.

Back to the Chase

Luttrell finally caught up to the murders of his service dog at a police road block and was stopped by the Onalaska Police Department. He exited his truck and approached the men and asked, “Which one of you guys killed my dog?” and then the assailants started talking smack saying that they would get him when they get out of jail.

So far, two of them have been charged with felonies but there is little doubt they will serve much time as the law looks at a dog as “just a dog” in these kinds of cases. Probably just six months in a county jail is all.

In what turns out to be a related story, at least five other dogs have been killed in recent months in the area and they could be linked to Luttrell’s case as well. It looks like these thugs were just killing dogs for fun.

No matter what you think about the war and the politics that follow, Marcus Luttrell loves his country and his comrades that died fighting for our freedom. Luttrell doesn’t want to be a hero. He wants to just be a man, a man that loves his country, and a man that is just trying to take care of his family.

What these people did to DASY was despicable and makes me sick when I think about it. When I heard Marcus speak on The Glenn Beck Show this past week I sat in my truck crying my eyes out. How could people kill a dog in cold blood like that and then laugh about it? How could they take something so near and dear to someone and murder it in cold blood?

Marcus Luttrell is angry and he has every right to be. “They didn’t just kill a dog, they killed a member of my family, she was like my sister,” Luttrell said on the Glenn Beck interview.
DASY was part of his family, but also she was his service dog, a dog specially trained to help Marcus cope with his experiences and be able to live his life again, as a man, not a SEAL embattled in a war.

Denver Dog Works called the producers of The Glenn Beck Show and offered to donate another service dog to Marcus Luttrell, as did hundreds of others. Denver Dog Works trains service dogs for a multitude of tasks including mobility and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which I am sure that Marcus suffers from. If you know of anyone that may be in need of a dog like this or would just like to talk to someone that understands, we can help.

God Bless Marcus Luttrell and his family, and God Bless the United States of America because if it wasn’t for people like Marcus Luttrell this world might be a totally different place.
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and is the host of a weekly radio show, The Dog Doctor Radio Show. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

The President’s New Pooch
By Robert Forto, PhD

Well folks its is official! President Obama has finally chosen a dog for the White House and First Family, a Portuguese Water Dog. After much anticipation and speculation, the President’s choice is a good one in my opinion. The Portuguese Water Dog (commonly referred to as a P.W.D.) is a good family dog that works is suited well for an active family and with children.

The P.W.D. has been in the news recently and one has a local and a Denver Dog Works connection actually. Talk about six degrees of separation! Rock’O is a P.W.D. that is is trained by a local service dog organization to alert a young child to peanut allergies. Dr. Robert Forto acted as a consultant for awhile in 2008 to Angel Service Dogs, the organization that helped place Rock’O. Denver Dog Works also trains service dogs for children with autism and they can be reached through their website at http://www.denverdogworks.com.

The Portuguese Water dog has been known for centuries along Portugal’s coast and prized for its strength, spirit and soundness. The P.W.D. is a loyal worker and companion. This dog is of medium-sized and is robust, the breed possesses a waterproof coat and the ability to swim all day. Its coat can be curly or wavy and is black, white, or brown, or combinations of black or brown with white. The P.W.D. is also hypo-allergenic and this will help because the President’s daughter, Malia (10,) who has allergies. The dog will require a good deal of grooming. Who will brush the dog regularly? Malia or her younger sister, Sasha who is seven, or maybe the President himself?

Referred to as the Cao de Agua (dog of water) in its native Portugal, the Portuguese Water Dog was bred to accompany fisherman on their boats. An exceptional swimmer and diver, the breed retrieved broken nets, dove for fish, carried messages between boats and to shore, and guarded the boat for his master in foreign ports. The breed started disappearing in the early 20th century when technology made his daily job somewhat obsolete, but Dr. Vasco Bensuade, a wealthy Portuguese shipping magnate and dog fancier, saved the breed.

Is This the Right Breed for You (or the First Family)?

The P.W.D. is an athletic, active breed and the requires daily vigorous exercise. He is very intelligent and responds well to obedience training. His profuse coat is hypoallergenic, but requires regular maintenance. It may be kept in the lion clip (the coat on the hindquarters and muzzle are clipped to the skin) or the retriever clip (the entire coat is clipped to one inch in length and follows the outline of the dog). The P.W.D.is of average size: from 35 to 60 pounds and 17 to 23 inches tall at the withers. He is would excel as a fisherman’s working companion or family pet. Do the Obama’s fish?

The Obama’s have narrowed down a few names for their new puppy. They are Buddy, Fala, Laddie Boy, Checkers, Millie and Barney. Evidently the pup is a rescue. Ordinarily this dogs cost around $2,000.

Temperament

In terms of training and temperament, the First Family will have their hands full in my opinion. The Portuguese Water Dog is an animal of spirited disposition, self-willed, brave, and very resistant to fatigue. A dog of exceptional intelligence and a loyal companion, it obeys its master with facility and apparent pleasure. It is obedient with those who look after it or with those for whom it works. This will make training the new pup necessary in order for proper adjustment and socialization.

My only question is will the new pup have a security escort? The secret service dogs are Belgian Malanois, from Holland they can be quite sociable. Will they get to romp and play together on White House lawn or will it be all work and no play for the ever vigilant Secret Service (and their dogs)?
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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor Radio Show at http://www.dogdoctorradio.com Dr. Forto an be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Citation: Http://www.akc.org, Http://www.chron.com

How to Spot the Best (and Worst) Dog Trainers

How to Spot the Best (and Worst) Dog Trainers
By Robert Forto, PhD

My name is Dr. Robert Forto and I am the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. I also host a weekly radio show called The Dog Doctor Radio Show every Saturday at 9:30 am. Our canine training school is much different than what you may be used to or what you have researched on the Internet. We truly do have the best trainers and we train the rest. We are the only school in Colorado that teaches people how to become expert canine trainers and behavior therapists and our reputation is backed by the simple formula that you can become a dog trainer by learning the ropes from books and television shows and struggling in your career forever, or you can learn the skill-set to become a fully competent trainer and have a very successful training school for not only your clients, but you as well. This article will focus on both the client and their dog, but also the person wanting to do this as a career. I have done it for nineteen years and can happily say this is the best job in the world. I am sure I will get in trouble from my competition in saying what I say in this article but that is okay. I welcome the dialogue. The proof is in the pudding and sometimes you just have to stir the pot.

It is all about the law of averages and beating the odds. Read on and I will explain.

Many average dog trainers teach average group classes, charge you an average price and have average knowledge and skills about dogs, dog training, dog behavior and canine psychology. Most owners do not know better or who do not really care about these facts, and they just settle with such trainers and end up with average results or even worse—NO RESULTS—in training their dogs! In contrast, the trainers I will be describing in this article are not your average dog trainers at all and are known to beat the odds.

So who emerges from the pack? There is an amazing energy and spirit about these individuals which you will notice right away that goes far beyond dog training. In fact, they know it is much more than dealing with dogs, and this is where I will open your eyes to the traits and qualities of the smartest and the most successful dog experts in the business. Because of their knowledge, skill and persona, they are not only making it--but making it with class and integrity. Again, don’t forget that I am referring to the smartest, so you don’t think that they just got lucky for being at the right place, at the right time or by meeting the right person. Even if that was the case for a few to some degree, before you know it, they took over and kept on paddling on their own.

One fact is, and please do not let this discourage you, but you will soon find out that these trainers make only the top one percent of the dog experts in the industry.

In my years of dealing with different trainers, I have known of those who enjoy fine wine and fancy dinners with the rich and famous. I have known those who have gone from groomer to national television persona and have big contracts and sponsorships. I have also known of trainers who only taught group classes and struggled for years. I have known of those who did not care much for going to the next level and settled for just being a part-timer, and of course I have also known of the ones who were very successful, but yet very miserable mentally. These folks, no matter how much money and success came their way, it was never enough. They simply wanted all the business. To them, the glass was always half empty. You could try reassuring them by saying, “Don’t worry. There are enough dogs for all of us and you cannot win them all, nor do you really want to.” These trainers would hear it, but it would not register. Some bombard the search engines with numerous websites and want to eat the whole pizza on their own. You know what the bad thing is about eating the whole pizza by yourself? It’s definitely not healthy for you in the long run! You share, and you shall receive. That’s how the universe works. It is a funny thing about the dog training business. It is such a closed society. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. Why would you distance your peers and their knowledge just because you perceive them as a threat? It seems to me that you should welcome the competition and the additional resources afforded to you by your fellow trainers. I am sure you could teach them something and they could you as well.

The ones who stand out from the others are truly unique in every aspect you can think of. These individuals love what they do. This is why it's so hard to get a hold of them. They are too busy making a difference and often have a waiting list. They are busy teaching, training, running seminars, and promoting themselves, their products, and marketing their businesses. Sometimes it is training others to follow in their footsteps and carry on the torch.

The bottom line is, they get out there and love to be noticed for their message and their mission. I guess what I am trying to say is that dog experts are not any different than the rest of us. Through the years I have noticed that sometimes this simply comes down to hiring the best expert money can buy. The cheapest is rarely the best. Think about other trends in your life. Do you go to a “shade tree mechanic” because they are inexpensive and offer no warranty, or do you go to the repair shop that stands behind their work and have been in business for three generations? I have also learned a lot from the worst-of-the-worst. After all, this is where you learn what NOT to do. After studying those who were considered to be the real deal, I have noticed that they all came from a totally different class and mentality and it's no wonder why their success rate was so hard to ignore. When I put these trainers through the test, they all possessed these ten qualities about them:

1. These trainers care about you, your dog and their reputation
2. Their training method is backed by common sense not just the training fad of the day or what is popular on T.V.
3. These trainers pay attention to details.
4. You will not end up with a “half trained” dog.
5. These trainers’ methods work off leash and at a distance.
6. These trainers will train all dogs not just German Shepherds or Labradors
7. Your dog’s age never matters.
8. These trainers’ method is firm and kind.
9. These trainers let you experiment with different training techniques and tools. They don’t sell you a head halter, shock collar or books you must buy.
10. These trainers rarely give up on you or your dog.

I will explain these qualities on my radio show this week. Tune in and give us a call. If you are reading this article after the episode has aired, no worries. You can download it anytime at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor or on iTunes by searching Dog Doctor in the podcast section.

We at Denver Dog Works follow this mantra listed above. We are all certified in canine training and we love our jobs. We work with each client individually and we show results. We welcome you to speak to as many trainers and schools that you can. Ask questions and check their references. Are they the ones that just want your business or do they want to retain you as a client? A client that they can work with over the long haul. A client that will come to your school over and over again. A client that will recommend you to their peers. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?

Give us a call. We offer an initial no-cost evaluation and we can show you why we have the best and train the rest. We can be reached anytime at 303-752-2818 or through our website.

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor Radio show every Saturday live at Denver Dog Works. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com