Many of you may be familiar with Katie, the dog who on the day she was adopted from the Washington Humane Society (WHS), pulled out from her collar and fearfully fled into the Maryland woods. Thankfully, after much effort by WHS staff, volunteers and her new adopters, she was safely recovered days later – but that’s not all there is to the story! In a surprising turn of events, days after Katie was found, Katie’s five puppies along with her brother, Rico, were surrendered to the care of our shelter.
They were all adorable variations of shepherd mixes – some had dark hair, some had light hair, some were short… some were shorter – but they all undoubtedly looked like Katie and their uncle Rico. From the start, it was noticeable that the puppies, like Katie, were a bit under-socialized and timid. Rico also had his moments of timidity and was stressed by the shelter environment, but luckily all of them appeared to be extremely friendly and social. The staff began working with the puppies in particular, exposing them to as many sights and sounds as possible.
Socialization deficits, along with inherent nervousness, can grow into a number of problems for a dog. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to socialize their dog from puppyhood, or recognize that they may have a “Frazzled Fido” on their hands or that there are a number of ways to manage their pet’s stress and anxiety. From thunderstorm phobias to vet visits and meeting new people, learning how to recognize and manage stress in your dog can do wonders to help them.
The Washington Humane Society’s Behavior & Learning Center will be presenting the seminar “Frazzled Fido: Recognizing & Managing Stress in Your Dog” where we will discuss how dogs naturally cope with stress, how to recognize subtle to severe signs of anxiety, behavioral techniques to reduce stress and so much more!
Frazzled Fido is scheduled for this Sunday, June 26, 2011 from 10:00am – 12:30pm at the WHS Behavior and Learning Center located at 7315 Georgia Ave NW.
Registration Fee is $20 and pre-registration is required.
Register online at www.washhumane.org/blc.
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