copyright Paranormal
Category: Advice
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Volunteering at a rescue shelter – ground rules to remember!
It will soon be the end of 2016 and thoughts will turn to holidays in 2017. Regular readers will know I suggest that volunteering at an animal refuge is a wonderful way to spend a week – but there are some ground rules which need to be born in mind. It’s not actually a holiday as such – cleaning kennels, feeding dogs, washing bedding…but there is always time off to do sightseeing, or just play with the dogs!
Most volunteers know this; many return year on year to their preferred refuge whilst others like to go to a different area and meet different people. But the ground rules remain the same!
1. Remember that the people who own/run the refuge are the ones there 24/7 365 days a year and know the dogs in their care inside out. They know their characters, likes and dislikes, which dogs get on with others, or not.
2. Do not question any instructions relating to the care of the dogs – helpful suggestions will be considered.
3. Dogs like routine, refuges run on routine, so please adhere to the daily routine of the refuge wherever possible – obviously if bad weather hits and it’s all hands on deck, then carry out the emergency tasks asked of you.
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Gran Canaria to UK – saving Podenca Summer
This is a story which exposes the dangers of taking a dog from a perrera; why you should not give in to emotional blackmail and cries of ‘this dog will die’. It emphasises why you should always adopt a dog from a recognised established rescue association.
At the beginning of the year a few people formed a group to help the podencos of Gran Canaria. It is almost impossible to rehome a podenco in the Canary Islands, their only chance of a forever home is on mainland Europe or the US. Whilst meaning well and having very caring hearts, time has shown that these generous hearted people have made mistakes. This story is just one.
This podenca is Summer, who arrived in the UK on 14th November in a state and very unwell. Scabies was diagnosed by the vet, scrapings were then taken to verify this, and came back positive. Her fleas were treated and her adopter has been massaging her with coconut oil. Since starting her treatment her skin has really improved and all her sores have healed well.
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A Dog is for life – not just for Christmas – share the message
Share the message – so many people STILL buy puppies for Xmas only to discard them when they get destructive, larger than expected, a nuisance when they want to go on holiday!
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Introducing clicker training with feeding your dog
Extract from Training the Best Dog Ever
First, let’s teach your dog the value of the click. Begin that lesson by once again hand-feeding all your dog’s meals over the next four days. In general, I find that hand-feeding is a good exercise to reintroduce whenever my dogs (or other dogs that I am boarding and training) are learning a new, difficult skill, or when I sense that they are beginning to lose focus.
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Bikejoring – get going with your Podenco!
I’ve published about canicross as an activity with your podenco, now let me introduce you to Bikejoring. You can read all about it on this link. Most podencos are intelligent active working dogs and sports like this suit them. So if you are not a runner for agility or canicross, get on your bike and ride with your dog!
Here are 2 Podenco Friends competing in the UK.
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Letter to the Spanish Hunters – they have changed nothing…
It is now 10 years since members of some prominent galgo/podenco rescue associations – Galgos sin Fronteras, Amigos de los Galgos, Greyhounds in Need and others with the then- met Spanish Minister of the Environment Cristina Narbona and representatives of the Spanish hunting federations to discuss tackling the problem of over-breeding and mass killing/abandonment of their hunting dogs. Sadly the hunters were not prepared to meet any of the reasonable demands of the associations, too arrogant to even acknowledge the problems they caused. Sadly also since then there has not been another Spanish Minister prepared to consider the problem.
Often I, like the amazing volunteers working on the ground in Spain, woke up angry against the hunters and the long-reaching problems they cause, and so in March 2013 I put fingers to computer and wrote this letter to them! I am reposting here because the contents STILL apply, over 3 years on.
http://www.galgonews.com/2013/03/a-letter-to-senor-galguero.html
Please note that copyright belongs to me and no part of this letter can be reused without my permission.
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Do not give in to Emotional Blackmail!
In the 9 years since I first became involved in the plight of the galgos and podencos, hundreds of thousands more people now know of their maltreatment and suffering at the hands of the Galgueros.
New associations have formed and thousands of these fabulous hounds have found forever homes.
With the advent of publicity on Facebook, there have been worrying developments as even more people have become involved in ‘saving’ them, and not all working truthfully and within the law. I always advocate adopting a dog from a recognised rescue association. These hounds have already been rescued from a ‘kill station’, abandonment in the campo, injured on roads. Costs have been incurred in medical treatment and preparing pet passports, blood tests and castration before the animals are homed. These are the dogs which are ready for adoption.
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Rescuing from a Perrera – advice from Mo Swatek of Pro-Galgo International
The debate about rescuing from a perrera when not living in Spain or the Canary Islands continues to rage. Here are words of advice from Mo Swatek of Pro-Galgo International, who recently drove 250kms to a perrera to rescue podencos and galgos with a short kill date, only to find there was no kill date for the dogs!
RESCUING FROM PERRERAS
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As the emotional blackmail and the sharing without checking the real situation is getting worse and worse, here some Suggestions how to reserve dogs from perreras without being cheated, overcharged etc.1. Do not work with private people if money is involved. Pay only to animal welfare associations or directly to the PERRERA.
2. Always insist in the name and exact location of the place.
3. Do not send dogs in residencia or foster care without full details of the person or residence Incl address, phone, legal permits etc. Be aware that many people make a living with private illegal fostering and you risk your dog’s being decommissed if there are no permits for dog boarding for more than 2 dogs. Most villages do not permit more than 5 dogs or pets in general per household!