Island Dogz

Our Own Pack of Dogz

The Dog That Started Me On This Path

Flurry is the dog that I got when due to lifestyle changes, I found myself transplanted from a home with big fenced yard to a tiny apartment. Luckily, a family member temporarily kept Chance for me until I got back on my feet after a few months. ( I was soooo lucky to have this option available, as many families in crisis do not.) While in the apt, I felt an emptiness being without a dog. One day, while wandering through a mall, I saw this little white furball alone and looking miserable in a petstore window. Being completely naive to petstore dogs and the plight of their "puppy mill" parents*, I thought I would get myself a smart, loyal, apartment-sized purebred American Eskimo and save him from his sad life in a glass box.

What had looked like a shy, reserved pup just needing love, turned into a adorable but incredibly reactive and fearful dog that was surely taken from his Mother too soon and not nurtured properly in his early weeks. Knowing nothing of raising such a dog, but thinking I was a good trainer from past successes, I made many mistakes, and fear soon evolved into fear aggression. I called a very popular local trainer who said that he was a very difficult case, that he WOULD seriously hurt someone and I should put him down, or give him up.

Some would say this was a negative, but it was a turning point in my life. Being the stubborn woman I am :), I started researching and learning everything I could about rehabilitating a fearful dog. This led me to Monique Anstee of The Naughty Dogge Behavioral Modification. ** In a two day, intensive workshop for aggressive dogs, I learned (amongst so much more eye-opening information) how I was failing Flurry by not providing him the structure and leadership to feel confident. Flurry will never be the dog that loves every person and every dog... but he is very happy and able to focus on me for positive reinforcement and security when he feels threatened, instead of feeling he needs to take matters into his own hands (paws??). He has also been very successful in his obedience and Rally -O classes.

For information of what lies being that cute pup in the window

(or now on the internet listing) please take a moment to watch this video:

* The Truth About Pet Store Puppies

If you too have a dog that is causing you troubles, or want to learn how to

properly communicate with your dog to prevent troubles, please check out

** Monique's Naughty Dogge Website

There really is hope for our problem dogs ... and our sanity!

Our First Owner Surrender

There is a serious mental disorder called MES that I devoloped after having Flurry for about a year. For those of you not up on your medical terminology, MES stands fo Multiple Eskie Syndrome. Echo was in a home with 4 small children and become very pushy, difficult to walk, reactive with new dogs and people. The worse his behaviour got, the longer he spent alone and ignored...the longer alone and ignored, the worse his behaviour got. This is a tragic cycle many dog owners get into that don't understand aspects of dog training such as the importance of early and continual socialization (especially with a breed like American Eskimos that are naturally reserved / wary of strangers and protective of their humans.Another missing piece in Echo's rearing was lack of leadership. Eskies are highly intelligent and strong willed, and if they are not shown you are a competent leader, they will fill that role in a heart beat. A dog that has taking over leadership but is wary of new people and or dogs is a VERY bad situation. It also make for a miserable dog that is stressed to be in a position it doesn't want and isn't made for. We tried to talk to his owners about ways to retrain him to lessen his undesirable behaviours, but the family was overwhelmed and they were "done".

When we picked up Echo, he was growling at a 4 year old that was feeding him milk bones. Talk about a recipe for disaster! I was so glad that we were getting that dog out of that situation before a child got bitten. We brought him home and he got on well with our other boys immediately. For his training plan, we immediately began using a method known as NILIF, or Nothing in Life is Free* He was naughty for sure, but very affectionate and a natural born clown. Where Flurry is beautiful and poised, Echo is cute and goofy. As you see in the big photo, his tongue often slips out due to his missing canine tooth , this only adds to his comic persona. We made quite a bit of progress on our own, then took him to another weekend seminar with Naughty Dogge called Pushy Dogs. We spent time on manners, loose leash walking, calm door greetings (a major issue for most Eskies who think they were born to bark!) and polite dog - dog interaction. Echo was the opposite of Flurry one more way, he's not fearful...just obnoxious (in a clownish way :). He has also done well in obedience classes and has started beginner agility with great enthusiasm. Thankfully we have managed to lose most of the naughty and keep all the goofy. He also has turned into a total Mama's boy and follows me everywhere. As I type this, he is in his favorite place cuddled up by my feet, with a chair rung for a headrest.

*For more information on how NILIF can help you regain control of your bossy dog, please check out:

http://www.dogguide.net/nilif.php

Our Fourth (and final dog...maybe...)

Ok, four dogs is a lot, but could YOU say no to that face????? Blizzard is also an owner surrender. This time a victim of the common "I just don't have the time for him any more" scenario. He was well loved, but somewhat neglected. Not in a cruel way...he was well fed and had a warm bed and honestly was loved a lot, but he had not been trained in basic manners and was completely matted. His poor tail looked like dreadlocks! No one had ever told Blizz that even though he was a Malamute/Husky cross, he still had to do what humans expected...at least SOME of the time. There's a saying about these guys "You don't TELL a Mal what to do, you try and convince him WHY he should bother doing it." As this quite describes me too ;) it was a match made in heaven and although I adore all my dogs, Blizz was special and soon became what some call "my heart dog". His joy is contagious and our WOO WOO conversations are some of my favorite moments.

Blizzard has become a great discussion opener for dog rescue. He is one of those dogs that just commands attention wherever we go. He is not only adorably gorgeous, but he has a very smooth regal carriage. When people inevitably come over to ask about him, I use it to segway into the great dogs that are available from sources other than breeders (good and bad), pet stores and online puppy listings.

To offer the gift of a furever home to a deserving dog, please see available island dogz on "Our Rescuze" page.

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We speak here of having 4 dogs: but we are now down to 3.

To see our CHANCE, the first rescue dog, check out his story in Sad Tailz