Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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Have you ever thought your dog might make a great therapy dog? If so, we'd love to meet you and your mutt, and potentially invite you to join the Miracle Mutts Tehachapi Crew! As dedicated advocates, pet parents, volunteers and educators, we provide a joyful and important service to our community. We make a positive impact on all whose lives we touch! Whether your interests lie in working with kids, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with addiction issues, or all of the above and...
B.T. writes, "I'm trying to train my dog to do basic commands like sit and lay down, and at first he was doing great. But now, no matter how many cookies I give him, he seems distracted and won't listen, much less do what I ask. Please help!" Dear B.T., Food can work wonders in motivating your dog, and getting him interested in learning new things. However, food is an extrinsic motivator of behavior; and the ultimate goal of positive reinforcement training is to build a dog's intrinsic drive to...
L.J. from Stallion Springs, writes, "What are some signs of aggression in dogs? How can I diagnose my dog's behavior as aggressive?" Dear L.J., Thanks for your question! First, a disclaimer: While I am an experienced trainer, and deal with my own dog's issues that include reactive (and at times aggressive) behavior, I do not specialize in aggression cases professionally. I suggest that anyone who feels their dog might be exhibiting aggressive behavior seek help from an experienced, credentialed...
Nina R. of Tehachapi writes, "My dog Jackson, a Jack Russell terrier mix, follows me everywhere; he might as well be my shadow. He can't even be in the backyard by himself without scratching on the door to come back in. How do I resolve this problem?" Dear Nina, Because we love our dogs so much, we want to keep them close to us. It feels good to know they need us; and, of course, there's nothing sweeter than snuggling up with our furry buddies on a cool Sunday morning. However, if we fail to...
M.B. writes, “My dog constantly wants to lick my hands and face! I don’t mind some kisses, but once she starts licking, she doesn’t know when to stop. Correcting her only seems to make it worse. Can you help?” Dear M.B., thank you for your question. First and foremost, if your dog is exhibiting any kind of abnormal behavior that has arisen out of the blue, or is atypical, I always suggest first ruling out any potential underlying medical cause. In other words, before you address the behavio...
Alexander the Great said, "I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well." While undoubtedly he was referring to a human father and his biological progeny, and/or he meant father in terms of God relative to His creations, I feel the interpretation of human being as teacher to canine student applies as well. In a sense, Humanity is the "higher power" whose genetic experiment is responsible for over 400 distinguishable domestic dog breeds. While we are not biological par...
Do most of us look back at our experiences in middle school PE with fondness and pride? Or do we cringe, remembering all-too-painfully the emotional torture of being picked last for a team; or reliving the nearly-constant stitch in our sides from begrudgingly running that lonely, treacherous mile that seemed never to end? I, for one, associate that time in life with a kind of default state of adolescent discomfort. Body was awkward and changing; ego was fragile. Sense of self shaky at best, and...
Dogs thrive when their lives include a balance of predictability and spontaneity. I believe the same is true for us humans, which is reason #4,325 why we and dogs make great life partners. If your dog is anything like mine, he might wake you up at precisely 6 a.m., ready for breakfast. At 3 p.m., he might stand up abruptly out of a dead sleep, and gaze longingly at the closet door behind which hangs his leash, and your walking shoes. Each day when you grab your favorite mug, and the rich aroma...
First of all, I can hardly deal with how precious Fred's face is in this picture; the sweetness is almost too much to bear. Even better is what the image represents, which is a relaxed, calm, and happy working dog, chilling out and listening to a young friend read him a story at Marley's Mutts and Beale Library's bi-monthly Barks & Books session. Why is this so significant? Well, some of you have followed Fred since he was a wee pup; and watched as he went away to serve a child with autism for...
"The Jolly Routine" is a term coined by the renowned canine behaviorist William Campbell. It means a pet parent "acts" relaxed and happy, even in moments they may feel otherwise, as a way of convincing their dog that no threat is present. My dog Fred had developed some reactivity issues toward other dogs (as they move toward him, in tight, indoor spaces). When Fred was first released from his duties as a service dog (for a child with autism), we had several incidents during which another dog...
• To the supporters, both locally and worldwide, who literally keep us going every day. With financial gifts and morale-boosting messages of appreciation and encouragement, you all keep us moving forward, even on days when it's thoroughly challenging. • To our dedicated foster families, who open their homes to rescued dogs, who come to them in all conditions, all stages of life, all degrees of health or illness, all breeds and all creeds. Without you, our operation would cease to function as it...
As most regular readers of our column know, I am the director of Marley's Mutts' community outreach, education, and therapy dog certification program, also known as "Miracle Mutts". Zach and I started the program just over three years ago, and it has evolved in leaps and bounds ever since. I've been very fortunate to have almost limitless creative license to develop and expand; to innovate in alignment with the program's natural inclination to "face the sun" and grow. Our program has many...
Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue has an extended community of impassioned supporters that spans the globe. Affectionately branded "The Mutt Militia", this group is nearly a million strong, its members' allegiance to dog rescue is a growing force in bettering conditions for animals worldwide. A primary goal of Marley's Mutts' Outreach and Education division is to instill, in a younger legion of animal advocates, the same lion-hearted drive to make lasting change, right here on their home soil. Through...
The " Miracle Mutts" program – Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue's Outreach, Education, and Therapy Dog Certification endeavor – continues to spread joy across Kern County, reaching ever-farther into the community in a variety of unique and meaningful ways. Our new class at The Mission at Kern County is called "Moving Forward With Dogs: 12 Steps at a Time"; it integrates dog handling, walking and training into addiction recovery work. Both the Men's and Women's programs are benefitting, as are the the...
Mutt Fans, put your hands and paws together for little Miss Vivi, who has just surpassed fifty hours of community service, and earned her Therapy Dog certification! This sweet girl was found wandering the streets in Mexico just a little over a year ago. When I met her, she was terrified of everyone and everything. She cowered and tucked her tail and bared her teeth when other, got too close. Then she got involved in our Miracle Mutts program, and to see her today, you wouldn't recognize her as...
When a kid hears a parent say, "Walk the dog", I imagine he sees a looming item on a dreaded to-do list; it just sounds like a chore. To the contrary, when kids learn young, the intrinsic value of taking a routine walk alongside their best four-legged friend, they're more likely to carry the practice into adulthood as a chosen activity. While at first walking the dog may seem like an obligation that cuts into web-surfing or video game-playing time, at some point the feel-good aspect of the...
As a dedicated group of animal rescuers, trainers, and community educators, we at Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue hold fast to a vision...that someday, very soon, our organization will have a "forever home" of its own. Marley's Mutts' Rescue Ranch will be a facility like none Kern County – or possibly the world -- has ever known. Our facility will be a sprawling compound that covers multiple acres of land, and holds within it the infrastructure crucial to the expansion and evolution of our unique p...
As we approach the end of another fruitful year at Marley’s Mutts Dog Rescue, I’m moved to reflect upon how far we’ve come in the last two years, and the bright, potential-paved road that lies ahead in 2016. In addition to the (literally) thousands of dogs Marley’s Mutts has saved through rescue, and spay and neuter, we, the Miracle Mutts Crew, feel our influence can become a “preventative measure”. We strive to ensure that the animal caregivers of tomorrow understand the role each plays in ma...
The benefits of canine intervention in so many activities with children are well-documented. Dogs in library programs motivate kids to open up and read aloud, lending soft, nonjudgmental ears; service dogs help children with autism and other disabilities or illnesses navigate their world with a sense of comfort and connectivity; facility dogs become part of incentive-and-rewards systems at schools, motivating kids to practice exceptional behavior; and comfort dogs provide loving security to chil...
Miracle Mutts is Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue's Outreach and Education division, and involves the community at many levels. First of all, we offer dogs with the right temperament -- who are able to pass the Canine Good Citizen and Community Canine tests through the AKC -- a spot on our Miracle Mutts Therapy Dog team! Marley's Mutts is the first and only dog rescue sanctioned by the American Kennel Club to certify therapy dogs through their titling program! In order to be eligible for the title...
Greetings, Mutt Fans! In this month's article, I get to make a very special announcement, geared especially to Marley's Mutts' oldest and dearest friends and supporters in Tehachapi and Bear Valley. Our successful canine-assisted reading program, Barks & Books, has come to the Tehachapi Library! Our program of the same name, which we've run at Beale Library in Bakersfield for almost two years, has been a huge success! Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, kids come to Beale to snuggle...
Fred is the beautiful yellow lab I raised and trained to be a service dog two years ago through Good Dog Autism Companions, while simultaneously working as Animal Assisted Activities director for Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue. Fred, named after Mr. Rogers, is now called Courage; because when asked what he wanted a service dog to bring to his life, thirteen year-old Caleb replied, "courage". Last Saturday, Good Dog Autism Companions held their inaugural ceremony to celebrate graduating service dog...
You know how when you're on a long, intense hike up a steep incline, and your focus is solely on reaching the summit – then, when you finally get there, you have a breathtaking vantage point from which you can see all that culminated to inspire this moment of heightened gratitude? Well, that's how I felt on Thursday night during our 6th session of Marley's "Miracle Mutts" Life Skills class at the Mission at Kern County. As I watched the women handle the dogs they've been paired with – much mor...
Not many things are more frustrating than finding your favorite pair of shoes or expensive headphones shredded to a pulp. But it's important to face the issue calmly and objectively, which you can do by remembering a couple of things. If your dog is still a puppy – especially one in between the ages of four and six months – this is totally normal, and it will pass. If your dog is older and still chewing out of control, chances are the behavior wasn't dealt with properly early on and will be mor...
Ruth W. writes: “I have a 3 year-old shepherd mix that barks at everything. How can I train her not to bark?” Dear Ruth, So, you know how, when referring to extra-marital affairs people will say things like “the affair isn’t the problem, it is a ‘symptom’ of the problem”? Well, I believe this to be true where affairs are concerned, and also where “barking at everything” is concerned. It is first important to think about the different reasons WHY dogs bark. They obviously bark to communicate an...
