Shelter dogs are plenty and we need to look at who and why.
Shelters worldwide are full of unwanted dogs because we as human beings have dropped the ball in being responsible. Bottom line… Beginning with breeder error in improperly raising their puppies, to puppy mills, to lack of education in raising puppies into adulthood, we are ultimately responsible for all of these dogs suffering in shelters.
Unless and until we begin to have our eyes open and further the conversation of responsible pet ownership (and I dislike this term ownership), how about ‘guardianship’; we will see yet another year of mass euthanasia in shelters and mistreated dogs. I don’t want to see this happen and hope you’ll join me in speaking up when you see something wrong.
Please help them because they can’t help themselves. We are their only hope. We must be their voice and advocate when it comes to humane education and safety for our dogs and our families.
Learn how to read their body language, train them, exercise them, socialize them. This is loving them; anything else is missing the mark.
About the author: Jill Breitner, is a professional dog trainer, award winning author, writing articles for Dogster, The Whole Dog Journal, Animal Wellness and her own blog. She is also a dog body language expert, loving and living her life on the west coast of the USA. She is the author of Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language recommended and used by veterinarians, shelters, trainers, educators and guardians worldwide. It’s available in iTunes and Google play. Jill, is Fear Free Certified and has been teaching gentle handling/basic husbandry skills to clients dogs for 40 years. She helps you to be your pets advocate for a happier and stress free life. She also does online dog training, worldwide. Join Jill on her Dog Decoder Facebook page