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Harwinton Guiding Light

As a kid, Sheila LaMothe loved German shepherds, but didn’t have a dog of her own. She begged her father for just one more stuffed animal-a stuffed German shepherd she saw and fell in love with in a toy store.When she turned 13, her dad surprised her by buying her the toy.”That stuffed German shepherd went to every swim meet with me, right through college,” Mrs. LaMothe, who lives in Harwinton, recalled.about 20 years later, Mrs. LaMothe and her new husband, Todd, who also loves the breed, got their first dog together, a German shepherd named Klaus.the couple lived in downtown Torrington at the time, and mr. LaMothe, who’s a firefighter, would be on call in the firehouse many evenings, leaving Mrs. LaMothe feeling alone and nervous in the house. When 11-week old Klaus arrived, she slept much better.”Klaus slept in a crate the first few weeks, but even with him in that crate, I just felt a whole new sense of security,” she said.Today, Mrs. LaMothe, 42, realizes that the breed that has meant so much to her thus far in her life may end up meaning much more, as the former champion freestyle swimmer deals with the possibility that she may go blind.four and a half years ago, Mrs. LaMothe received a diagnosis of low tension glaucoma, a slow-moving eye disease that can cause blindness. it can often go undiagnosed for a while, because patients have what’s considered normal eye pressure.Glaucoma is usually treated successfully with drops, and Mrs. LaMothe uses several a day, but she’s not reacting as well as she should. Laser surgery in both eyes, which has helped, Mrs. LaMothe said, is usually a temporary solution. She’s lost a lot of vision in her left eye, especially toward her nose, she said, but recently her checkups have been fairly stable.”My hope is that the doctors can sort of hold me where I am until they come up with some great new treatment,” she said.in the meantime, Mrs. LaMothe is certainly not succumbing to despair.She’s working full time as a marketing manager at TRUMPF in Farmington, a manufacturer of sheet metal fabricating equipment and industrial lasers. She’s renovating a cottage in the Adirondacks with her husband on the weekends. And she’s throwing a dinner dance and silent auction she organized herself Sept. 26 to benefit the Fidelco guide dog foundation in Bloomfield, an organization that breeds, trains and places German shepherd guide dogs throughout North America.Mrs. LaMothe’s involvement with Fidelco started soon after she realized that she wasn’t responding to glaucoma treatment as well as expected.”As soon as I understood that I wasn’t reacting to treatment the way I should be,” she said, “it hit me that I might actually go blind. my first thought was that I’d be sitting in the corner of a room, not able to do anything.”Looking for support, Mrs. LaMothe e-mailed some associations, found some specialists, and then heard about Fidelco’s annual walkathon, which takes place every may.She and mr. LaMothe, 48, decided to volunteer at the event, to do some good and to also hopefully meet other people like herself. They ended up staffing the cotton candy station, and on a very windy day, no less. “Cotton candy was everywhere,” Mrs. LaMothe recalled.They also participated in the walk with Mrs. LaMothe’s sister and brother-in-law, and stopped by the foster program booth, where they learned about volunteering to raise and help train future guide dogs from about 8 weeks of age until they’re ready for formal training.When you’ve got two German shepherd dogs already (Gunnar, a rescue dog, had arrived about three years after Klaus), what’s one more? the LaMothes decided to take a foster puppy and help train it.”While we weren’t sure how having three dogs would go,” Mrs. LaMothe said, “we felt it was something we needed to do, because if someday I need one of these dogs myself, we would want to know that we helped somebody else in the same situation first.”Mr. and Mrs. LaMothe picked Nikka up in September of 2006, and she came home to the log cabin they built themselves in Harwinton.Nikka quickly became part of the family and the couple’s routine. the puppy went to work with Mrs. LaMothe and occasionally with mr. LaMothe to the firehouse. She went out to restaurants and stores, and three Saturdays a month, the LaMothes and Nikka went to Bloomfield for class, where Fidelco teaches a pup’s foster “parents” how to train their charges.one of the important skills for a guide dog to learn is leading owners to a door or other object. in training, the preparatory exercise is called targeting, where the dog learns to put its nose in a person’s hand, so eventually the dog can lead that person to the door handle or object.with Nikka getting so much attention, not to mention treats for well performed skills, Mrs. LaMothe found that her other two dogs, Klaus and Gunnar, were getting in on the act.”They wanted to participate,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “I would be training Nikka, doing a skill with her, and next to me would be Klaus and Gunnar doing the same skill, saying ‘See, we can do it, too, we can do it, too!’”All three dogs know targeting, for example, Mrs. LaMothe said, and they know the command “leave it,” where they won’t take a treat until the owner says it’s OK to do so.”I’ve had all three dogs lying in a row, with a piece of hot dog on their paw, and they won’t take it until I say they can,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “It’s pretty amazing to see.”Though Nikka is the only fully trained guide dog in the LaMothe household, the fact that the two other dogs picked so many things up so quickly is a testament to the remarkable trainability of German shepherds, Mrs. LaMothe said.”The breed is loyal, trainable, and smart,” she said. As well, they have a “natural instinct” to protect and guide, she added.All Fidelco guide dogs come from Bavarian German shepherd stock. the organization was founded in1960 by Charlie Kaman, former president and chief executive of Kaman Industries, and his wife, Roberta Kaman. the Kamans, who, like the LaMothes, adored the breed, realized how much they could do for blind people and started Fidelco, which is now the only guide dog school in New England.the story goes, said Christine Buhler, director of development at Fidelco, that mr. Kaman had just brought a young German shepherd dog back from Germany back to John F. Kennedy airport in New York, when his young son, just about 5 years old, ran into the road. the dog, which didn’t even know the family well yet, leapt out of the car and “herded” the young boy back to the road and back to safety. it was then that mr. Kaman decided to start Fidelco.A guide dog’s training is rigorous, the job tough and demanding, and ultimately, Nikka didn’t make it as a guide dog, despite the LaMothes efforts. Nikka was great at her skills, Mrs. LaMothe explained, but she just couldn’t be relied upon to ignore other dogs. last may, the LaMothes took Nikka back to live with them, and Nikka is now an ambassador for Fidelco.”By being involved with Fidelco, and raising Nikka, we’ve learned so much about what these dogs can actually do for people,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “You realize that, no matter what happens, with a guide dog, you’re not going to be sitting in a corner unable to do anything. I know now I can actually have a full life. It’s a huge relief.”Around the same time that Nikka came back to Mrs. LaMothe and her husband, Mrs. LaMothe started to feel ready to talk about her condition a bit more. up until then, no one at Fidelco knew about her glaucoma or suspected the deeply personal reason she wanted to be involved.She first told Ms. Buhler at Fidelco, who promptly invited her to make a speech at Fidelco’s annual donor dinner. Mrs. LaMothe agreed, and then thought to herself, “‘Oh my God, what did I just do? I now have to stand up in front of 250 people and talk about something that I can’t speak about with my friends without crying.’”In the speech, Mrs. LaMothe said, “While [my husband and I] may not have met others like me or learned more about my condition as a result of our involvement with Fidelco as originally intended, what we have learned is far more valuable.”Because of Fidelco, I now know that should my sight end, my life will not. it would be different, of course, but with the support of my wonderful husband, family and friends and a guide dog by my side, I would be able to maintain the independence that is part of what makes me who I am. we all know the saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’- Fidelco is my silver lining,” she said.At the end of the speech, Mrs. LaMothe received a welcome surprise. “There was literally a line of people waiting to talk to me, saying anytime you want to talk, feel free to call or e-mail.” one was a medical researcher, and a few others had recommendations for specialists, she recalled.”There I was, trying to do something to help Fidelco, and once again, I got more out of it than I gave,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “It always seems to be the case.”"The silver lining” that Mrs. LaMothe talked about in her speech carries through to the theme of the benefit she’s organizing at the end of the month. “By organizing the benefit, I wanted to say thank you for all Fidelco has done for me, and for so many others out there,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “People’s lives are really changed by the services Fidelco provides. They’re able to get their independence back with one of these dogs.”The Sept. 26 dinner dance and silent auction takes place at the Torrington Elks Club, starting at 6 p.m. It’s hosted by Logan Byrnes of FOX 61 News and is being sponsored by the Torrington Elks and Lions clubs.Tickets are $50, which can be bought through www.silverliningbenefit.com. about $30 goes directly to support breeding, training and placement of the Fidelco dogs. Fidelco spends about $26,000 to breed, train and place a dog, including about eight to 10 years of followup, and Fidelco provides the dogs free of charge.mr. LaMothe noted that he’s amazed at everything his wife has done to support Fidelco with the benefit. “She’s taken this all on, herself,” he said. “I’m so proud of her.”Ms. Buhler at Fidelco said that she wasn’t surprised at all when Mrs. LaMothe volunteered to take on the enormous task of organizing the event.”After getting to know her through Fidelco events and the foster puppy that she had raised,” Ms. Buhler said, “I saw she was always out there and very eager to try new things, and just very determined. you can tell she’s not one to sit aside and watch life pass her by.”"I’ve determined that I’m not going to just sit here and let something happen to me,” Mrs. LaMothe said. “I’m going to make the best out of a not-so-great situation, and the way that I’m doing that is through Fidelco, by helping them as much as I can, and raising awareness for their services and the needs of the blind.”

Harwinton Guiding Light

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CUTE PUPPY GOOD DOG : vikram karve blogs on sulekha, Creative blogs, vikram karve blog from india

CUTE PUPPY GOOD DOG

How to train your Naughty Puppy and make it a good Dog

VIKRAM KARVE

1. Do not punish your puppy. Punishment teaches a dog only one thing – how to avoid punishment. so, instead of beating or scolding your puppy, teach the puppy what to do, what is the appropriate behaviour you expect of your pet, and reward the puppy when it listens to you both by treats and caressing it lovingly saying “good dog”.

2. Do not have unrealistic expectations of your puppy – after all he is a dog. have reasonable standards and train your puppy lovingly and patiently. Remember there are breed to breed differences in intelligence and adaptability to training and obedience too.

3. Do not leave your puppy alone, especially when he is small. never tie up a small puppy or lock him up in a crate. Remember that a small puppy loves human company and hates to be left alone. (Will you leave your human baby all alone in your house or lock the baby up in a cage…?). Raising a puppy properly takes time, love, patience and commitmemt. If you are very busy and do not have enough time to devote towards bringing up your dog then please don’t get a puppy into your family. All members of your family must love dogs and be commited towards devoting time and love towards the dog and his upbringing and care.

4. Do not keep your pup indoors all the time and keep him completely isolated from the outside world. Take the puppy outdoors regularly for walks and play. Let your puppy interact with other humans and other dogs, socialise, learn to play, get a bit rough and tough, fight it out.

Follow these tips and spend maximum time with your puppy, talk to your dog regularly, train, play games and lovingly caress your puppy. The ideal time to get a puppy into your home is when he is three weeks old and you must totally focus on the development of your puppy till he is about six months old. Training your puppy and watching his antics as he grows up will be a rewarding and happy experience and you will transform your cute puppy into a good dog who will be a joy forever. Remember good Dogs don’t just happen – you have to make them happen…!

(NB – If you have a female puppy, for “he” read “she”… By the way, I prefer female dogs – they are more loving, intelligent and loyal – like my darling Sherry who you can see in the picture with me…)

CUTE PUPPY GOOD DOG

How to train your Naughty Puppy and make it a good Dog

VIKRAM KARVE

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. an avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. his delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog -

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

CUTE PUPPY GOOD DOG : vikram karve blogs on sulekha, Creative blogs, vikram karve blog from india

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Dog Of The Week: Droid

The dog I’d like you to meet to day touched my heart because he looks a lot like a cross between two of my doggies, Lily and Trixie. This little mutt’s name is Droid. I’ve mentioned before that the dogs are named pretty randomly by the people who rescue them, because they need a unique name for their files in the computer, that hasn’t ever been used for an almost Home dog before. So, Droid was named after a cellphone. but he’d prefer to tell people that he was named after the Star Wars Droids!

Droid is a thirteen-month-old Wirehaired Terrier mix. He’s a skinny little guy who weighs in at about ten pounds, although his foster family is trying to fatten him up a little! Droid has a lot of puppy energy still, and he’d love to live with someone who has the energy to play with him, and maybe even another dog as a buddy! He’s a sweet puppy who doesn’t have a bad bone in his body. He’s even house trained and crate trained already!

If you would really like to have a cute, playful puppy, but don’t really want to start from scratch at house training and crate training one, Droid wiould make the perfect dog for you! If you’re interested, check out his profile page, and then contact the Almost Home Foundation.

By the way, Bermuda the shy chihuahua, and Treasure the sweet pocket pitbull, are still looking for homes! Bermuda has also had her almost Home profile filled out, and you can see it here.

I hope these great dogs will find homes soon!

I’m even “on the go” on the Internet! look at all the places you can find me!

By: Twitter Buttons

DuPage Kids on the go!Promote your Page too

MomsLikeMe.com

Dog Of The Week: Droid

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Are there any good methods/tips/suggestions to crate train a puppy?

We just got a black metal wire crate to fit our 3 month old golden retriever. Before I got the crate my puppy has been sleeping on the bed with me for the last 7 days. The only method i've been using is hiding treats in the crate for my puppy to find which i'm not sure is working cuz all my puppy does is get in, find the treats, and get out. The crate is located near my bed so he won't have a big transition of moving beds. I hope that someone would give some useful advice to break my puppy's habit of sleeping on the bed with me.

I think we've all been there with a new puppy. It's not going to be too tricky.

Do you have a "Kong"? Its a hard rubber toy for dogs, and you can stuff it with dog treats or peanut butter? they love that! you can put it in with the dog as he goes into the crate.
Just make it really exciting for him to be in the crate and this is a great way to do that. The "Kong" will be a new toy and something full of fun treats. Also try Ice cubes..they love to chew on ice cubes. It's fun for them.
In no time he'll learn that the crate is his den and it will be fun for him.

Good Luck!

OK cage/crate training is heartbreaking but it hasto be done! best thing is,is make sure he/she had went outside to pee/poo.you can say "go cage or go crate" and put him/her in it and place a few treats in it n shut the door,n walk away.they say put the crate where he can see whats going on but in a low traffic area.I do it this way: do as i mentioned above but put the cage ina area where not too many people go,like an extra room or if you dont have that,put a sheet over the cage.The dog will cry,and be pissy but u must ignore it! try it for like an hour a day and increase it to 1.5 and so on…..if u have an extra room,night time is perfect cuz u can shut the door and try and ignore the crying.But if you keep coming everytime he cries hell think "hey if i cry theylll come back!" and YOU DONT WANT THAT! eventually ur puppy will be fine.like when u leave,put him in the cage and go,hell learn its not that bad and its a kool nap time/time out to rest! i hope i helped! o yeah, keep the treats comimg when u first put him in and take him out and say "good cage" WHEN HE IS NOT CRYING!!!!!

hi,

this is the best way to crate train your puppy, http://dogtime.com/housetraining-crate-t…

hope this helps.

You can visit <—http://train-my-dog.download-for-free.org
It provide you with the most popular and easiest dog training Guide

follow this link .it is absolutely perfect..

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/How-to-Succ…

if followed correctly the crate will become the puppies den – a safe place to go

treats in the kennel is a bad idea.. toys are ok

You can buy a kong at a place like Petsmart, fill it up with peanut butter and freeze it. Put it in the crate with your puppy and it should keep it occupied.

http://www.dog-toy.co.uk/dogproducts/pro…

Are there any good methods/tips/suggestions to crate train a puppy?

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Partial Rumor: Pasir Ris Pet Farm Kennel 9

Suddenly there is a message flashing everywhere that reads, ” Dog Breeder discard his farm with 75 breeding dogs. They will be killed by 17 May if cannot find a home. ”

Sure, we all love puppies but putting them to sleep if they are not adopted is something abnormal. Unlike kind people sending sms, emails and twitter updates we found out this is not true.

There could be a financial chaos and they give out puppies. But that “killing dogs” is just rumor as far as our sources confirm.

For more information you can visit the official Facebook page here

Partial Rumor: Pasir Ris Pet Farm Kennel 9

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Cherrybrook Show Dog, Grooming and Pet Supplies: Training with a …

By Paul B.

After many months of family discussion we decided that the time was right to get a dog. The breed needed to be good with kids, friendly to other dogs, and have a mild personality. As luck would have it, we found someone that just had Labrador Retriever puppies. We went to the farm, checked out the puppies and fell in love with a Black Lab. The puppy was just 8 weeks old when we brought her home. We got the house prepared prior to her arrival. Had the crate in place, a new food bowl, etc.

The first few months were great with training starting right away. Simple things like sitting, and lying down were picked up very quickly. We were considering installing an electric fence around our property, but at 1.5 acres it was a little pricey. I investigated other options and came across a remote training collar. This collar allowed me to control the correction based on the infraction by using a remote control that had nine correction settings and a tone setting.

With the Internet being a wealth of information, I set out to see how it worked and how to begin the training. I of course went on the manufacturer’s website and found that with simple commands, in conjunction with the correction collar, the training could go fast. My only concern was over-correction. Our dog is very mellow and I was afraid that the correction might make a calm dog nuts, so I planned to do the training slowly.

I decided that the training collar was the way to go, so after it arrived I read all the directions and viewed the DVD. It seemed pretty straightforward in that once the dog learns to respect the “corrections” they will listen better and obey the commands. So, at 6 months we thought it was time to strap it on for a test run.

As stated earlier, the collar has a tone, and nine correction settings. The instructions clearly state to start with the lowest setting and watch for a reaction. It should be a small reaction, like their ears perk up, or they shake their heads to indicate that it’s working.

One feature of the collar is a tone that lets you know it’s around their neck correctly by beeping once the collar is turned on. (I also found that I would need to wet her neck where the collar makes contact to assure a good connection).

As per the instructions, you use the tone first, to let her know that the next thing if she does not listen is the correction. This happened very quickly to where she would hear the tone and immediately turn back to me to see what I needed.

We would make sure the collar was on anytime she went outside, and we used it inside to stop counter cruising and garbage diving. She would get the tone and immediately back off!

We used the collar this way to show her the property lines, and for any infraction around the property such as digging and running up to bikers and joggers. The correction level has never had to go past 3, and that was used when she ran after deer!

After 6 months of continuous training with the collar, she can be walked anywhere without a leash, will obey commands on the spot and the bad behavior has all but stopped. We take her to ball games, parks, and for walks, even in new areas, without a leash! Friends and family are amazed how well she listens, even at one year old! She knows now that when the collar goes on that she needs to behave, even if the collar is not charged!

If you have the time to dedicate to training your dog, a remote training collar is a very useful tool to a well behaved dog!

Cherrybrook Show Dog, Grooming and Pet Supplies: Training with a …

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Boxer puppy HELP! Testicles, Crate-training, College, etc?

My boxer had puppies and we decided to keep two. They live inside and they are absolutely horrible! Mine is a male, and the other is a female. They are now about 11 months old, and have managed to tear up the entire cushion and padding of our chair, many decorations, the armrest and padding of our loveseat, and much more. Tonight we went out to eat for an hour tops, and come home to find the entire strip of carpet (yes, carpet that has been there as long as I can remember) has been chewed up, and the padding from underneat it is scattered in our dining room, hall way, and kitchen. My mother swept up the padding, and I put it in a garbage bag (it took up half of the bag), and my stepfather put the carpet back down. It is noticeable, and feels funny to walk on. We have already blocked off my parents room and the living room with child/dog gates, and close my room off and my brothers’ room off any time we are not in them. After tonight, I’m to my breaking point. I love my puppy very much, and he is so cute, but I cannot allow him to continue to tear things up. I will being going off to college in August (only about a 30 minute drive from my house), and will have to leave him at home. My parents will not tolerate him doing this while I’m gone, and its frustrating to me now. What can I do?? The only thing I can think to do now that it is cold is to get a crate. Any other ideas or crate-training tips would be GREATLY appreciated!!!Also…he is 11 months almost as I said, but he still has only dropped one testicle…we have to get him neutured because of our other male, and that he is constantly around his mother and sister. Is it normal he still hasn’t dropped another? Will he? Can we get him neutured now with only one dropped?Thanks for any help!

Boxer puppy HELP! Testicles, Crate-training, College, etc?

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Crate training two puppies?

I have two dachshund puppies and am unsure about if I should crate them together or not? Any advice from anyone with experience in this would be greatly appreciated!I would also like to add that we started crate training one puppy when we first got her and just got the second puppy earlier this week. They are great together and sleep outside of the crate together. We only crate when we aren’t home which is rare… but the first puppy is fine with this. They both love to go in and out of the crate. Lay in it together and nap in it with the door open. I haven’t shut the crate door on them yet nor have I left them alone in it. I was just wondering if buying a second crate was necessary… I’m a shop-a-holic and marketing targeted dog lover, so more likely then not I will buy another crate! LOL I just wanted to know if anyone else had any experience with this and what they thought.

Crate training two puppies?

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Dogs Need Flu Shot to Fight H3N8 Flu Virus – U.S. BBB

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How can I house break a dog who has bad habits? | Unofficial Potty …

I’m no trained professional but I love training dogs. I’ve trained our dog to many tricks and commands.

I typically work with the idea of rewarding and disciplining. If the dog goes in the house, discipline harshly in a way the dog can understand, a short loud “NO!” said a few times. I have a friend who is struggling and she says “We don’t go to the bathroom in the house.” Do you think the dog understands that? No way. Dog’s can read emotions and can pick up on intonation. So again, short, powerful, “NO!”.

When the dog does something you like, praise, over and over so the dog knows what he/she just did is good. I usually praise the dog verbally, “Good Girl” in a very pleasant voice, while petting her and rubbing her, and also giving her a treat (choose or even small training treats).

It takes time. But you can train your dog. You just have to be consistent and follow through.

Our last dog would ring a bell when she had to go outside. She didn’t come with that knowledge she was trained. Our current dog can decipher between “Couch” “Chair” “My Room” “Sit” “Stay” “Speak” “Paw” “Rollover” (notice all commands are short, distinct, one or two word commands).

It takes time. People marvel that we have a well behaved dog…but it took a lot of work.

How can I house break a dog who has bad habits? | Unofficial Potty …