Moe is a playful and sweet, 7 month old, who has been brought up in the puppy run of Newtown and has now been down in the dog run for 2 months.

He is confident and confortable playing with most other dogs and loves people. So far in training, we have practiced sit, down, focus, target, choosing to heel and stay! He really enjoys the training and is very attentive! a couple weeks back I decided to see how he was on a walk. With Moe’s confident attitude, in play and socializing, I figured he would be a bit of a lead puller, boy was I wrong!

We walked for 30 minutes around the SPCA/Newtown area and he was calm but by no means a confident puller. He stayed close to me (especially if anything surprising happened) and responded very well to the clicking for a loose lead exercises. We had a really nice walk, no barking or scared behavior, just a little unsure of the big wide world. He seemed happy and relieved to have me there to watch his back!

If you are thinking that Moe might be the right, new member of your family, I would suggest calling the SPCA and setting up an appointment to meet him in the play yard where you can see him at his best, then take him for a short walk to experience his more cautious side. If you meet him in his kennel, keep in mind that he has been in the stressful dog run for a while now and is not doing well in the kennel environment, not enough contact with people! He acts desperate to be let out and this can include barking, if this happens simply ask for a sit and offer him a treat and he will calm down quickly.

I think Moe will be a great dog for practically any home, but will need a fair amount of exercise (at least 2 walks a day and lots of play) for quite awhile.  If you are interested in an active dog, that will really enjoy training and maybe agility in his future!? Then get down to Newtown and check out Moe!

Clyde is part of the same littler as Mylie, Kylie and Pixie. They are reportedly Mastiff /Greyhound crosses, although some of them look  more like German Shepherds! Clyde is now 10 months old and still hasn’t even been on trial once! No one has given this boy a chance.

Getting to know Clyde is easy. He is a soft hearted guy who loves a good belly rub (and will frequently throw himself on his back in order to get it) and a good cuddle. He yields quickly if he perceives a threat from a person or another dog, although he loves to play and doesn’t mind being knocked around a bit by dogs who like to play a bit rough.

Although Clyde does get along well with other dogs and should continue to socialize, I think he would benefit extremely well from a home where he was the only dog. He is so yielding that another more confident dog would push him out of the way and he would always let that happen.

Clyde has gotten along really well with the volunteer’s kids that come to play with him ( two boys ages 5-8) so I think a family with kids in that age range (or possibly even younger) would do well with a dog like Clyde.

Clyde does startle easily, so you may find that walking him initially may pose a few minor challenges. But he recovers quickly, so I would recommend starting with short, fun walks before moving on to areas with high traffic or long walks.

Please come meet our Clyde at Waikanae SPCA on one of these nice weather days!

Ok maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty clear that they would unleash hell on my personal cheque book if I was late be even a single day. And this hefty fine would only get worse if I waited a full month.

A little over dramatic, all they needed to do was send me a friendly reminder  Either way, I went and got my tags, and with new tags it is time to get the dogs new collars!

So what do you do with all those old manky collars that are still perfectly serviceable, but not what you want your dog to be seen in for another year? Donate them to the SPCA!

The SPCA is always going through collars, as they adopt out dogs to new homes they frequently send the collar with them. This year, take your old collar, and if you have any money in your cheque book after your local council has had it way with it, I am sure the animals at the SPCA would really appreciate a small donation as well!

Remember that all the unwanted animals are a community problem and can only be solved with community help!

Pumba is a rough and tumble girl with the face of a comedian. She is a Mastiff cross, born in October 2010. She arrived at Newtown SPCA in February at 4 months old. She spent some time with the puppies upstairs then moved down to the dog run at 5 months old.

The thing that stands out the most about Pumba is her strikingly, twisty face. No one is completely sure what happened to her before being surrendered to the shelter but the right side of her face is twisted up like she may have been in a bad accident.

Although she has a face only a mother could love she is a friendly and dynamic young dog who loves people and games! One of her best traits is that she is so quiet in her kennel, while other dogs may be barking she will only move from the comfy spot on her bed if someone walks up to her door and says hello!

Her training is coming along nicely. The first time I worked with her the first thing I noticed was that she tended to jump up (very common issue) and she had what we call a “hard mouth” that means when I offered her a treat she grabbed it as if I might take it away at the last second. As she has gained confidence  and practiced a ‘gentle’ cue, her mouth has become much softer and she has learned the beginnings of a very solid ‘leave-it’ cue! She still occasionally tries to jump up for attention but quickly remembers that sitting is the way to all good things!

I would recommend Pumba to a moderate-active family, as she has lots of energy now, but will probably need less exercise than your average high energy puppy. My guess is that she will love to play and run a couple times a day  but will happily curl up and be a couch potato as well!

Joanie has had a hard time finding the right home. She was brought into Newtown SPCA at about 10 weeks old with her mother and all her litter mates. Slowly each one of her litter mates has found a home and Joanie herself has been on trial twice.

Why didn’t they keep her? She is very interested in livestock! Both homes that have looked into adopting her eventually brought her back because of her livestock focus.

She is fantastic with other dogs, as she is not an overly confident girl on her own, an older calm and confident dog would be just the thing to make her feel at ease in a new home home.

If you go to Waikanae to meet her keep in mind that she is a very relationship oriented dog. That is, she needs a relationship to be able to interact with you. Joanie is a dog with a lot of fidelity to offer, she will look to you for leadership and support when she is nervous. You will find that when she does warm up to you, she is a dog who loves a good cuddle!

I have been working on her on obedience cues since she arrived in Newtown at 16 weeks old and she is now  almost 1 year old. She is a fast learner, although confidence is an issue so we take things slow and steady! She is very good at sit, down, target, focus, stay, heeling, and walking on lead with the Gentle Leader. Though much of the time she would prefer to hang out and sit together calmly. But don’t let that fool you, she is a young and active dog and will need a good bit of exercise!

So if you don’t live near livestock, maybe you have another dog, and you want a dog who will be a fantastic companion, then you should definitely come meet Joanie!

The Wellington SPCA was recently honoured by the RNZSPCA for Outstanding achievements in Saving Lives, but they continue to need help from people in the area who can open their homes to fostering until the  perfect home is found for these animals.

If you think you can help and want to foster cats, kittens, puppies or dogs please send an email to info@wellingtonspca.org.nz

I think dogs who have shown aggressive tendencies in the past can be rehabilitated and managed until the conditioning is in place so that they make appropriate decisions. I also have found that many shelters either don’t have the funds (or maybe the drive) to find the fosterers needed to put a plan like this in place. The people need to be willing and able to manage these dogs safely and not just manage them but provide them a learning environment to help them make progress.

I also know that sometimes this process will fail due to accidents, mishandling, or even a physical/mental ailment that cannot be overcome. And there has got to be a way to acknowledge when it has failed so that all involved can feel that they tried everything that could be tried or if necessary, see what went wrong and change the process for the next dog.

There is no easy answer in these situations, but I don’t agree with the idea that any dog with a questionable background should be euthanized in order to make room for more home-able animals. To me that just sounds like justification, and if something has to be justified, then that sends up a big red flag that it is a bad idea. Instead we need to focus on what we can do. Educational training programs for interested fosterer’s, volunteers, and staff that promotes safe conditioning training and management. Promoting the shelter as a “No Kill” facility (and sticking to that) can go a long way to getting the public on your side and that provides a lot of money and even more volunteers!

If you are thinking about adopting a dog or buying a new puppy from the pet store, might I suggest you volunteer at your local SPCA for a few months first?

Here is my reasoning. If you haven’t had a dog before, or haven’t experienced the joys of rescue dog ownership then a few months as a volunteer will help prepare you for the kind of time and effort you will need to put into your new family member. And to be realistic if you are finding it very difficult to even set aside 3 hours, once a week to volunteer how likely is it that you have the time needed to take care of a new puppy or dog for the rest of her life!?

If you are able to work in a couple hours a week dog walking for the SPCA, it will give you a very good idea if you can handle a dog with “issues”.  I say this because many of the dogs given up to the SPCA have been given up because of some VERY simple and easy to fix behavior problems. Problems like Jumping up and “high energy” are two that we see a lot. These dogs were not out of the ordinary dogs by any means but so often people adopt or buy a cute puppy and don’t go to the trouble to teach it manners or give it the exercise it truly needs, then when it hits adolescence at about 8 months old they get hit with all of the extremely normal dog behaviors and are shocked that their dog doesn’t “listen”.

If you see these issues up close, by volunteering, my hope is that you will  make sure to start teaching your new dog from the very first day you get it so you avoid these same problems or better yet you fall in love with one of these abandoned dogs or puppies and decide to adopt rather than buy!

I am sure you can all tell that I am a huge fan of people adopting rather than buying puppies. This is because there are SO MANY dogs and puppies sacrificed every year due to over population. Most of these dogs are executed simply because there is not enough room or resources to take care of the abundance of abandoned dogs (and cats). So yes, I advocate adoption from a shelter! Second best is to find a reputable breeder (someone who breeds for temperament and socialization) if what you really want is to have a purebred. I understand the appeal of puppies at pet stores, but really take a step back and look at what you are promoting. Then think of how much your home would mean to a dog that has been abandoned by the family that was suppose to love him forever?

Dogs For Adoption