When you’re thinking about picking up a dog from your local shelter, don’t look past the older dogs. They make great pets for a number of reasons.

Positives to Adopting and Older Dog 

Senior dogs at shelters need homes just as badly as younger dogs

Many older dogs were once owned and loved by someone. For whatever reason, they were given up and abandoned in a shelter and are in need of a home. Just like puppies and younger adoptable dogs, they make loyal and loving companions.

Adopting an older dog may save its life

Many people are quick to adopt puppies and younger dogs, often overlooking dogs over the age of five. Shelters are overcrowded and unfortunately, older dogs are among the first to be euthanized if they aren’t adopted in a timely manner. By adopting a senior dog, you are not only providing it with a better life but are also saving it from being put down.

Older dogs are not necessarily “problem dogs” as many tend to think

Senior dogs lose their homes for a variety of reasons, usually having nothing to do with their behavior or temperament, but more due to the fact that their owners are unable to keep them for reasons including: the novelty of owning a dog wearing off, allergies, death of a guardian, a new baby, loss of a job, a move, change in work schedule, and various other lifestyle changes. These dogs need homes just as badly as young adoptees do, and make wonderful household pets.

Older dogs usually come trained and understand at least basic commands

Most older dogs are potty-trained and have mastered the basic commands such as “sit,” “stay,” “come,” and “down.” Adopting an already-trained dog will save you a lot of time and energy that you’d normally have to dedicate towards training a young dog.

You can teach an old dog new tricks

Dogs can be trained at any age and older dogs are just as smart as younger ones. Older dogs have a greater attention span than a puppy, which make them easier to train.

Older dogs are calmer and less energetic than younger dogs

An adult dog has graduated from the puppy stage and has an established demeanor and temperament, which will give you an instant idea of how it will fit into your household. Older dogs have all their adult teeth and are out of the energetic puppy phase, which will result in less destruction to your home. Many of them do well with young children as they have a lower energy level and have possibly lived with them in their past homes.

Older dogs make instant companions

Unlike a puppy, which requires leash training, etc. an older dog is ready to accompany you on a long walk and already knows how to play fetch. An adult dog will make a great workout partner, a loyal companion, and a late night snuggle buddy.

For those of you who have adopted a senior dog, please share your stories in the Comments section below.

The post 7 Reasons To Adopt A Senior Dog appeared first on Cesar's Way.

After he told the story on-air the next day, he started to get calls and photos from other people who had found dogs and so LovePup was born.

From one dog to hundreds

To date, the Van Eses and their three sons have helped rescue and rehome over 500 stray dogs, and there’s no sign of things slowing down. They aren’t choosey about the dogs they’ll help and, as Van Es recently told People magazine, they’ll take any dog, adding, “It was never a burden. It was always fun and passionate and organic and real.”

Of course, while they’re not picky about the dogs, they are much more selective about the adopters, although not in the traditional home-visit way of many rescues. In the same interview, Van Es explained, “I go to their social media and I scroll through their life. I can tell if they’re party animals, bad people — if I don’t like what I see, then they don’t get the dog. It really works really well.”

Bringing rescue to the modern age

Van Es reports that he and his wife have been rescuing dogs for as long as they’ve been married. Since that was in 1996, it pre-dates all of social media and most of the Internet — but rescuing dogs in the modern age has gotten a lot easier precisely because of social media.

Just do a Facebook search for “dog rescue,” and you’ll find endless groups and pages. A Google search for the same gives over 10 million results. This is a boon both for rescuers, who can now extend their reach beyond flyers in the local vets’ offices or local word of mouth. It can also help dogs that are otherwise traumatized by all the noise and excitement of adoption events.

Take the case of Lala, who had spent years chained up in her owner’s yard, developing heartworm and tumors. A rescue organization found her and took care of the medical problems, but found that taking her to events just made her unhappy and stressed out. Consequently, she wasn’t putting her best face forward, so no one was adopting her. Social media is the perfect outlet for dogs like this, who can “meet” lots of potential owners without having to go through the anxiety or fear of being put out in a crowd.

Beyond rescue to awareness

Social media is also helping to dispel some of the misconceptions people have about rescue dogs and about senior dogs by showing them in a better light than would otherwise be possible with them stuck in a kennel and facing an uncertain future.

Cesar has even gotten into the act with his very successful “Adopt Me Thursday” program in association with his PACK Project and Merial, maker of FRONTLINE® Gold, which features new adoptable dogs every week on Cesar’s Facebook and Google+ pages, ranging from puppies to seniors and including all breeds.

The group Pets Add Life went even further, going beyond Facebook and Twitter to create a YouTube campaign encouraging people to adopt a new pet to keep their old one company, and asking for people to submit dubbed videos of their pets. The spokespets for the campaign, Jupiter and Kona, were featured in their own video — and if that human voice sounds familiar it’s because it’s Andrew Grantham, who is also the voice behind the ultra-viral 187 million view video featuring Clark Griswold the Dog.

Of course once they’re rescued these dogs don’t necessarily give up on social media. Whether they’re part of the Dogs of Instagram collection or just generally Internet famous, they continue to delight us online long after they’ve found their forever homes. And don’t forget that you can follow three of Cesar’s most popular pack members — Junior, Benson, and Gio — on Instagram yourselves!

Did you rescue your dog via social media or is she or he a social media star? Share their stories and photos below!

The post Internet To Life Net: How Social Media Is Saving Dogs appeared first on Cesar's Way.

There are also people doing their part to try to reverse the trend, either by providing no-kill shelters, operating rescues that place dogs in homes, or promoting spay and neuter. They’re doing amazing work. I understand that not everybody can run out and adopt every unwanted dog at the local shelter, but there is something you can do to help.

How You Can Help

What you can do is foster dogs, especially if you can’t make a commitment for the dog’s lifetime. The immediate goal of foster programs is to get the dogs out of the shelters and in temporary homes, and this is a benefit to both of them. It gives the shelters more room to take in other animals, and gets the dog out of the often chaotic atmosphere of the shelter and into a much calmer home environment

Most shelters are willing to train their foster volunteers, as well as provide discounts on food and give medical treatment, so the financial commitment is lower than it would be for a permanent adoption.

It isn’t necessarily a commitment for seven days a week, either. Many shelters will foster out dogs for weekends or holidays (or on your schedule), mainly as a way to help the animals become socialized and allow their foster family to help train and rehabilitate them. November and December in particular are the months when shelters need holiday foster families.

The Benefits of Fostering

Have you always wanted to raise a puppy but didn’t want to commit to a dog? You can with many foster programs that are designed specifically to place young litters with families until they are 8 to 10 weeks old. It’s a great way to learn about puppy development, as well as to practice early housetraining and obedience.

The point of foster programs, beyond alleviating crowding, is to help make the dogs adoptable by rehabilitating them. But it doesn’t just benefit the shelter and dog. As the foster owner, it’s a great way for you to learn and practice your Pack Leader skills, especially if you foster many different dogs with different energy levels and temperaments.

How Fostering Helps Your Pack

This part will actually help your future dogs as well. Maybe you had a dog in the past that had behavioral issues you just couldn’t fix, which is one of the reasons many dogs wind up in shelters in the first place. By working temporarily with a dog with a similar issue, you can become a better dog owner, more able to handle these issues if you do decide to adopt another dog later on, but without the pressure of knowing you’re stuck with this dog if you can’t rehabilitate it.

If you already have a dog that needs socialization, fostering can be a great no-commitment way to help in this process by bringing a second dog into the home. If they don’t get along, at least you don’t have the problem of having two dogs battling each other for their entire lives — but you can learn how to avoid this by seeing your dog interact with different dogs.

Fostering is a great way to help dogs in need until they find a forever home, and to make yourself a better Pack Leader. And who knows? You might become what’s known as a “foster failure” — that is, the proud, permanent adopter of a homeless dog.

Whether you “fail” or not, it’s a win-win situation for you, the shelter, and the dog. So, if you can, check with your local shelter or rescue to find out about becoming a foster volunteer, and help us tackle the problem of homeless animals until there are no more unwanted dogs.

Stay calm, and foster!

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3-D printing is a fairly new technology that is rapidly moving toward the mainstream. Although the technique was first described in 1981, it wasn’t until early in this century that commercial printers began to be produced, but only in the last five years that prices have dropped to consumer-friendly levels, from $20,000 to less than $1,000.

It’s even possible now to take a file into a place like Staples and have the model 3-D printed there, or to use cloud computing and a site like Shapeways to have the item printed and sent to you. In many ways, we’re getting close to an actual replicator right out of Star Trek.

At the same time, the uses of 3-D printing have exploded. Originally intended as an economical way of quickly producing prototypes in the manufacturing industry, companies are now looking at or already using the technology to produce food, apparel, car and aircraft parts, construction and even medical devices.

An organization called E-nable has been designing and manufacturing custom prosthetic hands for people in need, particularly children. Started in 2012 by an American prop maker and a South African carpenter — who worked together online from 10,000 miles apart — the organization has since grown and, remarkably, everything is done by volunteers. Last October, a girl who was born without fingers became the first child in the UK to receive a 3-D printed prosthetic hand, and a boy who was born missing one arm from below the elbow received a 3-D printed replacement.

These aren’t just plastic hands and arms created for aesthetic reasons, though. Because of the abilities of 3-D printing, they function as working replacements for the missing limbs. And humans aren’t the only ones benefiting from the process — many birds of various species have received replacements for missing limbs or beaks, and there’s even a goldfish whose owner made a custom underwater “wheelchair” for her.

Dogs Have Been Major Beneficiaries of the Technology as Well

A German company, Multec, has created an open-source 3-D printable and fully adjustable strap-on wheelchair for dogs. The plans are available online and the only part that needs to be added is the rubber for the wheels. Much more customizable than traditional models, it’s also cheaper. A customer can print and put together the whole thing for about $150.

Three Other Dogs Among the Many Who Have Benefited from 3-D Printing

TurboRoo

TurboRoo is a Chihuahua who was born without front legs, and another example of the generous and charitable nature of the 3-D design community. When Mark Deadrick, president of design, consulting, and manufacturing firm 3dyn heard about TurboRoo’s condition, he guessed the dog’s size from online photos, then designed and printed a cart that would allow the little dog to get around, slapped on rollerblade wheels and shipped it to TurboRoo’s owners.

Derby

A much larger dog than TurboRoo, Derby was born with underdeveloped front legs and had been abandoned in a shelter, where he was in danger of being put down — until Tara Anderson came to the rescue. Not only did she become Derby’s foster mom, she was also the director of a 3-D printing firm. After experimenting with and rejecting designs similar to the springy ski-style prosthetics used by human athletes, she hit upon round treads that allowed Derby to run and play with other dogs for the first time. Now with his forever family, they report that he can’t get enough of it now, and runs 2 to 3 miles every day.

Bubbles

A dachshund named Bubbles was also born without front legs, and her condition inspired her owners, Trevor Byers and Elissa Smoak, to buy a 3-D printer and come up with their own solution. They used a combination of 3-D printed parts, carbon fiber, and pieces from a model airplane to give their dog her new set of wheels, and then shared the design on the MakerBot Thingiverse, which is one of the many online communities dedicated to sharing 3-D designs and keeping them completely open source, which means that anyone can use them, modify them, and share them.

In the near future, what 3-D printers can do promises to become even more spectacular, as designs for prosthetic limbs, both animal and human, become more versatile and complex. In addition to that, 3-D design visionaries are working on being able to print replacement organs, including bone and skin.

It’s taken almost 35 years to get here from the time that Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute invented two methods of using additive manufacturing with plastic to begin to “print” 3-D objects, but in the last five years what would have seemed like science fiction in the 1980s has become a reality. The future is now, and it’s helping humankind and animals alike.

Do you own a differently abled dog? Show him off! Post a photo in the comments.

The post Dogs Get A New Lease On Life In 3-D appeared first on Cesar's Way.

However, human perception being what it is, we wind up feeling sorry for them, and that negative energy can make them anxious and fearful. In some cases, people simply abandon dogs that go blind. Once they wind up in a shelter, they are frequently overlooked and considered unadoptable. They tend to wind up at the top of the “To kill” list.

An Organization that Cares

Muffin’s Halo

That’s why Sylvie Bordeaux of Burbank, California, started Second Chances for Blind Dogs, a non-profit organization that provides a device, Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs®, to shelters in order to make these formerly unadoptable dogs adoptable again.

But before the organization started, Sylvie had to watch as her own dog Muffin, a toy poodle, went blind at around the age of eleven years. He kept bumping into walls and even fell down the stairs, and was clearly depressed and anxious. That’s when Sylvie came up with the halo, which provides a dog with a safety buffer as well as a way to sense the environment around them, while still enabling them to play, eat, and drink — allowing them to be a dog.

A Mission

The device worked, but Muffin consequently developed a mass in his stomach and, after a botched operation by a veterinarian, it looked like the dog was going to die. Sylvie was devastated. As she describes it on the website, “I was on my knees sobbing all night… and  pleaded to God to please save my precious dog and give us a ‘Second Chance.’ I promised in return, upon his recovery, Muffin and I would be of service and dedicate our lives to helping blind dogs.”

Muffin got his second chance and is still with us today, and Sylvie kept good on her promise, providing halos for countless dogs that otherwise might have died alone and abandoned in shelters. Since the halo is scalable, dogs of all sizes have gotten their second chance, from tiny Chihuahuas to a large cattle dog/pointer mix.

Muffin’s Halo was recently included on Discovery Channel’s “Top 10 Pet Inventions,” and a blind dog doesn’t have to be in a shelter in order to benefit. The halos are also available to purchase. You can see the device in action in the video below.

Do you own a blind dog? How well does she get around? Tell us in the comments.

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Even during visits to a family farm in Alabama, I proudly picked piglets out of a cotton field, rescuing them from the scorching sun while letting one of them call my grandma’s house his new home. I named him Arnold.

There were many more names, many more animals, and a heart for the helpless that grew right along with me. Even as a little animal lover I would tell adults I preferred the company of furry, fluffy or even feathery creatures over boring ‘ole humans. Fast forward a few decades and I probably will still stand by that quote, but now my personal passion project has turned into a full-fledged career.

I became the one and only animal advocate reporter and investigator at Local 10, the ABC affiliate of local news in South Florida.

Giving animals a voice
It started with an animal fundraiser here, an adoption event there, a weekend spent at a dog walk and way too many foster dogs calling my house their temporary home! That affection for animals was not lost on anyone.

My producers noticed my love for these helpless creatures was coming across on camera. My spare time working with all kinds of critters would be discussed while I was anchoring in the studio, while my charisma with pets was undeniable during a weekly segment featuring the local shelter or Humane Society with their adoptable animals.

When my boss asked if I wanted to be the station’s full-time animal advocate reporter, there was nothing to consider, no question to answer, my dream job just became my reality.

Realtor to the pets
It started simple with a daily “Adopt a Pet” segment, in which I would travel all over South Florida visiting rescue groups, shelters, Humane Societies and even foster homes, in order to shoot video of the homeless pets while interviewing the volunteers that worked tireless hours saving these animals.

Now this was not always a simple cat or dog adoption option, I have featured snakes, iguanas, hamsters, ferrets, guinea pigs, turtles, pigs, ducks, chickens, goats, mice, horses… you get the idea. If it’s up for adoption, I will do a story on it! But that’s the simple side of being an animal advocate.

Changing South Florida laws
In 2012, I was out in the field working on a tip I received about an abused dog. I went to investigate and found the animal in horrible conditions. That dog happened to be on the job, working as a guard dog. I did a little research and quickly found out, unlike people, working animals received very little oversight and minimal rights.

A two-part investigation into the plight of guard dogs in South Florida caught the attention of local commissioners and within months, both Miami-Dade County and Broward County changed the laws on the books to offer more protection and provide safety measures for these working animals that were largely ignored for decades.

That investigation bred many others: animal hoarders, abuse cases, slaughter farms, puppy mills, backyard breeders, and pet store problems, to name a few. From hitting the streets to save animals being dumped at construction sites, to snorkeling in the Florida Keys to uncover the problems with a lionfish invasion, to hiking the Everglades to count invasive species of tegus and Burmese pythons, the work of an animal advocate reporter has no limits.

I even interviewed Cesar Millan, hoping to get a little training help for handling my two Chihuahuas, Simba and Jagger. I may need to do a follow-up story on those two rascals! But Cesar certainly helped me delve a little deeper into my understanding of animals, considering on any given day at work, I could be encountering all kinds of unfamiliar creatures.

Power in pet perception
The true power in animal reporting is changing people’s perception. A viewer once emailed me to tell that my up-close-and-personal animal reports had helped her to deal with her lifelong fear of dogs.

An animal hoarder once called me so that she could receive help rehoming the cats and dogs she had become overwhelmed by. And I can’t even keep track of all the calls where people are asking for help in finding a specific animal they want to adopt or need help with, or just want some friendly advice to get through some pet problems!

Countless others come up to me in grocery stores or restaurants to thank me for making a difference for animals. I always say the same thing, I am so lucky to do what I love, but really all I do is speak up for those that have no voice.

My dedication to animals went a step further when I was inspired to become a vegan. I gave up all animal products two years ago and never looked back. I love that my lifestyle is animal-cruelty free.

As a reporter, it’s easy to talk the talk, but it’s another thing to walk the walk. My choice to abolish any type of animal product from my diet really brought my work and my love for all creatures to every aspect of my life.

It’s not just about saving cute pets like cats and dogs. All animals are worthy of our love and respect. My favorite quote is by another animal lover you may have heard of before, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” –Mahatma Gandhi

You can watch videos of Jacey’s animal advocacy work online. She also writes about veganism in her blog. And you may connect with her on Instagram and Twitter, @jaceybirch, or Facebook.

Are you too able to leverage your career to help animals either through advocacy or rescue? Tell us how you do it in the comments.

The post Jacey Birch: From Pet Lover To Animal Advocate appeared first on Cesar's Way.

People are always asking Cesar, “Which breed of dog is the right one for me?” His answer to the question is that breed doesn’t matter. Energy does. If you want to have a balanced relationship, start with a dog with an energy level the same or lower than yours.

However, breed can make some difference if the potential owners have certain physical limitations. You probably shouldn’t have a Great Dane if you live in a studio apartment, or a slobbery bulldog if you have allergies.

Likewise, as humans age, they may experience changes that can limit whether they can have a dog, or what kind of dog they can have. The changes can be medical, like arthritis, or situational, like moving from a large house to a small apartment or retirement community. This doesn’t mean that seniors can’t or shouldn’t have dogs. It just means there can be more things than energy level to consider when getting a dog at this stage of life.

See the Recommendations Below

Lower Energy Dogs

As people age, many of them become less physically active than they used to be, whether because life’s demands are fewer or physical abilities decline. The college athlete at 20 may be a couch potato at 65. Because of this, seniors should avoid high-energy dogs like Dalmatians if they’re not up to fulfilling the dog’s need for exercise.

Suggested low-energy breeds: Basset hounds, bulldogs, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, chow chows, and French bulldogs.

Smaller Dogs

Another thing that can diminish with age is physical strength, which can be complicated by conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis, so it’s a good idea for seniors with these issues to avoid large, strong dogs. That’s because these dogs could easily knock them down or pull them off-balance on the walk. A breed like the Alaskan malamute, which can weigh close to a hundred pounds and was bred to pull, would not be a good choice. In this case, smaller can be better, although seniors with small dogs should be careful not to trip over them, which can be just as dangerous.

Suggested small breeds: Chihuahuas, dachshunds, Havaneses, Italian greyhounds, Maltese, and Pomeranians.

Less Likely to Shed

Shedding dogs can create two issues for seniors. One is that they require a lot more housework, especially vacuuming and sweeping. The other is that the excess fur and dander in the environment can exacerbate health issues, especially asthma and emphysema, or can trigger existing allergies. Breeds that shed the most include American Eskimos, Welsh corgis, and German shepherds. Breeds that are good for people with allergies include Schnauzers and Xloloitzcuintlis, also known as the Mexican hairless dog.

Suggested low-shedding breeds: Tibetan terriers, Maltese terriers, Shih Tzus, Brussels griffons, and poodles.

Assistant Dogs

In some cases, seniors may have conditions or handicaps where they need assistance around the house and running errands, but don’t have a friend or family member with the time to help, or can’t afford to hire a professional. In this case, trained assistant dogs would be a good option.

Service dogs can retrieve things for people, pull wheelchairs, open doors, and turn lights on and off. They can also help people get up if they fall down.

Hearing dogs are exactly what they sound like. They assist people who are deaf or with hearing loss, alerting them to important sounds, like doorbells, smoke alarms, telephones, and so on.

Seizure response dogs can assist people with epilepsy or other seizure disorders, summoning help if necessary and bringing food or medication. Although not trained for it, some of these dogs can even develop the ability to sense a seizure coming on and alert the human beforehand, so they can move to a safe place.

Suggested assistant breeds: Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and German shepherds.

Senior Dogs

What could be more appropriate for a senior citizen than a senior dog, regardless of breed? These dogs are often overlooked in shelters, but they have the right energy level and have had plenty of time to become socialized, calm, and submissive. They also require a shorter time commitment, which can be an important consideration if someone isn’t likely to live another fifteen to twenty years — but they still bring all the love, loyalty, and happiness that puppies do.

Finally, don’t overlook mixed breeds. A mutt can bring the best or the most challenging characteristics of each breed, so be selective. The upside is that a low energy mid-size mixed breed dog can be the best companion, and the healthiest dog you can adopt. They are also unique.

Are you or a loved one a senior citizen with dogs? Which dogs have worked out the best and which ones not so much? Let us know in the comments.

How does your dog help you? Share your experience with us in the comments.

The post Senior Citizen Canines: Dog Breeds For Mature Pack Leaders appeared first on Cesar's Way.