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From Kingston's new owners:

So, we've had him now for just over 5 weeks and he is doing very well!! We've been going to obedience school at Paws Way and this week is our last week. Our instructor is Ursula- Dogs Gone Good- and she says she knows you.. she seems to be pretty good but I do think that those classes are designed more for low-energy, non-shelter dogs.

He has gotten very good with the tricks (sit, stay, leave-it and down are perfect!) and his recall is getting much better. He still gets very excited in social settings so I'm not sure that more obedience is the best option for him (he tends to bark throughout the entire class, haha) and we have him in a crate during the day- I didn't think there were any problems but my neighbour informed me last night that he has been crying during the day while we're gone... Do you have any tips for how I could go about keeping him quiet and comfortable during crate time? (Ursula mentioned that you keep things quite 'zen-like' in the shelter).

Other than that, we're so happy with him and he is such a great dog! He is great walking and running with me and the excitement of seeing other dogs has dwindled significantly! Turns out, he is quite cuddly as well- he needs to lay across my lap if I'm on the couch and then if Joel, my boyfriend, is on the couch he needs to lay across both of our laps, haha. Such a cute puppy. I attached a photo for you. I've been telling people to check out the shelters first and give the dogs a chance because wonderful dogs, like Kingston, can easily be missed!





6 Comments to “Update on Kingston”

  1. Anonymous says:

    He's really gorgeous!

  2. Bev McMullan-Kungl says:

    What a lovely dog Kingston is. I'm so happy that he has found someone to love him. I'm sorry to hear that he cries in his crate when you are not there. Perhaps he is lonely. Does he have to be in a crate the whole time? I'm not pointing fingers I'm just asking. Good luck to the both of you!

  3. Anonymous says:

    such a handsome and lucky dog to have found a home with someone who is taking the time to teach him what he needs to know. If he has sit, stay, leave-it and down worked out perfectly after only five weeks he must be smart as well as handsome!
    After 5 years my dog still says Huh? when asked to stay,

  4. Anonymous says:

    I'm glad that Kingston was adopted to a loving home!! Is he crated for a whole work day? If so, is a midday dogwalker or perhaps doggie daycare an option? Stuffed Kong toys are good time-passers too, you can find "recipes" online.

  5. Linda says:

    I hate the idea of an all-day crate too, but we have to do the same thing with our adopted dog. Fortunately, we only work 6 hrs a day, 3 days a week. Our other dog runs the house but we are afraid to leave Casey loose yet. He can jump about 5 feet into the air on all fours and loves to get into things. We fear he will hurt himself if left to his own devices yet. The day is coming, just not yet. We do put several extreme chewer Kongs filled with treats in the crate with him to keep him occupied. Someone recently suggested to put treats and peanut butter in the Kong and freeze before giving it to him. Lasts longer and during warmer weather, it's great. BTW, our crate is HUGE. He goes in on his own sometimes, just to rest.
    Good luck to you. Make sure your dog gets lots of exercise and play time when you are home and before you leave if possible.

  6. Anonymous says:

    THe crying in the crate is probably a result of separation anxiety. You need to train him slowly to be okay with the crate, for a very short amount of time several times over a few days, and then building up to half an hour, an hour, and more and more. He will learn that being in the crate is okay because you WILL come home. Make sure the crate is where he wants to be, i.e. is comfortable and pleasant. Keep it open while you're home and periodically hide some treats in there for him to find, toys, etc. so he associates the crate with good things. I have an excellent person - shockingly affordable - that I can recommend. She solved my dog's extreme separation anxiety and created the perfect training plan for him to be crate trained. Not sure how to get in touch with you about it, though. You could leave an email address on here and I can get in touch with you.

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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