Goal

The goal of the initiative is simple: to prevent puppies becoming shelter dogs in later life.

To achieve this we have sought permission from Dr Ian Dunbar to allow two of his books to be offered free in electronic (PDF) form via the Internet, as a way to provide dog owners with access to reliable and trustworthy information about how to raise and care for puppies and young dogs, either before they purchase their new pet, or after they bring their new pet home.  The books will help prevent an estimated 180,000 unwanted dogs that end up destroyed in pounds and shelters around Australia every year, because their owners did not know how to raise them or care for them in the first 22 weeks of life.

Why Dog Clubs Are Important

Without adequate training and husbandry advice, it's estimated more than one third of dogs in Australia will develop behavioural problems that will see them end up in pounds and shelters.

In 2008-09, a number of owners who had approached Husky Rescue for behavioural advice or re-homing assistance were polled about where they had sought help for their dog’s behaviour.  They reported that they had used the following resources, in the order shown:
1) They asked their vet for advice during a consult
2) They used the Internet to research for solutions to behavioural problems
3) They asked their local council for information on nearby training groups
4) They approached dog clubs or breeders for advice or referrals to trainers
5) They requested their dog be re-homed, or took their dog to the pound

Owners only reached the final option if they received nothing useful from any of the other sources.

Options 2 and 4 showed the importance of having reliable training information available online.  Owners approached dog clubs because they naturally considered them experts on dogs, or on particular breeds.

It is important for dog club listings to come up near the top of Google search results, and for those clubs to provide quality behavioural training information, because that is where owners are already seeking information, but it seems to date, not yet finding it easily.

About the Books

Prior to January 2009, Ian Dunbar’s BEFORE You Get Your Puppy book was available for free download from a number of web sites, including Ian’s own www.dogstardaily.com.  After Husky Rescue approached Dr Dunbar in early 2009, he agreed to allow AFTER You Get Your Puppy to also be offered for free on the SHCNSW web site, and Ian simultaneously launched Shelter Dog Prevention Month (Jan 09) on Dog Star Daily. The campaign was so successful that Ian then gave permission for his books to be made available from all Australian breed club web sites, to ensure they benefit the widest audience possible.

BEFORE You Get Your Puppy describes the process of selecting a puppy and preparing for their first days at home, as well as the key developmental deadlines including socialisation and bite inhibition.  It also offers training advice on topics every owner needs to know about, like toilet training and chew toy training.

AFTER You Get Your Puppy offers proven, time-tested and practical knowledge to guide owners through all the early developmental stages from puppyhood to adolescence, including how to manage the critical socialisation window between 8 and 12 weeks and the importance of learning bite inhibition before 22 weeks of age.

Dr Ian Dunbar DVM, Ph. D. is a renowned veterinarian, veterinary behaviourist, author and lecturer on canine behaviour – who still delivers seminars around the world.  He founded the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (USA) in 1993 and its presence and membership has since spread to more than 26 countries worldwide, including Australia.  Dunbar is credited with launching what is now commonly regarded as the modern era in dog training, based on training, socialising and handling puppies before 6 months of age to prevent behavioural problems in later life.

Dr Dunbar receives no financial benefit from the electronic distribution of his BEFORE & AFTER books, however owners who wish to purchase a hard copy may still do so from most good book outlets, or directly from James & Kenneth Publishing http://www.jamesandkenneth.com/.

About SHCNSW Inc and Husky Rescue

SHCNSW Inc is a registered not-for-profit breed club, affiliated with Dogs NSW in 1992.  As well as conducting dog shows and exhibitions, promoting breed awareness and providing breed information to the public, the club also has an active breed rescue programme known as Husky Rescue - whose mission is to foster and re-home dogs from pounds & shelters, as well as help re-home eligible dogs on behalf of their owners by providing written resources, one-on-one advice and adoption listings.

In 2009 Husky Rescue considered the question of why so many dogs were ending up in pounds, and concluded:
• 40% of dogs in Australia die by lethal injection in the pound each year. This is almost 3 puppies from every litter born.
• An estimated 90%  of dogs end up at pounds for preventable behavioural reasons, because their owners did not know how to prevent undesirable behaviours, or address them when they occurred.

[References: RSPCA National Statistics 2007-2008; PetRescue publications 2009 (inc Madison Dec 2009); Mike Arms, Helen Woodward Animal Center, Sep 2009]

 
These statistics correlated with case histories seen by Husky Rescue between 2006 and 2009, and indicated that owners lacked critical information on husbandry and training, particularly during the puppy months.  Two new initiatives, Leash on Life http://leashonlife.shcnsw.org.au and Dunbar’s books / Shelter Dog Prevention Month were born.

In 2010 Ian Dunbar spearheaded National Train Your Dog Month with APDT USA and Husky Rescue is again pleased to be able to assist with this campaign via http://tinyurl.com/nationaltrainyourdogmonth.

Educational Campaigns

Husky Rescue is dedicated to finding ways to help dogs in need, and part of this is preventing shelter dogs in the first place.  Dr Dunbar’s books provide owners with free dog husbandry information to help them through the first 12 months of their dog’s life, but Husky Rescue also provides information to owners already experiencing behavioural problems with their dogs, including referrals to qualified behavioural trainers from Delta Society Australia and when needed, to veterinary behaviourists.  We hope to continue to campaign for awareness of both preventative as well as remedial behavioural training strategies in the future.

If you would like to be notified of additional free educational materials you can include on your web site as they become available, please check the box on the questionnaire when you return it.

If your club does not already have a formal policy on training methods used by or promoted by your club members, we invite you to take a positive stance in favour of dog-friendly training methods, which are ones that make preferential use of rewards and positive reinforcement to modify behaviour.  If you would like more information about why a position on training methods is important, please email rescue@shcnsw.org.au.  If you would like to create a page your own web site to set our your position on training, we offer all the wording on our own Training page at http://training.shcnsw.org.au for your use, free of copyright restrictions.