Friday, October 10, 2014

Homeless Dogs: A National Epidemic

By Garrett McMahan


While we hear a lot about how many dogs wind up in shelters across America, you probably would be shocked to discover that the Humane Society of the United States estimates that there are about 70 million stray cats and dogs living in our country at any given time, but only about eight million of these animals wind up in shelters.

While many people do adopt dogs from shelters every year, this is simply not enough to deal with the high demand in our shelters. Therefore, about 5,000 dogs are euthanized every day in the United States. The vast majority of these animals have not been spayed or neutered, which is one of the biggest reasons why we have such a huge problem with stray animals in the first place.

To lessen the impact on our shelters, some communities are making strict laws regarding the sterilization of dogs and cats. Los Angeles County, for example, requires that the majority of cats and dogs be neutered or spayed by the time they are four months of age. Some breeders, people with show dogs and those with guide dogs might be excepted from these rules, but for most animal owners, the law requires sterilization. More than half of the states in America also require that all animals adopted from a shelter or rescue operation be sterilized in order to be freed up for adoption.

Owning a pet is a big commitment, and it's always wise to consider how much time and money you have to give prior to bringing an animal home. The recession certainly has forced some families to surrender their pets, but generally the main reason why animals are abandoned is simply because they are too difficult to handle. Behavior problems frustrate many dog owners and rather than finding a simple solution to these problems, the dog is simply taken to a shelter.

Obedience training should begin almost from the moment you bring a dog home from the shelter. You might think this will take too much time, but it's much more fun to train a dog properly than it is to deal with the aftermath of them destroying your belongings, scratching at walls and doors or listening to them bark excessively. With training, you can eliminate almost all irksome behavior permanently.

In almost every situation, behavior can be adjusted for a positive outcome. If you are unsure how to proceed, consider using a simple system such as The Dog's Way. This is a set of 12 lessons spread among five DVDs. This easy-to-follow program will help you tackle many key issues. You can teach your dog to sit and stay and obey boundaries. You can teach your dog to stop barking on command. You can teach your dog to come when you call and to not jump on people or scratch furniture. All of this can be accomplished with a little patience and a dog training video program like The Dog's Way.




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