Tribe died in June, and though my friends advised me to wait, after a week without a dog, I was so lonely, I called in a favor and had an animal volunteer friend go with me to Camden County Shelter to look for a dog.
Which I found! UMA! But there was no honeymoon. Camden County Shelter here on in to be known as CCS, gave me some back story: Uma had been used as a breeding dog and her humans had abandoned her and her male partner, left them in the yard and moved away. After a time, Uma and her partner escaped the yard and were wandering the roads until animal control got them and took them to the shelter. I don't know how CCS got her story, only what they told me. She was found on Uma Thurman Road, so they named the boy Thurman, and her Uma. He got adopted immediately and she languished for an addition 5 weeks or so.
For many reasons, she went right into my heart and I took her home same day. Then all hell broke loose. At first I thought she was insane. I have had dogs my whole life but never had one like this before. She jumped all over me, when I stood or was seated. I couldn't walk her on the leash. She went berserk when she saw other dogs. Should could pry her way out of or squeeze her way through any kind of enclosure including my cat door!
A friend recommended some women who had helped a neighbor and for $400 and 6 visits, they helped me too. They brought prong collar, 'gentle leader' treats, and after 6 weeks, I could actually walk Uma on a leash. And I could reduce her jumping.
However, we had several incidents thereafter that made me feel I needed more help. So, I phoned the Vet, Dr. Ed Sheehen, Fairview, NJ, and his office recommended Steve Spence "Zen Natural Dog Training 856-366-6277. Steve came today for a free consultation and evaluation and I am very encouraged and optimistic. I will keep you informed as it moves forward. You can learn more about them at www.facebook.com/trainandog
But I can tell you he trains therapy dogs and police dogs and has a daycamp and residential training available. There are also several levels of training avail. We opted for beginner with an option to upgrade to long-term at the end of our contract. Our first training will be this Friday and I will keep you informed!
At the end of our first 6 weeks of training with Janice Barlow, we were able to celebrate with a trainer assisted visit to Big Timber Creek Dog Park, Blackwood, off Chews Landing Road. This is the best dog park there is. I have visited many and spoken to numerous people, some who have even done dog park tourism, and everyone agrees this is the BEST. There is a fenced in area roughly one mile in circumference, entirely wooded with a circular path, off leash. There is also a series of trails through the woods, one of which leads to an old, and entirely safe Horse Pond where dogs swim in summer. The Dog Park used to be Slim's Horse Back Riding Ranch in the long ago. There is a nice parking lot with bathrooms and facilities for disabled, and a nice upper paved oval pasture.
WARNING: This is entirely my own opinion, but I would NOT bring a small dog, a young puppy or very small children to the off leash part of the park. Many big dogs go romping around and running full tilt, it is their park, after all, and I don't think it is safe for little ones. There have been several flyers over the years, complaining about injured or killed small dogs. Virtually ALL the dog people are responsible, kind, and interesting people, but there have also been a few complaints about people dropping off big dogs and not monitoring their dogs in the off leash area. Personally, I stick to Monday through Friday, less dogs, less people, less potential for trouble. I have only endured one incident myself, and that was when my old dog, the one who passed away, got into a minor dog scrum with two other dogs. Usually this kind of thing ends with folks pulling their dogs off, checking them, and moving on. But I ran into a camo-clad angry guy who cursed and threatened me and my dog and I didn't go back for a couple of years.
Still, I am back there now with new dog and I highly recommend this park.
Recommended Vet: Dr. Ed. Sheehan, Fairview
Recommended Dog Groomer, the Dog House, in Audubon. These folks are kind, thorough, delightful people with a charming shop and very reasonable rates. I took my old dog there for many years. So far I haven't had to take new dog and hoping not to have to take her until a little more training.
There is training at PetSmart and I was signed up but I am thinking Steve Spence and Zen Natural Dog Training is going to be more effective.
Any questions or comments you can e-mail me at
wrightj45@yahoo.com
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
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