To
accomplish our goals of creating calm balance, we set in place a program that brought
out the best in each dog. We took great care in matching up
temperaments, controlling behaviors around food, making each day
interesting and fun, providing exercise, structure, and deep,
meaningful affection. At Watermelon Mountain Ranch, the dogs
that are social are kept in groups of three to seven. In
this way they can have companionship and an opportunity to fulfill a
primal need - forming a pack. Such a structure can be a
wonderful situation for the dogs, if handled correctly. It can
also create numerous issues if the dogs are not given structure and
clear communication from an informed staff.
The first thing that we put structure around is food.
Every dog must back up from the fence and show self control before
we enter the pod (no jumping, barking, whining, etc). Then we
proceed with a feeding ritual with all of the dogs in the same space
and each one of them giving respectful distance to
the other dogs while under direct supervision and
guidance. Having a strict feeding structure does amazing
things for their state of mind. Once they understand what is
expected (which they learn very quickly) they calm down in seemingly
unrelated situations. Best of all, when someone enters the
Cottage, everyone backs away from the fence and shows manners
(a wonderful way for them to get adopted!).
The
dogs that are working through issues of aggression are kept separate
until they learn proper canine etiquette (see Program Rehabs Troubled Dogs at End of
Line) . They are fed the same
way, with a staff member present the entire time they eat, so
they understand that they are safe and can relax (food naturally
holds a lot of stress for dogs - it is something to guard, defend
and protect). This ritual makes fearful dogs calm and
trusting, it creates self-control in dogs exhibiting aggressive
behaviors and ensures that everyone has a sense of being safe and
protected. The above picture shows Brindle Boy (B.B.) and the
one other dog that he has been socialized with - Whoopee.
B.B. was found in the Jemez mountains as a feral adolescent with his
two brothers, FJ and Roddy. At first, he would not leave his
dog house and if forced, he would show aggressive behaviors.
One very dedicated volunteer, Susan Barker, fell for him and spent
hours upon hours sitting in his pen building trust. Due to her
sincere devotion and continued effort, he now joins our obedience
classes on Saturdays and works around strangers. In the
picture, Heather is developing trust and moving B.B. to
the next level of interaction by insisting that he eat with her
near him. She would ignore him and sit still until
he finished (he's a little nervous here because of the
camera). When we first started this program, he would not
eat until late at night when everyone was gone. This method
laid out in very clear terms that we would provide
for every one of his needs, which opened the floodgates of
trust. Hopefully one day someone will see the beauty in
him like we and Susan do and bring him into a home
environment. Anyone dedicated to such a voyage would receive
unending help from
us.
Next, every interaction must
encourage calm, balanced behavior. This is simple to say, but
takes a great deal of self-control. We became very
attached to each of the dogs, but we would ignore them until
they were calm every single time we interacted. Once they
got the point, they would mellow out as soon as they saw
us. This was very rewarding because we became a source of
calm safety for them instead of excitement and
stress. We played very calming music 24 hours a day
(they love Nora Jones, but they howled when we played
opera!). When I (Heather) was alone in the Cottage, I
would sing softly as I went about my day. As soon as they
heard that, every one of them would hang out by the doors of their
pods and fall asleep. It was a beautiful thing to know that I
was creating balance in their lives. The down side of it was
that we couldn't seem to drag ourselves away from them and
ended up working 10 to 14 hour days, 7 days a week for three months
straight. So, to make sure that our own pack was cared
for, we made room for our Kita, Hoshi and
Jackson at the Ranch and brought them to work
everyday.
The picture to the right was taken by the news
crew. The cottage was full of people and all of our dogs
were curious, but unconcerned. There were 31 dogs in the
cottage that day (in six pods) and they behaved
admirably. We were so proud of
them.
The ability to work with over
seventy dogs at once, applying our own methods, techniques
and philosophy and to see real, tangible results was an
incredibly satisfying experience.
we set in place a program that brought
out the best in each dog. We took great care in matching up
temperaments, controlling behaviors around food, making each day
interesting and fun, providing exercise, structure, and deep,
meaningful affection. At Watermelon Mountain Ranch, the dogs
that are social are kept in groups of three to seven. In
this way they can have companionship and an opportunity to fulfill a
primal need - forming a pack. Such a structure can be a
wonderful situation for the dogs, if handled correctly. It can
also create numerous issues if the dogs are not given structure and
clear communication from an informed staff. 
The first thing that we put structure around is food.
Every dog must back up from the fence and show self control before
we enter the pod (no jumping, barking, whining, etc). Then we
proceed with a feeding ritual with all of the dogs in the same space
and each one of them giving respectful distance to
the other dogs while under direct supervision and
guidance. Having a strict feeding structure does amazing
things for their state of mind. Once they understand what is
expected (which they learn very quickly) they calm down in seemingly
unrelated situations. Best of all, when someone enters the
Cottage, everyone backs away from the fence and shows manners
(a wonderful way for them to get adopted!).
Next, every interaction must
encourage calm, balanced behavior. This is simple to say, but
takes a great deal of self-control. We became very
attached to each of the dogs, but we would ignore them until
they were calm every single time we interacted. Once they
got the point, they would mellow out as soon as they saw
us. This was very rewarding because we became a source of
calm safety for them instead of excitement and
stress. We played very calming music 24 hours a day
(they love Nora Jones, but they howled when we played
opera!). When I (Heather) was alone in the Cottage, I
would sing softly as I went about my day. As soon as they
heard that, every one of them would hang out by the doors of their
pods and fall asleep. It was a beautiful thing to know that I
was creating balance in their lives. The down side of it was
that we couldn't seem to drag ourselves away from them and
ended up working 10 to 14 hour days, 7 days a week for three months
straight. So, to make sure that our own pack was cared
for, we made room for our Kita, Hoshi and
Jackson at the Ranch and brought them to work
everyday.
