At The Emma Animal Rescue Society (TEARS) in Sunnydale (Cape Peninsula) the kennel assistants have taken a hands-on approach to rehabilitating the dogs admitted to the shelter. Once a week, these dedicated men take time out of their busy workday to attend obedience classes run at the shelter. In fact, they spend time on a daily basis walking these dogs and practising the exercises they have learned in the classes.
The dogs that they have chosen to work with are mainly young “teenagers” that are often overlooked by potential adopters, because they are no longer cute puppies, but not yet mature adult dogs either. Training dogs in this age group can be quite challenging, but these men have proved that they have what it takes to make a difference in these dogs’ lives. The classes focus on preparing the dogs for the Canine Good Citizen Test which requires the dogs to be able to perform basic obedience exercises and be well- socialised.
For dogs that have often had poor experiences with people and are insecure, the training really helps to build their confidence and restores their trust in people. It also teaches them how to get attention in appropriate ways and have “good manners”.
Tears have already had many dogs pass their bronze level Canine Good Citizen and a few have even gone on to achieve the silver level. People lucky enough to adopt one of these dogs will find that they are already well-trained and socialised and that much of the initial hard work in this regard has been done for them. Of course, this does not mean that adopters should not continue with training!
The dogs being trained at the moment for their Canine Good Citizen are shown here below with their trainers. If you would like to adopt one of these dogs, please contact the Tears office at 021 7854482
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Thomas with Burton. Burton is a sweet and affectionate dog who is fairly laid-back, but playful.
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Nicholas and Tundra - Tundra is a bright young dog who is learning quickly, despite only having entered the training programme recently. She is very eager to please and is growing in confidence all the time.
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Simone and Laska -Laska is a very playful young dog who has calmed down tremendously since she started training. She loves playing tug games and is quite a sweet and sensitive girl.
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Siyanda and Mac - Mac is a real character. He has been in the kennels since he was a puppy and had some insecurities to overcome. Mac loves playing with other dogs and is always full of fun.
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Thozama and Todd - Todd has also been in the kennels since he was a puppy. He is a very sweet and loving dog with an endearinig character who is doing well in his training. Todd loves to climb into the water troughs, even though he is getting a bit big for that now.
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A group photo of the dogs and their trainers - before and after each training session, the dogs get to play freely with each other. This social interaction is an important part of creating a well-rounded dog and all the dogs get on very well together.
