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| Just a few our many Success Stories: |
The Mobile Shilohs: Jazz Sweetie The Mobile Puppies:
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sire: Zion's the Mark of Zorro When Ebony first came home with us at the age of 3, she'd spent 3 years of her life in a kennel and had virtually no training. Thanks to wonderful fostering, she'd spent some time living in a house, but she knew nothing about what a leash was for. Everyday things around the neighborhood like a lawnmower, trash can, or person standing behind a fence were new and scary. She had no idea how to relate to other dogs, much as she wanted to. Even worse, she'd already lost two potential homes because of concerns about aggression during the transition. Knowing this history, her training started immediately upon her arrival to the house. From the beginning, my hope was that Ebony would someday be able to compete in agility. When we started training, it wasn't clear whether that was a realistic goal. She was highly excitable and leapt at other dogs even in basic obedience class. We tried agility class after she achieved her CGC, but the high energy level was way too much for her. She really enjoyed and excelled at formal obedience, so we kept at that. In less time than I could have imagined, Ebony became more and more confident, calm, and comfortable. Ebony is a smart dog, and learning to heel was always easy to train; learning to relax and to work in a distracting environment is the hard part! It was easy to gravitate toward Rally because it combines some of the best aspects of traditional obedience and agility. Like traditional obedience, it is required to know obedience movements like heeling, fronts, finishes, and well-executed turns. And like agility, the competition involves a course that you run independently with your dog, you can talk to your dog, and it's not necessary that movements have clockwork precision. Rally-O itself is focused on the relationship between handler and dog, and provides an encouraging and low-key competition venue to trial a dog. For me, the handler, it has been more fun to train for Rally-O than for traditional obedience because of its less serious nature. Our hard work paid off on October 16, 2005 when Ebony earned her Rally Level 1 (RL1) title at Breakaway Action Dogs in Frederick, MD! So many months I'd despaired that Ebony would never, ever learn to walk on a loose leash, and imagined that she'd never in her life be able to walk calmly through a crowd of strange dogs (or any dogs!) We kept at it, attended class regularly, practiced, went to run-throughs, and when it was time to strut her stuff, she came through with a scores of 181, 187, and 189 (out of 200)! Even more than earning the title, I was so proud of the way she handled herself at the trial: well-behaved waiting outside the ring for her turn, and calm and relaxed while crated out in the car between classes. No matter how well she ever does in the ring, we can only trial if I feel like she wants to be there... and she did! Next up for Ebony will probably be her Companion Dog (or equivalent) formal obedience title. Thanks to her Rally training, she already knows most of what she needs for the title and the one who requires the most polishing up is me! We've also started agility again, and now that she has confidence, I'm delighted to discover that she really enjoys it. With luck, we may be able to start trialing next summer. The best thing of all to come out of our training, though, is that this poor dog that used to vomit on any five-minute car ride now tries to get in the car every time we go past it on a walk. That's just one symbol of how far she's come. There's absolutely nothing better than the knowledge that my girl has gone from being afraid of the world to truly living in it. |
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 Zion’s Gentle Windwalker aka BearCathy & Stephan Zybala sire: Zion's the Mark of Zorro In 2001 we brought home a 10 month old named Bear from a kennel in upstate New York. I was working as a nanny at the time and had some very specific needs in a dog and was told this boy would be a perfect fit (we were told his nickname was Prozac Bear). Although the condition of the dog (soft ears and all), the way he was being kept, his frantic demeanor and his surroundings at this kennel made me suspicious, I could not turn my back on him and leave him there. So to our home in downtown Toronto he came, and our journey began.
After about two weeks of showing no desire to bond with us, Bear was exhibiting a very troubling, child-fearful and aggressive nature. We assumed he hadn’t been socialized or exposed to anything in the important first weeks of his life. One day, he nipped a passer by with no warning given. Next, a jogger was nipped and his dog aggression started to manifest. More bites ensued, so we sought out an amazing trainer. Progress was made in training, but we finally had to admit this was hard wired behavior, and a product of his breeding. Our only choice was to isolate him, but as we were living in downtown Toronto in an apartment, this was a monumental task. The last bite was our upstairs neighbor, and this one was reported to the city. Bear was now in trouble. Dear friends of ours, and fellow Shiloh owners, offered us an incredible opportunity to move out of the city with Bear, in exchange for helping them with their new property. We accepted and a new chapter opened. Many adjustments had to be made as Bear would not accept their three dogs, and everyone had to adapt to a rotating system of letting the dogs out. Bear being sharp/shy caused him to be very aggressive toward the other dogs every time he would see or hear them. Showing incredible patience with us and our Bear, everyone adapted until one day another bite occurred. Bear had been showing acceptance to the other people that were there at the time, so he was being given some freedom. But, yet another bite happened. The decision was made that Bear would be neutered, and would have to always be on leash. All is not bad though, as Bear has now fully bonded with us. He is silly, goofy, smart and one of the family. We come home to a huge hello and a cuddle session on the couch. He follows us around the house and wants to be with us. This is a huge step for as a young dog he would not even stay in the same room with us and would stare at the front door for hours. He plays, he=s happy and loves us as much as we love him. After we neutered him his ears came up. At 18 months his x-rays showed grade 2 CDH in both hips with deformed femoral heads and arthritic changes, but he is still sound and very strong. This is a dog that in another situation would not have made it to his third birthday, but through a series of amazing events and the understanding of some great people Bear is still with us and enriching our lives. Bear has taught us to be patient and understanding. We have learned how to be better handlers and owners, but most importantly he has given us valuable insight into the workings of the canine mind. This story unfortunately is not that uncommon, and other dogs like him have not made it, even though other owners have also made major adjustments to their lives to save them. If we had stayed in Toronto much longer we are sure we would have been given a destroy order and would have lost our boy. But Bear and us are some of the lucky ones. We will keep Bear safe from the situations he can not handle. We have had to keep him in isolation and only we have been able to enjoy the wonderful side of his personality. We have had people tell us that they feel sorry for Bear, but he is having a life, and loves us as we love him. Isn't that what it is really all about?
sire: Mason-Dixon Simple Man (Artie) Riley is a very intelligent, active, young male Shiloh who has now found his forever home. Since his 10-week birthday, he lived with his original owners, and an older female shepherd mix, Maya. Riley was happy to submit to Maya’s leadership, and his behavior and temperament were well under her control. His owners spent time in training including obedience and agility; he excelled at both. When Riley was about a year old, they began to see some dominant behaviors. They responded with positive reinforcement. When meeting new people, he was rewarded with treats. When he was excited or anxious, he was soothed and comforted. The behaviors continued and were complicated by the unfortunate passing of Maya. Riley’s agitated behavior escalated: he barked uncontrollably at strangers at the door and lunged at visitors on the property. Interventions the owners tried were positive reinforcement and correcting Riley verbally and physically with an alpha roll. The situation did not improve. On one occasion, he lunged at a female visitor, and on another he bit a workman in the house. At that point, Riley was returned to me. Since his return, he exhibited none of his troublesome behaviors. He was comfortable with my pack. He was entirely submissive and appropriate with me. He respected the rest of my human and canine family as well. He was completely submissive to all our dogs, including Frances, my 1.5 year old female. He accepted visitors to our home, walks well on lead, shared food, and generally got along very well. My guess is that his owners misread his signals. In their use of positive reinforcement, they inadvertently reinforced dominant, excited behavior. Once his “alpha”, Maya, was gone, he had no model for behavior, and took on the leadership role himself. I believe he regarded his “mom’s” emotional responses to his outbursts as weakness and responded by protecting her. Though they are heartbroken, his original owners recognize that they are simply not the right family for this particular dog. But there is Great news! Riley went to his new home on Saturday. Alisa flew in from Seattle to meet him, and took him home with her to his new family: Alisa and Eli and their shepherd mix Shiba and the cat Cookie. Riley is swimming in the Pacific, romping with Shiba, and learning to live with Cookie. Here is an exerpt from her letter: "Riley has been very playful, and his Squid obsession has only grown. He and Shiba like to run in circles around the yard together every morning before they pee simultaneously and then compete for the tennis ball. Riley seems to have been making offerings to Cookie, our cat; he brings in his squid, a teddy bear, a bone, and sets them near the kitty and then backs his way out of the room. They have had a few verbal fights (hisss…bark bark bark bark…hisss), which always end in Riley running away." "Thank you for trusting us with your baby boy. We are working on expending his aggression energies through nightly controlled games of tug of war (Jack Volhard's recommendation) with Eli, and his prey energies through extensive games of fetch. We also put him into a thirty minute sit and down every night to establish who is boss." I am so relieved to have Riley in a home where he is safe and happy. Please let folks know he has a home and that they found him through the club's page. I can't thank you enough for the work you do. It made the difference for Riley. The web site is a wonderful resource for pet owners, breeders, dogs...everyone. The considerable time you all put in is so important, and i deeply appreciate it. Nancy Dietz, Mt. Airy Shiloh Shepherds
A note from our Rehome/Rescuers: Fuji arrived at her temporary foster home on December 11th, 2006. She was adopted by her new family only a few days after going into foster care! She is a beautiful white, plush coated girl who has recently been spayed. We've been recieving ongoing updates on our Shiloh's Yahoo Group at how well Fuji is adjusting to her new home and family. We wish Fuji and family much continued success and happiness!
Update - September 3, 2007
Isabella had her teeth cleaned and the sebaceous cysts (3) and lipomas lumps (3) removed today. She came through the surgery like a real trooper. She is resting comfortably right now. Wouldn't you know it.... I have gone over Isabella's body what seems like a hundred times checking her out. . I thought I had found all her bumps and lumps. There were 6. Bill is sitting with Isabella on the couch right now and tells me we missed a bump. Such enough...we found another bump! Not a large lump...but a lump. We will keep a close guard over it so that at the first sign of change we will have it removed. Otherwise, we will wait until the next teeth cleaning. Her personality is really coming out -- she is adorable and her kisses are priceless. Everyone comments on how mannerly she is. She hasn't met a child, adult, or dog she doesn't like. If the sliding door to the van is open, she jumps in and sits there -- thinking it is time to go somewhere. She doesn't even turn her head if we are eating steaks...but she will watch you eat every bite of Tex-Mex! Yesterday, she found a frog on Ball field #9. She never hurt the frog...but the two of them were hopping all over the outfield grass! When called, she left the frog to go to the next field with the guys. She has the routine down and has the run of the baseball complex. She has the guys trained... she will go to the ice machine and stare at it until someone gets her a bucket of ice. She is destined to be in management. I'll keep you updated on how she is doing-healing after the surgery. Caroleana Profile: "Misty was surrendered to the Last Chance Rescue in Howell, Michigan, because she was supposedly afraid of fireworks. She is also intolerant of cats and we suspect, other small prey-like animals. Misty is a striking young female, born in 2004. She is housetrained and responds well to basic obedience commands, and she is friendly with other dogs. Misty would be in heaven as someone's lap dog, but must go to a home with a high, secure fenced yard as she's got the spring of a deer." August 26, 2007: We are thrilled to report that Misty has been adopted through the ISSDC Rehome/Rescue Program. The obstacle came in how to get her from Michigan to her new home in North Carolina! Her story managed to touch enough good people, and before we knew it there were so many offers of transportation that we were able to coordinate her long journey home! These are the incredible people who are responsible for delivering Misty into the arms of her new family. We are so thankful to you, angels one and all.
and finally...
THANK YOU! BelleGrace's Aurora Sunrise (aka Dawn) - Black/Tan plush female, SPAYED - 2 years old. Profile: Dawn is a beautiful, mischevious girl who loves to tease once she gets to know you. She also loves to be petted and once she bonds with you, will lay by your side, wanting to just be with her person. She is a bit shy, so will need to be gently socialized, and will need some obedience work. She is crate trained and house broken. She would do best in a dog experienced home with adults and older children. She has never been introduced to toddlers, so we do not know her reaction to them. We also would prefer a fenced yard. Update - September 2007: Dawn has been adopted as an "only dog" by a lovely woman who has had German Shepherd Dogs her whole life. Congratulations on your new home, Dawn!
Success!!! - February 11, 2008! After 6 months of hoping and praying we've found a home for the two lovely older Shiloh Shepherd females, Nala and Tayga! Eternal thanks to Julie Evans who kindly fostered these sweet girls in her Connecticut home for the past 6 months. Thank you to Brad Black and Michelle Bowler for bringing the girls to the attention of their now "forever home". Thank you to Dave Herz and Robert Grieves for making the weekend long trek from Toronto to Connecticut in order to transport Nala and Tayga up to Canada! Nala and Tayga have finally found a wonderful home with a loving new mom on a beautiful 80 acre country property in Ontario. They are both adjusting well and seem to realize they are there to stay. To their new owner, Karen, THANK YOU for opening your heart and home to Nala and Tayga. Thank you for offering them both a chance at true happiness and contentedness in their older years. Click here to see pictures of all the wonderful volunteers who have helped them along their journey home. This outcome would not have been possible without you. The Mobile Shilohs
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