Microchipping!

 Recently the rehoming centre has been presented with a number of dogs found by members of the public which to our delight, turned out to be microchipped. However, in some cases the details on the database were that of the breeder or the owner had since moved or changed their contact telephone number.

After some detective work by our staff, we did eventually manage to re-unite some of the dogs with their owners.

We hope that by writing this blog, it will remind people to register their own details and to keep these up to date and also to dispel any myths people may have about microchipping!

Is it a legal requirment to microchip your dog?

No, however the Control of Dogs Act (1986) states that all dogs must wear a collar and identification tag while in a public place.

The owner's contact information should be clearly legible and should ideally include a contact telephone number and address.

Identification tags should be of a good quality, durable material with a solid connection to the collar.

Why should I microchip my dog?

Collars and tags can easily be removed so permanent identification such as microchipping should be considered by all dog owners.

Even if you have a secure area for your dog, there is always the possibility they may be mistakenly let out or escape. All dogs picked up by wardens, rescue organisations and those handed into veterinary practices are routinely scanned for a microchip.

We also have to face the reality that many dogs are stolen in Ireland each year. Sometimes these dogs are sold on, used for breeding or other purposes and can be found very far away from home.

What is a microchip?

A microchip is a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID). It is composed of a tiny radio receiver and transmitter, enclosed in glass with or without a plastic coating.

How long to microchips remain active for?

Microchips generally remain active for decades.

What size is a microchip?

Microchips are approximately 12mm in length and 1mm in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice!

How does a microchip work?

The microchip lies dormt under the dog's skin, usually between the shoulder blades. When an appropriate reader is used, a radio signal is emitted to the microchip. The signal pwers it up and the chip transmits a signal containing the 15 digit number back to the reader.

So how am I contacted?

If you pet is found and scanned, their microchip number is entered into the database where your contact details have been recorded.

However, if a microchip has not been registered to the current owner, they cannot be contacted.

We cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring your contact details are registered, not the breeder or rescue organisation's details. Remember that many years could pass before you pet escapes or becomes lost and at that stage, the breeder or rescue may no longer have your details. There, should you change address or phone number (especially mobile phone number) you must ensure you update your details on the database!

To check if your details are registered, simply enter your pet's microchip number on http://www.europetnet.com/ or http://www.petmaxx.com/

Where can I get my pet microchipped?

Your pet can be microchipped at any veterinary practice. The most important aspect of microchipping is that your register your details on the implanter's database. You will receive paperwork to complete this from your veterinary practicioner. Most databases allow online completion and instant registration.

If you are not comfortable with the internet and want your pet immediately registered, as your veterinary practice to assist you.

Best practice

It is best practice to have your pet scanned each time he/she visits your local vet, just to ensure to chip has not moved and is still active.

Please also ensure, in the unfortunate event that your dog is taken, please report the dog as stolen to the microchip database.


Here's a link to our website where you can read more about microchipping
http://www.dogstrust.ie/az/m/microchipping/default.aspx

Introducing Betty!

Betty is a beautiful 6 year old, deaf, short haired Collie cross, with the most amazing ears may we add! She came to the centre over a year ago with two other dogs who were both rehomed, but sadly Betty has never left the centre.


Due to the length of time she has been with us, she is really beginning to struggle in kennels. She has good doggy skills and loves a playful pal to wrestle with and then have a nice snuggle with when everyone goes home for the evening.

Betty is a super smart Collie and has learned her basic cues through hand signals and targeting, as she cannot hear cue words/sounds. She is a very sweet, affectionate dog and if there was an adopter looking for a clever Collie to work with, she would be amazing! 


Unfortunately for some reason, nobody ever asks about Betty but we know the right home is out there for her. She is a very pretty girl and would truly make an amazing dog for the right family!


For more information on adopting Betty, please pop into the centre or give us a call on (01) 879 1000. We would love to hear from you. If you know anyone thinking of adding to their family, please tell them about Betty, or any of the other 153 dogs we currently have here in the centre, looking for their forever homes.

All of these dogs will be neutered, microchipped and vaccinated before leaving the centre. They go home with a collar and lead, as well as a little bag of food to get you started! Dogs Trust also provide a lifetime of behavioural support for our dogs and their adopters! 

Just a few pics to share with you all...

Luah is an English Bull Terrier who is deaf. He has received some special training here so that he now knows some sign language! A very sweet dog, who needs a forever home ASAP.

 Oscar and Lilly, St Bernards. Lilly has been rehomed since this pic was taken and we are now looking for a home for her friend Oscar. He is a big loveable boy, who just wants someone to play with.

 Jake is a 2 and half year old German Shepherd who just wants a home where his family will take the time to get to know him. He just loves to play with his friend Korma!

This is Jake playing ball with his pal, Korma. Korma is a 2 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross. He is just full of mischief so would promise plenty of fun times for a prospective new family.

This is Finn - talk about a stunning looking dog! He is still only a baby at 9 months old, so would definitely need a home where the family will work patiently with him to improve his doggy skills. Once he gets to know you, Finn will be your best friend and probably never want to leave your side!

Poor Scooter is not the most attractive looking dog. We suspect he came to us with ringworm or mange, which badly damaged his skin and has left the poor guy with serveral bald patches. Aside from this appearance though, this little guy is an absolute super star who just wants someone to love him and play with him.

Oh now this beauty is Dove. She is just stunning, don't you think? She is a 2 year old Collie cross, just a fabulous all-round dog, who can be a pure goofball when she gets to know and trust you! She does love company so would need a home where someone would be home with her the majority of the day.

If you are interested in any of the above dogs and think you could offer them the loving home they deserve, please do pop into the centre for a visit! We open every day from 12pm til 4pm, apart from Tuesdays. We are even open at the weekends and bank holidays! If you know someone who is thinking of adding to their family, do have them check out our website or pop in to say hello, we have over 154 adult dogs and puppies who are all looking for their forever homes!

Black Dog Syndrome

We all have favourite breeds and “types” of dogs and different dogs that catch our eye more so

than others. Unfortunately, dogs with Black coats are often overlooked.

So much so, this phenomena has been given the title Black Dog Syndrome or Black Dog Bias.

Rehoming centres across the globe struggle to find forever homes for Black dogs as they are simply overlooked by passers by, they just don’t stand out as much against the background of their kennels as some of the other dogs. Nor do they tend to photograph as well so we tend to skip past them when looking through books of dogs in need of a home or browsing rehoming websites.

Some people blame the association between Black Dogs and Demon Dogs from TV and film. People think they’re scarier looking and make the negative assumption that they’re aggressive!

It’s been said that the chromosome (part of their DNA make up) responsible for Black fur is exclusive to domesticated dogs only and that all Black Wolves are in fact Hybrids. So you could say that Black Dogs are like the “ultimate” domestic pet dog!

Other people say that they’re overlooked as they’re too plain and boring looking. PLAIN AND BORING? I think not. At Dogs Trust Ireland we have some of the most incredible and beautiful  Black Dogs who would make excellent life long companions.

Take Oscar for example, we always say if John Cleese was a dog, he’d look like Oscar with his hilariously long legs and debonair expression. Oscar is a BIG favourite here with the staff and wins everyone over.

Super handsome, clever Oscar!

Handsome mega athlete Rodger will play ball all day. Rodger doesn’t cope well in kennels, he’s too active and just loves to run after tennis balls. When he’s not training to be the next Aggasi, he just wants cuddles and LOTS of them!

Happy chappy Rodger just wants someone to play ball with!

We’re just stumped as to why Garvan hasn’t found his forever home yet! Garvan is an absolutely incredible boy. Kind, gentle and super loving. He just craves affection and cuddles so much. Our staff here regularly take him on days out (even on their days off) as he is just so easy going and adored by everybody.

Garvan - cannot say enough good things about this precious boy!

So if you’re thinking of adopting a dog or visiting our Rehoming Centre, stop for a second to spend some time looking at our Black Dogs and you’ll wonder how you ever failed to notice them!

If you have a black dog at home and think he/she is just pure fabulous - leave us a comment and tell us why!

An Intro to Training & Socialisation

We get a LOT of queries into us about dog training or issues that people are having with their dogs. Unfortunately we just don’t have enough time to give behaviour advice to each and every query we receive but we have compiled this blog to help point you in the right direction!

Socialisation means letting your puppy get used to other dogs and to learn proper doggy communication skills so that he can get on happily with other dogs in the future. If a puppy is not socialised properly from the time that you get him and throughout his first year, this can lead to serious fear and aggression problems in later life. It is therefore, very important. If you want a happy, friendly dog that you can take anywhere and meet anyone, then socialisation is the key!

If your puppy is not fully vaccinated then carry him around to see people, experience traffic noise, public transport, or meet other dogs that you know have been vaccinated.

After the first vaccination it may be possible to attend a local puppy party or class, so that your puppy can meet other puppies of a similar age in a safe environment. Your veterinary surgery may run these or know of a good trainer in your area. Make sure you visit without your puppy first, so that you are happy with their methods. Here they should go through a range of different experiences you should socialise your puppy in, as well as exposing them to people of different shapes and sizes, and of course other animals, some other examples are

·        Normal household appliances – the vacuum cleaner, washing machine etc.

·        Traffic

·        The postman / paperboy / dustbin men etc.

·        Travelling in cars, buses and trains etc.

·        The veterinary surgery / grooming parlour

·        Loud noises – fireworks, babies crying etc. (try to obtain a tape of these and play quietly to your puppy during enjoyable times, such as feeding – slowly increasing the volume over time until he isn’t bothered by even loud bangs).

We always recommend training classes for all our dogs and even if you have not gotten your dog from Dogs Trust, you should definitely consider some sort of obedience training with your pooch. It is never too late to start, it just may take a little longer with older dogs! It is a great way for both yourself and your dog to socialise and will help you build a lovely bond with your dog. 

Luah practices his "sit" with John.
Luah is actually deaf and has learned to respond to hand signals which help him live a normal life!

Dogs Trust strongly support positive reward based training and we don’t believe that any dog should be hurt or scared whilst being trained. A reward could be a yummy treat or even a quick game with your dog's favourite toy - just make sure it's a quick game as it will lose it's value otherwise.

If you are based in Dublin, do check out Dog Training Ireland, who are based about 10 mins from our centre in Ballycoolin. They run all types of classes as well as a behaviour clinic, daycare facility and a fabulous grooming parlour. Here’s a link to their website - http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/home.php

If you are not based here in Dublin, check out the Association of Pet Dog Trainers who are all accredited dog trainers here in Ireland – their website is http://www.apdt.ie/

Training really helps to stimulate your dog's brain which really benefits your dog's well-being. Clicker training and agility training are great ways to get your dog thinking for themselves. When your dog is stimulated mentally, it is less likely to get bored, which in turn makes it less likely to be destructive or have poor self control.

If professional training classes are out of your price range, then check out some of our training videos on our website http://www.dogstrust.ie/az/t/trainingvideos/ and remember to reward your dog for getting things right! We also have launched an app to help you with your puppy training so you can download that onto your iPods, iPads etc - here's a link http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/a/apps/default.aspx for more info :)

Treats have been hidden in this laundry basket for Bingo to sniff out!

Bingo pictured above is a Beagle, and just LOVES to sniff things out so our Training and Behaviour advisors devised some really basic games to keep Bingo stimulated. Bingo is a fabulous young man who had a bit of a rough start and is currently looking for his forever home, where he deserves to be absolutely spoiled rotten!

Please note that if you notice that your dog has suddenly started getting a bit aggressive, or out of character - please do make sure to bring to be checked out by your vet. Your dog may be in pain or be sick which is causing it to behave strangely.

Well that's the end of this week's blog. If you guys have any suggestions of things you would like to see us write about, please do comment below or on our Facebook page! :)

xoxo

March Summary :)

Wow can you believe it’s nearly April already?? Feels like just yesterday I was writing a January round up blog! And what fabulous weather we are having too! Make sure to keep an eye on your dogs when the weather is so nice, give them plenty of water and access to shade. Do not leave your dog in a car whilst you pop into a shop etc, this can have fatal consequences!

Anyway - I think the biggest story in Dogs Trust of late has been the tale of Bronx. Bronx is a teeny Staffordshire Bull Terrier who went missing whilst out with his owners well over a year ago. Nobody knows where the little guy was, but he found himself in a rescue centre in Cork, who then sent him to ourselves to try and rehome.

Within 24 hours of arrival at a Dogs Trust rehoming centre, the new dog will receive a full health check by our centre vet. This check includes scanning the dog for a microchip. If the dog is found to be chipped, Dogs Trust will contact the original source of the dog (e.g. local authority pound) to determine whether the details on the chip have been followed up. Every rehoming facility, rescue group, and dog pound may have a different intake policy but at Dogs Trust, one of the first checks carried out is to scan the dog for a microchip.

Luckily for Bronx, he was microchipped and we were able to contact the O’Connor family in Cork to let them know that we had their dog. To say they were overjoyed is an understatement! They were straight up to Dublin to collect their missing boy and couldn’t thank us enough.

We issued a press release with the details of this story and the attention it received was unprecedented! We had calls here from journalists (both TV and press) looking for more info on this amazing story. It ended up featuring in the Irish Mirror, the Irish Examiner, the Irish Independent, the Evening Echo and then the RTE news too! Last night, he was even invited to be a guest on the Craig Doyle show where he got to meet Nicky Byrne from Westlife!!! So I think it’s safe to say, he’s quite the little superstar these days!

I think the most important thing to take from this story is the importance of having your dog microchipped. This can be done at your local vet and will prevent so much heartache if your dog happens to get lost.

For more info on microchipping, here’s a link to our website http://www.dogstrust.ie/az/m/microchipping/default.aspx

We have also had our TV3 slots on IrelandAM again this month! Did you all see the time where Jedward joined us? Those guys are crazy but super sweet and big doggy lovers! Here’s a link to the past two shows we have been on!

http://www.tv3.ie/ireland_am.php?video=46402&locID=1.65.74

http://www.tv3.ie/ireland_am.php?video=45685&locID=1.65.74

Of course, we are obviously busy rehoming dogs, with 192 gone to forever homes already this year! We have approx 164 dogs in the centre at the moment, 53 of those being puppies. We love to hear how all the dogs are getting on so any of you who have adopted, please do send in pics or post on our Facebook page!

If any of you have been thinking of doing the Flora Women's Mini Marathon this year, please think of sup
porting Dogs Trust. We are completely reliant on fundraised money to keep the centre up and running, which helps us to help so many unwanted Irish dogs. We have lovely yellow t-shirts and sponsor cards, as well as Waggy Walk hats to give out on the day. If you have registered to do the mini marathon, email us with your registration number, name, address and t-shirt size  to minimarathon@dogstrust.ie and we can get a pack out to you! If you have any queries, you can email or call (01) 879 1824.

Just to finish up, some of you may have read an article recently in the Irish Examiner in relation to Dogs Trust's plans to open a centre in Cork. It is very early days and we really do appreciate all your support in our efforts to open up in Cork in the future!
 This is our current statement on the issue -
" Further to the article in Friday's Irish Examiner we would like to clarify that Dogs Trust has made a formal offer to the CSPCA Committee to take over the operation of the Mahon facility and run it as a Dogs Trust rehoming centre. Dogs Trust will not be applying to run the Dog Warden service on behalf of Cork City Council. It is our understanding that this function may be taken on by Cork County C...ouncil. Recent comments in the media by a Cork City Councillor that the City Council must provide their own dog pound is incorrect. An example of this is the shared dog pound between Kilkenny and Carlow which is situated in Co.Kilkenny. Dogs Trust sole concern in this matter is for the welfare of the puppies and dogs in Cork city and county. We have been inundated with messages of support which we hugely appreciate - we hope to be in a position in the near future to welcome you to Dogs Trust Cork. Thank you - Dogs Trust."

We shall leave you on that note. Enjoy the fabulous weather whilst we have it!

Molly, Sparky & Jamie playing in the sun :)

Tried and Tested - Dogs Trust Grooming Range

So there are definitely some perks to working at Dogs Trust! When the boss here in Dogs Trust asked me if I would like to sample some of our new grooming products on my beloved Bailey, I jumped at a chance. Being a long haired dog (he's a Japanese Spitz), Bailey requires quite a bit of grooming and was well overdue a wash!



My beautiful boy, Bailey :)



The range of products covers both puppies and adult dogs, with "no-tears" formulas for puppy eyes! I chose 4 products for Bailey and off we went to the bathroom.

These are the products from the range which I chose for Bailey.
Anti Odour Basil and Rosemary Shampoo, Detangle and Enhance Palm and Jojoba Oil Conditioner, Aloe and Papaya No Tears Spritz and the Paw Protection Cream.

The shampoo smells really refreshing, with it's Basil & Rosemary scent. I wet Bailey's hair first and applied the shampoo. It lathered really well and it doesn't need to be diluted down like some of the other shampoos on the market, which was super handy and made the product easy to use. Bailey gets quite dirty in certain places, usually the long hair at the backs of his legs, so I gave those areas an extra shampoo and rinse to make sure he was squeeky clean!

I was quite intrigued by the conditioner as this wasn't a product I'd used on my dogs before. For those of us humans who use conditioner in our own hair, you will know that the aim is to make your hair soft, silky and more manageable, so I was hoping the Dogs Trust product would have the same effect on my long haired pooch.

I'm not going to lie, I smothered him in the stuff!! It smelled AMAZING - it's Palm and Jojoba oil based, which I would gladly use in my own hair (and if I'm ever stuck, I just might....!). I rubbed it in just like I would in my own hair and rinsed thoroughly. I spent a little extra time rinsing the conditioner as his hair was just so soft, I wasn't sure if all the product was out - guess that was a good thing though!

So my baby was nice and clean now, I towel dried the excess water from his coat and let him have a shake - I'm sure he enjoyed getting his revenge by soaking me too! We went downstairs and got the drier out - I can't just let him dry naturally as he would get all knotty. I use a selection of brushes on Bailey's coat and whilst brushing and drying, his hair did smell really clean, with a really sweet scent. His hair also was easier to comb which made drying time a lot quicker! Yay :)

What do you think he is thinking?!

When he was all dry, I trimmed his nails (don't do this if you're not super confident as it's really easy to cut them too short, which will make them bleed - your vet or local groomer can do this for you!) and applied the paw protection cream. Bailey gets two walks a day, usually in one of our local parks so he wouldn't be on rough terrain a whole lot. Still I thought I may as well complete his pampering with it!

I imagine this product would be great for dogs who are out and about a whole lot more. In saying that, it really is very moisturising. CONFESSION: I've been using it as a hand cream the past couple of days as it's been on my desk. With ingredients like sweet almond and wheatgerm oil, it's a product I think might even benefit on people with really dry skin. If anyone tries this, let me know what you think! 

The whole "pampering" experience was finished off with a few spritzes of the No Tears Spritz - there's a couple of different scents available I think. We used Aloe and Papaya which was really nice. Bailey had just been washed so smelled pretty good anyway so I imagine this product would benefit more between washes, just to keep your dogs smelling nice!

I think the best thing about the product range as a whole is that none of the products contain sulphates or parabens which a lot of products do, which any sciencey people will know are not good for human skin, never mind doggy skin! Products with these ingredients can cause irritations to dogs (and humans) with sensitive skin so make sure to take care when purchasing beauty products for yourselves and your doggies!

Bailey and I took part in a photo shoot a few days later to launch the products!

The products are actually really good value too, ranging from €6.99 - €7.99. The whole range can be bought at Maxi Zoo stores nationwide - check on their website here for your nearest store http://www.maxizoo.ie/stores.html

33% of all profits go to Dogs Trust :)

The whole range of products are now available in Maxi Zoo stores nationwide.

If you make a purchase, do let us know what you think!