A Couple of Updates

Ruby is back. Our little ladies' family hit some hard times and brought her back. If you would like to give this wonderful girl a home, please contact B.A.R.K.

Gabbs, the name sake of the ranch, is now looking for a home. We hope to get his story up soon. If you have any questions, please let us know or contact B.A.R.K.

Macy (aka Oopsie) at Gabbs

Here is a picutre of Macy at the Gabbs Ranch, submitted by Robin W.



WOW! She looks like a new dog now. Keep up the great work Macy!!!

MACY (a.k.a. Oopsie)

Hello. My name is Beth and my partner and I adopted a Gabbs Nevada dog back in April of last year. We got her from the East Bay Humane Society. Her former name was Oppsie but we couldn't stand that so we renamed her Macy.

She is a dear-hearted dog. I've been reading the blog for quite awhile and I'd say Macy is further along than some and further behind than others. My favorite quote from the site was something about "the Gabbs stare." She can easily get "that look."

When we adopted her from the shelter I don't think they really knew what they had. And even though I am a very experienced dog owner (former E.D. of an animal shelter, many classes on canine behavior) I didn't understand what I was getting into with her. The saving grace for us is that Macy is wonderful off leash on a hike or large dog area. We live in the Bay Area so I hike with her most days in the Tilden hills or we take her to Albany Bulb or Pt Isabel. To meet her off leash you would never know there is any problems. She is quick to great everyone, comes when called (unless something goes 'wrong'), plays well with all dogs, and wants to stop every few feet and be kissed on. She even enjoys car rides! She is good on a leash for walks in a neighborhood.

Macy in the car

At home is a totally different story. Given where they lived she still hasn't adjusted to many things found in a home. She has "safe spots" which are both of our bathrooms. At night she sleeps in the bedroom with us on her dog bed. But during the day she is still not comfortable roaming around the house with us. The few times she comes into the kitchen or living room she stands there and stares at everything, ever alert for something "wrong" to happen. And "wrong" for her is often shadows! I'm not sure if they had many shadows where they lived but she doesn't like them at all. She walks into a room and scopes out any shadow - from a light, thru a window, on a wall - and then if she can stay there she is very vigilant to keep her eye on it. Most people who come to the house wouldn't even know we have a second dog unless they use the bathroom.

What has been interesting is that she has been great at other ppl's houses! We have her in a play group for off leash hikes on the days I'm not working at home and she loves them. When we are out of town she stays with our dog walkers and when she is there she roams around their house with them. We were shocked to hear that. Then we took her to my parents house and sure enough she stayed with me wherever I went in the house. We have figured out at this point that if we want her to feel well adjusted at our home we will have to move. And as many of you dog lovers know, we end up doing a lot for our dogs but buying a new home is too much! :-)

Macy's Safe Place

We've had Macy for about 1.5 years now. I love her like crazy and I'm not sure if I had it do again I'd take on a Gabbs Nevada dog. I'm grateful that we are providing her a good home for her later years and I'm glad for the joyful times we have with her and there are times when it is really hard; she bolts at a loud noise if outdoors, I have to leash her in the house to move her around a lot of times, 50% of the time I have to feed her by hand to get her started eating, she won't eat in the kitchen with our other dog she will only eat in the bathroom, she won't come when you call her except on the trail and the list goes on. If I'd never had great take-anywhere-dogs before Macy I might not find it so hard but if I hadn't had dogs before I'd be in so much more over my head than I am.

But then I go for our daily walk and get loved on, see her stop right in front of strangers on the trail so they can love on her and I see this happy girl and I think I couldn't live without her in my life.

I'd love to connect with other Gabbs dog people. I always appreciate the stories I read on the blog. I'm very curious about the woman who had them. Has there been much info on her beyond what you can find on the web? When we got Macy I went right home and got on the computer to learn more about the situation she was raised in. I was fortunate to connect with Shannon Asquith and others from the Reno shelter and Best Friends. They gave me a better idea of what her situation was so I could work with her. I wish my shelter had known more about this and been able to pass on more information.

Anyway, thanks for being a part of a community who is helping these special dogs. No dog should have had to go thru what they did and fortunately won't again, at least not in Gabbs.

Macy enjoying the trails

WAY TO GO MACY!!

Quick Note...

So it has been pretty quiet on the Gabbs Dogs front. We know there are plenty of stories and updates out there. Please send them our way... we love to share stories. Remember... no update is too small or insignificant and questions are always welcome. No one can do this work alone so this is the place to renew your Gabbs energy.

Keep growing, barking and stealing couches our little Gabbs population.

Love ya all!!

CHESTER & PRANCER

GREAT news on the adoption front...

Both Chester and Prancer have found homes of their own. Prancer will be romping the hills around Carson City with his new family. While Chester will be exploring the mountains around Truckee.

Hope to hear how they are doing in the new digs soon!!

Congratulations to both Chester & Prancer.

MANGO A note from Robin

Mango came out of Gabbs, described by one of the ranch hands as "mean and dog aggressive".

Mango at Gabbs

Mango The coat of many colors

His coat was bleached and matted and he had a sad face. There was something in his dull eyes that made me think really hard about taking him. So I brought him out of the pen on a leash and allowed my big yellow lab Teddy do an off leash temperament test on him, he passed that and deferred to Ted and so I also let Lucy my Border Collie cross matriarch out off leash. He gave to her as well, so I lifted him up into the back of the truck (I have a crate big enough for eight or nine dogs) and we drove back via Lake Alpine and camped overnight. He was doing great! I have a soft spot for Labs and somehow we connected.

Part of my rehabilitation protocol at my home is something called large field socialization and I work in an eighty acre field with a pack of between seven and fourteen dogs. The large area allows the dogs to relax and just run and play. If they feel intimidated or extra brave the large area allows them to select the dogs they want to meet and greet first and also allows them to give the more exuberant dogs a wide berth until they feel more confident. They use the space to manage the intensity of the energy in the group, spread out or move together, walk quietly sniffing the ground or play catch me if you can! We walk together around as a pack and I provide leadership for the group. Often times the dogs select from the group a playmate of matching energy and within two or three sessions even the shy dogs are getting involved with at least one other dog. Often they will pair up. Also there is the old two is company three is a crowd and one tries to join an existing pair, this often does not work, because the dynamic is different but it actually helps the dog gain calmness when they are ignored by the pair of best friends. When I let Mango off leash for the first time he took off and ran and ran away from the group for about 800 yards then stopped and turned and stood and watched. Waiting to see what I would do, expecting me to pay attention to him and follow him. I turned and walked in the opposite direction. he stood there for what seemed an eternity, then sniffed the ground, then looked up decided that he wanted to be with us and ran back to the group at full speed. Thankfully!

Mango in the fields

Early on, in spite of being a bulky dufus, Mango was pretty timid for a Lab and easily surprised, his first visit to the Orvis store was a typical Mango moment, being a Lab he was bouncy and pulling on the leash curious and sniffing until he sniffed a fishing net a little too hard and it crashed to the ground bringing several other display items down with it. He had a little panic attack but calmed down within a minute or two. He was a lot more careful with his body when we went in there again! Over a period of a few weeks he was socialized every day and gradually acquired his wonderful Labrador temperament, obedience training went well, leash training was a big step forward because he is a big boy and could pull like a steam train at first. He would drop his shoulder and pull towards whatever was interesting his nose at the time dragging whoever was on the other end of the leash along like a dragging anchor!

Any way Mango never showed any behavioral problems and once he had reduced his anxiety, built up his trust and acquired a solid foundation of obedience training he turned into a perfect dog. I came to the conclusion after a lot of testing that he did not have a mean bone in his body!

Off leash he started to respond well and I do try to work the dogs off leash as much as possible, easier with some dogs than others! My opinion is if your dog will not come with you off leash, you don't have a dog!

I invest a lot of myself into building the relationship with the dogs I rescue and the hard part is acknowledging when they are ready to take the next step and find a permanent home. While I am working with the dogs in public I often drop a hint that they might be ready soon so that I build up a list of potential families. Word of mouth is very valuable too, often people say that they know someone who might be interested. I interviewed a couple of potential families and then one of my contacts whose opinion I value contacted me saying they had a friend who was looking for a family dog. They lived in OC, quite a way from the Bay area but after a chat on the phone we decided that Mango would be a good fit. They had two boys who were in their early teens and he was still kind of bouncy, might have been a handful for younger kids, not mean or anything but they might have been knocked over!

Mango after his rehab and a few days before he went on to his forever home, a little wistful, I hope counting his blessings!

Mango on the road trip going down to OC

A little over a year has gone by and I had an email from the family today :

Mango is the most wonderful dog anyone could ever have. He is as much one of the family as we are. He goes everywhere we do. Camping , desert and Tahoe and Sierras. We could not have a better dog. Still the kisser and hugger. Attracts everyone. Loves doggie Park.

Best wishes,
Cheryl

Aaah! Love Happy Endings!

Massage A note from Robin

I saw a question about whether anyone had success with massage as a therapy for any Gabbs Dogs.

In my experience it can be a great benefit, I use it routinely in the rehabilitation of many of my rescues. Here is a photo of Dinky looking relaxed. She has had a leash walk of about an hour and then a 45 minutes massage. Please also bear in mind that she is in a shelter pen, with barking dogs all around her and I am standing over her holding the camera!

Also the short video clip a few notes down on this blog, taken at a different time, of Dinky receiving the collar and leash was also after about 35 minutes of massage. I have the video of the whole session but it is pretty boring to watch, if anyone desperately wants to see it I can burn it to DVD or probably upload segments onto the internet, just let me know!

Robin

Wags for Wine

Fundraiser for Dog Town Canine Rescue:

Dog Town as helped many of the Gabbs Dogs, including Buffy, Katie, Dinky, Chester, Harold, Oscar and more. Let's help them continue to help us and all the others dogs needing help too.

Get Ready to Party for Dogs!

It's time again for our "big" event, Wags for Wine! Yes, we're puttin' on the ritz again this year at D'Vine Wine right here in Carson City. Join us for a doggone fun-filled evening of food, drink, silent auction, and live music all to raise money for Dog Town's new shelter facility! Last year we blew the doors off D'Vine with one of the largest crowds they had ever seen. To purchase tickets in advance, please call Mary at: (775) 267-2059 or you can buy them online via PayPal at their website.

Videos from Robin Wenham

Here are a few videos from Robin. He has done such a wonderful job in his work with the Gabbs Dogs. Thanks Robin!!

Robin working with Dinky Pt 1

Robin working with Dinky Pt 2

Robin working with Harold

You can check out more of Robin's work at his rescue center Cirrus Ranch.

KATIE has Gone Camping

Katie is a real civilized dog these days. Here's a picture of her with her brother, Archie out camping over the Fourth of July weekend.

Kudos to Katie!!