Love Has No Age Restrict is now out there in audio. Wheeee! My co-author, Karen London, and I are deeply grateful for the way it has been welcomed by shelters, rescues, and adopters. This booklet, about bringing residence an adolescent or mature canine moderately than a pet, has bought virtually 150,000 copies and was known as “A one-of-a-kind instructional jewel,” by Cathy Baier of the Florida Keys SPCA. Victoria Stilwell, of the Victoria Stilwell Academy stated, “In case you are contemplating adopting a canine from a shelter then Love Has No Age Restrict shall be your good companion.”
Karen London, of Deal with Everybody Like a Canine fame, and I wrote this ebook collectively as a result of, as we are saying within the Introduction:
“. . . there’s something very particular about bringing an older canine into your own home. Puppies include little expertise behind them, appearing like furry, little sponges who’re primed to absorb data. They connect themselves to anyone who will feed them and rub their bellies, after which comply with them in every single place. Older canine are totally different in some methods; they arrive with a historical past behind them, having realized what to anticipate from life as they matured. They could come able to bond with you, or they might want a little bit time to get to know you. They could include good habits or unhealthy ones. . . “.
After years of seeing purchasers, Karen and I noticed that there was little or nothing written about bringing a canine with a historical past into your own home. It’s partially like bringing a pet residence (home breaking-it’s a brand new home in spite of everything!), however not in lots of different methods. Your new canine is likely to be scared of males, or have by no means seen a cat, or realized to pee the place they sleep. How must you put together for his or her arrival? What you probably have no time to organize?! What to anticipate by day three, week three, and three months in? Why to not panic when your (up to now) good canine develops a behavioral downside on day twenty two? What about your different canine? Cat? Horse? Roommate?
You may write a whole ebook on these points, however we wished a booklet that was concise sufficient to be actually useful, however not so detailed that few of us would make it via. Thus, Love Has No Age Restrict was born. Each part within the print model begins with a photograph of a rescued canine–right here’s Pilot, for instance:
(FYI, you possibly can see all the pictures and the textual content in a pdf accompanying the audio. Slick!)
My favourite factor about this ebook is that everybody labored collectively (graphic artist, authors, printers) to maintain the price of the printed booklet as little as we may, in order that shelters and rescue teams may give them away totally free to adopters. It’s lower than $10 as a single copy, however has large reductions for bulk orders–$4.95 for 20-49 copies for instance, and $2.95 every for 200 or over. Plenty of people have made giant orders and donated them to their native shelter or rescue, which makes Karen and I about as comfortable as comfortable may be.
After all, you possibly can’t “bulk order” an audio ebook, however you possibly can refer everybody you realize to it. It’s $6.95 or free should you’re simply becoming a member of Audible. Ideally, realizing how our brains work, I’d get the booklet after which hearken to the audio ebook on the best way to get the canine. I do know–that sounds sooo self-serving, argh–however truthfully, retaining info is a problem for all of us, and the extra methods you work together with info, the extra you’ll keep in mind. (I keep in mind finest if I writing issues down–in cursive. It’s not simply me, take a look at this analysis!)
Love Has No Age Restrict consists of subjects starting from making ready the home, the primary day, introductions to different animals, and a raft of behavioral issues, like separation nervousness and the concern of strangers. I’m not making this up after I say that I learn it myself earlier than we received Skip. Sincere. Getting a brand new canine is frightening stuff for these of us who take it as critically as we should always, and each coach and behaviorist I do know has butterflies within the abdomen when a brand new canine, one we hope and pray shall be a ceaselessly canine, enters our properties.
I’m soooo so grateful to Dogwise for making this occur (Erika rocks!), and to the narrator, Debra Shieber, who does a improbable job placing phrases into the air from the web page. Kudos to her for being each heat and clear. (I attempted doing a studying myself, and what you assume will sound okay sounds mushy as quickly as you hear it as an audio ebook!) And because of all of you who’ve supported this work; I believe there are millions of canine who’re grateful.
MEANWHILE, again on the farm: Friday morning was spent in heaven at Littledale Farm, the attractive property of Graham and Margaret Phillipson. They graciously invited me and a few buddies to work our canine on their high-quality Scottish Blackface and North Nation Cheviots. What a day, in fantastically stored sheep and pastures, nice buddies, and really comfortable canine! I believe Skip was particularly comfortable, as a result of he grew up within the UK working these form of sheep (flighty), versus the “heavier” sheep on the trials round right here, whose response to a canine is extra “No matter” than “Let’s get out of right here.”
I like these three photographs beneath of Skip and a flock of yearlings, taken one proper after one other. Give attention to the sheep in every photograph. Discover that Skip has not moved (as finest I can inform) however the sheep noticed him, from a long way away, and selected to depart with out him selecting up a paw. These form of sheep may be tough to work, as a result of your canine must be quiet, fast to cease or lie down, and keep properly away. If not, the sheep interact in hoof races that will full with Olympic hundred-yard dashes. Nobody desires panicked sheep.
Plenty of different canine and buddies started working too. Right here’s Tune within the photograph beneath, a brand new canine belonging to good pal Rowie, working within the excessive grass. Discovered her? The sheep actually knew the place she was.
Right here on the farm, a bounty of strawberries is assuaging my misery over somebody (I’m speaking to you, the day by day doe) consuming our lettuce, peas, chard, and spinach. Beneath is simply at some point’s decide, from our tiny little raised mattress.
Our native honeysuckle vine retains the hummingbirds comfortable, which makes me comfortable . . .
Final weekend some pricey buddies and neighbors rallied to plant a “prairie patch” in an space previously filled with sunflowers. The flowers had been pretty and maintenance free and the bugs liked them. So did a woodchuck, who denned within the hill and decimated all of the vegetation. Discussions about this, largely between Skip and this 12 months’s woodchuck, are ongoing.
Thus, the weekend was full of fine folks rallying for good causes. My coronary heart is full.
