by Kellene Bishop

Here’s the problem. In the event of an unexpected challenge—whether it be a natural disaster or a mugging on your way home, one of your greatest weaknesses could be one of your greatest loves—your dog.

Sinta and Me

I admit it. I absolutely love my two dogs. In spite of thinking I was more of a “cat person,” I’ve truly come to absolutely adore my two girls. I miss them when I’m gone for long periods of time, I talk to them, and I bring them up in group discussions about people’s “children.” Yup. I’m one of those devoted dorks who dresses up my pups in Ohio State Buckeye attire during the Rose Bowl. I’ve been known to dress them in sassy dresses, hats, coats, etc. Mind you, this adoration doesn’t come solely from me. Even my “Rambo” of a husband is a major softie when it comes to these girls.  He’ll make them scrambled eggs, rough house with them regularly, and even talks baby talk to him. (I know. So embarrassing, eh?) They are constantly hanging out on his lap or in my window sill as we work during the day. Yes. Our two furry gals are family to us. I know there are many reading this who totally “get it.”

Those of you who have been smitten by your dogs know that your emotional attachment can’t simply be turned off and on.  But therein lays the vulnerability.  The best way to ensure that your dog is an asset to your security and safety is to take the time and effort to train them for consistent obedience. The alternative is to take a loaded chance on your own well-being as well as that of your furry friend. Yup, obedience training isn’t just about eliminating stains in your carpet or the disappearing roast from your dinner table.

Scott hard at work with the girls

We’ve all seen the scenes played out in on the movie screens. The hero is nearly victorious over the bad guys only to have his dog run errant and risk everyone’s safety, right? Training your dog now can ensure that you never become the subject of some fictional Hollywood script.

There are a handful of critical areas in which to train your canine critter. Stay, come, leave it, stop, and controlled barking will be the most valuable to your safety and that of your dog.  Believe it or not, your dogs actually LOVE to be trained. Unless they’ve been abused or are in ill health, dogs instinctively want to please their owner. The treats are great. But the praise and the play is everything to them.  In fact, when you have a hyper, poorly focused dog, once you begin working with them in training their personality evens out and they become better at concentrating and listening. Additionally all of their other behaviors improve in consistency.  Just as I was assured by professional dog trainers, when I worked on training the dogs regularly, they were more consistent in their potty habits, not jumping up on people, and coming when I called them.  Like I said, they really do like to be worked with in this manner.  It converts an errant dog into a valuable partner. With the right training, they could be a valuable security system that can go to all kinds of places with you.

I would recommend spending no more than 15 minutes at a time training them. It’s not good for either of you to go much longer than that.  And besides, 15 minutes a day is a realistic goal for all of us, right?

I have found a great deal of success using the clicker method of training. It works on pets of all previous behavioral history. Even vicious dogs have been rehabilitated with this approach I highly recommend the books “Clicking With Your Dog” by Peggy Tillman and “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor.  Both books don’t require that you sit down and read them from cover to cover. You simply read one bit by bit and make progress with your furry friend each day. The clicker method even works for older dogs. Abused dogs also respond really well to clicker training. For those who don’t know, clicker training is presently used successfully with dolphins, birds, cats, and even husbands…OK. Well it hasn’t yet worked on my husband…  The “clickers” are available at your major pet store chains for about a $1.50. Or you can get a fancy-schmancy one on Amazon for nearly $4.

My girls...aren't they precious?

A dog’s diet also has a lot to do with their ability to focus and heed your words. The more garbage you allow to play a part of their mealtime, the more resistance you’ll get to consistency in their behavior.  So pay attention to those ingredients so that you don’t have to work harder in your training efforts. Better yet, you can make your own dog food EASILY…but that’s another article.

Your safety and that of your dog may be contingent on your ability to get them to come when you call.  If you’re distracted with Fido, you cannot focus on defending yourself in a critical moment. Keeping your dogs healthy may be reliant upon them heeding your command to “leave it.”  Think of what the command “stop” or “freeze” could do in helping your kids, let alone your dog. (And yes, there really has been a great deal of success using clicker training  on children—especially children with special needs.

Ok. So stop reading this and go spend some time with your favorite furry friend.  You will both love it as you relish in the sense of accomplishment.

Become a fan of Preparedness Pro on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter here

To see our upcoming event schedule, click here

Subscribe to Preparedness Pro today and never miss a thing!

If you would like to host a preparedness party for your business, community, or church group, please contact Vicky at vicky@preparednesspro.com

For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit!

Copyright 2010 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to www.PreparednessPro.com & Kellene Bishop

By Kellene Bishop

New York policemen stand guard. Photo c/o Chris Hondros/AFP

Even hardened military personnel are taxed to their maximum ability when functioning as sentries for a structure round the clock. Regardless of how much military or emergency training one has, it’s simply unrealistic to think that anything less than 6 able-bodied adults can manage and protect a home in times of peril. Thus at some point it’s very likely that you will need to accept others into your home after a disaster that debilitates society as you now know it. Think about it. Let’s say that a home is “fully furnished” with a dad and a mom. In addition to the necessity of keeping watch on your home, there’s cooking, repairs, fuel acquisition (wood or otherwise) and ensuring that some semblance of comfort and normalcy are maintained. I dare say that most adults already feel strung out to their maximum capacity. So adding a 24 hour watch to your home with just the two of you either won’t happen or it will occur poorly. Either way that compromises your safety, so you will definitely need help. But who you trust and rely on to be a part of your home/community could be one of the most important decisions you make in your life. As such, this decision could be one of life or death proportions.

The circumstances in which you take individuals in will be a primary consideration for your decisions. For example, if the disaster is related to a pandemic illness, then taking ANYONE in could spread death to your home. If the scenario is one of a nuclear nature, then ensuring that they are clean from fallout would be an important consideration as well so as not to bring any radioactive material into your dwelling or spread to the occupants. Most other scenarios that I can think of at this moment are going to require considerations of a different nature yet it is those that I want to lay out what are the two most important considerations today.

Trust. Although we usually see these types of scenarios portrayed through Hollywood, there is still merit in appreciating how cowards and incompetents compromise the safety of all others around them. Remember the business executive character in Die Hard who thought he would make a move with the terrorists and benefit his own life? Instead he compromised the lives of at least two other people. How many times have we seen a movie in which the person who was told to “stay put” ends up not following directions and costs others their lives? While these examples have only been seen in the movies, they are realistic portrayals nonetheless. Thus those persons you bring into your home and community must be trustworthy. You must be able to rely on them to have a spine, follow directions, and that they will not compromise your safety and survival. In most instances, the cowardly and bullheaded persons around us are just as dangerous as the “bad guys.”

You want people in your community who are willing to contribute.

Contribution. Anyone who comes into your community should be capable and willing to make a contribution to the survival of the group as a whole. This can be in the form of vital skills, the ability to help with meals and chores, and also in the form of supplies when possible. They also have to be willing to learn to do things in the way that you’ve created as you’ve pre-planned for your scenario. In other words, you don’t want someone to come in, use up your supplies and then move along. They need to be an asset to you and your community. In a disaster recovery scenario, everyone except the sick and wounded must participate in the safety, well-being and functionality of the community. 

If it were me, I would recommend you making a list now while you’re calm and comfortable as to what you would expect from everyone in your community.  Then plan on enforcing it as much as is realistic in your scenario.

Obviously, being competent enough to judge and enforce what folks to bring into your community will require that YOU are properly prepared to defend and fortify your own. If you’re scared of your own shadow, you won’t exactly be in the best shape to play gatekeeper to your world.

Well, that’s my two cents for now. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this community matter as well.

Copyright 2009 Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.  All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Preparedness Pro & Kellene Bishop.

Subscribe to Preparedness Pro today and never miss a thing!