Thursday, July 14, 2011

Foster 101 Class to be offered Aug 7 and 21!!!

Hey HOTLR fosters, this one's for you!! Heart of Texas Lab Rescue is proud to offer a two-part dog training class in August for those of you interested in learning more about the behavior of shelter dogs and how you can correct unwanted behavior in your foster dog based on their shelter experiences or lack of socialization.

These classes will focus on the unique characteristic that most HOTLR Labs share in common - life as a shelter dog. This class will help you understand the mindset that your dog has because of his shelter experience and will teach you how to recognize and correct any unwanted behavior.

Classes will be held on two Sundays in August. The first class will be August 7 and the following class will be August 21. Each class will begin at 11am and last approximately 1.5 hours. The first class will be an information session teaching us about the behavior of a shelter dog as a result of his/her time spent in the shelter. We'll start with a slide presentation and lecture that will be given by Tara Stermer of Training by Tara. We will also have two HOTLR demonstration dogs available during this class so that Tara can show us how to begin working with our own dogs to resolve behavioral issues. Please leave your dogs at home for the first session.

The second session will involve you and your dog and will be a "hands on" session that will allow you to work with your dog to correct unwanted behavior. Your dogs are welcome at the second session.

The classes will be held at Tara's Training classroom and directions will be sent separately when you sign up. Classes will be paid for by HOTLR, however donations to offset the cost will be accepted the day of each class. Class size is limited to 20.

Our fosters are a vital part of the HOTLR volunteer family. If you have reservations about fostering or are unsure of your foster dog, this is a class for you!!! Of course, all fosters are welcome to attend. FOSTERS MUST SIGN UP BY JULY 31, so that we can offer any remaining spaces to other HOTLR volunteers or HOTLR supporters. You can sign up now by emailing: marcystellfox@gmail.com. HOTLR really appreciates ALL of our volunteers!!!!