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4PAWPRINTS Ben’s Corner From the Desk of 4 Paws | Executive Director Karen Shirk Perfection 1. the state or quality May/June 2015 of being or becoming perfect. 2. the highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence, as in some art. 3. a perfect embodiment or example of something. 4. a quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence. Pictured above: 5. the highest or most Raphael, German Shepherd, Angels Litter, 3/12/2011 nearly perfect degree of a quality Aiyana, Golden Retriever, Future Litter, 4/1/2013 or trait. 6. the act or fact of 11 German Retrievers due July 21, congrats mom and dad! perfecting. I am asked at least 3-4 times a month why we left our original intent of using rescue dogs as service dogs by the wayside and took up breeding our own. When I founded 4 Paws I saw the use of rescue dogs as service dogs a win/win situation. When we were small and only needed to find less than a handful of dogs at a time it worked. The problem one faces when choosing a dog for service work is that the service dog must be of the highest quality possible. We need to make sure that the dog acts appropriately in public and has no behavioral issues. When searching a shelter for a dog we found that we would need to test 60 dogs to find one who might make it. Even then until this dog settled into life outside the shelter, we will not know if we can use them. Many issues can’t be found in a one hour evaluation. As we grew and needed more and more dogs, it became harder and harder to find them. As we grew we also learned so much about the art of placing service dogs and became more selective in what we would accept or not in a dog. By the time we had classes of 5 or more recipients, it was becoming nearly impossible to find enough dogs. If we had 100 dogs in the building more than 50% of them would be up for adoption. Trainers were spending more hours evaluating dogs than they had time for training. It soon became clear that though the idea of using rescue dogs was a valiant one, it was not a practical or cost effective one. For example, currently at any given time we own more than 400 dogs and only 5% of them will be up for adoption! In striving to use dogs who are close as possible to perfect in meeting the overall ideal of a service dog, it was imperative that we moved from rescue to breeding. Breeding dogs is as much an art as a science. It is something that is a part of our daily conversation at 4 Paws. We devote much time and effect to perfecting our breeding programs. What types of breeds we use and why we breed them is always reviewed in the meetings we have. To date these are the breeds we use and a small piece of information on each. It is interesting to note that some are mixed breed dogs that are purpose bred. DONATE NOW! 1 Donate to our Building Fund! May/June 2015 PRINTS 4PAW Inside 4PawPrints | May-June 2015 Front cover ........ Ben’s Corner Page 3-6 ............ Ben’s Corner Continued Page 7 ................ June Class Graduates Page 8-9 ............. The Adventures of Piper Papillon Page 10 ................ Hatton Foundation Match Challenge Page 11 .............. 4 Paws at the Museum Page 12-14 ......... 4 Paws University Page 15-16 ......... STAR Volunteer, Jane Schrier and Gail Gardner Page 17-18 ......... Puppy Program Page 19 .............. Additional Supporters Page 20 ................ Staff Stars Page 20 ............... Tanya’s Trot for Epilepsy Page 21 ............... OSU Veterinary School FurBall Page 22 ................ 3rd Annual 4 Paws 5K and 1-Mile Dog Walk Page 23 ............... Additional Supporters Page 24 ................ Your 4 Paws Page 25 ............... Check This Out! Page 26 ................ Round of Appaws 2 Ben’s Corner, Continued Golden Retriever One of the two most used service dog breeds. Golden GOLDEN LAB Retrievers are very kind-hearted, loving dogs. They are One of the mixed breed dogs that we breed here at 4 also quite intelligent and trainable. Golden Retrievers live Paws we call a Golden Lab and are just as you would to please those around them making training them far think looking at the name, a Golden Retriever and May/June 2015 easier than other breeds. They do tend to be more Labrador Retriever mix. By mixing the breeds we get a sensitive than the other most popular service dog, the more rounded dog all the way around. Many times we see Labrador Retriever. As a general rule, Goldens are them being a bit tougher while still being somewhat PRINTS friendly towards everyone and very poor guard dogs. They sensitive. In the 50/50 crosses we almost always get short prefer that their owners lead the pack and seldom hair and yet the hair will be much softer than the purbred Lab. Basically the Golden Lab seems to get the best of 4PAW challenge that leadership. It is easy for our trainers to work with the Golden Retriever and just as easy to transition two phenomenal breeds. their leadership and affection to the dog’s new family. At 4 Paws, we use American show line Goldens as well as Goldendoodle English, Romanian, and Russian line Goldens. The Another mixed breed dog that we breed here at 4 Paws is American line Goldens vary in color from the typical the Goldendoodle. Our Goldendoodles are mainly first golden color to a deep red and our European lines tend to generation, meaning they are half Standard Poodle and be a light cream to pure white in color. half Golden Retriever. However, as we strive to meet the needs of families who have more severe allergies we are also breeding some Goldendoodles who are more Poodle Labrador Retriever than Golden. It is definitely true in this mixed breed dog Along with the Golden the Labrador is one of the most that the dog gets the best of used breeds in the service dog world. The Lab has been both breeds. Goldendoodles hailed as the most popular breed in the United States for are thicker, bigger, and years now. Like the Golden they have a kindness about stronger built than the them, and happy/friendly dogs of high intelligence. Labs Standard Poodle and have a as a general rule are quite easy to train and because they stronger, more outgoing love everyone, they also transition to their new families personality as well. They quite easily. They are treat motivated and will gladly typically follow the transition to anyone who feeds them. Our Labs tend to be temperament of the Golden tougher than our Goldens and as such are the better while many, but not all, are choice for those kids who are likely to play hard and rough also hypoallergenic like the or to be unpredictable although we do also find some who Standard Poodle. The coolest are more sensitive. At 4 Paws we use the English Labrador thing about this mixed breed Retriever and not the American Field Lab. The English is that they are almost always type Labs tend to be stockier and more laid back then super cute and look like a Skylark their counterpart, the American Field Lab bred stuffed animal you would find Goldendoodle specifically for hunting. in a toy store. Aerocraft Litter 09/22/2012 Graffiti Nura Captain & Tennille Golden Retriever Labrador Retriever Golden Labs Artsy Litter Anna’s Sunlight Litter Graffiti & Nura Pups 3 12/22/2013 09/01/2012 04/15/2015 Ben’s Corner, Continued Golden Retriever Labrador Retriever GOLDEN LAB Goldendoodle These four breeds make up about 80% of our population of dogs here at 4 Paws. What runs through all four is their cute features, sweet personalities, and inviting, non-threatening appearance. It is important when placing a service dog, especially when placing with the child that the dog act as a social bridge and not serve to further isolate the child. By May/June 2015 using breeds that are not only intelligent and easily trained but also well known for their friendly personality it is more likely they will be well received in the community. That being said the breeds above are just not right for every single one of our kids or veterans. Because we work with kids who have any disability rather than limiting our placements to just kids with autism, or just kids with seizures, PRINTS and so forth, we also have worked to maintain breeding programs in smaller numbers knowing that rarely do our kids fit into a single category in their needs. Because of this we are always looking at breeds and trying new ones, or even new 4PAW mixes. As we work to have a pool of dogs to meet all of our recipient needs, both the kids with their many varied disabilities and the needs of the veterans we serve, we continue to breed at a lower number some other breeds. Standard Poodle Papillon When we get families with allergies, typically we can When it comes to using a small breed dog there is meet their needs with a Goldendoodle. However, no better option than the Papillon. Happy, loving, some of our families have allergies that are more and fun dogs who unlike most toy breeds are severe and the only dog they can have, if any, is a typically confident and adaptable.

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