Tuesday, January 26, 2010

UPDATE on Spay & Neuter HSUS

For the life of me, I don't seem to be able to find where I put the name of the author of the following information. Dear Author, please accept my apologies for using your material without the proper attributes. Just as soon as I know who you are, I'll rectify the situation.

Part of my problem is that having reached the age of CRS, I now find that I dare not put something aside just because of a single missing piece. To put a thing aside is now perilously close to the kiss of death.


SPAY & NEUTER UPDATE AND CALL FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTION

The IRS Tax Fraud Office in Fresno, CA has now received over 3,200 letters from concerned citizens from all 50 states - - over 1,100 were documented by certified mail. This is extraordinary because the IRS has probably never before received 100 requests about a single public charity, let alone more than 3,200. Additionally, the Tax Fraud Offices in Fresno CA and Washington DC are now in possession of more than 400 pages of documents that "document" that the HSUS has engaged in over 2,000 distinctly different lobbying activities over the last five years.

These documents clearly suggest that the HSUS has engaged in "too much lobbying," which could result in the IRS revoking tax-exempt, public charity status of the HSUS, and assessing back tack taxes, penalties and interest on the more than One Half of a Billion Dollars in revenue that the HSUS received in the last five years. That could amount to Tens of Millions of Dollars that the HSUS would have to pay to the IRS!

It is not too late for more letters to be sent to the IRS - - each extra letter increases the pressure on the IRS to begin an audit NOW!

"Thousands of concerned citizens from all 50 states are asking the IRS to audit the Lobbying Activities of the HSUS" is an impressive "sound bite" that may best be used in asking your Members of Congress to also make inquiries to the IRS about the HSUS.

A number of you have already sent E-Mails to your Members of Congress, and many have received "boilerplate" non-responsive responses that were "ghost written" by Staffers who are unaware of the "National Outcry" for an IRS audit of the HSUS.

That is why the time is now right for those of you who have already sent an E-Mail to your Members of Congress, and for those of you who have not done so, to consider either E-Mailing or FAXING the following short letter to your Respective Members of Congress. Since it highlights that many of the 3,200+ letters came from (your state), this will be a red flag that will be brought to the attention of the Members of Congress by their Chiefs of Staffs - - that is what typically happens when they believe 10 or more of their constituents took the time to write.

That is why the following letter should be E-Mailed or FAXED to your respective Members of Congress.

"The IRS Tax Fraud Office in Fresno, CA has received over 400 documents that substantiate more than 2,000 distinctly different lobbying activities of the Humane Society of the U.S (HSUS).; and has received over 3,200 individual letters from concerned citizens in all 50 States who are requesting that the IRS audit the alleged excessive and under-reported Lobbying Activities of the Humane Society of the U.S., as well as its tax-exempt, public charity status.

Many of those requests came from our State. I support those requests.
Please let me know when the IRS will begin its audit of the lobbying activities of the Humane Society of the U.S." (This last sentence makes it harder for a non-responsive, "boilerplate" response.)

To those who may question whether contacting your respective Members of Congress will really make a difference, I wish to share part of a response received by a breeder from her U.S. Representative: "I directed my staff to contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and have them respond directly to your concerns, since that agency is tasked with assigning tax-exempt status to organizations. Additionally, I have requested the IRS to provide a copy of that response to my office for review. In the meantime, you can be sure that I will remember your perspective should related legislation come before Congress."

Yes, thousands of letters and follow up communications with your Members of Congress can and will make a difference, and could cause the HSUS to be led to the "IRS SLAUGHTERHOUSE!"
 

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Are you someone who cares about what happens to dogs and cats that fall on hard times through no fault of their own?

Do you get all teary-eyed when you hear the sad music and see the pictures of starving/abused animals during those FREE public service announcement ads on TV?

Do you ache to open up your heart, your purse, your checkbook to help the most recent of the reported abuse cases as uncovered by the Humane Society of the United States?

If so, did you know that the H$U$ takes your money and then laughs all the way to their bank while less than 1/2 of one percent of the money donated actually is spent on the dogs and cats you have shed a tear about?

Humane Society of the United States 2008 Tax Filing

In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) spent just HALF of ONE PERCENT of its total budget on organizations
providing hands-on care to dogs and cats.
More info at http://www.chicobandido.com/2010/01/humane-society-of-united-states-2008-tax-filing/



If you want to help animals in need then give your time and/or money to an organization in your community. An organization you can visit. One that has real people you can talk to and real animals you can actually see and touch.

Just please, for your sake, for my sake and most of all for the sake of the animals, don't give to an organization that is going to take your money and use it to steal animals from someone who is doing a good job caring for them only to turn around, mistreat said animals, neglect them and then use the pictures of that neglect as an excuse to beg you for more money.

Not all groups are equal and it is important to make sure the right groups receive our help and those whose hidden goal is to steal all our animals are closed down. One way to close them down is to deny them operating funds.

Think before you give. Give wisely. Don't give to false prophets.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

More Bars in More Places

This really is about the Wednesday morning Open/Utility class. Like just about everything else in my life it seems the things I don't plan for, those things that just sort of happen or just grew are always the best. My Wednesday morning Open/Utility class is one of those just grew things.

It started out with two students who traveled a fair distance to study under me. They wanted Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) obedience titles on their dogs. This is my Intermediate level class. Both dogs already had their Companion Dog (CD) titles. The Novice class is where I normally teach the necessary requirements for basic living and it is those basic living skills that are the basis of the Companion Dog title.

The problem was the same as is always is when I face students in this condition. While it is true the CD was earned and in their cases, with good scores, the foundation was so weak unless we went back and rebuilt there was going to be no way I could give them what they wanted in a reasonable manner of time, if at all.

So they stayed. I taught and they were both good, diligent students with good dogs. The strongly rebuilt foundation made it possible to move on in a timely fashion and the CDX's were earned fairly quickly and with good scores. Then it was on to Utility Dog (UD). Meanwhile, a friend and her dog joined the class for a time. A couple of my Novice students joined the class.

The original two students completed the Advanced material (Utility Dog) and moved on to the really difficult stuff. Learning the art of keeping a dog's spirits up, keeping it enjoyable and at the same time building in more and more reliability, stamina and precision. In due time both dogs had completed the requirements for a Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) and shoot, if you are going to do that then might just as well finish up with an Obedience Trial Championship. So they did.

Of course, more students from my novice class and/or my retrieve class joined this lovely mid-week class. So here's what this bunch looked like this morning. It was cold and blustery outside, while inside in my little training studio six dogs and six humans were warm, comfortable and doing a nice mixture of new and difficult tasks along with comfortable and easy tasks. Here they are doing the down/stay part of a set of stays.


Seeing as how none of us seem to be able to "just train" we all agreed it would be fun to play around with the dumbbell visit again. So we lined everyone up and left them doing a sit/stay with a twist. Everyone one holding their dumbbell.

For those of you who might be wondering or perhaps don't recognize all the breeds. From the left they are Standard Poodle, Caruso; Doberman, Sanity; Labrador, Pete; Brussels Griffon, Cabot; Yorkshire Terrier, Ellie and Maltese, Rugby.

While it is true I could have just used one shot instead of three, it just seemed like it would be more interesting to show three of the 9 taken. See, while they were working on holding the sit/stay and the dumbbell we were all dashing back and forth, jumping up and down, making silly noises and just about anything else we could think of. Sure its true that the silly humans were either supplying distractions or just playing the fool. Meanwhile, the dogs were getting a chance to learn what I think of as 'steady under fire'.


It actually wasn't until later when I finally load the pictures on my computer that Sam and I both realized we had the beginnings of an AT&T commercial. In this case I get to say, More Dogs in More Places. No, there really isn't any point in sending this in to AT&T. Seems they don't want any outside suggestions. Poop on them, their loss, our gain.


Not a bad sit/stay. Not a bad dumbbell hold. And best of all a darn good More Dogs in More Places. AT&T, eat your heart out.

Monday, January 04, 2010

Sit on the Dog pictorial

I'm starting this pictorial out with toy breeds. The first thing to notice is that their size and special needs are being seen to, which makes this exercise both easy and reasonable.

The toy breed dog really should never be required to do any sort of a down in a location that has the potential of putting them in physical danger. Doing a 'sit on the dog' strictly by the book will do just that and serve to damage the trust relationship between dog and owner. So two changes are made. The first one is to supply a small bed with sides and the second is to place the bed UNDER the chair rather than on the left side.

Notice the position of the collar and the leash. There is just enough slack allowed in the leash to maintain the slight upward pull on the collar. Since the dog is actually under the chair the leash angle is toward the owner's left side.


Pay attention to the location of the leash. Even though the dog is ultimately going to be under the chair there is still the need to adhere to the left side rule at this time.


Generally when you see a dog doing what this Lab is doing the digging is accompanied by verbalization. The noise may be anything from an annoying whine to a loud bay and frequently settles in to steady cadence style barking if not stopped.

Temporarily resigned to his fate our Lab is now quiet, in a comfortable position and able to take in his surroundings.


Babied and catered to this Portuguese Water Dog wants no part of the floor and tries for a lap.


When that fails, she sits hunched up and brooding. But not for long...

Surely the lap is not to be denied a second/third/tenth time and so she tries again and again. Each time she is simply pushed off and away and, if necessary, the leash is readjusted to allow less slack.

Finally getting the message, but only in part, Portuguese Water Dog grudgingly does a down. Notice she is still not willing to pay attention to what is going on around her. Because her curled up in a ball position is yelling, "I'm not here and I'm most certainly not going to play with you" we know there is still much work to do on this one exercise alone

And now we come to the large dog. Since this is what I call a 'naked' dog, i.e. one with short, tight coat and very little body fat, like the toy breed it makes good sense to supply a mat or bed for them to use during this exercise. No, it most definitely isn't spoiling or pampering. It's just good animal husbandry practice. Dogs with little coat/body fat protection are very prone to pressure sores on hocks and elbows. Besides which, this exercise is supposed to be teaching calmness, a willingness to follow and patience, not how long can you stay in one spot and suffer physical breakdown without complaining.

Meanwhile, our model is saying, "I ain't a gonna do it and you can't make me" Of course, the dog new to this sort of discipline hasn't a clue as to just what "it" might be. Being fair in this case simply means allowing the dog the necessary time to figure it out.

Here our model has resorted to pulling as hard as possible. Since there really isn't enough slack to allow for the necessary traction the pulling is short-lived.

Having figured out the guidelines of this rather strange human behavior, we are now treated to a calm, alert dog who appears to be very much with the program.

Please note that all the dogs used for these pictures are models well accustomed to posing and every single one of them are volunteers. Truth be told, one of them even threw something of a temper tantrum when she thought she might be passed over for the photo shoot.
No humans were injured during this production.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Sit on the Dog, aka: The long down

Because I am constantly getting requests to explain my 'sit on the dog' exercise I have finally decided to put a copy here. Before you go on to read the instructions you need to know these FACTS:

  1. Students who actually come to me for training seem to find this a very difficult exercise.
  2. People who hear about it, almost NEVER get it right.
  3. People who read about it, seldom get it right.
  4. Everyone wants to either add or take away some part of it.
  5. More than 50% of those who hear about it or read about it don't believe it will work simply because it is TOO EASY.
  6. When it is done EXACTLY as explained, it is 100% successful.

THE LONG DOWN (Margot’s sitting on the dog exercise)

There is a major difference in the down/stay and the long down. The down/stay can only be taught after the dog has learned to down on command. Teaching a dog to down on a voice command can take up to three weeks of working three sessions per day, every day. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

The long down can be taught in a couple of sessions. It has a totally different focus. It cannot be called a long down unless it is at least 30 minutes in duration. The dog has on a collar that it can’t back out of and a 6’ leather leash is then attached to that collar. The leash is then run, from left to right over the seat of a solid chair that does not have wheels. The owner then sits on the chair and the leash. The leash is adjusted so that when the dog decides to lie down there will be gentle upward pressure on the collar. At no time does the owner touch, look at or talk to the dog. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

The owner must have something else to do during the long down period. Read a book. Play a computer game. Write out all your complaints about having to do this stupid exercise. Talk to a friend. Eat a meal. Pay some bills. Do some homework. It really doesn’t matter as long as you are doing something. The only time you would acknowledge the dog is to push it away if it tries to climb into your lap or tries to eat the leg off the chair you are sitting in or some other behavior that is equally unacceptable. When this happens, you must take whatever physical means necessary to cause the dog to stop the behavior at once and not resume it at a latter date.

This is an exercise in leadership and dominance. You are supposed to be the dominant one and the leader. As such, you are the one who decides where the two of you will be and for how long and it is not a voting matter. This is an exercise in patience. Something every dog must learn if it is to survive to live a comfortable life. There are no maximum time lengths for this exercise. However, the minimum time is 30 minutes. The exercise should be practiced twice per day, every day. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.

After the first couple of days, this is a very calming and soothing exercise for both parties. During the first couple of days a really determine dog will go through the most amazing series of behaviors. Not only that, they will repeat the series in the same sequence over and over. When none of the behaviors win them the leadership post they will literally throw themselves down, give a very loud humph and refuse to look at you. After this period has past it is all smooth sailing and happy tail wags.

Again, the long down has nothing in common with a down/stay other than the physical position of the dog. You can NOT leave a dog that is doing a long down because you are a major part of the picture. You do leave a dog that is doing a down/stay. You can NOT tell the dog or show the dog how to do the long down. You must give the dog the chance to figure out what the most comfortable position is going to be. The dog must be wearing collar and leash when doing this exercise.


There you have it. Nothing difficult about it. Very straight forward. And simply because it is so very easy just about everyone wants to twist it, change it, turn it into something it well and truly isn't and never was.

The back history one this exercise goes back more than 40 years now. I wanted to teach group classes that were really meaningful. Group classes that actually felt like a class room where learning was valued. To me that meant students sitting in chairs, able to take notes if they wished. It meant quiet, attentive students. But what to do with the dogs? The wild, untrained, heathen sorts. The dogs that had been labeled fighters. The dogs that had been labeled biters? The shy dog? The overly bold dog? How could I have 15 to 20 misfit dogs, dogs who had been kicked out of every club and training school for 50 miles in the same room with owners sitting quietly in chairs and taking notes on what was being taught?

Enter the sit on your dog exercise. Some first week classes were so bad each owner had to be escorted into the classroom and settled in place before the next team dared enter. By the second week of class the owner's had no need of an escort and by the third week I could walk into the classroom at the start of the class and find the quite, attentive students I so craved. And so was born the "sit on your dog" exercise. Over the years it has had much refinement and most was due in a vain attempt to get people to just do the exercise as it was taught. Neither add nor take away from the instructions, that it would seem is the true key to success.

No matter how hard an owner works, no matter how clever a trainer happens to be, the dog will learn nothing of value unless it is paying full attention to the lesson. That means the full focus of the dog's mind must be on the lesson and this is a thing that will never happen until the dog is given a chance to find that calm center point. The same, by the way, is true for the human. There really isn't much of anything useful to be gained by trying to teach or learn when the mind is in a scattered and unfocused condition.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Got 50 campaign revisited

Once again, Walt Hutchens has stated the case so well I simply can't find a good reason to re-invent the wheel. In this case the S/N H$U$ wheel. Please read carefully and think about what he is saying.

"...How do we get to that long term future?

This isn't a question of alternatives (for the future), it is a question of means. At one level the answer is clear enough: We need a whole lot more people who understand what's going on. That's the "Got 50?" campaign-- the idea that each of us who DOES know should recruit 50 more who equally understand and who equally would NEVER give money to HSUS or any of the others. AND who will in their turn go out to find 50 more.

Of course there's a lot of other recruiting stuff going on, as has been true since long before that label was applied. But recruiting takes time and while it proceeds we have to play defense. We aren't going to win all the battles but we can definitely slow down the AR advance. The more we do that, the less total damage our country and our animals will sustain.

So talking about what needs to be done now, that's it: Recruiting and defense. Sure, if you see an opportunity to fix a law affirmatively, then do it, but such opportunities will be rare. It's easy to see why you are casting about for something easier: exotic animals may be the most difficult defense project of all. But there is no 'easier.' Ultimately we will win because each loss of an animal use, even each encumbrance, raises costs or reduces income for our nation AND catches more people in the web of bad laws. (The greatest favor Wayne has done us in the last couple of years was to start seriously attacking farmers ...) But if 'ultimately' is two decades off, the price is going to be very high.

Five years to the crest of the tsunami would be a lot better than twenty, and I think that's about what will happen. HSUS can't slow down because what they're doing is like the running of the bulls: Both the more militant part of the AR movement and the rapidly awakening animal users are right on their heels. If they falter or slow down ...SPLAT!

Remember that HSUS's business is strip mining the good will the organization built up 1950s-1990s when it actually did some good. Now they claim only to 'protect' animals, by which they mean make animal ownership and use more difficult. People THINK they actually feed or care for animals with donated money but actually they just lobby and litigate. As the American public catches on to that, HSUS is going to be in trouble.

Of course almost any action from the IRS is going to be a serious problem for them.

SEND THOSE LETTERS!
Spreading the word that HSUS does NOT help animals as we fight each new proposal for a bad law is what we need to do now. ..."

Walt Hutchens
Timbreblue Whippets


A tip of the hat goes to Walt Hutchens.

Spay/Neuter H$U$ Update

First, Happy New Year to all. Now let's see if we can't make some serious inroads in the problems the animal radicals have been causing all of us. Yes, I did say all of us. Their stated goal is to eliminate all animal contact, but more on that later. For this first blog entry of 2010 I give you this.

_____________________________________

UPDATE ON "SPAY/NEUTER THE HSUS" INITIATIVE:
Mr Frank Losey reports that he has received confirmation from 34 states that have already sent in certifed letters to expose the HSUS to IRS. More from these states is certainly welcome.

THANK YOU all for doing this carefully-timed event at this busy time of year. Remember, BUSY PEOPLE CHANGE THE WORLD!!!
* * * * * * *
BUT....We would like to hear from ALL 50 states!!!!!!!!!!
* * * * * * *
The following states have not been heard from yet: if you know people in these states, PLEASE ask them to spend a few minutes to act between today and Jan 4th:

Alaska

Louisiana

Mississippi

North Dakota

Arizona

West Virginia

Montana

New Mexico

Delaware

Wyoming

Hawaii

Connecticut

Rhode Island

Maine

Utah

Minnesota

Now it is just a one-page letter, and the certified receipt - very easy!

Here is the letter, it couldn't be easier!!:

Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888

Dear IRS Tax Fraud Investigator:

I respectfully ask that the IRS audit and investigate the alleged excessive and under-reported "Lobbying Activities" of the Humane Society of the United States.

Please keep my identity confidential.

Sincerely,
Your Name and
Address

As the Nation joins together to expose the HSUS...please crosspost this NEED for the copy of your certified receipt.

Scan and e-mail receipt for certified letter to f.losey@insightbb.com
or
Fax certified letter receipt to: 479-299-4417
or
Snail-mail your certified receipt (green) to

Frank Losey, 2029 Tampa Blvd, Navarre, FL 32566

(PLEASE NOTE, THE RECEIPTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR FRANK TO HAVE IN A FOLLOWUP INITIATIVE IN WASHINGTON, DC. NUMBERS MATTER!)