Convictions of the Heart

Random Acts of Kindness

Since I can remember, I have always loved animals. Growing up in the semi-country, I would rescue frogs, turtles, baby birds, baby bunnies, and anything else I could get my hands on. I will never forget raising a wild baby bunny and letting him go after he had grown. I had named him Fritz and my family and I, when we would see a rabbit outside, "there's Fritz!" We use to think that he lived under or near the shed in the back yard. But, my random act of kindness does not involve the rabbit, it involves my love for animals.

Fostering puppies from a shelter has been more challenging then I had anticipated. However, it was a conviction within my heart that this was something I needed to do. With the help of my cousin, who owns her own organization for rescuing animals (Rainbowtails Rescue - rainbowtails@hotmail.com) I was able to foster dogs. Out of the three we adopted, one has found his fur'ever home and is reportedly doing very well.

The other day we found a box turtle in our back yard! I have been known to pull over, even stop traffic, to help an animal/reptile in distress. A few years ago there was a box turtle in the middle of the street, so I stopped the van and safely moved the turtle to the other side of the street. Being kind to animals reflects the degree of kindness within ourselves. Hug your pets!! Give them your positive energy :)

Kids Love Rip!

I would like to send a special thank you to my wonderful cousin Morgan +Rainbow Tails Rescue, who has been helping me with Ripken. She has been taking Rip hiking and other activities. Tonight he got to meet her nephews, who the eldest stated that he wanted to call Rip "Cal, for Cal Ripken" - awesome! "Cal" would make a wonderful pet for children. He has the lab (wanting to please you) demeanor. He has been doing this thing lately, where he will sit back on his hind legs and put both paws on my hand and then he has this 'pout' expression - so adorable! When my niece met Rip, she fell in love with him too. If you are interested in a lovable family dog - e-mail Rainbowtails@hotmail.com.

Ripken Update

Ripken is doing a wonderful job. He is going to make someone a very special dog. Being a large dog breed, he needs exercise and structure. He has been doing pretty well with potty training. He is an insecure dog (not aggressive). Because of his insecurity he can exhibit anxiety. If he does not exert his energy levels then his anxiety can lead to him chewing (i.e. clothes), he is crate trained. He really would benefit from an active family with a fenced in backyard. He does enjoy playing with other dogs, but he may not be too keen on smaller breeds. He is a love bug though! He loves to curl up. With his brown hooded marking, I tell him all the time that he is a big teddy bear. We try to play around with the dogs every evening, and Ripken is finally learning how to 'play' (other then fetch). My dog Bryan is nearly 100 pounds, and they enjoy playing 'tug-a-rope'. He is trainable too, he now knows his commands for 'sit', 'paw', and we started for the first time today with 'speak' and he pretty well, we are also working on 'stay'. Trying to train two puppies is definitely testing my patience.

As Ripken is maturing, it is getting easier though. He is approximately 9 months to a year old, I believe he is a chocolate lab mix. His unique features are his back duclaws and his mismatched paw'nails. Some are dark, and some are light. His chocolate lab hood markings (his head is dark brown) and his eyes are magnificent. My niece Eryn who will be 8, fell in love with him, and Ripken adored her too. He would be wonderful with children. I would not let the kids go near him while he is eating, we are still working on his anxiety levels with feeding, which can be interpreted as food aggression. He desperately needs a family that will love him and I know he will show them unconditional love too. I say desperately, because the longer he is here the more he is going to think this is 'his' home. If you are interested in inquiring about Ripken, please e-mail rainbowtails@hotmail.com

So adorable and loving!

The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

If you haven't watched The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic Channel, you're missing out! You should definitely watch Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer and Leader of the Pack) and his methods before you bring a new canine family member home. Here are the top ten things that I have learned watching Cesar's techniques and learning through his extensive knowledge.
10.) People psychology does not work for dog psychology. We analyze everything and rationalize. Dogs live in the moment.
9.) Myth exposed: a wagging tail does not necessarily mean a happy doggy. It can also be over-excitement which can lead to undesirable behavior.
8.) Take a deep breath! Find the ability within yourself to be calm and assertive, until you find balance within how can you find the balance for anyone else?
7.) Definitely set rules, boundaries, and limitations.
6.) Exercise is crucial! If your canine companion does not exert enough energy, it will bottle up inside of them and then unwanted behaviors, such as shredding or tearing things up, will be the outcome. One of the main things Cesar demonstrates is walking with your dog(s). This is a pack behavior and they can understand the importance of being in their pack.

5.) Find your authoritative signature. Cesar's is a sound "tsch" usually with a snap from his fingers. This snaps the dogs from what they are doing and the goal is for the dog to then focus on Cesar.
4.) You can't show weakness and be a pack leader. If you do not lead, then either the dominant dog will take the position, or your more submissive dogs could become confused and exhibit signs of anxiety or being confused (unwanted behavior).
3.) If your dog is barking don't pull them back, this excites them more and will aggravate the situation further. If you have a dominant possessive dog that is 'guarding' you (i.e. people can't get close to you without the dog barking and attempting to bite). Remove your dog, put them down on the floor, this tells them it is a behavior you do not agree with.
2.) You need love and patience when attempting to train or 'deal with' a dog. Try to keep a calm demeanor, dogs read energy.
1.) Cesar rehabilitates dogs, but he trains their humans. Most of the time there are issues with the owners and it resonates through miscommunication from owner to pet. Think of people trying to communicate that are speaking different languages and there are no universal body language.
This makes me think of how my point my finger when I am cross. Training our new puppy A'ella, I was pointing my finger at her and telling her that we were just outside and there is no reason that she relieved herself on our carpet - again. Being a puppy, everything goes into their mouths, because they are learning and teething (just like babies). So, naturally to her, she wanted to nibble on my finger.
Don't attempt to work with certain animals without professional help or training. The reason Cesar makes it look so easy is because he has years of experience. He knows the pack linguistics and dog behavior. He can deal with an aggressive dog by claiming something - I wouldn't necessarily attempt the technique if you haven't watched his program, read his books, or understand the concepts.
Even though I have been around animals my entire life, I still have to watch Cesar's show all the time to remind myself of what I need to do, and what I could be doing wrong. When we decided to foster dogs, I had the desire to home dogs that had been in a shelter, to give them a better chance of finding their forever homes.
Until next time or the next... dream ~ K.E.Nowinsky

Spot-on Spotbot

For Mother's day my boyfriend and son bought me the Bissell Spotbot. Fostering puppies, we have more stains now and I thought my carpets were ruined forever. The last time I cleaned my carpets, I borrowed a friends heavy steam cleaner. It took me several days to clean all of my carpets. This made me feel defeated trying to potty train puppies and unable to keep up with the stains. So, when I received my new Spotbot pet cleaner, I was really excited.

It is easy to use and works very well, I would definitely recommend this to homes that battle with pet stains (or any other stains on their carpets). You can treat both everyday stains and harder to treat stains like wine. Something that I really liked as well was that it is also takes little time. With the bigger machines, I felt like I was wrestling with the heavy containers and dumping the dirty water out. The Spotbot is compact enough that it is easy to fill and dispose of the dirty water. It approximately took four stain treatments before I had to refill and dispose of the dirty water.

On The Fence

Please Donate Today

I have always had a special place in my heart for animals. I grew up with pets and rescued a few wild animals in my day. Fostering has always been in my heart and when my cousin started her own rescue, I was so proud of her, I am still very proud of her. If I was blessed with the monetary means, I have always dreamed of purchasing a farm and having a no-kill shelter or rescue. I wish that we could continue to foster animals - and I hope that my boyfriend will continue to support me in my conviction to do so. But, it isn't easy. We have carpeting, which now is pretty much ruined (I'm not upset over it - I would prefer to have some form of hard flooring anyway). But, again - when you don't have money, it can make life that much more difficult. So, regardless, I have been scrubbing a lot of stains out of the carpet (unsuccessfully). My boyfriend said that he is going to purchase the Spot Bot, it is suppose to work well on animal stains. I look forward to getting that!
Ripken accompanied me to Petsmart today. He was a perfect gentlemen! I was so proud of him. He was the best behaved pet there! He had a lot of fun smelling all the different smells. The cashier gave him a couple treats, which he had good manners for and didn't snap the treat out of her hand (so proud). Last night he finally brought his paw up when asked for 'paw' and has been doing this consistently. His accidents are lessening as well. He is such a love bug - I will truly miss him when he is adopted out. I keep saying - if I had a fenced in back yard I would totally beg to keep him! Anyone want to donate that for us!! LOL
I would like to ask for donations. There is a donation button on the side of the blog that goes into my Paypal account, if you could donate monetarily. We do not make any $$ fostering, the adoption fees go directly toward their vetting and other expenses such as the fee from the shelter in Kentucky we sprang them from.
Until next time or the next... dream ~ K.E.Nowinsky

Desperately Seeking Ripken's Fur'ever Home

Ripken

Lab mix, approximately 8 months to a year old. Still in need of a fur'ever home. He is gentle and very loving. If you rub his chest he'll be putty in your hands, this is a calming technique that he thoroughly enjoys. He has a passion for chasing and retrieving balls and the challenge of getting treats out from the Kong toys. As much as he likes to play, he loves to cuddle even more. Could you give Ripken fur'ever home he desperately deserves?

You can e-mail an application request or any other questions, comments or concerns to rainbowtails@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!