DOGFANCY December 2001 Story and photographs by Jean M. Fogle [Maria Praias Quoted]
ON THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
Mobile training program offers non-judgmental lessons in pet care.
A German Shepherd Dog sits forlornly on a short chain as Sue Sternberg pulls into the driveway. Bearing treats for the dog, Sternberg strikes up a conversation with its owner by admiring the Shepherd. This is the best dog he's ever owned, the owner says. His son, afflicted with cystic fibrosis, and the dog are best friends. But leash laws and fear of passing cars on the nearby road force him to chain the dog when he's outside, he says.
"I asked him if he could use a cable runner instead of the chain," Sternberg recalls. "He looked me in the eye and said he would love one, but he couldn't afford it." That is Sternberg's cue. She runs to her van and grabs a donated cable runner. As she leaves, the owner attaches the cable runner, and the dog prances happily in its newfound roaming space.
Sternberg of Accord, N.Y., created the Training wheels program to help dogs become well-behaved family pets instead of shelter statistics. The outreach program provides gifts for dogs and non-judgmental training advice for owners, most of whom love their dogs but feel overwhelmed by financial burden and the work of training and socializing a dog.
"My goal is to bring the shelter to the community instead of waiting for the people to bring their animals to the shelter," says Sternberg, who owns Rondout valley Kennels, a private adoption shelter.
Campers at Camp Gone to the Dogs in Putney, Vt., - which each year designates a charitable organization for donations - provided toys collars, leashes, and money to help start the program.
Sternberg’s van carries volunteer trainers and about 20 shelter volunteers along the back roads of New York and New Jersey, stopping at houses where they see a dog in need. A banner on the van reads: "Training Wheels, Keeping you and your pet on the road to success. Free Training! Free Advice!
"The program has helped more than 1,000 dogs since its 1999 inception, says Sternberg, who was an obedience instructor at the New York-based American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Initially, people treat the mobile shelter workers with suspicion. But when they unload the dog gifts, attitudes change, and many owners share their training frustrations.
One couple was building a pen for their 5-month-old puppy for fear it would run into the road. Within minutes, the Training Wheels trainers taught them how to get the puppy to respond to commands, including "Come." That demonstrated that the puppy was trainable - and put the owners on the road to training success.
When Maria Praias, owner of Dog Gone Positive Training and Kinder Paws Day Care in Pinellas Park, Fla., found out about Training Wheels, she decided to visit Sternberg to learn more about the program.
"The visits to the community with Training Wheels changed my point of view, and I learned not to judge a book by its cover," Praias says. "Each of the families we visited loved their dogs. Maybe they do things differently, but they love them. That trip was not only about helping animals, but about helping people who really appreciated it." After observing Training Wheels in action, Praias started a similar program on Florida's Gulf Coast. [Top]
Sternberg has taken her message of non-judgmental pet-care intervention all over the United States. She offers two-day seminars to help shelters implement the program. In 2000, New Jersey awarded Sternberg a grant to begin the program in that state, and more than 20 shelters nationwide plan to start Training Wheels in their area.
In addition to teaching proper pet care, Sternberg's program also instills tolerance. "It is easy to judge people who keep their dogs chained up," she says, "until you begin to understand their reasons and beliefs."
Information:
Training Wheels
Rondout Valley Kennels
4628 Route 209
Accord, NY 12404
(845) 687-7919
www.suesternberg.com
Jean M. Fogle is a frequent DOG FANCY contributor and lives in Fort Valley, Va.
