Tara's Dog Services

Hi everyone!  This week I want to talk about a program that has touched my heart.  I just finished watching “Pit Bulls and Parolees”, and for those of you who haven’t watched this show…Watch it!  Now!  It’s on Animal Planet, and they show new episodes on Saturday nights.

Anyways, the concept of that show is cameras follow a woman, Tia, who, along with her two daughters run a pit bull sanctuary called Villalobos.  Tia’s husband is currently in prison, so Tia has a soft spot for prison inmates.  She believes in second chances, and that is what she is doing for both pit bulls and parolees.  She hires parolees to work at her sanctuary to help care for the pit bulls that she rescues.

Amazing!  Very inspirational!  I want to do that one day.  Run a sanctuary for all dogs who need help and love.  I also want to somehow incorporate helping people as well.  Whether it’s people with special disabilities, shy kids, homeless people, minorities, etc.

I know the intense, immediate, and incredible impact dogs have on humans and vice versa.  I want more people to experience unconditional love, and on Earth you can only get that from a dog.

So back to the program…Tia was invited to see how a new canine second chances inmate program at a prison in Georgia was going.  I teared up by the end of the show because you can clearly see how much happier both dogs and inmates are.  They can understand each other because they are both getting second chances.  All of the dogs in that program are dogs that the prison rescued from animal shelters, and the inmates are training the dogs so that the dogs can be adopted out.

There was one dog named Chance who Tia couldn’t help.  She suggested they put that dog down, and it broke my heart.  I understand where she’s coming from, but I don’t like to give up on people or animals.  I’m wondering if Cesar Milan can help that dog.  He’s just scared of the world, and I’m sure Cesar can help.

Chance’s handler, Shane, was the only one who could control Chance, and you could tell his heart broke when even Tia couldn’t help Chance.  Still, Shane ran out after Tia and gave her a letter he wrote to her.  In it, Shane expressed his admiration for Tia and her daughters for what they are doing to help rescue Pit Bulls and Parolees.  He told Tia how the canine program has changed his life and made him a better person being around the dogs and experiencing unconditional love.  He went from being a guy who didn’t have goals in his life to now a man who has goals that he wants to accomplish.

Loves it!  :)  Every little bit helps people!  Realize how amazing dogs are and treat them like the fantastic creatures they are!  You never know who you’re going to touch, so believe in yourself, be authentic, and live life win-win!

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hey everyone!  This week I wanted to share some more pictures of my clients.  I am so blessed to be doing what I do.  I hope that through these pictures you can see why I love my life!  There’s so much more I am going to accomplish in my life, and I know it has to do with animals, dogs in particular.  However, just because I have goals in my life doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy being in the moment.  That’s a lesson dogs have taught me….be here in the moment, and appreciate everything.  ENJOY!

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  This week something…rather, someone is heavily weighing on my heart and mind: Shiro.  Shiro is a 13 year old Labrador Retriever who is desperately looking for a great forever home to let him become a part of their family during his “golden years”.    Listed below is some background information and a picture I have on Shiro:

He was an outdoor dog and lived with his littermate brother.  However, their owner recently passed away and the owner’s wife wanted to get rid of the dogs.  Shiro’s brother was taken by a relative but they did not take Shiro.  The owner’s wife wanted to take him to the humane society however Gary (a mail carrier in the area) stepped in and convinced her to hold off until he had a chance to find Shiro a good home.  (Gary already has 4 dogs of his own and is not able to take Shiro in.  But he and a few other mail carriers in the area take turns walking Shiro.)  Gary brings him to the dog park periodically in hopes of finding a family for Shiro. Shiro usually stays in the small dog park because he is a little intimidated by big dogs. Shiro has been observed to growl when he is on a leash and being sniffed by other dogs at the park.  But this might be due to the fact that he was on a leash.  Gary has taken him home on a few occasions and he said he does fine with his 4 small and med dogs. Unfortunately, Gary can’t take Shiro because he already has 4 dogs and he doesn’t have a big yard.  Shiro has a very sweet temperament and has a beautiful coat.  Though he gets tired after walking around the block (probably due to his age), he looks good and healthy.

Please, if anyone…maybe even YOU, are interested in Shiro please please please contact me at tara@tarasdogservices.com or at (808) 392-6619.  I would be happy to put you in contact with the appropriate people to talk to in order to take Shiro into your home and family.

I will gladly offer up some goodies to whoever takes Shiro into their home and takes great care of him!  Please help me help Shiro!

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  So this week I want to continue with the subject of self-care.

Now as some of you may remember, 2012 is the year of self-care for Tara.  Yay!  One of my biggest ways of taking care of myself this year is to lose fat…a LOT of it.  Hehe.  Along with losing the fat though, I want to be healthy and gain more lean muscle mass.

If you know me, you’ll know that I have a tendency to get super excited about new ventures (and sometimes people…I know, I’ve been working on it with Nadia!) quickly, and then just as quickly my excitement fizzles out.  I’m not always like this, but majority of the time this is how I’ve been.  I’m also very hard on myself, which I am also working on.

Anyways, combine those two qualities about myself, and you get me sitting in front of my laptop typing this blog post trying to stay as still as possible because too much movement equals pain.

You see…this week I decided that I really want and need to rejoin the gym in order to accomplish my physical goals for this year.  Therefore, I went right on down to 24 hour fitness, rejoined, and also signed up for 3 sessions with a personal trainer.

I had my first session with my personal trainer, Erik, on Thursday, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Erik showed me some exercises/stretches to do to help me achieve my goals, and I worked muscle groups I didn’t even know existed or that they needed to be exercised!  Hence, the pain over most of my body.  I love it though because I know it’s good pain!

But, I also know that through the pain my body is telling me to relax for at least 1 day.  I need to slow down a bit.  Get a good pace, so I can last longer.  I really want to accomplish all my goals this year, and in order to do that I need to slow down and find my rhythm.  So instead of getting crazy right away, and going hard at the gym everyday, I decided to follow Erik’s advice and take 1 day off a week to let my body recuperate.

As if the pain radiating throughout my body was not enough warning for me, today MJ lifted one of his front paws and cried out in pain.  Boom!  That’s when I knew God was making sure I understood what He was trying to tell me about relaxing.

Momo and MJ need to lose some fat as well, so I have been exercising them more also…maybe a little too much too soon.  :(  I don’t want my doggies to be in pain, so I’m going to ease into the increase of exercise for both me and my doggies.

Isn’t it so insane how most of us tend to ignore all the warning signs when it comes to us, but when it comes to others in our lives we immediately see the warning signs and take action accordingly?  Oh silly humans!

Okay, so the lesson this week is…Don’t push it!  Set a good steady pace, find your rhythm, and take a day of rest.  I mean come on now…even God took a day off when He created the world!

Until next time…have a fantastic day!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  Happy New Year!  Wow!  Another year went by too fast, but I have to say that 2011 was an amazing year for me!  I hope you can say the same, and I hope we can all say the same about 2012.

My mantra for 2012 is self care.  This means taking care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually.

With the help of my life coach/friend, Nadia Assaf from Point A Coaching, I have realized that in order to take care of all my doggie and human clients, friends, and family I need to first take care of myself.  I used to think that people who thought like that were selfish.  Actually, I used to think that pretty much anytime I thought of myself I was being selfish.

Now I know better, so I’m trying to do better.  One of the ways I have begun taking better care of myself is by taking Momo and MJ on a long walk first thing in the morning, as well as walking them for shorter periods throughout the rest of the day and night.  By doing so, I am not only ensuring that my dogs get a chance to get more exercise than before and release pent up energy, I am also allowing myself to get more exercise than before, acquire feel good endorphins, and start the day off on the right foot.

It’s fantastic, and I recommend everyone, whether you have a dog or not, take a good long walk in the fresh air first thing in the morning.  You will feel better, more refreshed, more positive, and you will be ready to take on the rest of the day.

And if you do have a dog, please take your dog for a long walk first thing in the morning.  Your dog will thank you for it, and actually you will thank yourself for it.  By walking your dog first thing in the morning before you go to work, your dog will have lots of time to relieve himself, and your dog will be so tired from the walk that he will not have a lot of energy to cause trouble at your house while you are away at work.

So what have you decided to do in this new year to take better care of yourself?  Or are you already taking great care of yourself, and if so, what are you doing?

Until next time…have a pampered day!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  So this week I need your help.  My sister has 3 Corgis who need to be re-homed….preferably together, but as long as they all go to great forever homes I’ll be happy.  They need owners who have the time to walk them everyday for at least 30 minutes, play with them, give them affection, and will work on owner training.  I say owner training because it is the humans that need to be trained, not necessarily the dogs.  Dogs are natural followers, and they want to follow humans, but humans have to show they are stable leaders worth following.

These dogs would do well with a young couple with no children who are active, an older person/couple who have the time and energy to walk them everyday and spend lots of time with them, or a family with children who are toddlers or above who love dogs and love walking and playing with the dogs.  These dogs are great around kids, and my niece who is 3 years old loves to come with me to walk them.  They are not that good around cats, but they are usually fine with other dogs.  They do have a tendency to bark at other dogs who bark at them, but that can be fixed with some owner training, which I am willing to obtain for you if you are willing to adopt these wonderful dogs and give them a wonderful life in a forever home.

The Corgis are a family that consists of a black and white Corgi, Bootz, who is a 6 year old male and not neutered, an orange and white Corgi, Kix, who is a 5 year old female and spayed, and an orange and white Corgi, Phineas, who is a 3 year old male and not neutered.  Bootz and Kix are the dad and mom, and Phineas is the son.  I am thinking about having Bootz and Phineas neutered before adopting them out.

I love these three dogs, and I only want the best for them, so I want to make sure they go to wonderful forever homes who will give them the life they deserve.  I am more than happy to share with you more information on these three Corgis if you are seriously interested in adopting them.  Just contact me at tara@tarasdogservices.com for more information.

If you look on my website at www.tarasdogservices.com you can see some pictures of the three Corgis.

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hey everyone!  So this week I want to talk about the worst part of what I do.  It’s not all the driving around; although that does really get tiring.  It’s not the bites and scratches, which believe me hurts a whole lot even if it’s a small dog.  I have the scars to prove it.

The absolute worst part of what I do is when an animal client leaves.  Whether it’s because of death, relocation, or just the fact that the owner no longer uses my services.  It is the worst.

I really love what I do, and I love animals, especially dogs, so I immediately get attached to my pet clients.

God has blessed me with the innate ability to see the goodness in everyone, and especially in animals…I just look into their eyes, and watch them…and I melt.  Even pets who are aggressive, and seem like “bad” pets…I know they are just scared.  Think about it.

Even with people, those who seem like “bad” human beings, or mean, or throw aways who lash out at others and are bullies…they’re just scared human beings desperately looking for love.  You break down that wall they have…that shield…oh man the love they will show you is unlike any other.  You know why?  Because they truly appreciate you and the love you show them.

That’s the same with pets.  The pets who are really aggressive want to be at peace and live a balanced life.  They want to let you in, but they have to trust you first before they put their guard down.

So remember to be patient with both people and animals.  When they lash out at you, they are just crying out for love.

Now that you understand how I see animals and people, you can understand why I say that the worst part of what I do is when my animal clients are no longer a part of my life.  Every one of them had me at a wag and a meow.

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha!

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  This week I would like to talk about something I have been learning for the last 5 weeks.  For the past 5 weeks I have been meeting with Nadia Assaf who owns Point A Coaching.  Nadia helps guide people to live the life God intended for them to live.  She helps people learn what archetypes or patterns they have in their life.

Here’s the thing…I thought I was pretty aware and awake.  I thought I could hear God talking to me well enough, and that I, for the most part, had my stuff together.  I was correct for the most part.  However, WE CAN ALL use some help and guidance in our lives to live our best life NOW.  I am SO much more awake and aware now than I have ever been because of the help from Nadia.

One of the more prominent awake moments I had with Nadia’s help was when she helped me realize that I am plugged into my 2 dogs, Momo and MJ, and they are plugged into me.  The way Nadia explained it to me is that everyone has their own power source.  We are each power strips with our own power, and sometimes other people or animals plug into our power strip and vice versa and suck out our power instead of using their own.

Every night we need to unplug anyone who has plugged into us, and we need to unplug ourselves from anyone we have plugged into.  Otherwise, we will become drained and or not live up to our full potential.  I need to stop trying to find my worth and power in other people and animals.  I want to help empower others rather than steal their power or let them steal my power.

By plugging into Momo and MJ I am depleting them of their power, and I think that’s why MJ has been having panting attacks for the past year or so.

Earlier in the year I took MJ to Wendi from Nalo’s Healing Arts for Animals, and she told me that she believes MJ’s panting has a lot to do with something psychological/behavioral.  He is trying to teach me a lesson.  It’s my job to figure out what that lesson is.  I wasn’t really sure of what it was, but I think Wendi knew.  She wanted to help empower me though, which is why she hinted at it, but didn’t tell me straight out.

Every time I would go to Wendi she would ask me and remind me to take care of myself as much as I take care of Momo and MJ.  I knew she was right, but I brushed it aside until this past week at my last meeting with Nadia.  God spoke to me and told me that I need to take care of myself.  I need to unplug from Momo and MJ, and I need to unplug Momo and MJ from me.  I am helping no one by not taking the best care of myself, especially not Momo and MJ.

I really believe more than ever now that MJ’s panting attacks, which doctors have not really been able to figure out a cause, are a result of MJ trying to teach me to remember to be gentle and loving to myself.  Thank you MJ!

So everyone who has someone who depends on them whether it be your parents, your children, your animals, etc…remember that in order to truly take care of others you need to first make sure you are taking the best care of yourself.  Unplug others from your power strip and vice versa with others.

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi everyone!  This week I want to talk about something that has been on my mind and heart this week especially.  Now I understand humans take priority over animals. Well, in MOST cases at least…

However, let me just get this off my chest.  It is a responsibility and privilege to have a pet join you and your family.  Pets are the only creatures on earth who show unconditional love.  U.N.C.O.N.D.I.T.I.O.N.A.L. love.  No matter how much your mama loves you or says she loves you, her love, along with every other human being on earth is conditional.

Pets, on the other hand, love you no matter what.  You could hit them, forget them at the park, not spend a lot of time with them, and do any other horrible thing to them, but they will ALWAYS love you, their human.  Now please DON’T go out and test that statement.  Just know that it’s true, and if you truly love your pet you already know it’s true just by looking at the way your pet looks at you.

So my point is this…I get that children and daily life is stressful and expensive and all that stuff.  However, if you decide to have the honor of having a pet join your family you BETTER TAKE CARE OF THEM AS THEY DESERVE.  If you have a dog, you better walk them daily for at least 20 minutes a day, feed them adequate amounts of food and water daily, take them to the vet to get their annual checkups/if they are sick/get hurt, make sure they have all their medicines, give them a bath every month, spend time with them every day, give them affection, educate yourself so you can give your pet a balanced life, and this is the most important…NEVER BEAT THEM!  NEVER!

If you have to protect yourself or someone else for self-defense then do what you gotta do, but if a dog is barking or doesn’t listen to you do not hit them.  Understand that it is YOUR fault your dog is acting up.  Take a step back, calm down, and realize that you need to change your energy and what you are doing with your pets if you want change to happen with your pets.

Take owner training classes, basic obedience classes, make sure to exercise your dog adequately every day, read books on training pets, etc.  Do whatever you have to do to get the help YOU need to help your pet.

Animals, just like humans, feed off of our energy.  Do not take your bad day out on your innocent bystander pet.  Having a pet is an honor and a privilege…realize that.

Until next time…have a good one!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~

Hi Everyone!  This week let’s talk about discipline and abuse.  More specifically, the difference between the two.

First and foremost I would like to say that I HATE animal abuse!  It hurts my heart.  I can literally feel my heart hurt when I see or hear of animal abuse.

Okay now let’s talk about discipline and abuse.  Discipline is a necessary part of every dog’s life.  Dog’s need to learn how to behave, and they need to know who is in control of them…YOU!  Dogs need that structure and discipline to help ease their minds.

When a human does not discipline their dog, the dog’s natural instinct is to then take over the role of alpha.  The dog starts to be always on alert for possible danger, and he is not able to enjoy being a dog who follows his human owner.  The dog will be so much happier when he knows you are in control and will protect him from possible danger.  Then and only then will he be able to relax.  DO NOT let your dog rule you and your house!

I know this is a controversial topic, but I advocate using the choke collar at least until you and your dog are trained well enough to not need it.  I prefer the cloth rope choke collar as opposed to the metal chain ones, but either will do.

So what you need to do is when you are walking your dog with the choke collar make sure you put your hand through the loop at the end of the leash and wrap some of the excess leash around your hand so that the leash is not dragging on the ground.  You want the leash to have some leeway so you’re not choking your dog the whole walk, and make sure your dog is walking either beside you or in back of you. NEVER in front!  Make sure to put the collar high up on your dog’s neck just like they do for show dogs with the end of the collar you are pulling on for corrections on top of his neck.

Be casual and confident when you’re walking because your dog can feel your energy and feeds off of it.  Just walk like you’re taking a relaxing stroll on the beach.

If your dog tries to walk in front of you, you and your dog will feel the leash/collar tighten a bit, and that’s when you do a quick correction by giving the leash one quick jerk upwards so the dog knows he’s doing something you don’t want.

If your dog does this again, you do the same thing.  Remember that dogs need consistency, so after so many corrections your dog will get what you are trying to do.  Do not drag your dogs, or keep the choke collar tightened around your dog’s neck.  That is animal abuse because you are cutting off his air circulation.

I know it can be frustrating to train both you and your dog, but never kick your dog, punch them, hit them with any objects, throw them, slap them, stab them, stick their noses/faces in feces/urine/anything really, etc.  Those are all forms of animal abuse in my opinion.

There is the claw that Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, does where he makes a claw with his hand to emulate a dog’s mouth, and he uses the claw to poke dogs on their side as a form of correction.  I also do that, and I do not consider it animal abuse.  It’s a quick correction just like the choke collar.  Your dog is acting out, so you bend down and poke him once in the side with the claw to get his attention.

According to Cesar Millan, when one dog is acting out, the alpha will discipline the dog by using his mouth and teeth to grab the dog by the neck.  This shows the dog who is in control, and that he needs to stop doing whatever he is doing or else.

There are other forms of discipline and abuse out there, but I just touched on a few major ones.  What do you think?  What’s the difference between discipline and abuse to you?

Until next time…have a good one!  Happy Halloweiner!  Aloha.

~*Tara, Momo, and MJ*~