waywardranchanimalsanctuary-blog

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Is it really all in how they are raised?

Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on pit bull type dogs. Either they are loved or hated; banned or paraded with pride. Those that advocate for them often use the phase “it’s all in how they are raised,” but how accurate is this really? 

In my personal opinion, as well-meaning as this phase is, it can actually be counter productive for pit bull advocates. What about the pit bulls who were raised inhumanely? What about the ones who were put on a chain as puppies and left there for years without human interaction? What about the ones that have been used for dog fighting? If their personalities are created based on how they are raised, then those that are raised unkindly could be assumed to be aggressive. However, many pit bulls rescued from fighting rings, or taken off the chain after years of neglect bounce back quickly and are found to even be dog, cat and kid friendly! 

The question is, what has a bigger impact on a dog’s personality: nature or nurture? Those that argue it is all in how they are raised are making an argument for nurture. Studies and experience shows that nature, or genetical behavior, actually plays a very large role as well. Dog fighters, as horrible as they are, have done one good thing for pit bull dogs over the course of history. They selected dogs for fighting that were tenacious enough to withstand the pit, but loyal enough to never turn on their human when being removed from the fight. These are the dogs who were allowed to live, reproduce and contribute to the next genetic line of pit bulls. This selection plays a large role in how reliable these dogs are with humans. The ones who may have turned on their handler during a fight were killed, and their genetics were not allowed to continue to the next generation. The genetics of “fighting line” pit bulls are still strong to this day and are a large reason why dogs rescued off of the chain or from fighting rings can be seen happily greeting their rescuers. They often are wonderful with humans even though they likely were never raised by a kind human.

Above: Photos of my dog Dani. She is small and feisty and most likely from a fighting line based on her appearance and personality, although she was never used for fighting. With a great deal of training and socialization work she is able to live happily with my pack of dogs, but her human sociability was never a concern because of her genetics. 

As pit bulls have become more popular, they are no longer simply bred for fighting, and their genetics have suffered as a result. They are bred as family pets, show dogs, and by backyard breeders looking to make easy money. New “sub-breeds” have developed based on appearance such as the American bully. Genetic lines (such as the ones in the photos below) based on extreme appearance are now worth thousands of dollars but are bred with zero regard for genetic health or behavior. The dogs who once were genetically solid with humans because of their breeding being predicated on behavior, are now being bred for appearance only and we are seeing a larger number of human-aggressive bully breeds showing up in shelters and sanctuaries across the country. 

Above: Dogs from three different kennels or lines that represent how poorly bully breeds are being bred with no regard for medical or behavioral development.

Many of these dogs are sold online through sites such as Craigslist or Facebook without any regard for their safety or well being. Selling dogs or puppies (or any animal) this way is dangerous for obvious reasons, such as dog fighters, backyard breeders or animal abusers finding them. However, not many people think about the risks associated with some average families buying these puppies as well. These puppies are sold anywhere from two weeks to three months old and if they are brought home and kept away from other animals and not properly socialized with humans outside of their immediate family, it can be a recipe for disaster as they grow older. They already are set up with poor behavioral genetics due to their breeding and with isolation as they mature, many of these dogs develop fear aggression towards people or other animals and become insecure dogs. If you look at your local animal shelter, I can almost guarantee they will have a population of adult pit bulls with behavioral concerns due to improper socialization and breeding. 

Above: A sample of posts on Craigslist I found TODAY while looking for photos for this blog post. This problem is very widespread and you can see from these photos that many are underage, several look thin or in bad shape, some are for large amounts of money due to appearance and breeding, and some are either free or for a very low price. The risk to all of these dogs is real and there are more posted daily.

You cannot fix genetics, but through thorough socialization and training you can set a poorly bred puppy up for success. These puppies are not without hope, because nurture does play a role in their development, and the earlier they are properly trained and socialized the better chance they have of being a well adjusted adult. This is the premise that led us to create our Bully Breed Early Intervention Program. The goal of this program is to seek out bully breed puppies that are being given away or sold recklessly through Craigslist and Facebook, bring them to our rescue and immediately begin socializing them. We utilize foster homes to help socialize our puppies with people and other animals. We also utilize the research that has been done on proper developmental stages of behavioral growth of puppies to give them what they need and when they need it the most. Our goal is to help these puppies grow up as well socialized as they possibly can, given their genetics. Our hope is that in continuing this program we can begin to lower the number of local pit bull type dogs that end up in shelters as a result of poor breeding and socialization, and increase the number of local pit bull ambassadors that represent how wonderful the breed can be in the right hands. 

Above: Photos of some of the puppies saved by our Bully Breed Early Intervention program.

The first puppy we rescued as part of this program we named Gaia. When we found Gaia she was being sold for a very low price on Craigslist in an area known for dog fighting. She was three months old, and we jumped at the chance to give her a chance at a better life. The moment we rescued her it became clear she was a genetic mess. She was fearful and had been isolated, living in a bathroom in a Brooklyn townhouse, taken from her mother and siblings at just two weeks old and separated from other animals and had only ever met one person. I don’t think the man who had her was unkind to her, but he definitely did her a disservice by isolating a puppy who already was genetically predisposed to have fear based issues. 

Above: Gaia’s original Craigslist post.

Above: Gaia the first night we rescued her.

From the time they are born until seven weeks old is when a puppy learns how to understand canine communication, body language, play and social interactions. This is why it is so important for puppies to remain with their mother through this time. During these weeks, Gaia had been isolated and alone, so she never properly learned how to understand the body language of other dogs. Between eight to ten weeks old a puppy goes through their initial fear period. This is when it is critically important to socialize a puppy with as many things as possible. It is critical that they learn the world around them during this time, however it is also very important for them to avoid fearful situations as these may stick with them for life. Gaia also completely missed this critical socialization window in her development, again completely isolated from the world and other animals and people.

Above: Gaia in her foster home.

By the time we met Gaia, she had been set up for failure. We knew that there was only so much we could do to socialize her but we were committed to giving her everything we could. We immediately put her into a foster home with other dogs and children. She was afraid but every day she learned to trust her foster family more and more. I was working as a dog walker at the time and would often bring her on pack walks with my client dogs. She learned a lot about understanding body language and social cues during this time and also learned about riding in a car and met many strangers on walks and at the dog park. Little by little our terrified Gaia began to find out how fun the world could be. 

Above: Gaia on one of our pack walks.

After a month of working with her we decided she was ready for adoption, but we wanted to make sure the family that adopted her was prepared to continue her socialization while also understanding her limitations based on her genetics and past experiences. We were thrilled to find the perfect family for her, complete with two active human parents who would take her with them on hikes and adventures and three dog siblings who would be wonderful role models for her. Gaia was actually the first dog we ever adopted out and we are thrilled to report that she is doing wonderfully. She is still a fearful dog and will always be a fearful dog. However, because of the socialization we, her foster family and her adoptive family gave her, she never developed into an aggressive dog. Her family works with her daily to make her more comfortable in the world around her but they also accept her as she is. She is true evidence that when considering nature vs. nurture, both play very important roles in the development of a dog’s personality. 

Above: Gaia soon after she was adopted with two of her brothers.

Above: Gaia all grown up in her forever home.

Written by:

Eleni Calomiris

Executive Director and one of the Founding Board Members of Wayward Ranch Animal Sanctuary

P.S. If you want to learn more about our Bully Breed Early Intervention Program, check out our website: https://www.waywardranch.org/bully-breed-early-intervention-prog

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The Three Little Pigs That Changed Everything

Wayward Ranch was founded to be a sanctuary for dogs with behavioral issues that would stop them from being candidates for adoption. However, we knew that when we founded the sanctuary in 2016 that it would be some time before we would have the property to fulfill this dream, and we decided to start rescuing dogs and cats, utilizing foster homes to house them until adoption. About eight months after we began, I was on Facebook and a post caught my eye from a NJ buy/sell/trade group. In the post there was a photo of three potbelly pigs that looked terrible. I had never handled pigs before, but I was pretty sure they were not supposed to look like these three did. I contacted the poster and discovered he was the new owner of a property where these pigs had been abandoned.

Above: The photo from their original post on Facebook, the black pig already had a new home.

I knew I wanted to save these three pigs, I’ve always been curious about pigs, but we still did not have a rescue facility, so I called a quick board meeting. Dogs, cats, and small animals were one thing, all of us had experience with caring for those species, but none of us had experience caring for potbelly pigs. Where would they live? What care would they need? We decided that we would put out a post on Facebook, and should an experienced foster home step up, we would save these boys. I was shocked when we were flooded with offers to help. One of the offers came from the farm where I was boarding my personal horse, and considering I had known them for five years and the owner was a vet tech, we decided they would be the perfect foster farm for these pigs. 

The next day Adam and I drove three hours to New Jersey. We met the new property owner and he explained that the three pigs he wanted us to take were very fearful and could even be aggressive if they felt cornered. Their paddock was very small, full of feces and very wet from recent rain, and all of a sudden Adam and I realized we had no idea how to catch these pigs. In our excitement to rescue them, we had not properly planned ahead, and all we had were the three large dog crates we had brought to transport the pigs in our car. It took over an hour, but between myself, Adam and the new properly owner we were able to chase, corner, and trap all three pigs in separate crates and then load them in the car. 

The whole car ride from the farm to our vet I was absolutely giddy. There were pigs in the car, actual pigs! I have loved farm animals all of my life and I was so excited we as a rescue were branching out to help pigs. At every stop light I would reach my hand behind my seat and offer it to the pigs to sniff and would squeal in response to every noise they made. I was sure we would be friends in no time since I knew how to bond to fearful dogs, and how much harder could pigs be? We arrived at the vet and that is when my excitement came to an abrupt halt and I recognized how naive I had been. When we were catching the pigs there was so much mud that it was hard to tell, but in the bright light of the exam room, it became clear how terrible the condition of these poor animals was. They barely had hair and the rest of their bodies were one giant scab. Every time they moved, this scab opened and they would bleed. Our vet told us they most likely had sarcoptic mange, which is contagious to other animals and to people. Each pig weighed in at 30 lbs, about 40-50 lbs underweight. I realized we were in over our heads, but we had committed to these animals, and it was my job to educate myself to make sure we gave them the best care possible. We had an uphill battle ahead of us, but more than ever I was so glad we had saved them. Who knows what would have happened to them had we not come for them? 

Above: A Photo taken of Shinzi when we first brought him to our vet.

We brought the boys to their new foster farm and set them up in an empty stall. This was the cleanest space they had seen in a long time, and they were grateful for the food and water. As I watched them eat, drink and then pile together and fall asleep, I joked that they looked more like hyenas than pigs, and Adam and I decided to name them Ed, Shinzi, and Bonzai after the three hyenas from The Lion King. I was (and still am!) completely head over heels in love with these boys, and wanted to give them the best. I made pig research my full time job those first few weeks and luckily I found some great resources online (such as minipiginfo.com) and was able to learn a huge amount of information about the care pigs require. The boys skin slowly healed, and their personalities began to shine through. We bonded very closely to all three and I took so much pride in having earned their trust. A year went by and we rescued three more pigs, this time females, and together they formed a happy little family! Adam and I were there every few days once we brought in the girls to help with feeding, cleaning and enriching their area at the foster farm, and we would spend hours with them each time. 

Above: The boys, one week after their initial rescue bonding with me over some fruit treats.

Above: Our three little pig-hyenas curled up together their first night after rescue.

Above: All six pigs in their stall one year after we rescued the first three.

This farm was beautiful and large enough to house many farm animals and horses, and we began to make plans to rent-to-buy it from the owners and finally have a rescue facility of our own. Six months before we were supposed to begin renting the property, due to personal health reasons, Adam and I were unable to come to visit the pigs for about six weeks. We stayed in touch with the farm owner and staff throughout that time and they assured us all was well with the animals and not to worry. Imagine our shock when we returned, opened the door to their stall, and discovered six emaciated and screaming pigs living in filth, the floor covered by at least three inches of feces all around. As long as I live I will never forget the screams they made, and how clear it was that they had not been fed, watered, or cleaned once in the six weeks we had been gone. The pigs ran to me as I began to cry, although some were too weak to even walk. Bonzai especially had lost so much weight he appeared nearly dead, and he weighed in at 25 lbs, having lost 50 lbs in the six weeks. I was so confused, how could anyone have done this to innocent animals? I was furious, what had they done with the money we sent for pig food? I was lost, how could I ever trust anyone with our animals again?

Above: Shinzi, three weeks after we discovered the foster farm’s abuse, still healing from the trauma.

The next few days were a blur, and I am so grateful to our vet who brought all of our pigs back to life after this incredible abuse and neglect. We brought the evidence of this abuse to the local authorities, but sadly after months of following up, I had to come to terms with the fact that nothing would be done to make these people answer for nearly killing our animals. Instead I had to focus on caring for them every day and finding a new place for them and our horses to live. The night after we first saw what the foster farm had done, I couldn’t sleep, kept awake by the guilt of realizing I had trusted the wrong people with our rescue’s beloved animals. I went online and began desperately searching for a farm we could afford, and one farm kept popping up in my searches. It was a beautiful, 60 acre horse farm that with some hard work fundraising, we could afford to rent, and that night I decided it is where our rescue would someday call home. 

Above: A photo from the real estate listing of our new property.

Here we are almost a full year after this horrible experience with the foster farm. We are thriving on our new property, and most importantly so are our pigs and other animals. We now have nine pigs, including Ed, Shinzi and Bonzai, and they have a large, beautiful and clean space here to enjoy. They have all of the food, water and love they could ever want. We have decided to keep Ed, Shinzi and Bonzai as permanent sanctuary residents so they can help us to socialize new pigs that come through our rescue, and to help us to educate our community the way they helped to educate us about the plight of pigs in our country right now. These three little pigs have taught me so much about how to care for farm animals, what I want our rescue to stand for, and who I am. They are the reason we found our new home, and they are a daily lesson for me in resilience, as they have come back from abuse and neglect not once, but twice. I look forward to many years of loving them, spoiling them, and watching them thrive. They will never want for anything again, and now will just be able to enjoy their lives. I am so thankful to have met these three little pigs who changed our rescue and changed my life.

Above: Recent photos of Ed, Shinzi and Bonzai, all are now healthy and happy.

Written by: Eleni Calomiris

Executive Director and one of the Founding Board Members of

Wayward Ranch Animal Sanctuary

P.S. If you want to see more updated photos of our piggies enjoying their life here at the sanctuary, check out our website: https://www.waywardranch.org/meet-our-permanent-resident-animals

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What do you do when the system fails?

There are a few things that keep rescuers up at night. At the top of my personal list of worries is the current status of our adopted animals. Are the adopters providing the necessary medical and behavior care? Have the animals adjusted well to their new home? Are they loved? Does the family ever think about returning the animal to us? Over the past 2 1/2 years of running Wayward Ranch and the years I worked for other shelters in the past, there are a handful of animals I worry about in their homes from time to time. Maybe the dog was difficult in the shelter environment, and I worry they may misbehave in their new home. Perhaps the adopters haven’t been in touch with us or given us many details about the animal since adoption, and I worry about whether they are hiding something. I could rattle off a list of 10 animals right now that cross my mind, but if you had asked me three weeks ago, Hercules never would have been on that list. 

Above: Hercules at four months old the day he was rescued

When I first saw Hercules two years ago, he was just a four month old puppy listed on Craigslist. His family had bought him from a friend that had a litter of Dogo Argentino/Pit Bull mix puppies. They brought him home at just three weeks old, way too young for him to be separated from his mom and litter mates. After hiding him in their apartment for three months, their landlord caught them and they were forced to give him away. Instead of allowing this under-socialized, un-neutered, and un-vaccinated bully breed puppy to end up with a potentially devastating fate, as we have seen many times for dogs given away online, we stepped in to rescue him. 

Hercules became part of our Early Intervention Program. The goal of this program is to find bully breed puppies that are between 1 week - 6 months old and in high-risk situations (posted online for free or for sale at a low price in areas known for dog fighting), and fully vet and socialize them prior to adoption. We want to create positive bully breed ambassadors who grow up living with other dogs, cats, and/or kids so they can show what wonderful dogs well-socialized bully breeds can be. Hercules was fully vetted, microchipped, neutered and vaccinated and then brought to his foster home where he lived with cats and a young child. He was also socialized with other dogs at the dog park. We were especially glad to have found him because he had spent some of the most important months of his social development hidden away in an apartment without any other animals or people other than his owners. He was anxious and timid at first, in a way that could have developed into fear aggression as he grew older, but as he met more animals and people his confidence grew and he became a very social and sweet dog, a true success story of our Early Intervention Program. 

One month after Hercules arrived, we received a stellar application for him. An upstate NY firefighter who owned a home with a big, fully fenced in yard. He had owned dogs in the past, had a great vet reference, and had multiple wonderful personal references. We did what we call a “virtual home visit” since he was five hours from us, and were able to see the inside and outside of his home. He had already budgeted financially for a new dog and had a plan for continuing the training and socialization we had begun. He assured us that his fellow firefighters all had dogs available for play dates and it was likely Hercules could even come to work with him on some days. After emailing back and forth and multiple phone conversations, we set up a day and time to meet the adopter halfway between his home and our rescue. He spent over an hour there with us, learning about Hercules’ needs and walking him with us. He was kind, gentle and well spoken and Hercules bonded to him instantly. The adoption became officially and we wished Herc well as he headed to his forever home…or so we thought. 

Above: A photo update of Hercules in his home, one year post adoption

Over the past two years, we have heard from the adopter multiple times. He assured us Herc was a great dog, doing wonderfully with his training and socialization. He sent us photos of Hercules playing, sleeping, cuddling, and getting a bath; all signs of a happy and well-adjusted dog. We try to check in with our adopters at one week, three months, six months, and one year post adoption. After the one year mark we simply check in yearly to make sure all is well and offer advice or help any way we can. Some adopters are harder to reach than others and when we don’t immediately get a response, I always tend to worry that something may be wrong. Of course, once we are able to connect with adopters, my concerns disappear when we hear how well the animals are doing in their new homes. 

You can imagine my shock when I received a call two weeks ago from an upstate NY dog control that they had a dog with them that was microchipped to our rescue. This dog had not only come in as a stray, he had been driven to a local park after dark, pushed out of the car, screamed at to get away and then abandoned as he watched the car he came in drive away. Luckily a good samaritan witnessed this occur, and immediately brought the dog to animal control or else he likely would have frozen to death in the snow. My heart stopped when the ACO informed me that the dog’s name was Hercules. 

I quickly scrambled to find the adoption application from two years ago and gave the officer the phone number, address and name of the adopter. He and I both believed the dog must have been stolen, but regardless I told the ACO our adoption contract gives us the right to terminate the adoption at any time, and I wanted to reclaim ownership of the dog. Even though I was sure the adopter could never have done this, I still did not want one of our animals living in an area where he had been stolen. About an hour later, I received another call from the animal control officer. Not only had he been able to contact the adopter, the adopter had confirmed he was actually the one to dump Hercules in the park, and he offered no explanation or defense of his actions. I could not believe what I was hearing. We ALWAYS stand by our animals and will take back any animal that adopters need to return; there was no reason for this adopter to dump Hercules and nearly kill him in the cold. 

Above: Hercules, looking for a forever home once again.

Hercules is now back with our rescue, and other than some skin irritation caused by a poor diet, he is in pretty good shape. The man who abandoned him is being investigated and we are cooperating with authorities, hopeful that he will be charged and punished for what he has done. Our goal now is to find a new home for Herc where he will actually be cared for as deserved. The first few days after this unfortunate incident occurred I spent hours agonizing over what we needed to change, to do better. If I had done an in-person home visit would I still have approved the adopter? Did I check in enough post adoption? Should we change our adoption process or policies? 

I have concluded that our system, policies and process work, and that this unfortunate situation is just a consequence of our need to trust people at their word to care for our animals. We can and do run background checks, perform reference and home checks, require multiple visits (depending on the animal) and more, but at the end of the day we simply have to trust that our adopters will love and provide for their adopted pet. That will always be a terrifying thought for me as I have seen so much abuse and neglect working in rescue, and it is difficult to trust strangers. However, we cannot keep them all and the ones we adopt out allow us to bring in new animals who need our help. Our system only works because of our adopters and their ability to provide homes to animals in need. The man who adopted Hercules clearly did love and care for him at one point, and it seems that some emergency life event or mental breakdown may be the cause of his choice to abandon Hercules. We can think of no other explanation why someone who do this to a great dog they had owned for over two years, but we will never know for sure. We have to focus on the fact that we have great relationships with our other adopters, and the other animals we have adopted out have safe lives where there are loved. There are a few animals that still need us to help provide training, boarding or advice, but their owners love them and are committed to them for life. Many of these adopters, seeing Hercules’ story on social media, reached out to us to assure us we should never be concerned about the animal they adopted, that they truly are their forever home, and for that we will always be grateful.

Written by: Eleni Calomiris

Executive Director and one of the Founding Board Members of 

Wayward Ranch Animal Sanctuary

P.S. If you have adopted from Wayward Ranch and want to share new photos of your alumni enjoying life, check out the new Alumni group on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2328537984100153/?ref=pages_groups_card&source_id=126222627840092

Below are some photos of our alumni we have recently received updates on:

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What do you see when you look at this photo? 

Let me tell you what I see. I see the true love of my life, my best friend. I met him when I was just 19 years old and he was a dog living at a rescue where I was volunteering. I was in the middle of a six week internship as an assistant in the shelter’s veterinary clinic, and I became hooked on fostering dogs. I had already fostered a puppy and two fearful southern transport dogs that had found homes before I was then introduced to him, then known as Buick. He had been adopted and returned, and I was told that the staff had a tough time connecting with him in the shelter. They thought maybe if I fostered him, I could learn more about him in a home environment and figure out why he had been returned or what he would need in an adoptive home. 

I loaded Buick in the car, confident that after my last three fosters I was well equipped for the mission of getting to know this gorgeous dog. Once we got home and I opened the trunk to let him out, he slipped out of his collar and took off running. I ran after him and when he stopped to relieve himself on a tree, I saw my opportunity to put his collar back on. When I reached towards him with the collar he growled at me and I realized immediately I was in way over my head.  He had taught me my first of many lessons: humility.

I had grown up with dogs, volunteered at other rescues, and fostered other dogs before, but I had never once had a dog growl at me. I had no idea how to handle it, and I probably should have brought him back to the shelter right then, but something told me not to. Several weeks went by, then months before Buick was adopted by a woman I met at the dog park. About a week later, a friend of mine called and told me the adopter was back at the dog park with Buick, and was trying to abandon him there. I intervened and decided it was a sign, he was meant to be my dog. I decided to adopt him and renamed him Buck, after the dog in The Call of the Wild he reminded me so much of. 

I brought him home and that night for the first time he bit me. I don’t remember what prompted the bite, but I remember I instinctually did what I had seen my parents do and what I had seen trainers on TV do when a dog misbehaved. I yelled at him, I pushed him on the ground and I made him lay on his side while I continued to yell. In doing this, I broke the pure bond he and I had and any trust he had in me. I was heartbroken and I felt as betrayed as he did. 

The longer I owned Buck, the more instances of seemingly unpredictable aggression he showed. He lunged and barked at the dog park when another owner corrected him for annoying their dog, so I stopped taking him to the dog park. He snapped at someone in my apartment complex who tried to greet him, so I stopped letting him near people. He had an incident with a dog on our walking trail so I stoped walking him there. He bit me when I tried to get him to move out of the driver’s seat of the car so we stopped going for car rides. He chased cars and then would bite me from the overstimulation, so I only took him out when it was dark, before sunset and after sundown when we could hide. Everything he loved to do and everything I loved doing with him was gone. He was so bored and I was so anxious that at least weekly there was an incident of him biting me for no apparent reason. I realized I needed help, this was no way for either of us to live. 

I tried several trainers over the next few months. One used treats only to train him, but he continued to show aggression. One taught me to “growl” at him while throwing chains at his feet and tossing water in his face every time he got aggressive. That technique led to the first time Buck actually really hurt me. He had growled at me over a toy, something the trainer had told me never to allow, and when I “growled” back he bit me in the arm and held on, really wanting to make his second lesson known: respect. So many dog trainers and dog owners are uneducated in how to handle a dog with aggression and they forget to respect the dog and treat them fairly throughout the training process. 

I decided it was time to find a real dog trainer, one that specialized in dogs like Buck, and luckily I found one. He came in and showed me that there is a way to train a dog using all parts of operant conditioning (positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment) while at all times respecting the dog and putting safety as the top priority. He introduced me to muzzles and gave me the one Buck is wearing in this photo, almost eight years later. When he first showed me the muzzle I refused to put it on him. He sat me down and explained to me why it was so important to use a muzzle with Buck. He recognized that I had become so afraid of him being aggressive with me or in public that I was insecure even holding his leash. That insecurity would only add to Buck’s and it was a recipe for disaster. With the muzzle, I would be able to slowly regain my confidence and trust in Buck and more importantly myself, with the risk of him hurting me or anyone else taken away. However, putting the muzzle on him alone would not be enough. He had to love his muzzle, had to behaved the same with it on as with it off, or it would simply shut Buck down, rather than give us an opportunity to train him. I decided to take the chance on this trainer and trust him, and I am so thankful that I did. 

With a true professional’s guidance and a year of training, I had Buck completely under control. Buck now has his life back, he has freedom he never would have had without the muzzle. He only wears it when we are in a situation where he may be triggered to aggression, but outside of trips to the vet each year, he has not had any incidents. He wears it when meeting new people, when running alongside my atv as I work on the farm, and when walking in crowded public spaces.  I am safe, he trusts me, and we have a beautiful relationship once again, one that is still strong to this day. Every day that he looks to me as his leader and friend he reteaches me another important lesson: forgiveness. How he was able to forgive me for my uneducated handling of his aggression in the beginning I will never know, but I am so grateful. 

Buck also taught me that my purpose in life is to work with dogs just like him that most trainers and shelters have no idea how to handle. I began apprenticing under the trainer who taught me how to properly handle my beautiful dog, and over the years he and Buck taught me all I needed to become the trainer I am today. I put the tools they taught me to work in multiple shelters and rescues before joining with my friend Courtney and my husband Adam to start our own, Wayward Ranch Animal Sanctuary, dedicated to dogs just like Buck who in other shelters or with other owners would likely have euthanasia as their only option. 

We have grown to help animals of many different species with different medical and behavioral problems and now are more than just a resource for aggressive dogs. I am so proud of everything we have accomplished, and we have so much more to do. By my side, continuing to guide and teach me as I go through the process of running this rescue, is my soul mate and best friend Buck. He is only able to still be there because of the training we went through together and the life and freedom I was able to give back to him because I was willing to open my heart to using a muzzle. 

Long story short….when I see this photo I see freedom and love. What do you see?

Photo taken and blog post written by:

Eleni Calomiris

Executive Director and one of the Founding Board Members of Wayward Ranch Animal Sanctuary

For more information on muzzles and why we use them: https://www.waywardranch.org/muzzle-education