The Unleashed Foundation Helps Shelter Dogs Find Homes.

Marian Eccles and the Unleashed Foundation of Sheridan are committed to offering aid to the Sheridan Dog and Cat Shelter by bringing balanced training to rescued, surrendered, and stray dogs.

The Foundation started with a simple goal, train shelter dogs so they could make better pets in more balanced households so they wouldn’t come back to the shelter. Eccles said that the Foundation is about getting dogs adopted and staying adopted. “Some of what we do is training the people as well as the dogs. I teach people how to live with their dogs.”

She said that many behavior problems are caused by:

She added that there is a wide range of intelligence in dogs. “I have to do more coaching with the slower witted dogs and use more wit with the smart ones. Breeds vary in intelligence as well, and sometimes the super smart ones outsmart their people.”

The Border Collie is the ‘Einstein’ of the dog breeds, they excellent in obedience trials. Eccels said that one of the best combinations for a service dog is a German Shepard/Border Collie cross.

When asked if there is any breed that may come into the shelter more often than others, Eccles said that today there are a lot of German Shepards, German Shepard mixes, and pit bulls. She said that Pit Bulls are often difficult to re-home out of the shelter.

She mentioned that a lot of people want a companion dog but also want to feel safe having that dog, so they want to adopt a medium-sized or larger dog.

“I have been dabbling in training for 30 years, and I wanted to start a foundation and that is how I got involved with the shelter. The shelter saw the need for someone to make the dogs more adoptable. Dogs require a lot of maintenance. “

“I’ve been pretty busy lately with the academy. I mainly teach basic commands and behavior. I have trained support dogs as well. PTSD animals qualify as service dogs and emotional support dogs.”

Today, Eccles said they have found a deeper purpose, to train shelter dogs to bring comfort to veterans and humans suffering from depression and anxiety, bipolar depression, PTSD, and the strain that came of 2020, their inaugural year.

Eccles, who also owns Unleased Academy, which trains dogs and their owners to learn how to live together in harmony, said she offers individual and group lessons. She likes about 10 participants. “I like small groups,” she said.

She added that they get dogs who were never taught manners as puppies, and she has to un-train them. “We get all kinds of dogs at the shelter, I handle a lot of those. I get a lot of experience.”

She said when she first approaches a dog that she doesn’t know,

“When I put them on a leash and walk them through a building, I go through every doorway first. If they are in a domestic environment they are not allowed on the furniture. Here at my house, they are put in a pack. Right now we have 8 dogs, one is a shelter dog, and one we are taking care of for a friend. Six are mine, Dogs do better in a pack.

“If I were to give advice to the general public it would be to remember what a wonderful animal the canine is and to just let them be a dog. Dog society is different from human society.”

She added that when a dog comes into the shelter, they do an assessment of the dog if they are good with cats, or good with kids. If they show aggression we have the ‘bite club’. “In house, I work with the shy ones, ones who need special attention or special care.”

One dog, Charlie was from Arizona. Eccles said that he was considered aggressive, and they didn’t have room for him in their shelter. She said he is still very protective. “Since he’s been here, we’ve fallen in love with him.” She said he hasn’t been in the shelter at all, and that she is still working with him. The shelter sometimes gets animals from a kill shelter and the Sheridan shelter is a no-kill shelter, so they try to re-home them.

She had taken training from some other trainers. She said that she is a certified dog trainer and an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen program. She offers classes to help people pass that program. The program evolves around social manners for the human and dog partnership.

It is a five to six-week course, one hour a week. “I help people get to the point where they can pass that test. And they can turn their pets into the AKC and get an award, and buy a tag for the dog to prove they are a Good Citizen.” She added that the knowledge starts in class but the owner has to continue it.

She said she also helps people decide what type of dog will be a good match and helps people find that good match.

She added that there are many reasons that dogs come into the shelter. During the Covid, people were adopting animals because they were at home. She said that they were worried the people would bring the dogs back after Covid-19, but luckily that didn’t happen.

The biggest reason is that often people have to move and the new home is not pet friendly. “We also get a lot of dogs at our shelter when people pass away,” Eccles said. One thing she wanted to stress was that if a person is elderly, they should make sure that they have a place for their pet should they pass away or have to go into assisted living or a care facility.

The Unleased Foundation is a non-profit and they have a Facebook page that talks about what they do, and that donations are always appreciated.