Friday, November 29, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Giving thanks to our dogs, for all that they do
CANINE
CORNER
RAIN JORDAN
& DAHLIA
B
efore I had a multidog
household, I used to send
gratitude cards to people
during the holiday season. Now I
look for ways to express gratitude
to my dogs.
Often, training sessions with
high value food rewards make
them very happy. But training is
as much for us as it is for them.
Here are a few ideas for
expressing gratitude to and for our
dogs.
Let them take you for walks.
The main joy dogs get from leash
walks is exploring the world via
sniffi ng, so if dogs aren’t allowed
to sniff, or are punished for sniff-
ing, they’re not getting much
from their walks. Tightening that
leash and pulling your dog away
from whatever she might be sniff-
ing during a walk is akin to your
friend or spouse grabbing your
arm and pulling you away from
reading your most important
emails, Facebook updates, or Ins-
tagram posts.
Some dogs do not enjoy walks
at all, whether due to fears, pain,
or other health reasons. They
shouldn’t have to go on walks
if walks are aversive to them.
Instead, set up seek & sniff oppor-
tunities in your home or yard. You
can hide aromatic foods in grass,
shrubs, and leaves. Making sure
fi rst that the fl ora in your yard
isn’t dog-toxic, stick dabs of xyli-
Expertcanine.com
tol-free, sugar-free peanut butter,
cream cheese, or unseasoned pates
on leaves, rocks, and elsewhere.
You might have to guide them
to the hidden foods at fi rst, then
eventually add a “fi nd” or “seek”
cue to let them know the game is
on. On the other hand, because
dogs’ olfactory systems are expo-
nentially more powerful and sen-
sitive than ours, it’s important to
protect them from certain other
scents. Cleansers, detergents,
paints, hairspray and other aerosol
products, perfumes, lotions, and
essential oils are just a few of the
many items that overwhelm and
attack your dog’s sense of smell.
Play with them. Or arrange
safe play dates with their favor-
ite doggy pals, checking regu-
larly to ensure all playmates are
consenting to the interactions.
If your dog’s play skills are iffy,
you can teach him to self-in-
hibit via a series of rewarded call-
aways from and returns to play
before arousal escalates. If your
dog doesn’t like other dogs, don’t
insist on dog-dog play but instead
provide a securely fenced area
where he can run and play safely
with you.
Some people whose dogs have
rock-solid recall — and are not
bite risks nor surrounded by bite
risks — give their dogs off leash
exercise opportunities. Running
on the beach or other protected
areas without the danger of vehi-
cles or wild animals can be highly
enriching. If your dog doesn’t
have a super-reliable recall, how-
ever, it’s crucial to achieve that
fi rst. Reliable recall is best trained
and maintained with aromatic,
high value human food rewards
for coming when called. There
are very specifi c rules to training
recall and to ensuring it is main-
tained permanently. A well-qual-
ifi ed, humane, certifi ed trainer or
behavior consultant can teach you
the intricacies.
Spend time with them; both
quantity and quality count. We
humans might fi gure that our dogs
being home without us for 8 hours
a day is no big deal. But our dogs
live in captivity—however car-
ing this captivity may be, they
nevertheless cannot seek human
companionship elsewhere when
we leave. A huge portion of their
short lives is spent waiting for us
to come home. Because dogs are
social animals, too much alone
time can be detrimental. So can
negatively charged human time
such as when we are angry, frus-
trated, scared, unhappy, or pre-
occupied. After all, dogs are very
sensitive to human emotions,
facial expressions, and stress.
They can even smell a rise in
stress hormones in our blood. Got
no reason to be happy? Your dog
is one great reason.
Last but perhaps foremost, pro-
tect your dog from the distress
and heartbreak of being suddenly
alone — that is, without you —
permanently. If you fi nd heart-
breaking the stories and photos of
dogs taken to shelters by the only
family they know, imagine how
those dogs must feel. There are
many ways to avoid this. Sugges-
tions can be found in my previous
articles.
Devotion to our dogs equal to
or greater than their reliance on us,
wrapped in various packages like
those outlined above, may indeed
be the greatest gift. So when they
come to your side at the holiday
dinner table, longing for some of
that novel, aromatic fare? Whether
you assent to their pleadings or
not, remember to respond in ways
that show them your gratitude.
Rain Jordan, CBCC-KA, KPA
CTP, is a certifi ed canine behavior
and training professional. Visit her
at www.expertcanine.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Homestead exemption
makes sense
As a Seaside resident and a
senior, I am always very con-
cerned with the home taxes
going up year after year. I lived
in Nevada for 35 years where
they have a homestead exemp-
tion — which protects the home
equity and lowers house taxes for
seniors. Washington state has a
similar homestead exemption.
But Oregon? No home-
stead exemption or protection
for equity, no lowering of house
taxes for seniors, and only a
deferment of taxes if you can’t
afford to pay them — which
has a 6% interest lien placed on
your property. As we have now
voted for a $99 million dollar
school bond to move all schools
to the mountain — to be distrib-
uted among 6,000 seaside resi-
dents (all of whom are not home-
owners) and we watch as taxes go
up and up on an annual basis. If
other towns are included in this
levy, I am not aware.
My question is this: When
the existing school properties
are sold, does the sale price go
towards credit in the school bond
levying? if not, where will it go?
Susan Romersa
Seaside
Thank you from
Laundry Love
The volunteers of Seaside
Laundry Love want to say a
heartfelt thank you to those in our
community that gave so gener-
ously to Laundry Love’s Annual
Clothing Giveaway.
If you would have walked into
Seaside Laundromat on Roos-
evelt last Saturday you would
have been met with a real feel-
ing of community! Because of
the generosity of our commu-
nity businesses such as Salon on
Broadway and Les Schwabb we
were able to give over 40 bags
of clothes to those who came to
Laundry Love. The clothes were
given by residents of Seaside in
abundance! Because of the qual-
ity and quantity of the clothes
helped those in need as well as 25
bags of personal hygiene items
that were donated. A special
thank you to the staff at SHS that
donated many of the items. Truly,
this community knows how to
give. We are very proud to be
here in this community!
Carl and Shirley Yates,
and the volunteers of
Seaside Laundry Love
Signs are a reminder
of compassion
The white signs posted around
Seaside are becons of hope and
encouragement in the challenging
moments of life.
They are both a timely
reminder and a genuine refl ec-
tion of the loving compassion that
Jesus Christ has for each one of
us; we do matter.
Marjory Snyder
Seaside
Feeding hungry
families
The holiday season is suddenly
upon us, which means it is time
to celebrate with our family and
friends by sharing delicious meals
together. However, for some in
our community it is a time of
worry, as they struggle to fi gure
out where their next meal is com-
ing from. At the South County
Community Food Bank we recog-
nize just how diffi cult this time of
year is for many of our neighbors.
Every month, over 30 volun-
teers spend a total of 350+ hours
working to provide a fi ve-day
supply of nutritious food to each
family who walks through the
door. It’s not always easy work,
but every volunteer goes home
at night assured that the fami-
lies they served with have a num-
ber of warm meals to look for-
ward to.
The need for our services are
always present and continue to
grow each year. For more than
35 years, the South County Com-
munity Food Bank has served
the hungry here in south Clat-
sop County and we could not do
it without your support. We can
use your help again this holiday
season. Donations of food and
money are always welcome by
visiting us at 2041 N. Roosevelt
Dr. in Seaside. Checks can be
mailed to PO Box 602, Seaside,
OR 97138. If you have any ques-
tions, please feel free to call us at
503-738-9800.
Thank you for your support
this year!
Darren Gooch
Board President
South County
Community Food Bank
Windermere launches ‘Share the Warmth’ blanket drive
Seaside Signal
Real
estate
brokers
throughout Oregon and
Southwest Washington are
gearing up for Windermere
Real Estate’s annual Share
the Warmth campaign. Now
through Dec. 18, Windermere
brokers in Gearhart will be
collecting warm clothing and
other items to benefi t multi-
ple organizations, including
the Astoria Rescue Mission’s
House of Hope, Warrenton
Warming Center, plus local
schools and churches. The
nonprofi ts are specifi cally
asking for coats, blankets,
sweaters, sweatshirts, hats,
and gloves in all sizes.
Those who want to help
can stop by participating
Windermere offi ces to drop
off donations. The Winder-
mere offi ce in Gearhart is
located at 588 Pacifi c Way.
Cheri’s is closed
“Winter Cardinal,” Watercolor, by Mary Ann Gantenbein.
“Winter Solstice,” oil and cold wax, by Kitty Paino.
Trail’s End ‘Winter
Solstice’ celebration
Seaside Signal
R.J. Marx
Cheri’s Cafe & Cannon Beach Cookie is closed after decades of hosting Cannon Beach residents and visitors. With all
overseen by Cheri Lerma, Cheri’s was the quintessential Cannon Beach hangout — where locals held sway, but well-
behaved visitors were always welcome. You checked your ego at the door and settled in for the news of the day.
Trail’s End Art Associa-
tion presents “Winter Sol-
stice,” a celebration of the
season.
The exhibit is on dis-
play from Dec. 7-Dec. 30.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the
association serves refresh-
ments during the Gearhart
ArtWalk from 2 to 5 p.m.
Trail’s End is located at
656 A Street in Gearhart,
Oregon. Winter hours are
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednes-
days through Sundays.