Free Online Training for Riverside County Adopters
OCT. 30, 2014 – A partnership between a High Desert man and Riverside County Animal Services kicks into full swing on today (Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014). A free online, dog-training platform called Strut My Mutt is the brainchild of Jason Rae, an Apple Valley resident who has been filming various dog-training videos for years. The Strut My Mutt series is his latest venture, and he teamed up with Riverside County to better help pet owners keep their animals.
"Every year millions of untrained dogs are brought to shelters and put down because they have a behavioral problem their owners can't solve," Rae said. "This simply doesn't have to happen. After working with thousands of dogs, I've learned that teaching owners how to train the dog themselves is the solution." Saving pets' lives is his motivation, Rae said. "These easy-to-use, fun, positive training methods produce amazing results and enriches both the dog's and the owner's lives," he said.
To celebrate the launch, all dog adoptions will be just $20 on Saturday, Nov. 1, at all county-run shelters.
Rae worked closely with a Riverside County Animal Services behavior expert, Jackie Schart, in producing and filming the video series at the county's main shelter, the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley. He performed all the video shoots and editing at no cost to Riverside County. The videos are featured at strutmymutt.com.
Animal Services Director Robert Miller said the video series is a valuable tool for pet owners. "Keeping pets with their owners is always a critical mission for our department," Miller said. "We feel the Strut My Mutt video series is going to be a huge hit for pet owners struggling with behavior issues."
Kim McWhorter, an Animal Services program manager who helped coordinate the video series with Mr. Rae, called the partnership a unique way to better help dog owners in need. "We're very excited about being the first animal shelter in the country to offer the Strut My Mutt training videos to all our current and new adopters," she said. The online videos give adopters all the information, skills and techniques they need to communicate effectively with their dog, train him properly using positive methods and solve behavioral problems he may have. A new adopter simply signs up for the online training on the strutmymutt.com website and has instant access to dozens of free videos which play on any mobile device. This enables them to train their dog anywhere ... at home, in the backyard or at the park."
Rae said that some dog owners may avoid training because of high costs. The free video series removes that barrier, he said. "Strutmymutt.com is part of the way people are learning to train their dogs throughout the world," Rae said. Strutmymutt.com strongly supports people adopting pets from shelters and rescue organizations, Rae said. "We've been blown away with how well the program has been received by everyone. Dog owners and adopters love the free training because they don't have to spend a ton of money to get their dog trained properly. Shelters and rescues love it because it increases adoptions, gives dogs and owners a happier life together and reduces the number of dogs returned to the shelter. Our mission is to save as many dogs as possible – and training is the answer."
