Pet Perch: It is All in the Drills

By Terie Hansen

Sit/down/sit drills firm up your dog’s sit and down commands. When you tell your dog to sit or down that is what your pet should do, and he or she should hold that command until told to do otherwise.

Oftentimes when owners give their dog the sit command the dog sits for a little bit and then either pops up or lays down. Follow through and have your dog do what you told him or her to do, not what your pet feels like doing. Allowing your dog to ignore your command gives your pet the go ahead to not listen to you at other times.

Let’s say you tell your dog to come to you, but in the past you’ve allowed your dog to do what he or she feels like doing instead of listening to you; then in that moment that’s exactly what your pet will do. Follow through to get what you asked for.

Here are some reasons why dogs don’t listen to their owners: 1.They weren’t taught the command in the first place! ***Your dog does not speak English! You cannot ask your dog to do something that you have not taught them. 2.The command was not taught properly and/or long enough. ***It takes a lot of patterning over weeks of time. Thousands of consistent repetitions for your dog to grasp a concept fully. 3.They weren’t consistently made to follow through and do the command. *** You give the dog a command and for one of the above reasons he or she doesn’t do it, and you don’t follow through to make it happen. 4.You haven’t maintained what you taught your dog. ***Even if you taught it and your dog knew the command(s) very well at one point, if you don’t use it enough your dog will lose it. Use the commands that you have taught your dog daily. Work them into your daily routine. It’s simple at that point. Use them when you’re making your breakfast or grabbing your coffee, before you go in or out of doors, at feeding time, before getting in the car, while watching

TV, eating dinner, or inviting guests into your home.

These are all great times to insert a sit, down, or place command. Throw in some recalls while you’re walking your dog or playing in the yard. It’s all in the drills. Drills engage your dog and maintain a high level of performance, which makes your pet much more enjoyable to live with.

Terie Hansen is the Owner or Good Dog! Coaching & Pet Care More information at www.gooddogcoaching.com

Be a Bridge Builder Continued from page 16 Finding Wellness Continued from page 19

by flooding twice, in 1910 and again in 1961. The second flood tore the bridge from its moorings, and not long after, a span of concrete and steel replaced it. While still bridging the Oconee, Michael Thurmond frequently rode across the span in the back of his father’s truck. Thurmond’s father was a sharecropper, carrying crops to area farmers markets. Those journeys were often at night, and young Michael found the bridge then to be creaky and a bit scary and he was concerned that he and his father might end their journey at the bottom of the Oconee River.

The bridge was moved to the banks of the Oconee after that second flood and later sold to the Stone Mountain Memorial Association for $1.00 to be relocated as a historic feature within the park in 1965. Though the bridge originally cost less than $3,000 to construct, its relocation and reassembly cost $37,000. In addition to renaming and rededicating the historic bridge, a .8-mile trail encircling Indian Island has been officially named King’s Trail. W.W. King and his extended family became the first African-Americans officially honored within Stone Mountain Park.

“W.W. King, as well as his family and descendants, have been great bridgebuilders, literally and figuratively,” said Stone Mountain Memorial Association Chair, the Reverend Abraham Mosley, also for nearing five decades the pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Athens, and no slouch of a bridgebuilder himself.

In these divided times, we could certainly use a few more people like the Kings, the Reverend Mosley, and Mr. Thurmond. Be a Bridge Builder.

More information at www.CSICrane.com their iridology assessment and cold laser treatment provide critical insights and care for those in need without resorting to measures like surgery or powerful medication. They even provide basic wellness checks to aid you in staying on top of your personal health. These holistic approaches also give patients the chance to learn more about how their body moves and works, which can be used to facilitate better healthy practices moving forward.

If you want to set up a time to speak with one of the amazing providers like Dr. Powell, the process is easy. Just give the office a call at 770-979-5125, or go online to fill out a request for an appointment. Whatever ails you, the odds are pretty good that Dr. Powell and the rest of the team can help.

Dr. Chris’ Natural Remedies is also helping people from outside the office through their community outreach. They have been proud supporters of South Gwinnett High School, Snellville Days, Grayson Days, and Snellville Tourism and Trade and are also excited to be expanding their reach to serve the community through Mission Life Georgia, a non-profit created by the office team. It comes as no surprise that the practice was named the Business of the Year by the Greater Eastside Chamber of Commerce in 2021.

“We treat each person as an individual and take the time to listen to your needs,” said Dr. Powell. “Our approach allows patients to ask better questions to the right people and make choices that move them forward in living the healthy life that we all aspire to lead.”

More information at drchrisnaturalremedies.com or 770-979-5125

Jeff White Continued from page 18

Zoomer Zone Continued from page 18 applications have been useful for me and maybe they could help you in the future, too.

Emma Dison Brantley is a third-year student at the University of Cincinnati, where she is pursuing a degree in information technology on the game development and simulation track. from the University of Georgia in School Leadership and his Gifted Endorsement. White was born and raised in Atlanta and lives in Flowery Branch, Georgia. He and his wife enjoy camping, traveling, and spending time with their four children and six grandchildren.

As the 2022 Rick Perkins award winner, Jeffrey White received a crystal award and a check for $2,500.

More information at www.GwinnettTech.edu

One Man’s Opinion Continued from page 15 of lawsuits through multiple non-profits she founded and led for several years, including Fair Fight Action and Vote America. Both entities recently lost their days in court to the Georgia secretary of state. Each piece of litigation challenged a variety of aspects of Georgia election law, ranging from how voter registration lists are updated and maintained (as required by state and federal law), to how precinct boundaries are drawn and which precincts remain open or closed (decisions made by local county boards of election), to the exact match requirements of signatures and voter identification for ballot integrity.

It took years for these suits to wind their way through federal courts, and on September 30, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Steven Jones ruled that Georgia election law does not violate Georgia voters’ Constitutional Rights. Judge Jones, an Obama Administration appointee, wrote in his 288-page decision, “Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Voting Rights Act.”

Judge Jones added that the actual “…burden on voters is relatively low,” and that Fair Fight Action did not provide “direct evidence of a voter who was unable to vote, experienced longer wait times, or was confused about voter registration status.”

Translating and cutting through a bit of that legalese, the judge is pointing out that after dozens of witnesses and reams of testimony of anecdotal harm and injury to our democracy and voting rights, the plaintiffs could not present one single person who was unable to vote.

President Trump and his supporters went roughly 0-60+ in their court losses to this point across the country, but Fair Fight Action and its peers just received similar smackdowns in their litigation against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia election law. Our democracy is not at risk. We set voter turnout records again this year in Georgia during the general primary and runoff elections for midterm election cycles. New voter registration had again been surging in time for the recent General Election.

Donald Trump and his Stop the Steal sycophants still cause many to question the security of our election systems and the integrity of election results. That is both harmful and wrong. Ms. Abrams’ litigation may have had better intentions, but she now knows in the eyes of the courts, her arguments have also been flawed, light on fact versus allegation, and they also undermine voter confidence in the integrity of voting and our elections.

And two wrongs certainly don’t strengthen voting rights either. Congratulations to Secretary of State Raffensperger and the people of Georgia. Our republic and democracy remain safe and secure.

Bill Crane owns the full-service communications firm CSI Crane. More information at www.CSICrane.com

Ukraine Refugees Welcomed Continued from page 17

with the help provided.

“The biggest challenge will be housing,” says Denise. “All housing has jumped in price along with inflation, and it is difficult.”

Keeping newly arrived refugees in close proximity with one another increases their ability to become a part of their new home because, like all people, they have support from people who share their experience.

More information at https://www.segwinnettcoop.org or www. Peaceofthread.com/donate (select Ukraine Refugees).

At BenchMark, your journey is our journey, and we’re committed to getting you back to your best.

That’s why our licensed physical therapists use manual therapy, a hands-on technique that’s proven to get better outcomes so you can start moving and feeling better faster.

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