Jack Brings Jane Home 4 the Holidays

Comment on this post, "Like" it on Facebook with the button above, and share it on Twitter! For each of these actions, Iams will donate 50 meals to animal shelters in need! You would never know that Jack Nazarian, one of the Iams Home 4 the Holidays Adoption Angels, only got his gorgeous Vizsla-mix, Jane, a little over a month ago. They already have a whole unspoken language, or at least, that's how it seemed while I was hanging out with them at the dog park today. I'm not saying I felt like a third wheel or anything (maybe a little) but Jane only has eyes for Jack. She watches his body language for cues to show off her adorable antics, including but not limited to: cute puppy-style sideways hops; even cuter puppy-style galloping; sitting before crossing the street; saying "hi" to neighbors (and nosy editors); and the amazing Jane finale--opening her crate by herself (Jack taught her to pull on a towel tied to the handle). While I do think part of their special bond is due to Jane, a rescue adopted from Bideawee in New York (read the story here), sensing something about her good luck, I have to give Jack a ton of credit for training her so well in these first few weeks. For instance: 1. Jane is a great walker. Jack is training her to want to stay close to his side with positive reinforcement. Today he had a pouch of treats on hand and used them to bring Jane back to him when she got distracted by the occasional errant pigeon (Note: She might love pigeons more than Jack). 2. Jane is a dog park superstar. Jack brought her to the dog park the first week they were together and started talking up the regulars. Even today, when Jane ran full-force to greet two doggie friends, Jack quickly introduced himself to their dad and said, "Let me know if she plays too rough." Then he turned to me and sagely said that now, if anything needed to be broken up, there'd be no human tension for the dogs to sense. 3. Jane is confident and happy. When they're at the park, Jack tries to stay within about 20 feet of Jane, so she knows he's there to get her out of a jam. And he did have to step in once or twice in the past (she was wresting and he noticed her tail was down between her legs, meaning she was not having fun) but now, she is the queen of dog park cool. 4. Jane is gracious. Yes, I said it, a gracious puppy. Jack's secret, he said, is distraction. He showed me what he meant while Jane was playing with a loud squeaky ball. If the squeaking is happening in their apartment, and it gets too be too much, Jack distracts her with a small treat and replaces the nearby ball with a quieter toy while she enjoys her morsel. It works like a charm. I'll be following along with Jack and Jane's progress during the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign. The goal of the program is to get 1.5 million pets adopted this year. So stay tuned. In the meantime, you can read Jack's blog. Comment on this post, "Like" it on Facebook with the button above, and share it on Twitter! For each of these actions, Iams will donate 50 meals to animal shelters in need!