What is the Givens Hall PAWS Program?
Paroling Animals With Skills (PAWS) is a dog training program located at Idaho Correctional Institution- Orofino (ICIO). Givens Hall is the minimum-security section of ICIO and home to the Givens Hall PAWS Program. Members of this program are screened and interviewed before being accepted into the program and must complete 40 hours of apprenticeship dog training. Givens Hall PAWS and BBBR have developed a partnership where we are training bully breeds for an (8) week training cycle. Each dog will be assigned to a primary and secondary trainer, this training team will provide at a minimum 140 hours of training. During this training the dogs will receive basic obedience and social skills that will lead to a drastic change in behavior. At the end of the (8) week training cycle the dogs will return to the BBBR facility where they will be available for adoption.
CURRENT PAWS DOGS
NOW ACCEPTING
PRE-ADOPTION APPLICATIONS
GET THEM IN EARLY TO MEET THE DOGS UPON RETURN!
Get your applications in EARLY!
This round of PAWS students depart 8/10
Return date estimate 10/12
You’ve asked us HOW you can help support our PAWS dogs and their trainers! Here is it!
Every 9 weeks BBBR sends a new round of dogs to PAWS! PAWS is the Orofino Prison training program, location ICIO, where each rescue dog is assigned a team of trainers for 8 weeks of training, companionship and CGC certification!
We have put together a PAWS Amazon Wish List of items that are needed for this awesome program. Whether it is training gear, health related or just plain fun items, BBBR, the rescue dogs, and their handlers appreciate your generosity and support!
All items ship directly to the PAWS program administrators located at ICIO.
"Boise Bully Breed Rescue is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The core of our efforts is to bring awareness, educating the public regarding bully breeds, promote responsible pet ownership, promote spay and neuter programs, advocate against breed specific legislation and the inhumane activity of dog fighting. Through all of our endeavors we hope to continue saving lives of shelter dogs who would otherwise be euthanized due to overcrowding, illness, medical needs or kennel stress. Paroling Animals With Skills (PAWS) is a dog training program located at the Idaho Correctional Institution- Orofino (ICIO). Givens Hall PAWS and BBBR have developed a partnership, training bully breeds for an (8) week training cycle. Please help support our BBBR dogs and their PAWS handlers by purchasing and donating toys, gear, food, and other essentials needed during their 8 weeks of training. We appreciate your support!"
TONKA IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
08/10/23: Tonka arrived at the Givens Hall PAWS Program in Orofino.
For all of Tonka's weekly progress reports please check back here or visit the PAWS Facebook page!
Weekly Summary: Week 3
This week has been both successful and revealing for Tonka. He has been excellent in all of his obedience commands however he has shown some signs of extreme separation anxiety. Tonka cries his little eyes out whenever I walk away from him or when another handler is handling him and he sees me. My team and I have been doing some training sessions to help Tonka become less anxious. Other than that Tonka is doing absolutely amazing! He already knows every command and is a very obedient dog. He is also very relaxed when he is in his element aka me being somewhere within 3 feet of him. Tonka loves to play tug and he really loves the jolly ball that is actually made for horses but in retrospect Tonka is a little stallion so it only makes sense. Tonka is just a really muscular teddy bear and he wants nothing more than to be snuggled up with his person. Tonka is hands down the most loyal dog I have ever seen. I believe he would jump in front of a bullet for his person. It’s absolutely impossible not to fall head over hills for this dog. When you see how much you can love Tonka you will then see how he loves you just the same. Which makes purposely be away from him so his anxiety doesn’t get worse is so much harder than I could have ever imagined. Tonka is a dog that has very specific needs. A single dog family would be the first need. Also I would suggest someone that has a lot of free time or a job that Tonka could always tag along at. Tonka is the type of dog that will go wherever you go and if you decide to sit in one spot for a prolonged amount of time he is more then willing to lay right beside you and catch a quick nap until you move.
Thanks for reading about Tonka this week and be sure to check back in every week to see his progress!
Journal Entry: 8-31-23
Tonka killed it today in his training circles. He has his moments in the later circles when he becomes a bit tired but he is putting in a good 12+ hours a day of training. Still working on his separation anxiety with his preferred handler but he is snapping out of it more quickly than when it first started happening.
FOR MORE INFO ON TONKA, CLICK HERE.
JUNIE IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
08/10/23: Junie arrived at the Givens Hall PAWS Program in Orofino.
Week Summary: Week Three
At this point in the training Junie has been introduced to all of the commands. Moving forward we are going to just sharpen the response time to the commands and make sure that she fully understands them. The first four weeks we highly reinforce everything and spend the next four weeks slowly fading out treats and space out the rewards. Now we are looking to get a sequence of commands before she gets the rewards. For example we will be asking her for a series of behaviors before she gets a reward. We increase the expectation and she gets highly rewarded for following through with it. Junie did a lead exchange on Friday, September 1st where she worked with another handler and she crushed it! She responded to all the commands that were issued by the circle caller and had great focus with the handler who had the lead. She is a great dog who will make a family very happy. Junie will thrive in a home with structure that will be able to meet her needs.
Journal Entry: 9-1-23
Today we did a primary lead exchange in the dog circle and Junie was a rock star! She responded to all the commands with the other handler and maintained really good focus throughout the entire circle. We are proud of how well she performed. It is very rewarding for our team to see all the hard work and time put in to come to fruition. We are going to continue to work on her commands and slowly fade out treats so the she can perform without them. Junie is a very sociable and lovable dog and we are confident she will find a good home.
FOR MORE INFO ON JUNIE, CLICK HERE.
CHOPPER IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
08/10/23: Chopper arrived at the Givens Hall PAWS Program in Orofino.
For all of Chopper's weekly progress reports please check back here or visit the PAWS Facebook page!
Weekly Summary- Week 3
This has been a very productive week for Chopper. His obedience is on point like always. He experienced his first primary lead exchange day. This is where he does a training circle with someone who’s never handled him before. He performed so well for them. When it was over they made a comment about how he knows every command and performs it without hesitation. We are having some minor issues with his inspections. He just doesn’t like getting his tail touched. We’re primarily working on this, along with all of his other obedience training. With time it will be no issue, we just need to keep working through it. All in all a great week for him!
Journal 8/30/23
We have been working on inspections with Chopper and he does well with it. The only thing he doesn’t seem excited about is inspecting his tail. It just takes some time to get him used to it. Eventually he will become comfortable with the tail inspection.
FOR MORE INFO ON CHOPPER, CLICK HERE.
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LUNA IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
08/10/23: Luna arrived at the Givens Hall PAWS Program in Orofino.
For all of Luna's weekly progress reports please check back here or visit the PAWS Facebook page!
Week 3 Summary
Luna has been progressing well in her obedience training. All the commands have been introduced, we are just in the process of continuing to reinforce the correct way of doing them, especially the inspection as she is a little wary of allowing us to inspect her. We think that because of the amount of stimulation she is receiving mentally, this helps her create a balance in her life which shows in her other behavioral problems. Luna needs lots of stimulation and boundary setting in order to be successful, and by continuing to challenge her in that way, we are seeing a lot of acceptable behavior. She is working in close proximity to other dogs and continuing to offer her focus to the handler.
Journal 8/28/23
Luna’s team has been working toward more acceptable behavior patterns, the way she handles other dogs, the way she handles play with toys, etc. Today we attempted to introduce her to another dog. She accepted another dog sniffing her, however she reacted to correct the other dog when he came back another time. We will continue working toward developing her social skills, this was just a small step in that process. With toys, we allow her to play with them, but remain in control of the toys establishing the toy to be ours; this shows her that the toy is ours and we are allowing her to play with it. She offers the toy back, showing she understands the only way she gets to play with it is through our permission.
FOR MORE INFO ON LUNA, CLICK HERE.