Pawsitive Dog Prison Training Program is a cooperative effort between Airway Heights Corrections Center, the Spokane Humane Society, and Diamonds in the Ruff Training for Dogs and Their People. The program was founded in May of 2012; it’s located in Spokane, Washington.
In 22 sessions,151 dogs have graduated. Under the guidance of professional dog trainers Carol Byrnes, CPDT-KA, and Travis Byrnes, CPDT-KA, inmate handlers—using force-free positive training methods—train shelter dogs from the Spokane Humane Society to make them more adoptable.
Carol Byrnes has been with the program since its beginning. I asked her about the advantages of adopting a dog who’s been trained by inmates.
If there’s one bonus when adopting a dog who has had the opportunity to be in a program like this, it’s that you have way more information than you would ever have been able to guess from the outside of the kennel run at the shelter. Each prison-graduate dog goes to its new home with a journal written by its handlers. You get inside information about the dog’s personality, their likes and dislikes. You’ll know about their struggles, what they’ve overcome, where there might be bumps in the transition to your home, and what to look for. The journal is the one thing we receive notes of appreciation for, over and over, from adopters. Will the dogs be perfectly trained robots? No—but you’ll know how they’ve been taught, what they have learned, and what they still need to work on. Plus you’ll get a discount coupon for classes at Diamonds in the Ruff in case you want to go to school with your new dog so you can become trained, too.
Carol knows first-hand what it’s like to adopt a prison program trained dog:
One of the hazards of seeing the dogs every week and watching them grow and change is that you fall in love with them. I adopted Ellie, a Jack Russell/rat terrier from Session 3. Our biggest challenge when she came home was that she was so enthralled with squirrels that she climbed trees and scaled our already-tall fence to follow them. It took some effort and ingenuity to create an Ellie-proof fence line! It was well worth it. She is a wonderful dog.
Robin Kropff and her husband Doug adopted their dog from the program’s Session 20:
We love animals, but after losing the last one we decided we couldn’t go through that again. However, when I retired, the house got really big and quiet. Doug was still working, so it was just me. I was envious of the people I saw walking their dogs in the morning and thought how nice it would be to have a little fur baby again. Doug agreed.
I knew Carol because we graduated from high school together. I contacted her to get her thoughts and she suggested we look into the Prison Pups program. They were getting ready to choose the next class. We eagerly waited for the new pups’ pictures to be posted. As soon as they were, we knew Sam was the one—it was love at first sight!
We put in our application for him and impatiently waited to hear if we were lucky enough to get him. We looked forward to the weekly posting of the updates on the dogs.
On the day we found out he was ours, I had the grandkids. We were at Dick’s Hamburgers when we got the email. I’m sure the other people thought we were nuts when we started doing little happy dances. The grands had just lost their dog that past summer, so they were excited to know there would be a new member of the family.
The day finally came to go pick him up. He was a sweetheart from the first second I had him. He fussed a bit on the way home but as soon as we got in the door, he found the little toy box we had set up for him, chose a stuffed hedgehog, and starting tossing it and chasing it around (it remains his favorite toy to this day). My heart melted. He was home.
His training shows. He is very well behaved. We adore him and highly recommend this program. The inmate trainer wrote a wonderful and helpful letter to us about him, his personality and quirks. We are very lucky to have him. The house doesn’t feel so big and quiet anymore.
Jeff Roberts Minka (Session 22) has now been a part of our family for about three weeks. She is absolutely fantastic. The transition was made so much easier by the great training through this program. We are so appreciative of the handler’s work with her. The notes were thorough and gave us fantastic insight into Minka’s behaviors as well.
Lori Humphrey We think the notes are fantastic, too. I think they are the key to successful adoptions and so important. Our guy—Ranger, Session 20—was initially afraid of stairs and we would have never known unless we’d had the detailed notes.
Photo by Alyne Thompson — Jerry (Session 8)
This week, eight more dogs will enter the prison to start training in Session 23. Their information will be available soon on the program’s Facebook page, along with photos and updates on their progress.
Pawsitive Dog prison training program
https://www.facebook.com/PawsitiveDogPrisonProgram/
How do I adopt a prison pup?
All adoptions are done through the Spokane Humane Society. You can download the application and learn more about the process here:
https://spokanehumanesociety.org/blog/pawsitive-dog-prison-training
Carol Byrnes answered the program’s other two most-asked questions.
Can I send my dog to the program for training?
No, owned animals are not accepted for training through the program.The dogs are provided by the Spokane Humane Society with the goal of helping homeless dogs become more adoptable so they will be successful when they graduate and join their forever homes.
Do you train service dogs?
No. While there are programs that do, the dogs in our program are taught basic manners and skills to help overcome problem behavior and establish good manners and life skills to make them more adoptable.
Carol added that program support is always welcome! Here’s how you can help.
Send a care package to a Prison Pup!
Shop at home through our Amazon Wish List—your purchases will be delivered directly to the prison program.
Where can we donate to the prison training program?
Monetary donations may be made to the Spokane Humane Society, or you may drop off donations at the shelter at 6607 N. Havana near Francis/Bigelow Gulch. As always, our friends at Prairie Dog Pet Mercantile keep a list of our favorite small training treats and approved harnesses, toys, etc.—and they will help you shop! You can leave your donations at Prairie Dog and your donations will be delivered to the program. They are located at 5608 S. Regal just N of 57th or in Kendall Yards, in Spokane.
