Celebrate love of dogs Sunday afternoon

On Sunday, Oct. 14, the East Hawaii Dog Psychology Center will celebrate its 100th free Sunday socialization and problem-solving class. For the past two years, Carl F. Oguss, the director of the center, has been hosting these pro bono sessions to help local dogs and their families to learn to improve their communication and motivation skills, and to make friends of both species.

Oguss’s work with local dogs and the court system is internationally recognized and a story about it made the front page of the Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2012. He has been working with the Arc of Hilo to study the possibility of training developmentally delayed and otherwise handicapped adults to work with dogs, and is currently working with Deputy Prosecutor Mitch Roth to improve the legal response to dog complaints and to develop a vocational training and rehabilitation program for island prisoners, training them to train cancer-detection dogs.

Groups as large as 40 have been enjoying group walks, al fresco lectures, and question-and-answer sessions, and many have reported that they were able to avoid the cost of formal dog training as a result of attending even a few of the free Sunday sessions hosted by Oguss and his center.

Free treats, leashes, and training equipment, as needed, are provided. Please bring a water dish for your dog(s).

“Come share in the fun and learning,” said Oguss. The sessions are in Liliuokalani Park, next to the Japanese tea house, every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.

“It’s very informal; come and go when you please,” said Oguss. “We sometimes take the dogs swimming, so dress appropriately, if you’d like to join that activity. Come help us celebrate our mutual love of dogs and desire to share the best quality of life with them that we can.”

For more information, please call Oguss at 333-8436 or email him at easthawaiidogpsychologycenter@yahoo.com.