The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should move toward permitting private contractors to train explosive-sniffing dogs and make them available for use at government certified cargo screening facilities, the Airforwarders Association (AfA) urged a congressional panel in testimony today.

Appearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, AfA board member Chris Connell urged TSA to finalize its efforts to develop a program for private companies to use their own canines, certified to TSA standards, to meet federal air cargo screening mandates. Currently, TSA permits only the use of the agencys own dogs in cargo screening, and only at on-airport facilities.

Click here to download the AfA’s written testimony.

Connell, who is President of Commodity Forwarders, Inc., a Los Angeles-based freight forwarding company specializing in perishable products, said enabling the use of private sector dogs will help broaden the security options for freight forwarders who operate off-airport Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSF), which are supervised by TSA.

We are not saying that privatized canines are a magic bullet when it comes to screening cargo, but they are a potentially valuable part of this multilayer approach another important tool in the toolbox, if you will that includes a range of other technology solutions that our members can use to meet their screening requirements, he said.

Connell told the subcommittee that the AfA had just recently surveyed its members and found that fully three-quarters of the respondents about half of whom operate CCSFs said they would strongly consider using dogs provided by private companies if they were given the option to do that.

While emphasizing that the threat to the aviation industry remains high and association members are determined to do their part to ensure safety, Connell noted that time is money in our business. And right now our company believes that we could save over a million dollars a year at our LAX facility if we had access to a third party solution deploying canines. And of course our customers would highly appreciate the time savings that this solution would help us achieve.

Accordingly, we are highly interested in any solution that can help us expedite the screening process, move our perishables more quickly through the supply chain, and still provide the utmost in safety and security of what we ship. We think dogs can really help us do that, he said.

Connell also noted that use of specially trained dogs is one of several methods for screening air freight that are identified in the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act that was passed by Congress in 2007. And he said that, given the track record of using canines in cargo screening, proceeding with a private sector option with solutions fully regulated, certified and monitored by government agencies would square with other screening approaches such as in-house x-ray and ETD, where the government relies on private sector solutions that are tested and certified.

About the Airforwarders Association

The Airforwarders Association (AfA) represents more than 360 member companies dedicated to moving cargo throughout the supply chain. The association’s members range from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to large companies employing more than 1,000 people and business models varying from domestic to worldwide freight forwarding operations. In short, they are the travel agents for freight shipments, moving cargo in the timeliest and most cost efficient manner whether it is carried on aircraft, truck, rail or ship. For more information, visit the association’s website at http://www.airforwarders.org.

Before you finally decide to train your dog with a Prong collar, you have to do a careful research to determine whether or not it is proper to use to your dog.

A Prong collar is made of interlocking metal links. Each of these links has two prongs that stick out inwards. So when the collar is placed over your dog’s head, the prongs sit against its neck. Prong collar training works like this: When the dog performs a bad behavior, the trainer tugs on the leash, as a result the prong collar tightens and pinches the dog’s flesh.

The use of such collar for training is in fact a controversial subject in many animal welfare organizations’ debates. However, prong collar was basically designed only for dogs who failed to respond to other training methods.

Many dog owners are mistaken in the use and fitting of Prong collars. It is very important in such collar training that the owner perfectly understands how to use the collar.

– This kind of collars should never be left on your dog all the time. Such training tool must be put on and taken off before and after training sessions.
– A comfortable fit is required. Try to remove some links so that the collar fits snugly.
– Positioning of the collar is important. Place it right behind the ears and up under the jaw and NOT down at the shoulders of your dog.
– Attach the leash to the dead-ring for normal to average training. This will allow the collar to remain the same size during training while providing less force.
– Allow your dog to become comfortable with the collar. Place it about 20 minutes before training and remove it about 20 minutes after the training as well.

If you are considering purchasing this training tool, take extra effort to learn its correct use. Also, prong collars are not supposed to be permanent collars. Never use this type of collar all the time as your dog might develop a tolerance and you’ll effectively eliminate any training value of the collar. On regular days, just use an ordinary collar. Do not leave the collar on your dog when you are not training.

During the third week in May, Doggone Safe Inc., Pet At Home Sitting Services, Inc., Pet At Home, and other organizations will be calling attention to one of the nations most commonly reported public health problems: dog bites. Half of all children will be bitten by a dog by age 12 and the majority of these bites are by the family dog or other dog known to the child.

Deedra Thompson of Pet At Home Sitting Services will be presenting the Doggone Safe Be a Tree childrens program on Tuesday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. at All Paws Animal Clinic, located at 1011 North State Rd 7, Royal Palm Beach in the Regal Cinema Plaza. Bring your child and learn to be a doggie detective. The class is catered to school age children and there is no charge for the class, but registration is required. Please call All Paws today at 561-790-9225 to reserve a space for your child. One parent is requested to accompany the child.

Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention through education offers free information at its website http://www.doggonesafe.com to help promote safety messages during dog bite prevention week. Doggone Safe also promotes the Doggone Safe Be a Tree childrens program. This program is a short presentation with large photos and lots of activities to teach children to understand the signs dogs send with their body language. The central message of this program is Be a Tree. That is, stand still if a strange dog approaches or any dog is threatening or overly frisky. Children learn to be doggie detectives, looking for the clues that dogs give with body language to show how they are feeling.

Doggone Safe and Pet At Home offer the following tips for parents and dog owners to help keep kids safe:

The 3 Most Important Things to Teach Your Kids 1.Dogs Dont Like Hugs and Kisses Teach your kids not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face. Instead, teach kids to scratch the dog on the chest or the side of the neck. 2.Be a Tree if a Strange Dog Approaches Teach kids to stand still, like a tree. Trees are boring and the dog will eventually go away. This works for strange dogs and anytime the family dog gets too frisky or becomes aggressive. 3.Never Tease a Dog and never disturb a dog thats sleeping, eating or protecting something.

The 2 Most Important Things Parents Can Do 1.Supervise Dont assume your dog is good with kids. If a toddler must interact with your dog, you should have your hands on the dog too. Even if your dog is great with kids and has never bitten why take a chance? 2.Train the dog Take your dog to obedience classes where positive-reinforcement is used. Never pin, shake, choke, hold the dog down or roll the dog over to teach it a lesson. Dogs treated this way are likely to turn their aggression on weaker family members. Involve older children in training the family dog while supervising. Dont allow children to punish the dog. Condition the dog to enjoy the presence and actions of children using positive experiences.

The 3 Most Important Things Dog Owners can do 1.Spay or Neuter Your Dog Neutered pets are calmer, healthier and less likely to be aggressive. Neutering prevents unwanted dogs that may end up in shelters or in less than ideal conditions where they may grow up to be poorly socialized or aggressive. 2.Condition Your Dog for the World Give your puppy lots of new positive experiences. Train using positive methods i.e. clicker training. 3.Supervise Your Dog Supervise your dog at all times around children. Do not allow children to hug and kiss the dog. If visiting children are bothering your dog, put the dog away or send the children home.

About Pet At Home Sitting Services:

Pet At Home began serving pets in the community in January 2004 and is a family owned professional pet sitting service, insured, bonded, licensed and certified in Pet CPR and First Aid by the America Red Cross. Pet At Home is a proud member of NAPPS, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and PSI, Pet Sitters International. They offer professional pet sitting service to pet owners who want their pets treated like members of their family. Beginning a pet sitting service was second nature for the owner and President Deedra Thompson coming from a family that owned and operated a small zoo in Austin, Texas. Pets are my passion, and I take the responsibility of caring for them and the security of my clients home very seriously commented Deedra Thompson. I chose to teach the “Be A Tree” program to protect children from being hurt and to protect our canine friends from being in situations that would cause them to bite. To learn more about Pet At Home Sitting Services, Inc. or to schedule the “Be A Tree” program for a school age group or organization in the West Palm Beach area please call 561-686-2900 or visit its website at http://www.petathome.com.

About All Paws Animal Clinic:

All Paws Animal Clinic opened for business in July 2002 and is owned and managed by Dr. Patricia Forsythe, Medical Director. All Paws has rapidly grown into a well-established and respected veterinary hospital. The clinic has been chosen Best of the West for veterinarian in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 by the readers of the Wellington Forum. We are dedicated to our mission statement Quality Care with Compassion for your Best Friend. Visit us at allpawsanimal.com!

About Doggone Safe Inc.:

The not-for-profit Doggone Safe organizations mandate was based on jurors recommendations following an inquest into the mauling death of 8 year old Courtney Trempe in Ontario, Canada. Along with their many educational programs, Doggone Safe also provides victim support and administers the Courtney Trempe Memorial fund, in honor of her memory, to help provide trauma counseling (not provided by insurance) for child dog bite victims and their families. Visit http://www.doggonesafe.com

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Training your dog means that you are teaching your dog the basic rules and things that should be expected by you. These can include the common rules such as not peeing in the house, walking closely on the lead, and listening to commands when they are spoken. This is something that virtually all owned dogs deal with, and you will be hard pressed today to find an owned dog that has not had some form of training. These common guidelines are what make the dog special in the field of family pets, in that they rely on us for so much yet are intelligent enough to understand what we want from them.

Works Both Ways

When it comes to training your dog, this is something that basically works both ways. You will relay to the dog what it is you expect of them, and this will give you the chance to understand what your dog understands. This is a bond, and with dedication and work, you could find that this relationship will be one of your fondest. Dogs are amazing animals and they show just how smart they are each and every day. Using the power of their intelligence, you should be able to show them that they can follow your rules and be productive as a family pet. You will enjoy your dog far more, if you take the time to ensure that it is trained. There will be far less conflicts between dog and owner, and you will be enjoying them more than reprimanding them.

For The Family

Training your dog is as much for the dog, as it is for the whole family. Dogs are an animal that mingles within a family setting quite well today, and if your dog is not behaving due to a lack of training it will bring the whole family to a standstill. No one wants to get rid of the family dog, but if the dog is simply not behaving there is often no other alternative. This is why training is so important, as it teaches the family dog exactly what is expected of them and how they should behave. Without training, the family dog could actually cause quite a few problems in the home and this would not be enjoyable for either the dog or the family. Take the time to train your dog, so you do not have to face such a decision in the future.

Gives Them Opportunities

Training your dog will give them opportunities that they would not otherwise have. They could actually go with you to places that without the training they simply could not. Some restaurants and cafes allow the presence of dogs, and if your dog is poorly behaved they will not be one of the lucky ones. Take the time to train your dog right, and you will be glad that you did. Training will help the dog in your home, as well as socially.

The Philadelphia Social Innovations Lab announced two new cohorts for its 2014 Social Innovations Lab, to develop creative solutions to serious issues in health and health care. The program is supported by an $ 84,880 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The announcement was made at the December 17 Winter Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal launch event at Public Health Management Corporation, Pennsylvanias Public Health Institute. Eleven social sector leaders from the broader Philadelphia region will participate in the Spring 2014 Social Innovations Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government. Eleven fellows will participate in the Fall program. The fellows were nominated by regional foundations, University of Pennsylvania faculty and seasoned social and venture capital entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2012, the Social Innovations Lab provides instruction, mentoring, support and expert guidance to social entrepreneurs in developing viable cross-sector models, blending social impact and financial sustainability in addressing the most pressing problems in health, education and more.

The following 11 fellows were selected to further develop their ideas in the Spring of 2014:

Jamie Ware: The Medical-Legal Partnership Sustainability Project will equip healthcare providers to connect across the continuum of care and address social determinants of health through learning networks, to ensure aligned training and best practices. Marian Marchese: New Lease on Life USA Project will create a specialized program to provide wounded warriors suffering from PTSD with service dogs trained by inmates. Linda Samost: Sunday Suppers is an innovative food access program to improve the health and well-being of low income families. Alex Peay: Rising Sons will support individuals 18 to 30 years old to become qualified for competitive jobs through social entrepreneurship. Kristen Gavin: Gearing Up will explore the development of a “Beyond the Bars” program to retain a working partnership post-incarceration with women who are engaged in its program while incarcerated. Ginger Zielinskie: Benefits Data Trust seeks to develop a new model to utilize healthcare and social service data to increase access to public benefits and services, leading to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. John Smith: Philadelphia Engineering and Math Challenge seeks to come up with a new model to enhance the teaching and learning of problem solving and communication in our citys public schools through a series of school-based collaborative practice sessions and university-based competitive events focused on math and engineering. Charles Levesque: Immaculate Cleaning Services DePaul USA seeks to scale its year old, highly successful social enterprise both in Philadelphia and other cities in which it has programming. Maggie Eisen: Medical Legal Partnership innovation project seeks to adapt the Medical-Legal Partnership model of service delivery by connecting, aligning priorities, and unite a diverse group of community stakeholders to streamline the systems that low-income and traditionally underserved Philadelphians must navigate to meet their basic human needs and become healthier. Tinesha Banks: Public Health Worksite Wellness project through the Health Promotion Council will be developing a worksite wellness public health model by adapting its award winning patient navigation model for employees in the form of a Wellness Concierge service. Alex Epstein: Urban Creators will engage food businesses as investors in the transformation of vacant land in inner-city communities into flourishing urban farms and incubators of integrative service-learning, social innovation, and grass-roots community development.

The following 11 fellows were selected to further develop their ideas in the Fall of 2014:

Raymond John: 12+ led seeks to cultivate a college-going culture beyond 12th grade in lower income schools by building PLUS Centers within the walls of a school to serve as hubs of college, career and academic support services and staffing them with a cost-effective, qualified workforce to provide individualized guidance for every student. Sarah Rosenberg: Nursing Portal Project proposes to create two different online social/professional collaboration and networking forums for nurse practitioners (NPs) and registered nurses (RNs) to connect with their colleagues globally and have access to resources they utilize on a daily basis in their job which will improve patient outcomes and quality of care. Natalie Cramer: Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians seeks to develop and promote an online platform to sell healthy and local food products while the growth supporting each individual vendor through the newly formed Philadelphia Healthy Food Association. Jim MacMillan: Gun Crisis Reporting Project seeks to build a hub to help citizens understand the epidemic of homicide by gunfire in Philadelphia, to evaluate and illuminate effective interventions, and to create opportunities to participate in gun violence reduction. Ryan Kuck: Greensgrow Philadelphia Project by the Fresh Food Hub will further develop and expand a mobile farmer’s market and healthy corner store delivering fresh food items and community health resources to underserved neighborhoods. Maureen and Larry Platt: The Philadelphia Citizen non-partisan media organization seeks to provide deeply reported journalism emphasizing solutions that can move our region forward — summarized by the phrase — what happened, what it means, and what you can do about it. Barbara Doyne: 5 Start Women will further develop a program to improve the lives and secure the future for women veterans and their families, both while transitioning to civilian life and thereafter. Tatiana Garcia-Granados: Common Market proposes to further scale its mission to making the local bounty accessible to communities in the region, connecting public and private schools, hospitals, universities, grocery stores and workplaces to good food grown by the regions sustainable farmers. Neville Vakharia: Drexel University Community Arts plans to increase community arts and cultural engagement and participation in underserved neighborhoods through the development of hyperlocal communications tools. Dawn Holden: Transition to Success by Turning Points for Children will test and implement the evidenced based Transition To Success (TTS) model which approaches treating poverty as a disease.

About Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal PSIJ is the first regional publication in the U.S. dedicated to social innovators and innovations. The volunteer-leveraged Journal is published quarterly and is distributed free of charge. All content is available on the website at http://www.philasocialinnovations.org.

About the Philadelphia Social Innovations Lab The Lab nurtures social enterprise models from ideas to implementation. The Lab’s goal is to increase the chances that the strongest ideas of Social Innovators will take root, attract capital, and ultimately have a significant social impact regionally, nationally, and internationally. Selected participants from a competitive screening process and diverse sector cohorts of private, government, and nonprofit organizations will refine and test proposals, research and tap into external resources, and build the necessary infrastructure to get their idea or organization up and running.

About the University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government The Fels Institute of Government is the University of Pennsylvanias graduate program in public policy and public management. Its practical approach to public management education, its Ivy League pedigree and its relatively small size make it one of the nation’s leading boutique programs in public affairs. The Institute was founded in 1937 by Samuel Simeon Fels of the Fels Naptha Soap Company. Fels prepares its students for public leadership positions in city, state,

Train games are quickly proving to be some of the most intellectually challenging games that are out there. The reason why is because the human brain is challenged to solve a puzzle that defies simple analysis. In other words, these games require the player to construct highly elaborate train systems and to clearly think about the different engineering strategies that need to be used to make the most efficient and flexible system possible. While it is true that some of them emphasize fun and entertainment, the majority to force a person to do a little bit of critical thinking.

Many people oftentimes like spending some of their free time engaged in activities that they find enjoyable. By the same token, more and more people are placing an emphasis on games and entertainment that also provide some amount of intellectual stimulation and challenge. To that end, these games are emerging as some of the most popular types of games that enable a person to not only have a lot of fun, but also do a lot of thinking about how things should be organized. Believe it or not, it is significantly more challenging than you might otherwise think.

To the extent you have an opportunity to play some of these types of games that have become popular in recent years, you should definitely do so. Oftentimes, people make the assumption that train games are incredibly rudimentary and that they offer no real challenge or ability to have fun. The only way to overcome this type of thought pattern is to try a train game for yourself to see how you like it. Don’t worry, as much of an intellectual challenge as these genes can be, they still remain incredibly fun to play for people of virtually all ages. So should you check out some of the training games that are popular today? Without a doubt, it certainly makes sense to do so.

If you want to play Train Games for free, visit Online Train Games to play a huge collection of fun online games.