Sometimes the work I do really turns out well. I’ve been training the deaf boxer dog Ginger for the last few weeks and I’m happy to say that I got a call from Austin Boxer Rescue today. It looks like she’s being adopted by a family that has committed to continued training for her! All of us are so happy that these folks found her.
Take care Ginger and enjoy your new Family!
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
I get to meet the most fantastic people and dogs being a trainer in Austin.
Jenn and Sara from Austin Boxer Rescue contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I had worked with deaf dogs before. I guess they had been reading the blog, about the other pup I worked with a couple of months ago with such great success. It seems they had spoken with several other trainers here that just didn’t have experience with these deaf dogs, and thats a shame.
So, the next several Sunday afternoons are donated to the folks at Austin Boxer Rescue and Ginger their latest hearing impaired addition.
Ginger started using my favorite tool for working with deaf dogs, a Dogtra collar with a vibration feature. We use the vibration feature of these collars to “call” the dog and to get it’s attention so that we can give it other commands such as Sit, Down, Come, Heel… It’s kind of a slow process in the beginning but by the second session with Ginger she was starting to sit when we “buzzed” her twice with the vibrating collar and started doing a down when we gave her three short buzzes with it. I honestly believe that if she keep us this pace of work she’ll be well trained in the basic obedience commands within the next month or so.
That means, if you are looking for a boxer that is well trained you should contact the Austin Boxer people and go take a look at Miss Ginger. She’s a great dog that needs a good home and it won’t matter one whit that she’s hearing impaired once we get her training finished.
All of Austin Boxer Rescue’s contact info is here:
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
Yesterday was just full of interesting activities for the old Austin Dog Trainer.
My first client of the day is moving to Japan so we worked on what was going to be necessary to get the dog moved and then what we needed to do once the pup was in quarantine in the country for three months. It seems that Japan has cancelled their “fast entry” program for dogs that they had and now every incoming pet must be quarantined for three months. Luckily the quarantine facilities there are supposed to be fantastic but still….it’s at least an hour away from her new home in Tokyo and that’s with no traffic!
Second dog of the day was a pup I visited for the good folks at Austin Cocker Rescue. This pup had recently gone deaf and the new owner needed some help because the cocker had begun barking at strangers on their walks. I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with this guy (he didn’t want to bark at anyone with me around) but we worked on a few basic behavior things that I noticed and hopefully we got that under control.
Third dog of the day was my most recent Rock Star client. Can’t tell their name (privacy you know) but I can tell you that this person is an amazingly good dog trainer, and I believe it’s because of their innate laid back attitude. Lots of fun training with this person and their dog is just a fantastically smart little pup.
There were a couple of other clients in there that just needed some basic obedience work and then my fun lesson of the day with a Senior VP of Dell and his wife. We had a great time working with their lab puppy. The weather at 7 last night was perfect for dog training and nothing could have been better than teaching this pup to heel off leash and to start doing recall, down, sits, and drops as the sun went down over the hills.
As I finished with my final client at 8:45 last night, I drove home thinking “I’m the luckiest guy in the world” I have wonderful clients that love their dogs, and I get to spend all day with these people and the pups. What could be better than that?
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
A few weeks ago I was working with a client’s cattle dog which had just TONS of energy. To the owner this was kind of a pain, but to a Dog Trainer a dog like this is FUN. I look at it as something different than the average dog I train each day.
In any case, this guy did great during his first session and I was astonished when I arrived for his second. He was waiting for me on his dog bed, a little excited to be sure, but doing his job the way her should and not jumping off the bed ever other second. As we started working outside he was attentive to his owners and was watching where they were and what they were doing, basically, he was doing what he should.
The lesson was a breeze. We worked with a long line on Bleu’s recall and by the end of the session he was coming back to them every time they called.
So, for all of you out there with a wound up bundle of energy dog, there is hope and with training you can even get that guy to come back every time you call.
I can’t wait to see Bleu’s progress at his next session in a month or so!
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
But this is certainly something I haven’t encountered before.
I was visiting with someone tonight and in the course of the conversation they told me they had a dog that could climb trees. Well, I thought it would run out and kind of bounce up and down next to the trunk or something but when Kelly let his dog Dolly out she ran straight for the tree and actually started CLIMBING. Dolly used her head and neck to brace herself between branches so that she could go higher. Amazing. She was at least 15 feet up in the tree before she slowed down!
Kelly said that when he’s out hiking with her she’s always looking for trees to climb and any of them that look possible she’s off and climbing.
Never ceases to amaze me what the little four legged critters can do.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
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