SDT: Sam, can you start by telling us a bit about Teddy when you first brought him home?
Sam: I got Teddy when he was three, and at that time, he was pretty quiet and reserved. He was also about 30 pounds overweight, which made him slow and tired, not really like the energetic Aussie you’d expect. My initial focus was really just on helping him lose weight and bonding with him.
SDT: As Teddy lost weight, did you notice a shift in his personality?
Sam: As he lost weight, he became much more active and excited, really starting to act like a true Aussie. I was thrilled to see these changes in him, but I also realized I was kind of out of my depth with training. I could teach him the basics, but he was learning so quickly that I didn’t know how to keep up. His herding instincts started coming out more, and I knew I needed help guiding him to express that energy properly – almost like you would with a puppy, but he was three! For example, as he got more energy, he started chasing fast-moving things like bicyclists, skateboarders, and bunnies. He's always been a good dog, very sweet, and he wants to do everything with me, but he would just get really amped up and didn’t quite know how to manage his new energy.
SDT: It sounds like you quickly realized communication was key. How would you describe the "behavior challenges" you faced with Teddy?
Sam: It feels weird to describe these as "behavior challenges" because, for me, the challenges Teddy and I faced actually came from my not knowing how to communicate with him in a way that he understood. When he understands what I want him to do, he will typically do what I ask with enthusiasm. It was more about me learning how to speak his language.
SDT: That's a wonderful way to put it. Can you give us an example of a specific challenge and how you addressed it with Summit Dog Training?
Sam: One big one was his dislike of being handled. I realized this after I first got him and he kept getting yeast infections on his paws. When he got these, I would have to clean his paws and apply an antifungal spray. It would take two people to hold him still enough to do this. I felt horrible when I had to hold him, so I was very excited to take the Cooperative Care class with Summit. My focus with that class was to get to the point where I could fix his paws without holding him. I took that class a few years ago, but it made such a huge difference. Now, Teddy doesn’t need to be held to have his paws cleaned or sprayed. I can even trim his nails with a Dremel by myself! It’s incredible the trust we built.
SDT: That's amazing progress! You also mentioned getting into dog sports. How did training help with that?
Sam: Yes, within the past year, Teddy and I have started learning how to do dog sports – Agility, Rally, and Nose Work. He loves sports and is always so excited to do them. However, I realized that Teddy was so excited to work that he wasn’t able to chill out between turns. He was whiny, restless, and wouldn’t settle because he did not want to stop working.
SDT: And what did you do to address that "always on" mode?
Sam: I took the Work Mode to Nap Mode workshop and learned some really great techniques for how to get him to learn how to settle down after working. It took a few weeks, but I am impressed by the difference in his behavior. He can still be a little whiny between turns, but he’s much quieter and usually he’ll be laying down. To me, this is a huge win because it shows me that he knows what I want, and that he’s trying his best.
SDT: Teddy is such an awesome dog! Are there any behavior challenges that you’re still working on with him?
Sam: The food scavenging is one thing that we’re still working through, and will probably be working through forever, honestly. He is super food motivated, which is probably the product of his nature and amplified by the fact that he’s been on a diet to lose 30 pounds in the time that I have had him. He’s pretty notorious for seeing a piece of food on the ground (or something that looks like food, like a leaf) and diving towards it. Through Summit, we’ve learned techniques to help him to take a second to think about what he should do instead of immediately trying to eat the food. It’s an ongoing process, but we’ve definitely seen improvement.
SDT: You also mentioned some challenges with fast-moving objects early on. How is that now?
Sam: I don’t see this very often anymore, but Teddy used to lunge at fast-moving things like bikes, skateboards, bunnies, etc. I mentioned this once at a class, learned some techniques for how to handle this, and now I barely remember what it was like to worry about this. Teddy sees a biker or whatever, and he looks at me. It’s a huge relief.
SDT: When you started, what were your initial goals for training? And how have they evolved over time?
Sam: As I’ve taken classes with Teddy, my goals have definitely shifted. When I first started, I wanted to learn how to train my dog to do more than just sit, lay down, etc. I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back, I wanted to learn how to communicate with him in a way that he understood. After I learned how to do that, my goals shifted into getting Teddy’s Canine Good Citizen titles. Now he has earned four AKC titles: Canine Good Citizen, Canine Good Citizen Urban, Canine Good Citizen Advanced, and Trick Dog Novice all through Summit!
SDT: It sounds like Teddy truly transformed. How would you describe him after all your training with Summit?
Sam: Now, people are constantly commenting on how focused Teddy is on me and how well he behaves. This focus is one of the first things that we learned how to do in the Good Dog Basics class. It felt so strange at the time to reward him for doing nothing but looking at me, but since then, we’ve used this skill to focus around all types of distractions – like concerts, fire alarms, dogs barking, crowded elevators, and so on.
We’ll go to breweries or restaurants with dog-friendly patios, and we’ll use techniques that we’ve learned in the brewery dog class. There have been a few times where Teddy and I have left a restaurant’s patio after a meal and have heard people say, “I didn’t realize there was a dog out here.”
Also through Summit, Teddy and I started getting into dog sports and have not looked back. We’ve taken the Intro to Agility and the Level 1 Agility class a few years ago. We did all three levels of Nose Work last year, and we took Rally Novice and Rally Advanced a few months ago. When people say that you need to give your Aussie a job, they’re not kidding! Teddy is always so excited to do any sport that I show him.
