A Matter of Manners
Behavior and Training
Jane Phillips Photography
Myles
NTD, ITD, ATD
Likes: Snuggling, playing tug, eating, showing off all my tricks, did I mention snuggling?
Dislikes: Veggies, not getting snacks, other dogs getting trained instead of me.
Breed (according to Wisdom Panel): A little bit of American Cocker Spaniel, a little bit of Jindo, a lot of mixes.
Myles ended up in a pound in South Korea as a young puppy where he was adopted and returned four days later for being "too energetic." He got lucky when Leo and Jin from Busan Abandoned Pet Sanctuary showed up to pick out dogs for their sanctuary and couldn't leave him behind. Around the same time, a friend was convincing me and my boyfriend to volunteer to walk the dogs, and our first day there was also Myles' first day! We had decided we did not want to foster, but by the end of the walk, we HAD to foster Myles. The next week, we took him home and our whole world became this little black foster puppy.
Fast forward six months, we had found a home for Myles, and he went off for his 4 week trial adoption. Dan and I have never been as sad as the day he left. It was painful and didn't feel right. Thankfully, for whatever unknown reasons, the adopter decided three weeks in that Myles was "not trainable" and too energetic and she didn't want him. There was no way we weren't going to take him back, but also no way we could go through seeing him go again, so we decided to adopt.
Now Myles is everything to me, and holds an Advanced Trick Title. He loves to perform his tricks and enjoys learning new ones. He is the reason I became a dog trainer and we love working together, both learning and improving all the time.
Ruckus
NTD
Likes: My special fat free cottage cheese, doing tricks, walkies, barking to make the boys bark, growling at Diego, using my paws and nose to get attention.
Dislikes: Loud noises, rude people, dishonesty, when it's not my turn during nail filing time.
Breed (according to Wisdom Panel): 50% Chihuaha, 25% Chow Chow, some other mixes.
Busan Abandoned Pet Sanctuary was originally a hoard of about 120 dogs being taken care of by a man with a good heart, but not enough knowledge or resources to properly care for the dogs. He had to abandon them, and all the dogs were going to be put down. Ruckus was one of these originals. Leo and Jin stepped up and took over in 2008. Ruckus was neglected and undersocialized as a hoarded dog (this is a good article about hoarded dogs), so everything is new and scary to her. At BAPS, they suspected her of killing a dog or two, and since she was also such a flight risk, she was not walked or taken out of her cage. When I first saw her a few months into volunteering, she was trembling at the back of her cage, terrified of everything. I began getting her out every week, bathing her, brushing her, and after a few weeks, we made eye contact that felt powerful. I felt like we had connected and I needed to help her.
I took her home to foster for three weeks and couldn't believe how desperate she was for my attention, and how quickly she started turning around (just with me). It took a long time for us to feel comfortable introducing her to Myles, but it didn't take too long for them to become friends after that.
She was back living at the Sanctuary, but I fostered her a couple times during typhoon season (when we had to clear out the dogs due to safety) and during those times, became extremely attached. Once we decided to move to America, I knew we had to take Ruckus with us.
The change in Ruckus has been incredible and beautiful. She plays, she barks, she snuggles, she's silly, she bounces back from startling much faster, and she's met loads of dogs, some of which she has even played with. She has even earned her Novice Trick Dog title!
Ruckus gave me a better understanding of fearful dogs, and a passion to help them feel safer in their world.
Diego
NTD
Likes: FRISBEEEEEE, butt scratches, car rides, biting Myles' legs, chicken.
Dislikes: When my mom goes to the bathroom without me, when Ruckus won't let me on the bed.
Breed (according to Wisdom Panel): 50% Australian Kelpie, 25% German Shepherd and a little Border Collie.
While working at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, a semi feral young dog was brought in. He wouldn't walk on leash, and was terrified of people. We had to carry him out to playgroups. While he hated being carried, he turned out to LOVE other dogs. Playgroups saved his life. He began to come out of his shell in playgroups, and slowly began asking for touch and affection. He ended up on the dreaded euth list at one point, but we on the behavior staff were not going to let that happen. Instead, he was featured on a segment called Bow to Wow, and then was adopted. Unfortunately, he was returned 24 hours later.
We continued to work with him and he continued to improve. I fostered him until his new adopter could take him home, and in the meantime, he became the face of a huge fundraising campaign called Join Diego.
That adopter returned him as well, and then I was able to talk my husband into adopting him ourselves. Our landlady was not on board, though, but after a pep talk from The Exorcist's Linda Blair (really), I was able to convince the landlady too!
Diego is a young, enthusiastic guy who loves his mom (me) more than anything. Although he is fearful and nervous, he's also curious and adventurous. He has overcome many of his fears and has recently discovered the joys of belly rubs. Diego earned his Novice Trick Dog title and is well on his way to the Intermediate title. He also has the most solid wait/stay of any of our dogs!
