Tennesse Whiskey

I think it’s only fair to dedicate a blog to our newest pup, Tenny, since I did the same after we adopted Rosie. Before we adopted Rosie, we were looking into different breeds of dogs, and fell in love with the aesthetics and personality of Australian Shepherds and Australian Cattle Dogs. They had a gorgeous look, and are all very active dogs who enjoy having a job, such as herding. Figured it was perfect for two high energy adults as well. But then as fate would have it, a family that was fostering Rosie for adoption walked into our gym with her one day, and that was a wrap. I joked with my husband that with him, it wasn’t love at first sight (he beat my prior coach in competition and I was loyal), but with Rosie, it was. I fell in love with her right away. I completely melted when I held her, and the rest, as they say, is history.

It’s kind of funny how we ended up with this dog. One of John’s daughter works as a vet tech, and a couple came in for their puppy’s check ups, and were looking to see if anyone was interested in adopting their puppy. See, Tenny is a Blue Heeler, which is a type of Australian Cattle dog. As mentioned above, these type of breeds are very rambunctious and high energy, especially puppies. This couple was elderly and unfortunately disabled, and could not give Tenny the attention she requires. My only stipulation when the dogs met was that they get along, and they did, so we went home with a new puppy that very same day.

Tenny was only 4 ½ months old when we got her and still very small. Due to the previous owners’ physical limitations, Tenny was kept outside in a fenced in yard all day, and crated throughout the night. She was not house trained because she was never in the house, and she cried loudly in her kennel. So housebreaking this new dog was first on the agenda. I trained Rosie myself, and planned to put this one through thorough training as well. It definitely helps that both of our dogs come from intelligent breeds, but that doesn’t mean they automatically are equipped with knowing how to behave and certain commands. When we adopted Rosie, it was my first time having an actual puppy, and I wanted to do right by her and I signed up for some online training courses and read a lot of material on proper training techniques.

I train the dogs with a multitude of different techniques. The first is the hand gestures and signals while verbally calling for the command. This way, they associate the word/phrase with the right action, and they also will be able to understand silent/nonverbal commands by paying attention to what the hands are doing. Then I took a cue out of the police training K9 handbook, and I purchased a ‘clicker’ to aid in her training. It basically acts like a Pavlov tool, associating the completed command with a clicking noise of approval. The clicker clicks to signal the task is complete, and then the dog will get some type of reward depending on the methods the dog responds to best. This is where you truly see how dogs have different personalities.

For Rosie, her biggest motivator was praise. If she does a task correctly, she will be absolutely tickled if she gets told she’s a good girl. I am not here to kink shame, but it does make me wonder about her past life. On the reverse side of that, she will strive hard to not do the wrong thing because she does not want to be scolded or yelled at. Tenny, on the other hand, is extremely food motivated. Outside of cheese, food doesn’t seem to be a major reward or deterrent for Rosie. Tenny is extremely responsive to her training when training treats are involved. I found what worked for both dogs and I ran with it as well as utilizing the things I remember from my Psychology degree with positive and negative reinforcement.

I remember early on, it pained me to “punish” Rosie during her puppy training. When I was housebreaking her or teaching her behavior patterns, and she did something she wasn’t supposed to do, I had to admonnish her to the crate. I used to close the door after because I felt bad having to yell at her and knew I would fold if I looked into her face. I was really worried that she would grow to not like me and even resent me since I was the one predominantly training her and subsequently having to punish her since my husband was always at work. There were a few times I wanted to relent because of this, but I stuck to my guns. Turns out that even though I was the primary punisher, I was also the primary feeder and attention giver since I spent more time at home with her. Rosie still absolutely adored me and gave me all the puppy snuggles, no matter how many times that day I had to reproach her.

When it came time to start training Tenny and scold/punish her if need be, I no longer had any qualms or hesitations about anything. Rosie is now considered a full grown dog at a little bit over 2 years, and she is the most well-behaved and well-trained dog I have ever had. She  won’t disobey any command, and is even now trained as full medical alert service dog. I can bring her anywhere, and she will be firmly by my side, even off-leash. I can put a whole block of cheese or a whole ham right in front of her, and she won’t take it until she gets permission. Little kids can run right at her and be in front of her face and she won’t ever snap or be rough. When she’s vested and ‘working,’ she takes her job very seriously, and won’t approach people or dogs when she is on the job. Because of this, I knew the methods I implemented were the right choice.

As bad as I would feel when I would have to punish one of them, I knew it was the best course of action in order to have well-behaved dogs. Even though I hated yelling at them in the moment, I knew being strict about their training and upbringing was best for their future. I guess it’s sort of ingrained into women to be more gentle and nurturing, which is why men are predominantly the disciplinarian. But just like correcting your offspring’s behavior while young, you are helping to ensure your child grows up to be well-behaved in adolescence, and I find the same thing to be true for dogs. I have been to people’s houses where the dogs tear things up around the house, or they snap at you and display aggressive behaviors, or they disobey direct orders, or they jump up on the counters to steal food. To me, that’s indicative of being too lax in their training when they were young. Whether it be because they just didn’t have time to properly train and reprimand their dogs, or they were too inconsistent and wishy-washy, or simply because they didn’t want to be “mean” to their beloved pet. Either way, they now have dogs that can’t be left alone, or around unguarded food, or with small children.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and if you don’t nip their behavior in the bud while they are still young, they are going to build a habit of doing the wrong things thinking that is acceptable behavior. If you constantly go back on your admonishments or punishments, the dog will never respect your authority, and they will be absolute menaces when they get older. I firmly tell them ‘no’ during their training. And commanding that type of respect has allowed me to train them as service dogs. You can’t just slap on a service vest and hope people don’t question your misbehaving dog because it’s cute. They are service trained because they are obedient and dedicated to the tasks they have been trained to perform.

As authoritarian as I may seem when it comes to their training, do not worry; my dogs are very loved and well-cared for. I make their own food because I want them to live the longest and healthiest lives possible. We go on regular walks, they receive plenty of affectionate belly rubs, and they get lots of cuddles throughout the day. Though I am sure Tenny (and Rosie before her) get upset in the moment when I need to dole out some punishment, they still absolutely love and adore me, especially after a few minutes have gone by and everyone calms down. In fact, I had to punish Tenny a couple hours ago, and right now I am typing this as she cuddles in my lap giving her mama plenty of kisses.

I could not love my dogs more. I am fully aware that they are dogs, and not people, but I see exactly what they mean when they say ‘man’s best friend.’ Rosie is always alerting me to take my medication, and I hope I can train Tenny to bring it when she does. They snuggle with me when I am not feeling well and have to lie down, and they always seem to cheer me up when this chronic illness starts getting me down. I am so happy that Tenny is now a part of our family, and helping us adopt these 2 dogs just makes me love my husband that much more. I will continue to love and spoil my girly pops when appropriate, and be ever so grateful for helping me in my times of need with my illness. The girls seem to be the very best of friends, and love playing together. Tennesse Whiskey and Rosie Tequila forever.