Meet Link and Summer! Two pups with very different personalities, but with the same goal – to become the best pups they can be for their loving family!
Link is a German Shepherd Husky mix who struggled with intense anxiety and lacked impulse control as well as basic obedience skills. Summer is a playful little Goldendoodle who needed guidance in learning proper manners and basic training. Both dogs had their own unique challenges and joined K9 Guide’s Board & Train program. They are a perfect example of the concept that all dogs need different training approaches to become the best versions of themselves.
Through structured training and plenty of confidence building, Link has been able to blossom into a centered, well-trained, confident dog, while Summer not only mastered obedience but also landed an acting career!
The Story Begins
Here is an introduction to both pups from their owner, Tess:
“About 2 months before I gave birth to our second kid, we adopted two adorable but chaotic pups: Link and Summer. There was no question that they were sweethearts, not a mean bone in their bodies. But they were puppies, and they fed off each other’s puppy energy and the house was absolute chaos. We were determined that we could train them, but not-so-shockingly, the time and energy absorbed by our newborn, our toddler, and from me being postpartum and working full time left us with absolutely no resources or energy. The house was full of yelling “Link! Summer! Stop it!” over and over, and even my toddler started repeating my frustrated yelling. I knew it wasn’t a healthy dynamic for anyone, but what could I do?“
Anyone who has ever had a puppy can confirm the fact that puppies are hard… especially when they enter adolescence! Whatever boundaries and training have been set up are challenged, their energy is off the charts, and with that age come personality shifts and an attitude of “I’m grown!” All that is difficult for even the most experienced pet owners – even more difficult when you have kids and a business! It certainly doesn’t help to have two dogs go through the same process at the same time. Two teenagers makes the training 10x harder as they feed off of each other’s energy and bad habits.
Proper structure and consistent training are necessary to be able to manage two teenage age dogs, otherwise it proves to be a very overwhelming ordeal. Link’s and Summer’s family knew that building a training foundation from scratch requires a lot of patience, consistency, management, and work throughout the day and reached out to K9 Guide for help.
Tess:
“One day, I took them to the dog park to hopefully run off some energy and saw a sign that simply said ‘Enjoy Your Dog’ and the K9 Guide contact info. And that’s all I wanted: to enjoy our dogs. It was a turning point in our lives! We went from fighting against the chaos of our pups to just being able to enjoy them, even in ways we couldn’t yet imagine!
Summer and Link did the Board and Train program, and Yana was so helpful making it happen for us. We missed our pups like crazy, but we knew it would be so good for them. Jimmie and Collin were amazing trainers, and our dogs absolutely worshipped them. They made the home-transition simple and easy for us and for the pups, and I always got quick answers to my (many) questions while I was learning the new ropes.
Link’s Adventures
Link was a scared young man when he came to K9 Guide. His fast, nervous, twitchy energy resulted in attempts to bolt anytime he was spooked by something as innocent as a leaf in the wind. He needed confidence building, focus, structure, and knowing that as long as he’s with us – everything will be okay.
Confidence building: challenging a pup little by little while ensuring they come out of it feeling successful and strong – every single time.
Link needed a couple days to adjust to the new space and make friends with K9 Guide trainers. As soon as he started coming out of his shell, he realized that training is fun and we are the best! That nervous bolting energy quickly turned into a fun, wild desire to LET’S DO THINGS! which we were able to shape into a calm, focused dog that loves to train. We did field trips with Link towards the end of his training to work on exposure to different environments as well as proofing obedience skills. He excelled even in situations where he would have been a reactive pup prior to training! We were patient and took our time with Link, and he gave us his all.
Tess:
“Link, our previously nervous little man, came home a happy, confident boy. He no longer fears walks and car rides or visitors in the home and he is so much happier in his daily life. He is the easiest leash walker now (when before he had actually tripped me in the middle of the road–while I was pregnant!–and nearly killed us both!) and he and I happily go on walks with the baby. He’s our same goofy Link, but he’s no longer fearful or reactive. He goes to work with my husband every day and is everyone’s favorite ‘shop dog.’ “
An Actress is Born
Summer is everything a Goldendoodle is supposed to be. This silly, bouncy, happy girl was just a friendly, fluffy ball of energy and good vibes. She didn’t have any behavioral issues aside from occasionally practicing her parkour skills inside the home.
Summer was more affection-driven than food-driven, which made training a different kind of fun. Both pups haven’t had much exposure to the world so she also needed some confidence building in that regard. Her eagerness to do things quickly transferred over to her new budding career!
“Summer was always a little ‘simpler’ than Link, but she took to her training very well. So well, in fact, that she’s made a little career for herself! My family runs the Ohio Shakespeare Festival (a live professional theatre company in Akron). Coincidentally, we were producing The Wizard of Oz. I suggested we try out the newly trained Summer as our Toto. She was absolutely wonderful. She learned her role with such ease using her new K9 Guide skills; she even started to “memorize” the choreography and made the audience “ooo” and “ahhh” when she danced with Dorothy down the Yellow Brick Road and jumped into Scarecrow’s arms every night.
SO many audience would ask where she was trained and say what an incredibly good dog she is and how lucky we were to have her. Little did they know that mere months before she had been bouncing off the walls (literally) and destroying the couch and chasing the cats…but no more! She’s now the kind of dog others envy us for…it’s crazy how far she has come!
I was able to share my art with my pup and I am so so proud of her. I never thought I would be able to “enjoy my dog” in this way, and it has helped me bond so deeply with her. (If anyone is producing Annie anytime soon, she’d make a great Sandy!)“
Photos from WIZARD OF OZ at Ohio Shakespeare, ohioshakespeare.com, taken by Scott Custer