Here is a very nice story on one of Robin MacFarlane's clients. Robin runs our
midwest branch of our "No Limitations" dog trainers school, and also has a very
successful private business. More information on "That's my Dog" dog training
and Robin MacFarlane can be found at www.thatsmydog.biz


Terri's Story
Our AWS, Vali, died suddenly in May from AIHD and we were devastated. It was
apparent that we could not picture a life without an American Water Spaniel in
it. Upon hearing Hobbs life story, we were convinced that we should go see him
and bring him home right away. Hobbs came from an AWS breeder in Missouri. The
breeder had sold Hobbs to a local man when Hobbs was just weaned. The man took
Hobbs home and tied him to a doghouse. Hobbs spent the first two years of his
life chained to that doghouse, having little contact with any humans. The AWS
breed is very loyal and loving and they need a lot of human contact. After a
couple of years, Hobbs managed to get loose and run away. He was picked up by
the local humane society and they tracked down the owner. The owner said he was
building a fence to keep the dog contained, but he never managed to get the
fence completed. Meanwhile, the humane society was feeding and caring for
Hobbs. Finally they gave the owner an ultimatum, either take the dog back now
or they would put him up for adoption. The owner did not want the dog.Hobbs
went up for adoption. A couple from Madison, WI, found out about him and went
to Missouri to pick him up. After getting him home, they discovered that he was
totally out of control. He destroyed everything in sight when he was left
alone. To make matters worse, the wife was allergic to him. He was kept in the
basement for a while, until his owner decided that getting rid of him was
inevitable. They took him to a shelter in Madison to be put up for adoption
again. Hobbs was recognized as an AWS, so the shelter contacted the AWS Rescue,
which led to Hobbs being placed at an AWS foster home in Milwaukee. He had been
there a short time when we were notified that he was available for adoption.I
was not prepared for what would lie ahead. Hobbs seemed friendly enough when we
saw him at his foster home. We decided we were willing to bring him home with
us where there was a farm for him to run on and where there was certainly
enough love to go around. Well, before we even got home, he had bitten me twice
and chewed his new leash in half. I was beginning to wonder if we had made a
mistake. Poor Hobbs had spent little time in a house, so when we got home he
promptly started running around marking my furniture...this was NOT going to
happen. Of course he had no house manners, so he ran, knocked things over,
jumped on furniture, jumped on people, etc. We ended up having to buy plastic
coated steel cable to tie him up because he would chew through everything else.
For as frustrated as we were with his destructive behavior, it was probably
nothing compared to what was going on in his head. If he was left for even 15
minutes, he would go crazy. He would become immediately destructive, howl and
bark. When letting him out of the garage those first few weeks, the first thing
you would notice was the absolute panic in his eyes. This animal was scared
almost to death. The eyes were wild and glazed over and he was shaking from
head to tail. He would almost knock you off your feet as he greeted you. It was
so sad and so pathetic. Dave took him to the vet to have him checked out and he
told them about his separation anxiety. They put him on doggie downers, but it
would take several weeks for those to take effect.Before we even knew about
Hobbs, we had committed to buy a female AWS puppy from a breeder near St. Paul,
MN. The puppy was to be picked up a week after we brought Hobbs home. She was a
healthy 5 pounds! But no match for Hobbs, who was not willing to share us and
who had never been around other dogs. He went after her and bit her twice in
the first couple of weeks. I was ready, at that point, to have him put down.
The drugs were barely taking the edge off and I wasn't going to have a vicious
animal living in my home. It was about that time that Dave heard about THAT'S
MY DOG in Hazel Green.



Dave's Story
Hobbs is a three-year-old male rescue dog I picked up from the American Water
Spaniel Rescue in Milwaukee. I was told he had a severe case of separation
anxiety. I didn’t realize how severe until I got him home. I put him in our
garage while I went to the store to stock up on dog supplies, food, treats, a
bed, etc. I returned to find Hobbs had escaped from the garage by tearing out
and destroyed the framing around two of the three windows of the garage. He had
also torn down the back porch screen door and was sitting on the porch waiting
for me, terrified that I was not returning. At night I tied his leash to my arm
to prevent him from wandering the house marking and destroying things. I have
had years of experience raising dogs, but I had never encountered one like
Hobbs. Drastic action had to be taken or he was surely going to have to be sent
back to the rescue or destroyed. He was impossible to reach. He was terrified
every time he was out of my presence. I had to get through to him. Under the
direction of my vet, I placed him on Clomicalm. If I could get him to calm down
there might be a chance I could get through to him to show him that the world
is not as frightening as he thought. The next step was to get him some
training; put some structure in his life so he would have the answers to the
many scary questions he had. My vet recommended a local professional trainer
who was known to have success with severe cases like Hobbs. The day I enrolled
him at THATSMYDOG was the beginning of the turn around for Hobbs. One day a
week of formal training, then working with him everyday going over what we had
learned finally began to sink in. Every week he was given more difficult
problems to solve. The instructor and I were there to show him the solutions.
He was beginning to understand that he had the answers to the problems he had.
It has been a wonderful transformation to watch, Hobbs becoming a confident,
self reliant, comfortable dog. As he has progressed I have reduced his
medications. He is still on the meds, but the dosage has been drastically
reduced. He has graduated from Beginner to the Basic Skills class. He has
become of wonderful dog for my family and me. He is well mannered, loving, and
protective. He is a joy to be with.
Back to Terri's Story
Today, Hobbs is a part of our family. He has learned to get along with Daisy,
the AWS puppy, and even plays with her on occasion. He still doesn't like to be
climbed on, but she knows that and doesn't try. We have a couple of "rescue"
cats from our farm. One is about the same age as Daisy (almost 6 months) and a
new one that is about 6 weeks old. Hobbs is curious about them, but for the
most part, ignores their existence. The little kitten has attacked his tail a
couple of times and Hobbs doesn't growl or bite, he simply gets up and walks
away. What a change! He is now a pleasure to live with. He is loving, obedient
and a great watchdog. He is the first one to let me know that someone is on our
step and he lets them know that "This is my house and my family and you'd
better stay back!" He no longer jumps on people or walks over them. He knows
his place and knows where he fits into our family and he is happy just being
our dog. Dave has dedicated a lot of time and energy into Hobbs "rebirth", and
it has really paid off. My eyes welled up with tears, as I saw Hobbs holding
his diploma in his mouth and wearing his mortarboard and tassel for graduating
from Obedience Training. From the depths of doggie despair and hell to proud
family dog in only four short months, Hobbs is now a welcome part of our
family.

Dave and Terri Certa


Fred Hassen
www.fredhassen.com