Rescue #12 - Riley, CGC

By Kimberly Baker

Riley came to us when he was 9 months old. We met Dorrie Carters at the Vet's office where Riley had just been neutered. I remembered her telling us that he may be a little groggy, due to the anesthesia. The dog that we met was not groggy at all! All he kept doing was jumping and jumping and jumping! He was full of kisses and very happy. It was a rainy day and I will never forget driving home and his reaction to the windshield wipers. His little head kept darting back and forth watching the wipers. It was truly love at first sight and we were committed to providing our new JRT with a good home.

About a week after we got Riley, we took him to our Vet for a routine checkup (which was advised by Rescue). Three different people in the office handed us names and addresses of obedience schools and highly suggested that we attend. He behaved (no biting, snapping or any "bad" behavior), just so excited. I had planned to do this with him anyway. We enrolled in class immediately. Luckily for us, I had chosen a woman with over 20 years of experience in dog training. I remember thinking, "Wait until she meets us! This will be a real challenge". Jean, our teacher, was completely unfazed by us. The first night of class, some owners and their dogs did a demonstration for us and I thought, "Wow, I'm not sure we can do that." But, after a few weeks of working with him, he knew how to sit and also sit about six feet away from me and stay there! At our last class, I was very nervous that we might not graduate, but we did! We successfully completed a basic obedience class. We re-enrolled and have been in class ever since. For Riley and me, this is the best thing we could have done. It not only established our bond quickly, but also strengthened that bond. Our second big accomplishment came about eight months later. He passed his Canine Good Citizen test, which was a huge boost for both of us.

Although things are really easy now, those first months with Riley were especially challenging. He was semi-house trained, but still had a fair number of accidents. Before we would leave the house, we would spend a lot of time trying to get him in his crate. Then after we did get him in the crate, he would cry. One of the best tips from basic obedience was to give him peanut butter inside of a sterilized bone or Kong (red rubber cone-shaped toys). He quickly learned that if we were leaving, he would get his peanut butter - he began to go into his crate completely on his own and wait for us to go! We no longer crate him, but he still runs into his crate when he knows we are leaving - waiting for his peanut butter. Little treats went a long way - positive reinforcement was the approach we used then and continue to use now.

At a recent obedience class, a woman with a Sheltie puppy said to me "Your dog behaves so well." This is not something that happened overnight. It has been a huge commitment for both my husband and I, but especially for me. Riley and I have been at obedience class a minimum of once per week, and sometimes as much as two or three times per week, over the past two years. An added benefit to working on obedience has been the socialization aspect, which I think is extremely important. We are now at competition level, purely by choice, and he is doing great! This past fall Riley began to place in his pre-novice obedience matches. One of our most rewarding days was when we were at another breed's specialty. There was

Riley and four other dogs in his class. The day was damp and I vividly remember Riley shivering on his long down. He does not like the cold at all, but he did it! He understood completely what he was supposed to do and we placed first in our class that day! And, equally as rewarding, we recently were selected to be the "demonstration team" at an obedience class - I was so proud of him.

More importantly, Riley is especially good for us at home with our daily activity. If we are eating dinner, we can send him to his bed and he will stay there until he is released. He knows he can't go outside until he sits and has a leash on, and, conversely knows that when he sits, the leash comes off and he will get a treat. I truly believe that a "happy dog is a trained dog." At night, he climbs into bed with us and waits for the covers to be lifted so he can "tunnel" headfirst. We have found that he adjusts to whatever activity level is going on in the house. If I take a nap, he snuggles with me. As I am finishing this article, he is laying next to me, waiting for me to finish so he can go to bed.

What I would most like people to know about my experience with rescue and Riley is that it is a big commitment, but a very rewarding one. I have spent endless hours training and working with him, but I have done it because I love him. He is our boy and I would do it again in a heartbeat! For us, the love and joy that he has brought to us far outweighs the work it has taken to get him and us to this point. And, even though he doesn't physically represent the ideal JRT, he still is our pride and joy, and perfect in our eyes. All of these positives have essentially erased the "challenges" from my memory. In order to write this, I really had to think about what it was like when he first came to us.

If you are considering a Rescue, I ask you to please think about the following:

Everyone has in his or her mind, the "ideal" adoptee. We listed on our application a smooth, tri-colored female. When Dorrie Carters, our Rescue Coordinator called us and said she had a male, we actually hesitated. Now, we have a 15 1/2-inch male with a broken coat! Dorrie had said that the males were very sweet, and our guy certainly is. At the time we were on the waiting list, there weren't any females available. We could have waited forever for a female and what it really came down to was that he needed a home. You may want to reconsider the importance of the sex of the dog.

The other thing to keep in mind is that these guys have such big personalities! I can tell if Riley is sad, bored, happy, or scared etc.. He is very expressive and that is one of the reasons why we love him so much. I think their personality is what they are all about - what is inside, not outside.

As a last note, I want to thank the many members of our club who have been so supportive of myself and Riley. It means a lot to me. I would also like to offer a special thanks to Dorrie Carters, our Rescue Coordinator. Although Dorrie is no longer involved in Rescue, I am eternally grateful to her for making our "love connection."