Wolfman K9 Obedience - References

Don’t take his word for it, see what Mike’s clients are saying about him.

28 February 2008 - Featured Dog - Dusty

What breed of dog is that? A Catahoula. A Cata-whata? Thus begins the typical question and answer session I tend to have when people first set eyes on Dusty, our 31/2 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog.

We adopted Dusty from a shelter when he was 10 months old. We were told that he had run away from home more than a few times and his previous owners decided not to take him back the last time he was caught. He also had some issues with food and was “diagnosed” as being “food intensive”. After doing a bit of research into the breed, we realized that he would need training and we were willing to work with him. Catahoulas are known for being very active, stubborn, extremely smart and difficult to train. However, they are also extremely loyal to their owners and if trained properly can be great pet.

We started off with some puppy training (with another trainer) for a few months. It was a great help with basic commands and in dealing with Dusty’s food issues, especially around our youngest daughter. Yes, we taught Dusty the meaning of “sit” and “down” and “come”, but soon came to realize that he obeyed these commands quite well if we were holding food! Since Dusty is quite interested in food, it was easy to teach him what the words meant, but, his responses were unpredictable. The most stressful aspect was the fact that he knew the word “come”, but really didn’t care to obey when he was loose outdoors, even if you were waving real bacon at him from a distance!

The first time I was introduced to Mike, I was surprised and relieved to know that treats were not involved in his training methods! What a novelty to learn that a dog needs to respond because you said so, not because he is being bribed to! I could not believe how well Dusty responded after a few short sessions, not only to Mike, but also to our commands. He no longer looked for a treat in our hands or pocket, but now was looking at us in the eye and looking for praise. I was so impressed after a few weeks, that I decided to approach Mike with the “off lead” question. Based on the breed history and the fact that we were told by a previous trainer that Dusty would never walk off-lead, I was reluctant to ask. It has always been a dream of ours to have Dusty walk off-lead beside us, or a little in front, without the worry of him taking off.

Mike’s knowledge of the breed has been extremely helpful. He knows the challenges that face us and has made us feel more at ease with his training methods, even if we seemed reluctant at times. We still feel that we have a long way to go before Dusty is completely off-lead however, we are not giving up the dream. We are much more confident as owners of such a challenging, yet unique breed and are looking forward to continuing our journey with Mike.

Mike, thank you for all your advice. You know you’re doing a great job when people we know comment on how much they have noticed Dusty has “calmed down” since we started seeing you. Now, if we can only get him to stop peeing on everyone’s legs at Puppy Parties!

The Burton Family

Check out Dusty’s picture in the gallery.