Let's introduce our first dog, where the whole training journey really started: Darka!
Darka is a rescue from Greece. She didn't have the best start in her life. She was found on the streets by a family and brought home. Sounds perfect, right? Within a few weeks she was surrendered to a rural shelter, because she was 'growing too fast'. She was only 2 months old when she ended up in the shelter and appeared on the website of a rescue. The story is weird, and not sure if that's the real reason why they surrendered her. I seen her first picture on the website of the rescue. This was in July 2019. A cute, fluffy puppy. I was looking for a dog, but wanted to wait to make sure I was ready for her. I told myself I would adopt her if she was still available in September. And she was! I filled in the adoption form, had my home check and everything was ready to go. She would arrive on December 24. A real Christmas present. Turned out, Christmas came early. She arrived on November 24.
From the moment she arrived it was clear she's been through a lot. No trust in people, which resulted in fear-aggression. Every time you would come near, she would try to attack. It was going to take a while before I could actually start training her. First I had to build that trust and a bond. This took almost a year! In September 2020 she was ready to come over and let me put the leash on without any issues. She also wanted to play more. It was time to start her basic obedience! Within no time she understood what she had to do. Because she was so smart and had a lot of energy, I decided to do a DNA test. The results were a big surprise! The breeds with the highest percentages were Caucasian Shepherd, Collie and Corgi. Other breeds that stood out were Australian Shepherd, German Shepherd, Chihuahua, Great Dane and a few mountain dogs. No wonder she was smart.
But even with all that energy she only wanted to run and play. When it comes to training, she'll do whatever you ask her to do. But everything has to go in her pace. Asking for a sit? Expect a wiggle butt first. Down? Sure, but let me stretch first. It gives a lot of funny moments, but is also testing your patience once in a while.
In 2022 I decided to go to obedience classes, just so we had some one-on-one time together and we could continue building our bond. This bonding time really made her bloom. She was good at obedience, loved to do hoopers and agility (still, in turtle mode ofcourse) and played with all the dogs that were on the field. With her first competition, a fun day organised by the dog school, she ended up 3rd place in a category that was way above what she should be able to do. But she did it, and I'm proud of her!
Now with the other dogs in the house, she's the big boss. She decided wether she wants to play or not. She decided when they're too hyper. But she won't hurt a fly. As a matter of fact: put her in the same room as a few baby rabbits and she'll play the whole time!
Some other things she loves:
Walking on nature trails
Laying in the sun or shade, watching wild life
Trying to steal food off the counter (yep, she managed to steal some things already)
Playing with wild life
Going to stores and get attention of everyone there
Even as a dog trainer, Darka was a real challenge. I would have loved to start with her obedience right away, but it was just not possible. Even though Darka was almost 2 years old when we started, she still learned a lot. She reached her limit now at 5 and wants to enjoy life without training every day, but we still do it! No dog is too old to learn new tricks or to go back to basics once in a while.