Laura Luckert: Shelter dog takes trainer to school

Although our local animal shelters offer top-notch room and board for their four-legged guests — healthful meals, comfortable and clean living spaces, quality veterinary care — no one wants an animal to remain in a shelter for an extended period of time, no matter how humane it is.

So, when I heard about a training class to help some manners-challenged dogs at a local shelter where I volunteer improve their adoption chances, I showed up for orientation. The instructor informed us that each dog would have two volunteers. I liked those odds. But when she read Simon’s name from her list, I must have gasped because the woman sitting next to me turned to inquire.

Everyone pretty much avoided Simon. He stood at his kennel door with shoulders hunched, fur raised, showing off his gleaming white incisors while barking out his orders: “Back away. Back away, now.”

The technical terminology for what afflicts Simon is “territorial aggression.” You’re probably picturing Simon as a bully breed or large shepherd that might make a good recruit for a K-9 unit. Not so. Simon is a Jack Russell Terrier mix. A mere 15 pounds. Yet never has 15 pounds yielded such ferocity.

Back at orientation, the woman seated next to me calmly requested Simon; and in a flash of déjà vu, I remembered the day my husband and I adopted our dog Missy. “Not one to curl up by the fireplace,” a volunteer winked.

But we worked with Missy and gave her lots of exercise (key), and now we have what we think is the perfect dog. Like Missy, Simon also deserved a chance, I reasoned, and raised my hand before I lost my nerve. Simon now had two volunteers determined to bring out his inner charm.

“Back away. Back away, now,” Simon barked angrily when I approa0ched him for the first time.

“Whatever you do, don’t put your hand in his kennel,” advised a longtime volunteer who found me cowering in front of his kennel.

Then, without warning, she unlatched Simon’s kennel door.

I yelped as Simon charged forward. With a maneuver that would earn her a blue ribbon at the American Royal, my hero safely lassoed the little guy with her rope leash and handed him over to me.

Once outside his kennel, Simon was the perfect gentleman, waiting patiently for me to collect my wits before the two of us headed out the door to explore a trail in a nearby wooded area. For the next hour, Simon burrowed through thick grass twice his height; leaped onto large boulders in true Rin Tin Tin fashion; and terrorized every squirrel within a half-mile radius, his stubby tail wagging ferociously in sheer joy.

When my training partner and I escorted Simon into the classroom for the first day of school, I caught him eyeballing his competition — a few pitbulls, a bull dog, a cattle dog and a mastiff. He strutted past them looking up at us as if to say, “Don’t worry. I got this.”

For the next 45 minutes, our instructor led us through important behaviors that our dogs needed to learn. First, Simon had to be able to maintain eye contact with his trainer. Second, he needed to sit on command. Simon mastered both easily. “Overachiever,” I heard someone mutter.

The following week, Simon learned to “shake” his paw politely and lie “down.” The week after that he aced the agility course.

There seemed to be no end to what Simon could learn. In fact, if there was a weak link, it was me. Severely lacking in hand-eye coordination, I was having difficulty dispensing treats fast enough to keep up with Simon’s quick-fire reflexes.

So on days we didn’t have class, Simon trained me. With my pockets packed with treats, he patiently led me through his repertoire: sit, shake, down. Sit, shake, down. With his help, I soon started to see some improvement in my treat-release reflex.

School wrapped up this past week, and while Simon proved to be one of the top dogs in the class, he has watched several of his classmates get adopted while he remains. He wouldn’t want you to feel sorry for him, though, as he knows good things happen to those who are patient. In the meantime: sit, shake, down.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Laura Luckert: Shelter dog takes trainer to school."