The Dog Whisperer of Shawnee, KS

MS and PS went on a well-deserved vacation last week. After all their efforts in taking care of DrB. the past three years, a trip to California was the perfect escape for them. It had been quite some time since their last vacation together, so they were looking forward to leaving the Midwest with no worries, no troubles. So they thought…..

They had Charlie to worry about.

Charlie was a new addition to their household. He ate vast amounts of food, he slept all day never going to work, he hogged most of the bed when MS and PS and he slept at night, and he picked on Schnitzel, another member of the household. And what’s worse, Charlie had a difficult time getting along with the next-door neighbor yellow lab.

Charlie, you see, is a two-year dachshund who was adopted by MS and PS about two months ago as a playmate for Schnitzel, their 10-year old dachshund. When I first met Charlie, he was full of affection, full of playfulness, and very hyper, very energetic. And it’s because of these qualities, that MS and PS wondered if Charlie could be trained to be an obedient dog.

And to make matters worse, Charlie would tense up whenever he saw the yellow lab J come out of his house to take care of doggy business. When Charlie first met the yellow lab, he growled and barked meanly at J causing J to retreat to the far end of his own yard. This caused concern for MS and PS because Schnitzel always played happily with J. They wondered if Charlie had a chip on his doggy shoulders against big dogs.

And so, MS and PS asked LE, J’s owner and trainer, to watch the dachshunds while they were away. LE agreed but unbeknownst to MS and PS, LE had a secret plan to work with Charlie and break him of his hyperactive doggy persona.

I went over to their house last Thursday to play with Charlie and Schnitzel. As usual, they were very happy to see me. After about thirty minutes of play, LE came over to feed the dachshunds. After the dogs ate, LE decided to get Charlie’s leash out and walk him over to her and J’s yard. What I saw then simply amazed me: J and Charlie were getting along as if they had known each other for many years. They were playing.

LE explained to me that she decided to include Charlie on her morning walks with J, and once Charlie realized that J was a docile, friendly dog, he learned to relax around him. MS and PS were due back from their vacation on Sunday and LE told me she planned to surprise them when they came back.

So when Sunday rolled around, another friend phoned LE that she was headed up to the airport to pick up MS and PS. LE went into the house and brought Schnitzel and Charlie over to her yard. When MS and PS arrived home and were directed to go to their neighbor’s yard to see what was going on, their jaws dropped as they saw Charlie, Schnitzel, and J playing together.

LE has spent a considerable amount of time training her own J. And, in essence, she has been like a mother to him, especially when J had his doggy ACL surgery almost two years ago. When PS saw what LE had done with Charlie, she asked her on the spot if she would like to be Charlie’s trainer.

As of this writing, I don’t know whether LE accepted or not. But I do know this: she is damn good with dogs. And if any person can break a dog of bad behavior and habits, she can.