As Teresa Tuttle talks about her ability to communicate with andunderstand dogs, she pauses and says, "It's hard to explain, and itmakes me sound crazy."
Tuttle's father wasn't a professional dog trainer, but she grewup watching him be able to communicate with the family dogs.
"My assumption was everybody could do it," she said.
As an 11-year-old, she remembered telling a friend not toapproach a dog because she knew the dog would bite her. The dogwasn't growling, but something about its demeanor was like "aflashing neon light above his head that he was gonna bite."Ignoring Tuttle's advice, the little girl reached out to the dogand it snapped.
"It's just a flick of the ear or tail; it's a cock of the heador a relaxed face," she said. "I truly feel like I'm gifted. My dadhad it; I have it. Everyone has their own quirks, this just happensto be mine."
Tuttle is a self-employed dog trainer and volunteer with thePermian Basin Obedience Training Club.
She began participating in agility competitions in 1996 afterrealizing her energetic 7-pound pomeranian, Kit, was able to jumpand clear a 3-foot fence. She began to see the potential in her petwhen she discovered the competitions on TV, and enlisted in a dogtraining class in Odessa.
She acquired the equipment necessary to train her dog: a teeter,dog walk, a-frame, tunnels, jumps and weave poles. The pairtraveled to advanced seminars around Texas, and after three monthswere competing in agility trials. Soon, others were asking her totrain their dogs for agility competitions, and she began givinggroup lessons. About 20-25 people in the Permian Basin participatein agility trials, Tuttle said.
Five years ago, a divorce led Tuttle to rethink her financialposition, and she took a job as an administrative assistant at theMuscular Dystrophy Association's Midland office. She took time offfrom dog training to focus on her son who has special needs, and inApril this year started giving classes again. She is starting offslow, having just finished her first novice class at an agilityfield located at the corner of Rainkin and County Road 150. Herclasses meet once a week and reach capacity at six dog owners andtheir furry friends.
"I'm teaching the people to teach the dogs," Tuttle said. "Dogsare easy; people can be hard."
The only thing holding Tuttle back from going into dog trainingfull time is the lack of benefits for self-employed professionals.She once got her hand caught in a leash and suffered a spiral breakin her finger. The resulting surgery cost $3,000.
"That kind of stuff scares me," she admitted. "How do you payfor that if you don't have health insurance?"
As a volunteer, one of Tuttle's fortes has been working withdogs that have behavioral problems. She tends to work with dogsthat have agression out of fear more than those with trueagression, oftentimes accepting them into her home.
"I take them to a quiet environment where they don't feelthreatened," she said. "We go through lots of chicken and treats. Adog that's willing to eat is not stressed and is capable oflistening and learning."
She also does temperament evaluations, where she determines thepersonality of a dog by playing with it. By doing so, she's able tohelp ensure a rescue dog will be a good fit for a prospectivefamily.
In addition to her two adult children, Tuttle has three furryfamily members in her rough coat border collie Spree, 7, goldenretriever Caper, 6, and her recently rescued short coat bordercollie Kizzy, 7 months.
"That's my shoe eater," she said, nodding at Kizzy. Chewing isto be expected from puppies, Tuttle noted. On the other hand, shehas lost a pair of blinds to a foster dog because of severeseparation anxiety.
Tuttle has been working with Kizzy on what she currently isteaching her students. She leads the dog to put its nose to herhand and waits for Kizzy to push her hand back. That motion willtransfer to the dog pushing necessary targets in agilityevents.
"Yes! Good girly," Tuttle exclaims when the dog follows through.She walks forward and backward; Kizzy follows perfectly in step,but still needs a little work walking on Tuttle's left side.
"Back, back, back," Tuttle repeats. "Awesome, that wasperfect."
The key to getting a dog to do simple tricks like sitting,laying or rolling over is to reward the dog with a treat or cookiethe moment the command is followed. Faulting more than ahalf-second might make the dog think you're rewarding it for adifferent behavior.
"If there's one thing you need to have working with dogs ispatience," Tuttle said. She spends at least five minutes everymorning and evening with Kizzy working on self control andobedience methods. Without obedience, she said, agility trainingbecomes very difficult. In an average American Kennel Club agilitycompetition, there are 18 to 21 obstacles for those in the"excellent," or top, division.
"I don't force; I shape," Tuttle said. "I want my dog to workwith me as a team. You'll find out they're extremely intelligent ifyou just spend a little time with them."
If there was any indication Tuttle truly can relate to dogs,it's the way she's treated by cats.
"Cats don't like me," she said. "They will come out and find me,bite me, and go back to where they were hiding."
She gives a knowing look to her puppy, Kizzy, saying, "Cats aremean, aren't they? Cats are bad."
Sara Higgins can be reached at shiggins@mrt.com .
Teresa Tuttle can be reached through the Permian Basin ObedienceTraining Club, (432) 570-4335 or www.pbotc.com , or by calling (432)638-7984.
Henry Funk