Trooper's Journey

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Where did you get Trooper?

I adopted Trooper when he was 5 months old from Last Paw Rescue in Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How old is Trooper?

As of July 2014 Trooper is One year and eight months old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is Trooper's breed?

Trooper's breed is not 100% known. Mom simply considers him a Pibble, meaning he appears to be a mix of breeds that fall under the Pit Bull mix label. The rescue originally said he was an American Staffordshire Terrier/Boxer mix. However I was also told he may be 100% American Pit Bull Terrier. He is 80lbs so he seems to be more Pit Bull Terrier than Staffordshire. Either way knowing his exact breed really doesn't matter. He is a good dog and he is a rescue. Rescued is the best breed!

 

What is Trooper's Story?

Trooper was likely bred by a backyard breeder. They were cropping the dogs' ears with rubber bands. My understanding is that he was from the Racine area where dogfighting does go on so it is possible he was being bred to be sold to fight. But that is speculation. His right ear was cropped really short with a rubber band, however his left ear didn't get cropped because the rubber band fell off. He also had a rubber band that got embedded in his neck likely as an attempt to kill him since he got "messed up." One of the stories I was told was that he ended up in the humane society down there and was going to be euthanized because of his breed and the fact that he was in such rough shape. That was when Last Paw Rescue stepped in and rescued him. They got him the medical attention he needed and helped mold him into the wonderful dog he has become.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trooper was only 3-4 weeks old when the rescue took him in, so it is likely the rubber band had been around his neck his whole life for it to have been embedded like it was. Once Trooper was old enough and in good health he was adopted out, but he ended up coming back to the rescue. He then was in a few different foster homes before I adopted him when he was 5 months old. It has been clear from the beginning that he has abandonment issues, so there is a persistent anxiety that he has with that, but he has grown a lot and has learned to trust that I will never leave him.

 

Why is Trooper almost always wearing a harness?

Trooper wears a harness most of the time because early on he could only wear a harness because a collar would damage his scar while it was healing. Now that Trooper is full grown the scar on his neck is higher up on his neck than where a collar would typically lay, but Mom generally uses a harness to avoid anything pulling at his neck so there is no risk of causing damage where his scar is. When he is running a lot and a few other occasions or around the house Mom will just have a collar on instead of a harness so that the harness doesn't rub his fur and skin down.

 

Trooper DOES NOT wear the harness due to being aggressive, out of control, or unmanageable as some people have thought. Most dogs are not wearing harnesses for those reasons as some people believe. Harnesses are usually used on a dog because it helps with walking the dog. Trooper wears an Easy Harness, which is a harness that clips in the front. It helps teach him not to pull because when he does, the harness tugs him a little sideways. He walks best with this harness so that is why Mom has him wearing it. Trooper has different harnesses for different activities. Some harnesses are for pulling, others are for running, and the Easy Harness is for walking. Trooper is pretty good at knowing whether or not he is supposed to pull with all of them.

 

How did Trooper get his name?

Trooper was given the name "Trooper" by Last Paw Rescue because he was a trooper to get through the abuse he endured as a puppy. One of his previous adopters did at one point give him the name Vinny. However, when he was returned to the rescue they returned his name to Trooper. When Mom adopted him she kept his name Trooper because it fit his story and she couldn't think of a name that would be a better fit for him. He seemed semi-accustomed to the name also, so she didn't want to confuse him either. She trained him quickly to know that was his name and that was the starting point for all of his training since he wasn't super responsive to it in the beginning.

 

How did you train Trooper to become a Therapy Dog?

We trained with a lot of work and practice. Trooper was very hard to train in the beginning because he was stubborn, energetic, and hard to get to focus. Typical puppy for you right there. Mom was still new to training dogs beyond "sit" and "lay down." We attended a junior obedience class at the Coulee Region Humane Society a month after I adopted him. That class was a fantastic foundation for our training and taught Mom how to go about training a dog. Shirley, the trainer there, was a great resource. However we still had difficulties because Trooper did not have focus. Eventually Mom figured out how to keep his attention and make training fun by pairing it with our daily walks. Trooper needed to be trained on how to take a walk in the beginning because he would just sit down after a block and refuse to walk. Now he loves walks, especially walks with other dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therapy Dogs generally need to pass the Canine Good Citizen test to be a therapy dog. So that was our goal and helped us have a focus for our training with the specific tasks of the test. We put off taking the official class and test for several months because there were many tasks that Trooper needed extra training and time on. A lot of it was needing him to grow out of some of his puppy behaviors. And this gave us time to tighten up our bond and communication which has played an essential role in Trooper's training. Training a dog is no easy task. One of the best ways to improve the outcome is to make sure your dog is getting the physical and mental outlets they need fulfilled and also get a good share of play and one on one attention.

 

Did you get Trooper to be a Service Dog?

I did not originally get Trooper to be a service dog, but it was something that was in the back of my mind. I got Trooper in hopes to train him to be a therapy dog because I wanted to have a dog that I could volunteer with to do pet therapy. When I went to meet Trooper I didn't even think I was going to adopt him because I had been interested in a different dog, but the rescue thought Trooper and I might be a good fit because I was not deterred by a dog with a troubled past, I was actually drawn to them. But within 10 seconds of meeting him I knew he was the dog for me and I knew he would make a wonderful therapy dog. From there with training him I found that he is incredibly intelligent. And from day 1 he helped mitigate many of my symptoms. As I started to deteriorate and struggle more I looked into what it would take to become a service dog and if that would be the most helpful route to take, and it proved to be. That is when we started looking for the right organization to help us.

 

How do you get Trooper to be so well-behaved?

I found in the beginning that while Trooper can be a crazy energetic ball of thunder, he is actually a very calm dog. The key to bringing out his calm qualities is making sure he gets an adequate amount of exercise daily. Pibbles are active dogs and thrive when they have an active lifestyle. Trooper needs AT LEAST one hour of exercise EVERY day. Most days he gets several hours of exercise, play, and mental stimulation. Dogs, like humans, need to have well rounded and structured days in order to thrive. Trooper gets mental stimulation from training, learning tricks, doing activities like agility, and solving puzzles. He gets his physical energy out by exercising, playing with other dogs, daily walks, runnnig alongside my bike, hiking, swimming, etc. I try to set aside time every day to play with him as well so that he gets to play and be a dog. He always wants to play and if he doesn't get that time in he tends to try to play with his leash or my shoes at all the wrong times. Trooper needs attention from me as well. So it is part of our routine to have one on one time where he gets lots of petting and attention. We have lives outside of our home, but for our dogs we are their world. Trooper is well-behaved because I try to give him a well-balance life where he gets his exercise, has jobs, and has a social life. A happy dog with a fulfilling life is a well-behaved dog. Though it does help immensely that he doesn't have any hound in him! And all of his training pays off because we have strong communication and a strong bond so he knows what I am saying when I give him commands.

 

Aren't pit bulls aggressive? How can he be a therapy dog or a service dog?

Pit Bulls are subject to stigma and discrimmination because of their use as fighting dogs, but the reason they are used for illegal dog fighting is because their loyalty is abused. Pit bulls are actually really great dogs who are very intelligent so they are trained as search and rescue dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, drug sniffing dogs, etc. Pit bulls score higher than most dogs on temperament tests and have an extremely loving and nurturing nature. Pit bulls were bred to not have agression towards humans. As with any terrier, however, they can have tendencies toward being dog aggressive, but this is not the case with all pit bulls. Many live in harmony with both dogs and cats alike.