PERSONAL DOGS
Abbe currently has eight personal dogs: Gemma, Oliver, Tango, Scout, Sly, Mayhem, BK, and Jax
Gemma, CGC, TDI, RATI, RATN, RATO, RATS, RATM, CZ8B
An American Staffordshire Terrier/English Bulldog mix rescued from the Lorain County Dog Kennel at approximately 2-3 years old, Gemma initially displayed extreme leash pulling, resource guarding, and food aggression towards other dogs. After intensive training, she was not only able to work through her behaviors, but also passed her Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Certification with flying colors - in a matter of months. Gemma has been a certified therapy dog since March 2014 and is currently visiting a local primary school, participating in a reading program for young students, kindergarten to second grade. Gemma also began competing in a dog sport called Barn Hunt in March of 2019 and has already accomplished titles in Instinct, Novice, Open, Senior, Masters, and Crazy 8's Bronze.
Oliver, CGC
An American Staffordshire Terrier, Oliver was surrendered to the rescue at 5-6 weeks old and has been with Abbe (fostered, then adopted), ever since. In addition to being a great ambassador for bully type breeds, attending dog events, speaking engagements on dog safety, and visiting an assisted-living facility, Oliver is also calm, sweet-natured, and the go-to for testing and socializing new dogs.
Tango, CGC, RATI, RATN
A black Labrador retriever, Tango was born in January 2017. She has been with Abbe since eight weeks old, off-leash trained by six months, and currently accompanies Abbe as a demo dog to most evaluations, lessons, and events. Tango was started with a solid foundation of communication, engagement, and obedience exercises, and has become a very good example of what can be accomplished, at a young age, within the context of the human/canine relationship. Tango has passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog tests. Tango has also began competing in Barn Hunt and has earned her Instinct and Novice titles so far.
Scout
A Bloodhound born in March 2017, Scout had a rocky start. With poor breeder socialization and little to no human contact up to 12 weeks of age, she was food aggressive, extremely fearful of other dogs and terrified of the outdoors. She started as a rehabilitation foster at about 15 weeks old, being subsequently adopted by Abbe and her pack. With training and appropriate socialization, she began to trust and gain confidence. Food aggression is now a thing of the past, and she has comfortably (and joyfully!) attended numerous dog events for the past two years. Scout has passed AKC Canine Good Citizen test as well as Therapy Dog Test.
Sly
Born July of 2017, Sly is a Chihuahua/Pekingese/terrier mix. At only 17 lbs, he is social, confident, occasionally full of attitude, and Abbe’s helper for socializing clients around smaller dogs. (And yes, he was another foster failure.)
Mayhem
An Australian Shepherd born February 2019 is an up and comer in the pack and taking on a large role of helping clients and foster dogs learn how to properly interact with other dogs. She is also off leash trained with excellent recall.
BK
Rescued fall of 2020 at approximately 1 years old by the International Humane Society from a South Korean meat market, he found his way to a rescue in Ohio. He is a Jindo, Chihuahua and a few other breeds per his DNA test. BK has severe fear issues as he was never properly handled by humans until being rescued. His first rescue could not even get him out of his kennel for over a month and reached out to a foster based rescue for help. BK struggled in his first foster home to open up to humans and arrived at Abbe's home not being able to be touched and would only be near a human if on a leash or crated. He soon found Oliver to be his first guide. Oliver took BK and showed him how to be a dog in a human world. Because of his level of fear and his very close connection with Oliver, Abbe chose to officially adopt BK. BK would take many more months, years of rehab to truly be adoptable and well he already knew he was home. BK's progress is ongoing but now enjoys touch in safe scenarios. He loves his two humans and all his fur brothers and sisters. BK is extremely dog social and LOVES to play with other dogs.
Jax
Born September of 2021 a pure bred Bernese Mountain Dog. He loves everyone and everything and has started his training with the goal of one day being a therapy dog.
In addition to having brought her current, eclectic “pack” to a state of balance, some of her past dogs had also been worked through severe human and dog aggression, leash reactivity, and resource guarding.
