Rescue dogs, some of the worst cases, learn basic obedience through a special training program at Triple Crown Dog Academy. Not only do the dogs start behaving better, they also help student trainers learn to communicate with dogs.

Police found “Buddy” running down the street, doused in lighter fluid and on fire. When Jane Del Re, founder of Lucky Mutts all-breed rescue in Austin, Texas, first saw the yellow Labrador-Mastiff mix in the quarantine area of a local shelter, she thought he was a lost cause. Then he wagged his tail.

“It was heartbreaking. The whole side of his body was raw and burned, but this dog was just so happy, looking at us as if to say, ‘Pet me, love me!’ I thought if this dog has been through so much at the hands of people and still likes people, this must be an awesome animal.”

But Buddy had super strength, high energy and no training. “You want to talk about an over-the-top animal,” says Del Re. “He was sloppy happy, but he was also a beast of a mutt, the size of a Lab, the head of a Rottweiler, the strength of a Mastiff. Like many rescue dogs, he was just too much dog for most people to handle. Finally we realized, this is a dog for Triple Crown.”

A Great Idea
With an 80,000-square-foot facility on 350 acres, the Triple Crown Dog Academy, just outside Austin, is one of the largest and most comprehensive dog training facilities in the world. Staffed by professional certified trainers and pet care specialists, Triple Crown offers training classes in basic obedience and competitive dog sports and specialized training for police work, search and rescue, and hunting dogs. They have 200 indoor/ outdoor dog runs, a grooming center, beach club, puppy nursery, clubhouse, pro shop, and 32,000-square-foot, climate-controlled event center for dog shows, agility trials and national specialties.

Triple Crown might sound like a place for the canine upper classes, but pampered purebreds aren’t the only dogs living and learning at Triple Crown. The Triple Crown Academy School for Professional Dog Trainers, a state-approved trade school, teaches would-be dog trainers how to become canine training and behavior specialists. When the school opened in 2000, Head Trainer and Director of Training Jessy Gabriel had a great idea: The students need to learn how to train dogs. Why not teach students to train dogs from shelters and rescue groups?

The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP) estimates that 96 percent of dogs relinquished to animal shelters across the United States have received no formal training. Owners relinquishing pets often site nuisance behaviors as the reason for giving up a dog, and Gabriel suspected that a course in basic obedience could dramatically increase the adoptability of local dogs in need of new homes. “The rescue groups can’t afford to pay training facilities, but trained dogs become a lot more adoptable,” says Gabriel.

Gabriel contacted several local rescues to find dog trainees for the Triple Crown program. “Triple Crown has been wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” says Blue Dog Rescue co-founder Lisa Taylor. “Most of the dogs we rescue haven’t been given the chance to learn any manners. We can teach them some basics, but without formal training, some of these dogs have a pretty high risk of not getting adopted or getting returned to us again. The dogs we send to Triple Crown have an exceptionally high adoption rate.”

Take “Smoky,” a 100-pound Weimaraner found wandering outside of town. “He was starving, just 60 pounds, and we took the dog in, got him vet care, had him neutered, and got him healthy again, but I could tell this dog had never had any type of home life or structure before,” says Taylor. “He was completely out of control. He wasn’t adoptable, and I thought, maybe this is his chance.”

Smoky went to Triple Crown and after eight weeks in the professional dog training program, Smoky was a brand new dog. “It was simply amazing. He was walking on a loose leash, not jumping up. He’s not perfect, but they have absolutely saved this dog’s life,” says Taylor. Smoky just had his first home visit and may well be on his way to becoming a happy family pet.

Since 2003 — the first year Triple Crown began keeping track — 300 rescue dogs have completed the school’s program and almost all of them have found homes. “We need the dogs and the dogs need training, so it works out well for everyone,” Gabriel says.

Mastering Good Manners
With established rescue-group relationships all over Austin, Triple Crown takes in dogs hand-picked by the rescue groups. “We typically get the ones that most need training to be adoptable,” says Gabriel. That usually includes plenty of Lab mixes, Chow mixes, and Pit Bull mixes, as well as herding dogs like Border Collies and cattle dogs.

“We also work with German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Doberman, Dalmatian, and Catahoula rescue dogs. We get quite a variety of dogs here, which gives our trainers a real-world sampling of the kinds of dogs and issues they will encounter when they work as professional trainers,” Gabriel says.

For a rescue dog, life at Triple Crown begins with an assessment. “When dogs first get here, we collect all the information we can — their problems, why they aren’t getting adopted, and any history — to determine what kind of training will be most beneficial,” says Gabriel. The dogs live at the Triple Crown Dog Academy kennels during the program, and student trainers take care of all the dogs’ needs: feeding, cleaning the kennels, and exercise.

“Generally each student is assigned two to three dogs. They come in as early as 7 a.m. At 8 a.m., they have a couple of training sessions, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., they are in class, during which time we also work with the dogs on obedience and agility,” says Gabriel. Evenings consist of more training sessions and exercising the dogs.

During classes, Triple Crown puts a priority on basic obedience skills and problems typical of pets. “We teach them how to come when called, sit, heel, down, go to their place, keep them from jumping up, chewing on people, the right thing to chew, all the sorts of things dogs need to know to be good pets,” says Gabriel.

When a dog shows a special aptitude for retrieving, agility, search and rescue, or obedience, Triple Crown will also use these dogs to teach trainers more advanced training techniques. Many of the trainers end up adopting the dogs themselves and going on to compete in events like agility. An Australian Shepherd/ heeler mix named “Pepper” transformed from overweight and lackadaisical to a trim agility whiz after being paired with a Japanese student at Triple Crown. “That dog ended up moving to Japan with her trainer. It was the perfect story. We still get pictures of her,” Del Re says.

Training the Trainers
Because every dog has different issues and every trainer has different aptitudes, Triple Crown makes a special effort to create dog-trainer teams that can teach each other. “Students can bring their own dogs to Triple Crown, and often they already know how to deal with their own dogs’ issues,” says Director of Training Rob Dunn. “We try to match them with a dog opposite in type to their own dog to give them a more well-rounded, balanced experience. If they bring a shy dog, we will pair them with a more open dog. A student with a well-mannered pet might get a more energetic, challenging dog.”

Keely Reed, a recent graduate now working at the Academy in the apprenticeship program, brought her rescued terrier mix to school. “‘Roland’ had no obedience and a lot of issues, but I was used to working with a small dog,” says Reed. When Triple Crown paired her with a boisterous, food-aggressive Rottweiler mix named “Dexter,” Reed had a lot to learn. “It really helped me to work with Dexter firsthand and teach him to trust me. I helped teach the people who adopted him how to deal with his issues,” says Reed, admitting to a few tears when Dexter was adopted.

“Our basic philosophy here at Triple Crown is that training is communication,” explains Dunn. “If you were to go to a foreign country without knowing the language or how to communicate, it would be extremely frustrating. What we teach our trainers here, and what we help them to teach the dogs, is that training is a way of life. Just like with any successful relationship, communication is the key, and giving students a broad base of experience is really important for us.”

After a four-, eight- or 12-week program (most students choose the 12-week program), students graduate. “It was worth it, a million times over,” Reed says. “I’m still learning so much, but I feel confident as a trainer now.” Many students go on to open their own businesses, and those dogs that haven’t already been adopted go back to their foster homes — but usually not for long. “Just by virtue of this basic training, these dogs have a dramatically reduced chance of ever ending up in a shelter again,” says Del Re.

Facilitating Adoptions
After the rescue dogs finish their Triple Crown experience, the school doesn’t forget about them. In fact, Triple Crown helps to make adoptions happen. Rescue groups advertise the adoptable dogs as “in training” at Triple Crown, and Triple Crown also maintains a Web site, www.trainedrescuedogs.com , where adopters can view dogs in the training program and then contact the rescue groups about adoption.

“Potential adopters can come in and visit the dogs while they are here. If they adopt the dog, they come in after the program is over and we do a few lessons with the student trainer,” says Dunn, explaining that this helps the new owner learn what the dog has learned, how to deliver the same cues, and how to feel comfortable with their new pet. “This also helps teach the student trainer how to work with the pet owner.”

Triple Crown also offers deep discounts for the rescue dogs on their regular training courses, and makes it a priority to stay in touch with its canine graduates. “If there are problems, we want them to call us. We keep that line of communication open for the sake of the dogs,” Dunn says.

As for Buddy, aside from large bald areas on his body, he has physically healed. In September 2004, Kara and Steve Buell adopted the newly trained dog after seeing his face on the rescue group’s Web site. The Buells changed his name to “Tug” because of his strength and exuberant play style, and Tug has blossomed.

“He still has some issues of trust and he still gets fearful in certain situations, but he’s come such a long way. He loves everybody, especially my husband and his friends,” says Kara Buell, who thinks Tug’s abusers might have been female. “He was less sure about me at first, and we are careful with him around children, but he’s doing great.”

It’s just the kind of happy ending that inspires rescuers to stick with the job. “That dog is a survivor, but the fact that he made it to where he is today just amazes me,” says Del Re. “You take a broken dog and you give it the skills to live appropriately as a pet. That’s what keeps you going.”