Hutch (Husky/Wolf Mix)

This is Hutch, a Siberian Husky and Wolf mix. He's not my dog, but he thinks he is. He's 6 years old and, until this past March, lived chained to a big tree across the street in a neighbor's back yard. His real owners don't believe in inside dogs. He has a doghouse, water, and food. That's what the law says he should have, and that's all he had.

I'm a dog lover and have 3 dogs of my own. Hutch would spend his days watching me interact with my dogs. He had very limited human contact, no obedience training at all, and had not been socialized. His owner noticed that Hutch was constantly watching me, and said I could come over and pet him whenever I wanted.

To make a very long story short, the owner, for some reason or another, has been in prison since September. What little attention Hutch ever got was now gone. So I started wandering over there every day to get to know him and would bring him dog cookies. My first problem was he always jumped and was constantly knocking me down. I'm learning how to walk again myself after coming down with Transverse Myelitis, so my balance isn't the best to start with. I taught Hutch the only way I would pet him was if he faced away from me, so I could pet him. Within a couple of weeks, I started brushing him, too.

I talked the owner's father into getting the yard fenced. For the first time in his life, Hutch was unchained and able to run free. My first few times in the backyard with him running free was pretty rough. I left a spray bottle of water on the gate. Anytime I entered the yard, if he jumped on me I gave him a squirt.

For a few weeks, all I did was give him cookies, brushed him, and just basically earned his trust. I had serious doubts about my own sanity whether I should even attempt to leash train him or not. Imagine a 70 pound Mexican jumping bean on steroids; that's a really good way for me to describe Hutch. But he had such a sad life, that one way or another I knew I was going to teach him to walk on a leash.

The year before, I lost my beloved Parker who was a 135 pound Black Lab and Rott mix at almost 11 years of age. I still had all the stuff that I had trained him with. I decided to teach Hutch to walk on a Gentle Leader, which is sort of like a head harness for a horse. It will stop any dog from pulling it's owner. It took me 45 minutes the very first time to put it on Hutch.

Ready or not, I opened the gate and out we went. Hutch acted like I was killing him, he did the death roll, up and down the street. I was waiting for one of my neighbors to call the police about animal abuse. Neighbors drove by very slowly and asked if I needed help controlling him. I knew my first walk with him would be rough but not in my wildest dreams did I ever expect this. On a good note, all his craziness actually tired him out. For about 5 minutes, we had a very enjoyable walk.

By the time we got back, I decided since he was so tired, I might as well ruin the rest of his day and promptly gave him his first bath. For a dog who has never had a bath, he did great and he cleaned up so nicely.

He quickly learned he had to wear the Gentle Leader, if he wanted to go for a walk, and he had to sit still for me to put it on. By our 5th walk I was using a regular leash. He matched my own gait, as I walked with a cane. If he started to get head strong all I had to do was tell him, "easy boy", and he'd slow back down. It was a whole new world to him to get walked every day. No matter how sore I was or how bad my legs hurt, I still walked him. When it rains, he sits by the gate and knows I'll still come.

He's a runner, and if he escapes it's very difficult to catch him, so I started training him on a retractable leash when I walked him. It also gave him a lot more freedom to sniff and do what dogs do. My next project was teaching and enforcing the "come" command. I carry a treat pouch and throughout our walk every 5 minutes, I'll call out, "Hutch come". He learned very quickly that hot dogs were a good thing. He now knows the command, and he knows he has to sit for me to attach the leash and sit for me to remove it when we get back. He has truly come a long, long way since I started working with him.

He wasn't socialized as a puppy, so he does not play well with other dogs. He's jealous of my dogs, and my dogs are jealous of him. Speaking of playing, none of my dogs ever played with any of Parker's old toys, so I gave them all to Hutch, not thinking I would actually have to show this dog how to play. He hadn't a clue. When and if his owner returns home, Hutch is going to be a totally different dog. I write to his owner, send him pictures, and keep him updated on everything I've been doing with his dog.

As I write this, I am covered with poison ivy, because I always give Hutch big hugs, and apparently there must be some poison ivy in his backyard. Last night, I walked him very late in my pajamas, because it had rained all day. So there I am hobbling down the street, near midnight with Hutch on the retractable leash, and he sees a rabbit. All my training went in one ear, out the other, and he yanked me off my feet. I fell down, and he was running top speed to catch the rabbit.

The retractable leash caught up with him within 10 feet and hit him in the butt and scared poor Hutch half to death. He just stood there, terrified to move, and I can't even begin to imagine what he must of thought. I wasn't hurt, and he now has a whole new respect for the retractable leash.

This afternoon I walked him early ,because we were suppose to get a lot of rain later on. As luck would have it, he saw another rabbit. But lucky for me it was still daylight out. I was able to give him a quick correction, and we continued on our walk with no problems.

A few days before, my legs were hurting really bad. I asked my husband to walk over to get Hutch, and bring him to our house. I would give him a short walk, just to keep my promise to myself that he would always be walked. As I sat on my front porch, I was sort of curious if Hutch would listen to my husband or not. For the next 5 minutes, I watched my poor husband, who is a big guy, get jumped on. Hutch who was very obviously happy to see him but did not listen to him at all.

Another neighbor was also watching, and we both covered our mouths so we wouldn't be heard or seen laughing. He finally somehow attached the retractable leash, opened the gate, and Hutch ran to me, dragging my husband behind him. My husband was holding the 25 foot leash and told me he had everything under control.

Not only did Hutch run to me, but once he got there, he sat as pretty as any show dog could, and got his piece of hot dog.

Though I am a dog person and used to show in Obedience, I knew nothing about Siberian Huskies and did some research on them. First off, they love to dig. I sort of knew that because there's two huge holes in Hutch's backyard deep enough to bury a person or two. They're also stubborn and it's like you have to earn the right to be their master. I'm not saying I earned that right, but when he escaped the other day after someone left the gate open he returned to me, when I shouted out for him to come.

Like I said, he's not my dog. I like to think of myself as his care giver, foster mother, or at the very least he views me as someone he respects enough to obey. I always go over there when my dogs are having their own dinner, so I'm not taking any quality time away from them. Also, when we walk now my neighbors stop, say hi, and pet him.

I'm always asked if he's the big white dog that used to be tied to the tree. All the kids in the neighborhood love him, because he's super fluffy and soft. For a dog who has never been around anyone, other than his owner, he is so gentle with kids. I can't save all the dogs in the world, but for at least this one dog, I do make a difference.

I am so glad my husband isn't a computer person. If he read this and knew that I've been bringing Hutch over when it's over 100 degrees, he would truly think I lost my mind. Lucky for us, I can leave my 3 dogs in the den with the TV on, put up a doggy gate, and close the den door. I put up another doggy gate in the kitchen, and close all other doors. Hutch falls asleep under the ceiling fan, and is as good as good can be well, at least for me.

Anyway, thank you for reading this. Other than my neighbors, no one else knows I've been working with Hutch. What I wouldn't give to spend time with the Dog Whisperer who I greatly admire. I wonder what he would think of Hutch.

By CPJ from Madison, AL