Meet The Crew!
To kick of our blog, I thought we would do a quick "about us" type post!
My hope with this blog to produce helpful articles for living with your deaf/blind dog. Feel free to send us a message/email with topic requests!
First of all, my name is Amanda. I am the trainer behind Thumbs Up Training. I share my life with a diverse crew of animals.
I fell in love with dog training because of my deaf dog, Keller. Being a vet tech, I already had a small understanding of dog behavior, but Keller was a quite challenging girl and pushed me a to learn a lot more.
I went through and finished the Karen Pryor Academy with Keller in 2019 and am now a certified training partner with them. I am also a certified trick dog instructor. Teaching tricks is honestly one of my favorite things to do. It's so much fun and really helps you bond with your dog. I am also fear free certified.
My training methods are force free and involve a marker system and positive reinforcement.
I recently went back to school and am working on my Bachelors in Animal Health and Behavior.
I am drawn to deaf and blind dogs primarily, but offer training services for all dogs.
Enough about me though, let me introduce the crew!
Firstly, we have Kai.
Kai is my first dog. She's the momma bear around our house and loves everyone and everything. She'll be 10 this year! Kai loves to swim and will play ball until she drops.
Second, we have Keller.
Keller is deaf and vision impaired and was my first experience with a deaf dog. She's taught more than I ever imagined possible. Keller and I have worked through a ton of behavior problems like severe dog selective-ness, being afraid of people, and being super anxious in general. Keller has earned her Expert Trick dog title and competes in agility.
Third is Crosby.
Crosby was adopted as a tiny little barn kitten and has grown up in our home. He's a typical cat and pretty shy. Things are mostly done on his terms, but he does know how to do a few tricks because he loves food!
Next we have Calamity.
Calamity is deaf and blind. She was adopted through my rescue, Keller's Cause. When she came to me as a puppy, she could see, but has always been deaf. At around a year and half, she went blind. Calamity also has her Expert Trick title and competes in Rally Obedience against seeing/hearing dogs!
I lost track of which number we are on, but next up is Canon!
Canon is deaf in one ear, but you honestly wouldn't even know it. He is my sport dog through and through. He loves agility and fastcat. He also does rally and dabbles in disc!
Next up is Midge.
Midge was trapped outside my house as a stray for TNR project I started. I thought she was a kitten so I decided to keep her inside and rehab her and adopt her out. She turned out not to be a kitten and is just a super small cat. Calamity fell in love with her and they're best friends, so she never left!
Lastly, we have Hamilton.
Hamilton just joined our crew recently as he was surrendered back into our rescue. He is deaf and has a lot of different problems we are working through. We aren't quite sure what the future holds for him, but he's happy here for now!