Meet Charli Saul
1. How you are connected with MagMutts?
My name is Charli Saul, I’m the trainer at Deerfield Animal Care Center! We fostered Mini for about a month and I had the pleasure of working with her on some training goals. Mini had had some trouble getting adopted because she had a tendency to jump up on people and is an excitable gal. While she was with us, I taught her some good coping skills including loose leash walking, place and door manners to help her new family communicate with her effectively.
2. What’s the most rewarding thing about working with rescues?
It’s so wonderful to see a dog come in, to get to know them and to help them work through any issues they have and then to see them thrive in their new fur-ever home! Every dog deserves the help they need to find a family that will love them forever.
3. Describe your most memorable training moment.
Training is definitely not a boring passion that’s for sure! Every dog learns differently and it’s so much fun to learn about each individual dog and what their quirks are. My favorite part of training is seeing things click with a dog. For example, when I was training my own dog Malfoy on “place” it was so fun seeing him really understand what I was asking of him and sprinting over to the bed from several feet away and being so excited about it. That’s always the best feeling, the dog is really working with you in those moments and it’s the most rewarding feeling.
Meet Derrick S. Rollerson II
1. How you are connected with MagMutts.
My name is Derrick S. Rollerson II, and I’m connected to MagMutts through Elmhurst Animal Care Center as their trainer and MagMutts volunteer trainer.
2. What’s the most rewarding thing about working with rescues?
The most rewarding thing about working with rescues is giving the dogs a head start in staying in their forever home. A good of portion of dogs in shelters are from families that didn’t do any training or very little training with the dogs and felt like the “behavioral” issues were too much. By working with the rescues, we can instill some basic manners and obedience so that the future parents aren’t too quick to become discouraged.
3. Describe your most memorable training moment.
One of my most memorable moments was working with a young dog who was very nervous, timid and afraid of everything. After a few sessions of just hanging around him, I was able to win his trust, he started to open up and be a happy pup who liked being around people. It truly was a great accomplishment in my book.