Champion dog whisperer making a difference for pets
Jeff Feuerwerker is our local version of the Dog Whisperer.
VIENNA TWP., Ohio - Jeff Feuerwerker is our local version of the Dog Whisperer.
"It's actually a very common question," said Jeff, better known as Jeff the Dog Trainer. "I show up to someone's house and a couple seconds into it they look at each other and then, 'Are you a whisperer?'"
He went to school for it like other dog trainers, but Jeff always had this extra connection.
"Often times, it can be instantaneous when I walk through the door," said Jeff.
With a puppy like Boujee, it's all about learning the basics, but he also specializes in older, more aggressive dogs to break some of those old habits.
"Some dogs are more challenging than others," said Jeff. "They're giving you subtle signs and subtle cues with their body language that actually indicate how they feel about you."
"A dog is looking for a leader. And an absence of leadership, that's when they step up to the plate and we have all these behavioral issues because a dog doesn't know how to pay taxes," Jeff said.
So Jeff steps in as a leader, and just might end up leading an entire movement around here.
Jeff's worked with some local shelters in the past and says that's an area he can focus on and really make a difference moving forward, helping some of those dogs that are having trouble getting adopted and finding that forever home.
"The very first dog I rehabbed and trained on a professional level was a dog named Adam that was a Rottweiler mix with a sign at the shelter that said, 'I bite'," said Jeff. "This was a dog that bit everyone in the family, bit everyone that came near him. We had neighborhood kids, parents in that household for Adam's graduation day. Might have been 20, 30 people and Adam was fine with everyone."
"We have not only a benefit to the animal, but we have a benefit to the people who are adopting the animals that we have to place and there's a lot," said Rufus Sparks, a board member of the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.
"I feel like dogs could live a much better life if we empower people to be better equipped when they bring the dogs into their home, which would mean less dogs go back," said Jeff.
A whisperer on a mission to give dogs and their owners the friend they deserve.
Jeff runs CIA Dog Training in Champion and also has a series of YouTube videos, aimed at helping dog owners.
