Ringer: The Education of His Trainer and Their Path to Blue Ribbons

By Susan Beth Morris

This the story of a beagle dog and his caring, loving friend and trainer.
Ringer was an unwanted and ignored little puppy who was growing up with an unkind and abusive family until one day a lady took him away from that and brought him home to be with her family. It was difficult to get him to behave and respond to the kindness he was not used to, so the lady instructed her children to be very kind to him. She encouraged them to feed him so that he would trust her and her children. Over time this improved his acceptance of his new surroundings and he became responsive to everyones adoration.
Eventually, the lady became interested in dog training believing that this would benefit both the lady and her dog. This later developed into a pastime that brought Ringer and his trainer to the world of Obedience training and competition.
This story tells of that journey and of how the lady became aware of the methods of encouraging a discipline which allowed Ringer and herself to understand the commands and how she desired him to behave.
The purpose of this story is about the ladies application of what she learned as it related to raising her children. How it calmed her children down allowing them to feel secure and loved even though they were being disciplined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524613914

Susan Beth Morris

Susan Beth Morris is a mother of three and is a very dedicated parent whose greatest diversion from housekeeping and organizing family operations is her love for the fur and feather covered creatures with whom we share our planet. Susan worked many years in a variety of veterinary positions at many different venues for many different professionals learning the ways and instincts of the many types of patients under her care. She learned to appreciate their needs as well as their physical composition. She learned to pay attention to what their actions and attitude told her about them through focused observation. This combination of human and animal care involvement produced a young woman whose entire being became engrossed in a life of caring for others and evolved into the formal obedience training which is described in this book. This effort was an experience for her and her beagle which proved to both of them that without question, love and persistent effort will create success in no uncertain terms. It is this realization which she wishes to share with her readers and which she applies to the daily being of her life.

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© 2016 Susan Beth Morris. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 06/16/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1392-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1391-4 (e)

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

To my Dad, thank you for believing in me and pushing me to write this book. Your love and support have helped me in so many ways. Love you Robert Stirling Morris.

Chapter One

Most afternoons at the Vet hospital were quiet. If there were no appointments, then I was alone most of the day. I would answer the phone, discharge patients and send home medications with clients the Doctor had prescribed for their pets, clean and feed the dogs and cats that were there. These were just some of my daily chores.

On this one particular afternoon, when I answered the phone, there was an older man on the line wanting to bring his dog in to be put to sleep. As I was getting all of the necessary information that I needed, Breed - Beagle, Age - three yrs., Male. I asked why he was being put to sleep. The man replied Cause he ain’t no good I replied not good at what? to which he said In the field, he ain’t no good, all he wants to do is play and say Hi to people instead of hunt, I don’t have any use for a dog like him I said ok well bring him down I have a few papers for you to sign and I will take him in, and oh by the way, what’s his name? Ringer, as in a Ringer to win. A short while later Ringer and his owner came to the hospital, as I opened the door to the reception area there was this thin, dirty, sad looking Beagle. I immediately took one look at his big sad eyes and drooping ears and before I knew what I was saying I said How about I take him home instead of having him put to sleep? The man replied Why would you want a good for nothin’ ugly dog like this hound? I said Well I have 3 children at home that I have wanted to get a dog for and I think Ringer would be perfect. He then said Well I ain’t gonna give you no papers I said That’s ok we don’t need papers to love him. He then said here then, he’s yours. And with that he left. As I stood there holding the rope leash, I began to wonder, what if I can’t have him at the house we were renting and what if my husband doesn’t want him? All I knew was when I looked into those big brown eyes, I had to save him. He was so sad and scared; I knew I could make a difference in his otherwise miserable life. Somehow some way I would make it work.

I contacted my Boss and told him the situation, and he started to laugh and chuckled I’m wondering who adopted whom? he told me to make him comfortable and once I knew if I could take him home, then we would make sure he was healthy and up to date on his vaccines before he left the hospital. After I hung up the phone, I immediately gave him a much needed bath. His coat was very dull, and smelled pretty bad. As I was rinsing him off after a good shampooing, I noticed he had more white in his coat then I noticed before. The water was turning a rusty red as I rinsed his body, indicating to me the presence of a heavy load of fleas, I then gave him an additional bath with Flea shampoo, just to be safe. Once he was all clean and dried I stood back and saw that he was not ugly at all, he was quite handsome. He was larger than a lot of beagles you see today; he was what I remembered my Dad having when I was growing up. Ringer looked to be from a good line of hunting beagles, the original hounds that were often seen and heard in the fields during rabbit season. His coat was the classic black, brown and white. He had a long white stripe on his head, going all the way down the bridge of his nose. His ears were so long, they nearly reached the tip of his nose. He had wide-set eyes that were a chocolate brown, soft and pleading. A one point I thought I saw a sparkling twinkle looking at me. As I put a big soft blanket in his cage, I whispered in his ears, that I thought he was the handsomest dog in the world. I gave him a big dish of dog food and some water. I was falling in love right there in that kennel. After I was done cleaning up everything from his bath, I looked over at Ringer and found him all snuggled up in his kennel, sleeping very soundly. It was a wonderful feeling to know I had made a little bit of a difference in his life, but if only he knew how much of a difference he was going to make in mine.

I had called my husband and told him the events of the afternoon and asked if he thought it would be ok to try to keep him. He sounded very interested but warned me of the no dog rule when we first rented the house. Later when I got home, after putting the kids to bed I called our landlords. I told them what had happened all the while remembering how the wife had told me about how when she was married to her first husband and living in the very house we were, that he had beagles and used them for hunting. In the back, behind the garage was a dog kennel that also had a rabbit hutch above where the dog house would be. That was where they kept their beagles. She asked me if the dog was ever kept inside, I said no he was out back tied to a barrel most of his life. Sadly, this is how most field trial hounds are kept. After speaking with her husband, she told me if I was willing to let him live in the kennel outside, then we could have him. She said he probably would be more comfortable there as that was the way he normally lived. I agreed of course and thanked them from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t wait to tell my children the good news.

The next morning while making breakfast, without even looking up from my skillet, I asked the children if they had ever wanted a dog. Mom, of course we want a dog!!!!!!!!!!! they replied. I asked what kind would you like, turning to fill their plates with French toast, their favorite. They gave me a list of the types they liked. I said what about a dog like Snoopy? YEAH they shouted, we want Snoopy they sang in unison. As I told them all about Ringer, what he looked like, how big he was. I also began to describe the responsibilities that were involved in having a dog, and that I would need each and every one of them to help out. They started to say which of the chores they would want to do and how best to do it. I was so excited to bring Ringer home and to start our journey together.

I purchased a well-built insulated dog house, an extra warm dog bed, set up the kennel for him with new dog bowls and a flap was also made to cover his door when it got cold. His pen was covered with chicken wire so the sun could come through to warm his house, but nothing could get inside. I purchased a nice collar and leash for him that the children helped me pick out. Everyone was so eager for our new family member to come home. After he was examined by the Vet, he was updated on his vaccines, given deworming medication and sprayed with flea prevention. He was