This past Monday we sat down with Leeanne Sciolto and her one and a half year old Mantle Great Dane, Jude, at their home in Washington, D.C. Leeanne opened up about the "hilarious and humbling" nature of her life with Jude for this first installation in #TOCStories, our special series featuring members of our TOC community.

When Leeanne Sciolto first met her Great Dane, Jude, he was only six weeks old. She drove two hours outside of D.C. to a breeder, and even though he was in a litter of ten other dogs, she immediately fell in love. "He just had a kind of exuberant free spirit to him and he liked to play. He was a big love bug and he still is today," she gushed.

Before getting Jude, Leeanne was going through a tough time. "I had just had a really devastating breakup that still chokes me up to this day talking about it ... and I had a bad situation at work. I was working 12 plus hour days. I needed something for myself. I needed something that was going to make me leave the office. I needed something that was going to make me get out of bed on the weekends and not just close myself in and cuddle with my cat," she remembered. It wasn't long before she realized that Jude had “saved her life.”

How Problem Solving and Consistency Are Key to Jude’s Training Routine

Because of Jude's size (he's 125 pounds and still has about 20 pounds left to grow), Leeanne quickly decided that training would be an integral part of their daily lives. In the beginning, she hired professional trainers. After that she continued to work with him everyday to maintain what he learned and grow their bond.

When it came to training Jude at home, Leeanne faced a big challenge: he is not food motivated. After buying him pretty much every treat on the market (think soft, hard, smelly, and non-smelly) she discovered that he only really enjoys cheddar cheese and ham. When Jude is stressed, he will not eat. To complicate things, he is also reactive to sounds, so if he and Leeanne stand outside of their front door, he likely won't take cheese or ham out of her hand because there are too many things going on outside around them.

“I've really had to figure out what motivates him, what makes him tick, and work with him as he presents himself with whatever else is going on ... That's one of things I was drawn to with the Tails of Connection Challenge ... It really emphasizes that you just need five minutes a day, and it gives you something to focus on with your dog every day. It's a great reminder and a good excuse to spend five minutes working with this big little guy working on our relationship.”

Why Leeanne and Jude Find Joy on the Water

According to Leeanne, even though Great Danes are known for being giant couch potatoes and not needing a lot of exercise, Jude is always up for an outdoor adventure, especially if it involves the water. The pair have road tripped up to Cape Cod and stayed on the beach, and one of the things that they like to do in the summer is standup paddle boarding. From the beginning, Leeanne worked hard to help Jude fall in love with the water. Now he loves the water so much that there's been more than one occasion that he will actually jump in the shower with Leeanne. Jude also has his own kiddie pool for the summer, and when it rains, he loves playing in the "liquid sunshine."

You can follow Leeanne's life with Jude through their instagram account. If you're interested in future Tails of Connection Challenges, let us know here.

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