Trainer trends on TikTok with 2M followers

They’re not a toy that you buy, and then, you know, you’re bored with it and you throw it away.”

Mariah Leal Author and pet advocate

Support animal rescues at Garvies Point

The Rescue Paw Foundation and animal rescue shelters on Long Island will hold an event to promote awareness of rescue adoptions. Deecken and her pets will perform.

When: April 24, from noon to 4 p.m.

Where: Garvies Point Dog Park, 50 Garvies Point Road, Glen Cove

Haley Deecken knew one thing when she graduated from Glen Cove High School: She wanted to make animals her primary focus in life. 

Now an internet sensation, Deecken, 18, a dog trainer and pet advocate who lives in Glen Cove, has amassed 2 million followers on TikTok with funny videos of her nine dogs, six ferrets and three cats. The star of TheDeeckenZoo, however, is Deecken’s silver Labrador, Dunkin. 

On Instagram, she has 145,000 followers. 

As a teenager, Deecken started posting pictures of Dunkin. “It didn't start off as anything,” she said. “I was just a stupid kid posting stupid pictures of her dog who was her whole world.”

When she turned 17, she started attracting more attention online when she discovered she had a passion for making people laugh. “I really started putting an effort into my videos,” Deecken said. “I really showed off my pets’ personalities, because that’s like one of the key things in social media … you have to get their personalities in there.”

Her family has made it their mission to protect and care for all furry friends at Cove Animal Rescue in Glen Cove, where Haley has been volunteering since she was 12. “My mom’s actually a professional dog trainer,” she said. “I was pretty much born into it. She’s been working at the shelter for about seven years.”

When Haley was 13, and had been diagnosed with epilepsy, she was given the responsibility to train Dunkin, her service dog. “He actually detects my seizures about 30 minutes prior to when they happen,” she explained. “And ever since Dunkin, I just fell in love with the idea of training dogs, and I found I really have, you know, a passion for it.”

Deecken has taught her pets over 100 tricks and commands. Thanks to her skills as a trainer, one of her ferrets is appearing in an upcoming Netflix series, and Dunkin, she said, has been in commercials for BarkBox and Amazon. 

Now finishing her gap year after high school, she has been training dogs for 20 clients, and she emphasized that forming a relationship with a pet is crucial. 

Training a dog, she said, is a lifelong endeavor for the dog. Similar to children in kindergarten, puppy classes teach the basics, but there needs to be continuous training throughout a pet’s life. 

When a dog is not properly trained or socialized, it can become fearful and lash out. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, more than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year, and more than 800,000 of those bites require medical attention. Most are children. 

Animal advocate and trainer Mariah Leal, author of “The Adventures of Piper,” said that children and adults need to be educated on how to raise and train a dog. “Basically, knowing all the important points of house socializing is so important,” Leal said. “And that's where a lot of bites come from …  people who don't socialize their puppies and dogs.”

People who approach pets need the approval of the owner first, she added. “The first thing that you do is ask the person, ‘May I pet your dog?’” Leal said. “Because they may not want that. They may have trained the dog not to be petted.”

Sticking a hand in front of a dog when first meeting is rude, Deecken noted. People should sit and wait for the dog to approach on its own. 

“You have to advocate for your dog,” she said. “Not every dog is going to enjoy being petted or having kids run up to him.” 

If owners want their dogs to be well behaved in public and to listen, Deecken advised that they become the most exciting and interesting thing in their pet’s life. Engagement is key, she said. 

“You're not going to get anywhere if you have a dog and you have no bond with that dog.”

Potential owners of rescued animals should be aware that some have experienced trauma and need extra care. 

“We've seen terrible cases in Glen Cove alone,” Deecken said. 

“We had one case,  Bruce … He was left in there alone in a crate for about six days, and someone had poured boiling hot water on him, which left him with scars all over his face.”

“If you are rescuing,” Leal said, “people should be prepared that things may come up that were not picked up by the shelter.”