A K-9 Corrections update
Check out this cutie pie. His name is Nico and he is an 18 month old akita mix. He is our newest resident in the K-9 Corrections program. He needs to learn not to jump on people when he greets them, not to pull on leash, and not to freak out when he sees other dogs. It turns out he used to go to dog parks when he was young but had a bad experience where he got attacked (and hurt) by another dog. He has since become afraid of them. His response when he sees one now is to get offensively defensive. In simple terms it is: attack first, ask questions later.*
I don't expect to get him to want to be social with other dogs, but we at least need to teach him a different emotional response to seeing them, and impulse control. With people he is super social and everyone there already really likes him. They keep trying to label him a pit mix though which I don't believe he is. You can definitely see the akita though. (Sidenote: Pitbulls aren't allowed on the program at this time. I hope that may change in the future but unfortunately it's not my call.)
Walker went to a new home on Saturday for a trial slumber party. The bad news is that he only lasted about 3 hours. He chewed on the recliner, did some counter surfing and scared the young child in residence when he barked at a visitor. It's ok. We learned some more things about him and we will find a better match next time. He did great at the Fur N Foliage shelter event playing with the other dogs there. He is now staying at the shelter so he can be seen by potential adopters. (and play with other dogs daily)
*I have another dog on deck to start the program on Saturday. I'm going to keep that info under wraps for now in case something changes. I'll just say she is very cute and needs to learn that all people aren't bad.
