Foster--Keaton

Keaton, German Shepard Mix

Keaton is quite a handful.  Very jumpy and extremely nippy.  Keaton is a very impulsive dog.  Although we started with the basics like food lure, sit, down, and kennel, we also ventured to Leave-It so that I could help get the fosters on the right path.  Although it did take him a long time (the longest I've had to wait for a dog so far), the fosters were able to see that Keaton was slowly picking up on the command.  I encouraged the foster mom to be the only one doing the Leave-It training with Keaton for now because he still bites fairly hard at your hand, and her two kids are rather young.  All three family members went through truing with Keaton on Sit, Focus, Down, and Come.  We went over all the right and wrong things to do when he jumps and nips.  The kids learned how important it is to give a dog good positive feedback so he knows exactly what behavior he should be doing.  The fosters will now be giving him more exercise and working daily with him on basic obedience skills and impulse control.  I believe with a few more weeks of good training and exorcism we will see a drastic improvement in Keaton's behavior.

Remember:  BE PATIENT!  KEEP AT IT!