All The Pawsibilities : Back In The Saddle

As some of you may or may not have known, my role within paws4people has changed, but my passion hasn't. I'm lucky enough this week to keep 3 of our newest trainees before transporting them down to the Puppy Development Center in Wilmington. It's been great to work hands-on with puppies again! In particular, one of the puppies is 6 months old. Typically at this age, our puppies are in prison and are solidifying their knowledge of the command matrix. Over the past few days I have watched this boy go from the dog that sunk his claws into me as I had to lift him up and force him into the kennel in my car, the dog that threw up almost constantly the whole way home from stress, into a dog that is eager to learn and now willingly goes into his kennel on command, and is learning to enjoy riding in the car. That is what I love about this job. The change you see in demeanor, the confidence you see develop, the way the dogs learn to work things out for themselves in the world we live in.

This week is a little different than a normal puppy time. I have three of various spread out ages, plus my own personal puppy, who adds a wild card into the mix. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses that they are learning to work through and it's been awesome seeing them do it. The littlest, HUDSON, is only 8 weeks old, he's never been out in the world and everything is new to him. He can still be a little uncertain, but he's taking the lead from the older dogs that everything is fun and exciting. He's obviously the most malleable when training, and it's been fun to work his little brain. He's the perfect mix of laid-back and spunk! MOSBY is 12 weeks old, so a little more set in his ways, he also happens to be a little more headstrong, but sweet as can be and is coming around to use his confidence as an advantage when he's training. He's a smart guy, who has already worked through some issues, such as resource guarding toys. And as I mentioned before, BRAXTON, who is 6 months old, is just a whole new ball game. He has really come out of his shell, and he looks to me for what is right and wrong. And then add in Emerson, my own puppy, who is 15 weeks old and as rotten as they come.

Now here's a few pictures to satisfy your puppy fix!