Meet Frank

Frank is an excellent young dog to play with and to nap with! He is house trained and does not counter surf. He is crate trained and does not chew up beds or blankets. The sight of his people makes his tail wag in happiness. Frank is still a young adult. He absolutely would do best with moderate physical and mental exercise. This means a 30-minute structured walk every (other) day, perhaps a weekly trip to the hardware store to expand his socialization. It is important to give our dogs adequate exercise, it is crucial to teach them an off-switch and how to be “bored.” During the day, Frank loves to nap in his crate. He also enjoys eating /shredded carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers and more! These are my choice of chew toys or destructuve toys – no stuffing to accidentally ingest!

Potentially having some herding breed in Frank, he is a work-hard-play-harder kind of dog! He is very handler-focused and always has the most amazing time doing training. With obedience training and impulse control, we build confidence and neutrality. Frank has no problem ignoring other people and dogs while we are out and about! Other than affection, praise and daily calories, Frank really really enjoys play as a reward. Within our structured walk, I make sure we trot and chase, to keep him engaged and eager. In our training, we teach Implied Stay, meaning stay put until a release command is given! Frank has mastered Sit, Down, and Place (aka Bed) commands – at home, on walks, at the park, and at the hardware store!

While any dog has the natural instinct to resource-guard high value resources like food /affection, Frank had one high value food fight with his foster brother, who has a history of male dog reactivity. This was preventable, and I only blame myself for it. This means we are doing more impulse control training – with high value stinky treats, with other dogs nearby. The goal is to teach appropriate response and communication. (If my toddler hit another child, yes they’ll get a consequence but they will also need guidance on how to act otherwise!) Check out his journey with Ashley, his foster mom! IG: @wu.dogs.balanced