Caspian has accomplished a variety of wonderful things of late... He just completed his 6 week basic obedience course at Great Dog. He earned his first diploma last Monday! In addition he was the winner of the "longest down" contest meaning that he maintained his "down-stay" longer than the other dogs in class. Caspian is a star.
Caspian has shown great interest in children and has accompanied me to several humane education program sessions. Last week he was the featured dog in a summer program for youth in grades 4 & 5 in the Seatac area. The lesson for the children centered on understanding the negative impact of bullies and how to deal with bullies in their own lives. Caspian, being a bully breed dog was the perfect role model for the kids. He entered the room with complete finesse-he was calm, happy and eager to make new friends. He did not jump on anyone, responded immediately to any obedience requests and charmed the kids and staff.
Initially I could tell that several of the kids were visibly concerned by the presence of a pit bull. One child stated that she was afraid of all pit bulls because her mom told her that they all were vicious. I explained that Caspian was kind, well-behaved and well-trained. He had been tested for his ability to come and be a member of the classroom. He showed how well he was trained, did his tricks, and won the heart of everyone there. He was an ambassador for his breed and a learning tool to help the kids understand the belief "It's the DEED NOT the BREED" We discussed how sometimes the kids are misjudged for how they look, the neighborhood they live in, their family, the color of their skin, the school they attend-and we discussed how the same thing happens to Caspian. There was a real sense of identification with him, and he in turn gave love and support to every child there...unconditional love. Caspian made a positive impact on the kids and for his breed. It was a gift to be part of the experience.
He is one truly wonderful dog who is still looking for his forever home-would you like to get involved in humane education or therapy dog work? Caspian would be the perfect partner for you!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Caspian the House Hound
Caspian is doing great in his foster home with Mitch. Major kudos to Mitch for sharing his life and home with Caspian. It is obvious that they have a mutual love affair going on. Caspian needed to be in a home environment to learn how to live in a family setting. More importantly, he has learned the importance of chilling out and watching a baseball game with his favorite guy, just hangin' out on the couch. (Yes, he has permission to hang on the couch as long as he is polite, and is willing to jump off if Mitch requests him to do so. He earned the right to snuggle with Mitch by being a well-behaved house guest!)
He is learning how to relax in his crate when Mitch needs to leave him at home. He is doing well with this and is respectful of the need to be calm-especially when a stuffed Kong is his crate mate.
Come back to read tomorrow's post as I share the remarkable experience of introducing Caspian to a group of kids who learned that all pit bulls are NOT vicious. "Caspian the Ambassador" is on the schedule for the next post, but for now I have dogs to train-one of them is Caspian!
Woofs and wags to all of you Caspian fans.
He is learning how to relax in his crate when Mitch needs to leave him at home. He is doing well with this and is respectful of the need to be calm-especially when a stuffed Kong is his crate mate.
Come back to read tomorrow's post as I share the remarkable experience of introducing Caspian to a group of kids who learned that all pit bulls are NOT vicious. "Caspian the Ambassador" is on the schedule for the next post, but for now I have dogs to train-one of them is Caspian!
Woofs and wags to all of you Caspian fans.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Caspian Updates of Late...
I must apologize for being out of touch on the progress of the fabulous Caspian! So sorry to have neglected updating all of his fans. Life and work have been really hectic.
Caspian has made so much progress over the past few weeks. He is so well behaved and such a sweet boy! He loves people, kids, dogs and life in general. He is however not deemed cat safe. This is important for you to know if you are thinking about adding him to your life. Like so many terrier breeds his desire to go small quick moving kitties overcomes his generally good manners. He has demonstrated great play skills and manners with our resident chihuahua/jrt mix Linty, my JRT Opie, pugs, KCC's, and other terriers in our daycare group. He is kind and respectful of the many senior dogs in our office, including the greyhounds who rule the canine kingdom in the admin. offices!
He is able to do all basic obedience including sit, down, stay, wait, come, walk on a loose leash, go to his bed, leave it and object or food exchange. He has learned how to shake and give you five, spin and is just about to have take a bow! He has been in classes for reactive dogs as the mentor dog (meaning he is the quiet and well behaved one for the other dogs to observe)
He know what the request to be quiet is, and he is able to spend time in his crate without whining or barking. Initially he may whine for a few minutes, but he settles in pretty fast.
Everyone at Great Dog loves him and he is an ambassador for the pitbull breed!
He has accompanied me on dog bite prevention and humane education programs in elementary schools with wonderful interactions with children ages 9-11 years of age.
This dog is really a joy to know and work with-please consider giving this boy a forever home!
Caspian has made so much progress over the past few weeks. He is so well behaved and such a sweet boy! He loves people, kids, dogs and life in general. He is however not deemed cat safe. This is important for you to know if you are thinking about adding him to your life. Like so many terrier breeds his desire to go small quick moving kitties overcomes his generally good manners. He has demonstrated great play skills and manners with our resident chihuahua/jrt mix Linty, my JRT Opie, pugs, KCC's, and other terriers in our daycare group. He is kind and respectful of the many senior dogs in our office, including the greyhounds who rule the canine kingdom in the admin. offices!
He is able to do all basic obedience including sit, down, stay, wait, come, walk on a loose leash, go to his bed, leave it and object or food exchange. He has learned how to shake and give you five, spin and is just about to have take a bow! He has been in classes for reactive dogs as the mentor dog (meaning he is the quiet and well behaved one for the other dogs to observe)
He know what the request to be quiet is, and he is able to spend time in his crate without whining or barking. Initially he may whine for a few minutes, but he settles in pretty fast.
Everyone at Great Dog loves him and he is an ambassador for the pitbull breed!
He has accompanied me on dog bite prevention and humane education programs in elementary schools with wonderful interactions with children ages 9-11 years of age.
This dog is really a joy to know and work with-please consider giving this boy a forever home!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Day 9
Caspian is having another happy and relaxing day. He seems to be a bit tired today, which is expected after being with us for a full week now. He has constant activity all day long and even in the evenings and night time he has other dogs around to interact with making it a big doggie party for most of his time. We are planning on having him go home for a night or two with Samantha so he can have a bit of complete rest with her and her mellow basset hound. We think he needs some quite time where he can have lots of time to chill out.
He has mastered "down", "wait" and is on his way to achieving "leave it." He also has learned a trick "spin" which he thinks is great fun!
I observed playing last evening with two puggles (a cross between a pug and a beagle) he was so funny with them. They would run under a raised platform along the wall used for sleeping and observing by the daycare dogs, and Caspian would chase them and then turn around and they would pop out from under the platform and chase him. They were all so full of delight...tails wagging like wild with huge smiles on their faces. I left smiling too.
Like the rest of us Caspian is getting tired of the rain. When we walked outside yesterday he tried to duck back in the door to avoid the rain. He gave me a look as if to say "Really, this is not my idea of a fun walk...how about we go out for a quick pee and then go crash on your couch?"
And speaking of pee (isn't that a wonderful topic to blog about?!) We are confident that Caspian knows how to ask to go outside to do his "doggie business". When he is working in the concierge lounge we have noticed that he gets up, goes to the door, circles a few times, whines and looks at the door. This is his signal to go outside. Each time that he has done this behavior is is taken out and he immediately does his doggie business!
If you are interested in Caspian come by Great Dog in north Seattle to meet him!
He has mastered "down", "wait" and is on his way to achieving "leave it." He also has learned a trick "spin" which he thinks is great fun!
I observed playing last evening with two puggles (a cross between a pug and a beagle) he was so funny with them. They would run under a raised platform along the wall used for sleeping and observing by the daycare dogs, and Caspian would chase them and then turn around and they would pop out from under the platform and chase him. They were all so full of delight...tails wagging like wild with huge smiles on their faces. I left smiling too.
Like the rest of us Caspian is getting tired of the rain. When we walked outside yesterday he tried to duck back in the door to avoid the rain. He gave me a look as if to say "Really, this is not my idea of a fun walk...how about we go out for a quick pee and then go crash on your couch?"
And speaking of pee (isn't that a wonderful topic to blog about?!) We are confident that Caspian knows how to ask to go outside to do his "doggie business". When he is working in the concierge lounge we have noticed that he gets up, goes to the door, circles a few times, whines and looks at the door. This is his signal to go outside. Each time that he has done this behavior is is taken out and he immediately does his doggie business!
If you are interested in Caspian come by Great Dog in north Seattle to meet him!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Days 7 &8
Caspian had a restful day on Tuesday, starting off with his daycare buddies, and showing off for Laure, Christine and me by doing his "down", which he learned and retained in his first week of Basic Obedience Class Monday night accompanied by Samantha. Today I requested a "down" while out on his walk and he plopped down on the sidewalk without hesitation! Good dog, Caspian! He continues to walk like a dream on the leash without any pulling. He spent a few hours lounging with the staff on a big bed in the concierge lounge-he was snuggled under a fleece blanket and had his head on a stuffed toy. Yes, he is a bit indulged BUT when we ask him to work on his training, display good play habits in the daycare and interact effectively with people and dogs in the facility he is focused and responsive to his human partner.
At 4:45pm we joined Julie and Carolin for the ride to the Seattle Animal Shelter for our weekly class with the dog walking volunteers and the current resident dogs at the shelter. (I must add that he was a perfect gentleman for the entire car ride.) We were all curious if he would be worried upon arrival back at the shelter. He knew where he was when we turned into the parking lot, and he showed a few signs of stress when we entered the lobby. (He became very alert and licked his lips several times.) However once he saw his human friends he got very eager to great them and catch up.
Caspian served as the role model dog for our class to teach the shelter dogs how to be more relaxed when they are near other dogs. He was brilliant, calm and confident as he worked with Carolin. I think that all of the Shelter staff and volunteers were delighted to observe Caspian doing so well and being so happy. It was sure fun for the Great Dog team to let everyone see the program he has made in such a short time. BTW we all agree it is so much more about the fabulous attributes of Caspian than the work we are doing with him!
He quickly relaxed and settled in to the classroom. We had a young puppy with us in the classroom to offer it some good socialization and time out of the kennel. Caspian was very excited to see the puppy and he was initiallyoverly eager to get close and met her. We were careful to introduce them appropriately so as not to frighten the puppy. Caspian paid attention to our requests to be calm and gentle and settled down to the point that when we was given access to her he was enthusiastic but kind and gentle. He eventually settled down and ignored her for most our the time in the classroom.
Today, Wednesday, found Caspian in training session with Carolin to work on his manners while walking in the neighborhood. He is learning how to be polite when he sees other dogs and people he would like to meet. He also worked to reinforce his new "down" skill and performed like a pro for that part of his training. He spent time with Christine and Laure providing "guest service support". Caspian thinks that he must offer a wag, a wiggle and a grin to everyone who enters the concierge lounge. He does make people happy and he is beginning to serve as an ambassador for his breed on a consistent basis.
I am observing that he is really beginning to feel like he is part of the Great Dog environment. He knows his way around, is able to recognize favorite staff, clients and dogs and he is able to control himself around the shop cats. (Another plus for anyone with a cat who is interested in Caspian!) He showing that he can be trusted around cats, although we are supervising him when he is with the cats for now. I think that he may have potential to be trained to live successfully with a cat. Stay tuned for more on that as time goes on...
Tomorrow we will begin working on the concepts of "wait" and "stay" and introduce him to the concept of "leave it". I am confident that he will pick up on all of those skills fast.
For those of you who don't know me, I am very active in the many aspects of therapy dog training and work. I am seeing traits in Caspian that make me think that he could do the training and earn his therapy dog certification. If you are thinking about becoming his forever home person and you are interested in sharing in the joy of helping others by partnering with their dog to visit at hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc. Caspian is the dog for you!
At 4:45pm we joined Julie and Carolin for the ride to the Seattle Animal Shelter for our weekly class with the dog walking volunteers and the current resident dogs at the shelter. (I must add that he was a perfect gentleman for the entire car ride.) We were all curious if he would be worried upon arrival back at the shelter. He knew where he was when we turned into the parking lot, and he showed a few signs of stress when we entered the lobby. (He became very alert and licked his lips several times.) However once he saw his human friends he got very eager to great them and catch up.
Caspian served as the role model dog for our class to teach the shelter dogs how to be more relaxed when they are near other dogs. He was brilliant, calm and confident as he worked with Carolin. I think that all of the Shelter staff and volunteers were delighted to observe Caspian doing so well and being so happy. It was sure fun for the Great Dog team to let everyone see the program he has made in such a short time. BTW we all agree it is so much more about the fabulous attributes of Caspian than the work we are doing with him!
He quickly relaxed and settled in to the classroom. We had a young puppy with us in the classroom to offer it some good socialization and time out of the kennel. Caspian was very excited to see the puppy and he was initiallyoverly eager to get close and met her. We were careful to introduce them appropriately so as not to frighten the puppy. Caspian paid attention to our requests to be calm and gentle and settled down to the point that when we was given access to her he was enthusiastic but kind and gentle. He eventually settled down and ignored her for most our the time in the classroom.
Today, Wednesday, found Caspian in training session with Carolin to work on his manners while walking in the neighborhood. He is learning how to be polite when he sees other dogs and people he would like to meet. He also worked to reinforce his new "down" skill and performed like a pro for that part of his training. He spent time with Christine and Laure providing "guest service support". Caspian thinks that he must offer a wag, a wiggle and a grin to everyone who enters the concierge lounge. He does make people happy and he is beginning to serve as an ambassador for his breed on a consistent basis.
I am observing that he is really beginning to feel like he is part of the Great Dog environment. He knows his way around, is able to recognize favorite staff, clients and dogs and he is able to control himself around the shop cats. (Another plus for anyone with a cat who is interested in Caspian!) He showing that he can be trusted around cats, although we are supervising him when he is with the cats for now. I think that he may have potential to be trained to live successfully with a cat. Stay tuned for more on that as time goes on...
Tomorrow we will begin working on the concepts of "wait" and "stay" and introduce him to the concept of "leave it". I am confident that he will pick up on all of those skills fast.
For those of you who don't know me, I am very active in the many aspects of therapy dog training and work. I am seeing traits in Caspian that make me think that he could do the training and earn his therapy dog certification. If you are thinking about becoming his forever home person and you are interested in sharing in the joy of helping others by partnering with their dog to visit at hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc. Caspian is the dog for you!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Day 6
Monday found Caspian delighted to welcome all of the regular daycare dogs back for play, naps in the sunshine and back for more play. Caspian is especially fond of a lovely lab/pit mix who is the same age and approximate size as him. They always greet each other with a play bow and the romping begins.
Caspian has two specific jobs now: first he spends part of every day in the concierge lounge greeting clients and keeping Laure and Christine company as they work. He works very hard at being guest service oriented. He offers tail wags and kisses to any client that he feels needs some special attention. Next he helps Christine organize all of the belongings, treats and food for the dogs who have checked in for overnight care. He follows her about as she puts belonging in each dogs storage space. He sits patiently as she post
He attended his first session of obedience class on Monday evening with his human friend from Daycare, Samantha. I was there to see him enter class, which he did with well-mannered attention to Samantha. He was initially very stimulated by the other dogs in the room. He maintained his composure fairly well until one of his old kennel mates from the Seattle Animal Shelter came into the room. Both dogs shared loud vocal greetings and tried to get closer to each other. Samantha took the time to redirect Caspian by asking him to watch her and sit for a treat. He responded to the request and was able to settle right down. This class was the first time that Caspian had been requested to be on leash and calm with a group of other dogs he did not know. He was initially pretty excited and eager to meet every dog and new person. He had to learn that in class not all dogs and even some people, are not open to meeting new dogs. He needed to take the time to read other dogs canine body language and then interpret how to behave. For the most part he handled this well and was able to display nice manners to other dogs and people. He is working hard to be a good ambassador for his breed, American Pit Bull Terrier.
The class itself was pretty hectic (very normal for a first session of basic obedience, most dogs have no idea what they should do) but Caspian was very good and worked well for Samantha. He finished class with sleeply eyes and returned to overnight playcare with dreams of becoming the best dog in class!
Have you been reading about Caspian and thinking that you would like to think about adopting him? Then contact the Seattle Animal Shelter and set up an appointment to meet him! He would be such a great addition to your life!!!
Caspian has two specific jobs now: first he spends part of every day in the concierge lounge greeting clients and keeping Laure and Christine company as they work. He works very hard at being guest service oriented. He offers tail wags and kisses to any client that he feels needs some special attention. Next he helps Christine organize all of the belongings, treats and food for the dogs who have checked in for overnight care. He follows her about as she puts belonging in each dogs storage space. He sits patiently as she post
He attended his first session of obedience class on Monday evening with his human friend from Daycare, Samantha. I was there to see him enter class, which he did with well-mannered attention to Samantha. He was initially very stimulated by the other dogs in the room. He maintained his composure fairly well until one of his old kennel mates from the Seattle Animal Shelter came into the room. Both dogs shared loud vocal greetings and tried to get closer to each other. Samantha took the time to redirect Caspian by asking him to watch her and sit for a treat. He responded to the request and was able to settle right down. This class was the first time that Caspian had been requested to be on leash and calm with a group of other dogs he did not know. He was initially pretty excited and eager to meet every dog and new person. He had to learn that in class not all dogs and even some people, are not open to meeting new dogs. He needed to take the time to read other dogs canine body language and then interpret how to behave. For the most part he handled this well and was able to display nice manners to other dogs and people. He is working hard to be a good ambassador for his breed, American Pit Bull Terrier.
The class itself was pretty hectic (very normal for a first session of basic obedience, most dogs have no idea what they should do) but Caspian was very good and worked well for Samantha. He finished class with sleeply eyes and returned to overnight playcare with dreams of becoming the best dog in class!
Have you been reading about Caspian and thinking that you would like to think about adopting him? Then contact the Seattle Animal Shelter and set up an appointment to meet him! He would be such a great addition to your life!!!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Day Five
Caspian had a day of play with the small Sunday group of overnight playcare dogs. He is sleeping and eating well. His buddy Samantha came in on her day off to make sure he had a long walk and some time to practice his wonderful obedience skills. He is so motivated to learn and please it is a pleasure to work with him. On Monday he will be attending his first group basic obedience class with Samantha. I have taken lots of pictures of him that I promise to post as soon as I get the time! Stay tuned...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)