Welcome to the Pack: Forrest
Forrest is an estimated 6 month old Aussie who recently came from the Coshocton County Animal Shelter & Humane Animal Treatment Assoc. and has been with his new family for almost a month now!
We don’t know much about Forrest’s life before the shelter, but what we do know is that this sweet boy is lacking some socialization and confidence. New people, other dogs, and things he hasn’t been exposed to yet can make him pretty nervous, so over the next several weeks, we’re going to work on helping him slow down, take in the world around him, and realize that not everything needs a reaction.
Today we kept things pretty low stress and went for a walk so I could get to know him and see how he handled the world around him. In the beginning, he was barking at people and other dogs we passed. We introduced the prong collar to help us communicate with him more clearly, worked on engagement, and rewarded the heck out of the good choices he made.
And he made some BIG progress just within our first session!
Toward the end of our walk, we passed two different couples and Forrest walked right by without barking at either of them.  THAT is a win in my book, and exactly what we’re going for!
He also warmed up really well to me once we got moving and had some time to settle in. We aren’t going to force interactions or expect him to suddenly love every person or dog he sees. Our goal is to build his confidence, teach him to look to his handler for guidance, and show him that he can simply exist around people, dogs, and new things without feeling like he has to react.
And of course, Forrest is also your typical herding breed puppy.  He can be pretty nippy, and we talked a lot about how some of that bitey-ness can come out when he’s bored and that busy brain doesn’t have enough to do. Mental enrichment is going to be a BIG part of helping him! Food puzzles, KONGs, scatter feeding, sniffing games, and DIY enrichment are all great ways to give his brain an appropriate outlet and help work through some of that.
Forrest will also be joining a group class soon, which will give us even more opportunities to work around people and dogs in a controlled environment.
I think he did pretty darn good today. I’m excited to see where this sweet boy is a few weeks from now!
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