Adopting a high energy older puppy

Over the weekend I adopted a new puppy – a 10 month old black lab and husky mix (maybe) who has TONS of puppy energy and strength and weighs around 55-60 pounds.  It dawned on me that sharing the training experience might be helpful for folks who have high energy, out of control dogs.

Meet my new puppy Casey:

Casey’s reaction in a new environment

Casey’s story

Casey’s previous people were a lovely young family that gave him up for all of the right reasons.  Like too many families, they had a 1 year old baby and thought getting a puppy was a great idea.  Unfortunately the baby, now 2, is at the age of getting into everything and Casey, at 10 months, is hitting the next high energy, into everything, and out of control stage.  They simply didn’t have the time, energy, or resources to handle both.  I’m grateful that they realized they weren’t giving him what he needs and decided to find another home for him.  Enter me.

Casey was raised with one adult dog on a farm.  This means that entering an urban environment is over stimulating to the max.  Everything is new!  He had never been in a car, never seen groups of people and, especially, had never seen groups of dogs.  Or deer. Or people running.  Or traffic. Or bikes. Or heard the sound of neighbors. Or watched people walk by. Or, or, or.  Name it and it’s new to him.

What Casey needs to learn

The good news is that he is a curious guy who is fascinated by everything.  The bad news is that he has absolutely no impulse control, which means he’s attracted by every shiny new object that passes his vision – which is pretty much everything. Here’s what else he doesn’t know:

• How to control his impulses
• How to get into a car
• How to walk on a leash
• That he can’t just run up to people and jump on them
• Basic commands such as sit, stay, down, heel, come, etc.

In other words, Casey is a clean slate and doesn’t really know much of anything except that life is exciting. He’s open, curious, and wants to explore it all.  This is good news.  It means that, with proper direction, he is willing and eager to face this new and strange world he finds himself in.

My work is cut out for me.  And I’m really looking forward to it.  As an aside, I will definitely get in shape having an active guy like this around!

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