Introducing: Roko

Meet Roko [pronounced “Rokko”], a 7-months-old Border Collie/Mastiff/Great Dane. Roko will be coming to board and train with me for three weeks for basic obedience training, socialization, manners, and more.

Roko had his first introduction to Glimmer last night. His excitement level was so high that he tried jumping her whenever he could get close enough to her. He doesn’t understand that his way of greeting is not appropriate, and though she repeatedly gave him all the right signals to get him to settle down, Roko didn’t read them. All he wanted to do was play with her. His frustration with being denied presented with him chewing on his leash, barking, whining, lunging, and jumping on me and – when we were close enough to them – his people.

Roko has a long road ahead of him, but he’s incredibly smart. It only took him a few tries last night to learn that jumping on me or his people and barking at us in demand for attention resulted in him being ignored, but keeping his feet on the floor and being calmer resulted in affection.

I’m looking forward to taking this beautiful boy and helping transform him into a much better behaved, much calmer dog for his family. Stay tuned for updates – and remember: Stay calm, and lead on. 🙂