Introducing: Odin

Meet Odin, a 9-month-old German Shepherd who loves his family, life, and everything in between, but who is just a little bit precocious. 😀

When people come to the door, Odin tries to bolt out to meet them. On walks, he grazes and eats whatever he finds. He doesn’t check in with his owners, Shaldon and Tammy. When he doesn’t get his own way, he gets jumpy and mouthy and he bites at his leash. And, when he sees other dogs, he gets overly excited and pulls hard on his leash to go and meet them.

Odin is used to getting his own way, so when he realized things were changing, he expressed his feelings by getting jumpy and mouthy and biting at the leash. But, through repetition and strong but calm leadership, he started to concede some control to his people. By the end of the session, he was checking in with Tammy and Shaldon when they walked him, he was going into an automatic sit and looking to them for direction, and although he was still pulling a little, for the most part, the leash was loose and relaxed.

Odin showed us he was past his threshold and overstimulated by persistently jumping at his people, and by biting the leash and refusing to release it. So, to end the lesson on a positive note, we asked him to sit, then rewarded him for that, and then we released him with an “all done” cue.

This young boy is already a wonderful family companion. He just needs to learn his proper role in the family, along with some basic manners. I’m honored to have been asked to help his family achieve this with him.

Odin will be going through my Beginners Obedience course. I’m excited to watch his people blossom into the strong, stable leaders I know they can be, and I’m excited to watch Odin transform into the well-behaved companion I know he can be. It’s going to be awesome.

Have a great day, and remember: Stay calm and lead on. 🙂