Leo
Happiest dog on the planet! Playful and puppyish
Extremely friendly!!
male / 2 y o / 45 lbs
Extremely friendly!!
male / 2 y o / 45 lbs
Leo enjoys chillin"
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He likes playing ball & size doesn't matter!
Leo enjoying a play date with Roxie
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Leo in the office
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Leo is one of the most joyful, affectionate and enthusiastically playful dogs that has come our way! Leo has a huge personality that " fills the room" with his charismatic Joie de Vivre. He is a breath of fresh unbridled gladness.. at times its hard not to give in and join his inherent, at times borderline explosive exuberance!! HOWEVER since Leo arrived we came to see that he had no idea how to modulate his exuberance and rollicking playfulness!. His magnificent, undeniable wonderfulness was soon overshadowed by what some found to be annoyingly out of control play!
Fact is, Leo was frustrated by solitude, containment and lack of leadership.
Bringing Leo into the world of living politely happy with others.. turned out to be EASY PEASY!! Once a "program" was designed and practiced, Leo was all in to engage and learn and perform.. you could actually say he was RELIEVED!!!! All he wanted was to understand and in order to focus he needed his pent up exercise and drives fulfilled. Leo came into his own with consistent direction through engagement, clear boundaries, a true sense of partnership & deep connection. It took a clicker, consistency & a fun routine for him to understand the difference between being in the pleasure of a happy, respectful partnered experience and a "free to be Leo" bouncing off the walls experience! He craved soft, soothing praise, quieting physical affection (& only when he was peaceful enough to relax into it!)
Initially any contact .. visual, verbal, physical could become a sort of rocket launcher of insane but wonderfully entertaining rounds of "zoomies" , annoying mouthiness and incessant, all in good fun body slamming! In those outbursts of wild expression other dogs and handlers found him to be too much! Leo's supreme gift of joyful, awesomeness might have be his downfall were he not given the time and training to capitalize on his innate desire for engagement and connection. He is actually a superstar.. was a diamond in the rough who is now a shiny gem!!! Leo can on his own now, balance himself, read cues and reap the reward of being a GREAT DOG companion!!
He used to need more daily energy draining but now that his routines are well established and his various drives fulfilled, Leo has become far more relaxed in his everyday life and encounters. He is a brilliant dog! Incredibly fun to be with and is still always a handsome boy full of joy!
All our dogs get "office time" when they are invited to be indoors with furniture, toys, visitors. They are free to move about, choose toys and places to lounge, play games and greet guests.. Leo is a pro! Unlike a number of our dogs, anyone can enter the office space when Leo is there because he is a cheery welcomer! He wants to be friends with EVERYONE! Leo is able to read the room and knows when its time to entertain himself.. He organically tends to "match" a persons energy.. Come to him with amped up energy.. eventually his will also amp up! We continue to request that everyone greet him warmly but calmly, ( not always easy because his happy heart is always wide open and fun) Leo gets & enjoys the routine and rules of engagement... now more times than not he offers polite relaxed response. He has a gentle mouth when receiving treats, offering kisses, sharing toys. He enjoys having one of his chewy sticks held while he gnaws away!
Leo does so many fun things.. he thoughtfully buries his fluffy toys and carries around his chewy toys.. outside in the play yards he digs himself a cool ditch to nap in ..( an adorable sight to behold!) he trundles along on a walk all peppy and then seemingly out of the blue drops down into flat frog rest position..
Fact is, Leo was frustrated by solitude, containment and lack of leadership.
Bringing Leo into the world of living politely happy with others.. turned out to be EASY PEASY!! Once a "program" was designed and practiced, Leo was all in to engage and learn and perform.. you could actually say he was RELIEVED!!!! All he wanted was to understand and in order to focus he needed his pent up exercise and drives fulfilled. Leo came into his own with consistent direction through engagement, clear boundaries, a true sense of partnership & deep connection. It took a clicker, consistency & a fun routine for him to understand the difference between being in the pleasure of a happy, respectful partnered experience and a "free to be Leo" bouncing off the walls experience! He craved soft, soothing praise, quieting physical affection (& only when he was peaceful enough to relax into it!)
Initially any contact .. visual, verbal, physical could become a sort of rocket launcher of insane but wonderfully entertaining rounds of "zoomies" , annoying mouthiness and incessant, all in good fun body slamming! In those outbursts of wild expression other dogs and handlers found him to be too much! Leo's supreme gift of joyful, awesomeness might have be his downfall were he not given the time and training to capitalize on his innate desire for engagement and connection. He is actually a superstar.. was a diamond in the rough who is now a shiny gem!!! Leo can on his own now, balance himself, read cues and reap the reward of being a GREAT DOG companion!!
He used to need more daily energy draining but now that his routines are well established and his various drives fulfilled, Leo has become far more relaxed in his everyday life and encounters. He is a brilliant dog! Incredibly fun to be with and is still always a handsome boy full of joy!
All our dogs get "office time" when they are invited to be indoors with furniture, toys, visitors. They are free to move about, choose toys and places to lounge, play games and greet guests.. Leo is a pro! Unlike a number of our dogs, anyone can enter the office space when Leo is there because he is a cheery welcomer! He wants to be friends with EVERYONE! Leo is able to read the room and knows when its time to entertain himself.. He organically tends to "match" a persons energy.. Come to him with amped up energy.. eventually his will also amp up! We continue to request that everyone greet him warmly but calmly, ( not always easy because his happy heart is always wide open and fun) Leo gets & enjoys the routine and rules of engagement... now more times than not he offers polite relaxed response. He has a gentle mouth when receiving treats, offering kisses, sharing toys. He enjoys having one of his chewy sticks held while he gnaws away!
Leo does so many fun things.. he thoughtfully buries his fluffy toys and carries around his chewy toys.. outside in the play yards he digs himself a cool ditch to nap in ..( an adorable sight to behold!) he trundles along on a walk all peppy and then seemingly out of the blue drops down into flat frog rest position..
Digging his napping hole
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Office nap
Leo in the "Up-Up" place ready to share some calm love gazes and gentle stroking
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He is an explorer
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Leo has a charming puppy brain.. he is a special doggie. He is smart, affectionate, comical and tries his heart to understand what you want and does his best to do it. He still benefits from and appreciates guidance and parenting.. some times more than others but he is always tracking in the right direction in ways that have amazed us all!! Unlike when he first arrived to us his daily life is more than fulfilling his playful, social, curious doggie nature he no longer has to start his day with daily stint of of free time to run, spin, splash around in a kiddie pool and share a rousing game of fetch in order to feel relaxed, attuned and content!
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Sniffy Walks
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Leo enjoys long leash free walks and even while off on his chosen path and when to pause to take in a scent .. Leo is aware of and looks up at his human companion to confirm he's still partnership!
We love the whole experience of SNIFFY walks on a long line! So do all our dogs! We make sure each of our dogs has an opportunity to track trails of scents, move out in front, lag behind and travel alongside us! Observe Leo in video clip happily walking with his person, enjoying freedom, space, options.. he is relaxed & sweetly checks in with his companion. Leo is familiar with the etiquette of shared space and chooses, even enjoys doing his part! Leo enjoys togetherness be it in full on engagement or sharing a lounge chewing his toys while you work on the lap top... he adjusts his energy and intensity according to what level or type of engagement you offer him. You can see he has a gentle mouth in the last video.. he adjusts his energy to yours. He is very responsive! Every now and then he experiences a burst of excitement.. maybe he sees one of his favorite pals approaching.. Simply regaining his attention and asking him to do something he knows well.. like SIT.. Watch me.. and he settles.. He wants to know what you want of him!!
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Leo's Slideshow
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Here's an example of Leo doing his "emergency frog dog rest period" out of the blue.. This is him without awareness of self management! He would jump up on people in the happiest way.. grab stuff not offered to him.. but even here its clear what a gem he is CANINE SUNSHINE!!!
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Leo now!Leo demonstrating a taste of his developing skills .. he knows and responds to requests to WAIT, SIT, DOWN, HERE, COME, Up-Up, STAY, LETS GO, FREE, LEAVE IT, EASY, WANNA PLAY?, OUT and GOOOOOOOD BOY! He understands the click sound is a YES! Thats it LEO! He is primed and ready to excel!
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