P is for Pawgress: A Success Story
Boone is an athletic, eager to please, smart, and affectionate Labrador at our Airport location! Boone first joined our Ranch family in June of 2019. At the time, he was only 4 months old and although he was “just a puppy”, he was a big, spunky, boy! We started our customized 5-day evaluation process, as we do with all pups. The five-day process sets pups up for success and allows us to transition new pups into our pack and enrichment program safely. Read about Bone’s dog daycare success story!
We began introducing new pup friends to Boone and he was very eager to greet other dogs. We introduced him to male dogs, female dogs, other puppies, and mature dogs. Every time his reaction was the same- level 10 out of 10 excitement! When on leash, Boone would pull our Specialists to greet the other dog. His way of saying “hello” often consisted of being directly in the other dog’s face and barking. He wanted to play and make pup pals SO BAD! Although we had a feeling it was 100% puppy and excitement, other dogs were unsure and intimidated by his energy level. After his five-day evaluation, our team decided that Boone needed mature dogs for role models that could handle his energy and tell him in proper “doggy language” when he was being too much.
We took it day by day and were thankful that his dog dad was consistent in bringing him for daycare. Boone’s dad said “He has progressed so much working with you guys. I still cannot get over how excited Boone gets when he figures out that we are headed to Pawderosa. It is the perfect way to start the morning, knowing that I’m dropping my best friend off somewhere that he loves so much.”
We continued to pair Boone in a group with 1-2 other mature pups, but some days we struggled to find a good fur-end for him. Often, our Specialists would work alongside the mature pups and intervene when needed by leashing Boone to help him refocus and give the other pup(s) in his playgroup some space. On the days we did not have a good friend for Boone, our Specialists worked with him one on one. We focused on burning his energy, his recall when called, and his leash manners.
We knew from day one that our Frontier Club Program was the perfect fit for Boone for countless reasons. He became a daily topic amongst our team as we became increasingly committed to his success. He thrived during individual play sessions and was so eager to please. We quickly learned about his love for water, the jolly ball, tug-o-war, and learning new tricks.
Then, along came Givenchy! Givenchy, also a Lab, and Boone hit it off. They were instantly in love and would play like crazy together. But we noticed that when Boone was with his new bestie, he would not come when called and some of his progress behaviorally seemed to decline when paired with other high energy pups. Instead of viewing this as a setback, we leveraged it! Boone got his zoomie time with Givenchy followed by structured play with more mature pups where we could continue to work on manners and obedience. And yes, Givenchy benefited from this relationship too, so it was a win-win!
Throughout these months, we continued to get to know Boone and our trust in him grew. We realized that when off-leash he was more polite when meeting new pups. We began introducing Boone to new Ranchers with different play styles and he did great!
We also learned that although he appreciated and enjoyed all his new pup friends, he really just wanted to please us (the Specialists). Boone continued to prove to us that he was maturing and could finally go with pretty much any Rancher. His focus was on us and we attribute this to all the one-on-one time our Frontier Club program allows us to spend with the pups in our care. He has been so excited to see what new trick, toy, or puzzle we will introduce. Our Frontier Club program challenges him mentally every day and he lives for all the “good boys” and positive affirmations.
Fast forward another couple months and Boone is now 18 months old. We are so proud of his continued pawgress. Boone has become a great co-worker for us and helps us when evaluating new pups. We have built, and continue to build, a great relationship with him and he is now helping younger, energetic pups adjust to The Ranch. Talk about a full circle! Boone is well on his way to being a pawfect pup and we continue to provide him with the consistency he thrives best in.
Success stories like this fuel our “why.” Why we are passionate, why we offer Frontier Club and why WE LOVE
YOUR DOG.
