Apollo Castano:
Reactive Rescue Turned Star StudentÂ
Breed:Â German Shepherd
Started Training: 2020
Age:Â 6 Years Old (At the time of training)
The Challenge
Apollo’s owners tried to work with another trainer before finding their way to us. It was recommended that he be medicated and trained solely with positive reinforcement. Something wasn’t sitting right with their experience, and progress wasn’t being made. We evaluated Apollo’s behavior and found that he had a lack of clarity and expectations. He wasn’t the terribly fearful dog they were lead to believe he was, he simply needed some clear guidance.
Â
Â
The Training
To begin with, we weaned Apollo off of his medication, and then began our in-home lesson program, The Bestie, to tackle his training. Together with his owners, we taught Apollo how to properly respond to the leash versus pulling and becoming frustrated. We also established clear boundaries and expectations on walks. His owners were eager for the changes and put the work in between lessons to achieve real, lasting results.Â
Â
The Result
Through training with KeenDog, Apollo made great strides and no longer reacted to every dog on neighborhood walks. He frequently attended group classes with his family and we have worked with several more dogs owned by his family in the years since he completed training. Apollo was an older dog when he started training and has since sadly passed due to health complications, but we will always remember him and cherish our time with him and his family.Â
