Name - Ben

Nicknames - Benji, Beans

Other dogs - Gets excited when meeting other dogs! 

Housing - Likes to explore and sniff everywhere. Working on walking around the house with leash and rewarding calm behaviors. Getting better at listening with calm confident voice commands.

Crate trained - Yes

Leash trained - Yes

Housebroken - Yes

Eating Habits - Waits and eats food on command

Commands known - sit, down, heal, retrieve, wait, recall, leave it, and drop. He does have selective hearing, especially if he's excited or is distracted, but he's also very treat motivated!

Affectionate - Still learning the concept of petting. Doing better, especially with rub downs. He likes to suckle, nibble, and lick hands when laying next to him or on couch. Very gentle with nibbles. 

Activity level - High!

Play style - Loves playing fetch. Will drop toy/ball if you're actively playing. Will not let go when you stop playing. Currently learning playtime with human can be just as rewarding as with ball or toy. Working a lot with treats and practicing commands, rub downs, and bonding with calm energy. Has a LOT of it, so we're working on challenging his brain!

Bad habits - Will not let go of ball when you're ready to leave. Taking ball away when he drops it is the best method, then reward. High value treats work. Can pull on walks, but does great with gentle leader! 

Redeeming qualities - Learns quick, especially if you have treats! Shows promise with consistent training!

Best feature - Soft coat and the cutest nibbler!

What Foster Mom/Dad wants you to know - 

When Ben came to us, he was full of energy and had absolutely no concept of what calm behavior was. We immediately started on some positive reinforcement training and he learned the basic commands pretty quickly! Ben loves freeze dried liver treats! 

Also, we learned to avoid cheese. His tummy is not a fan!

He definitely still needs more training, but we have slowly incorporated more voice commands without treats and loose leash walking to test his knowledge. He still has a lot of puppy energy, but does show progress with consistency and patience. He will need a dedicated human to give him proper guidance and continued training. Ben already knows a lot, just needs more practice to continue his path on being the goodest boy!

Please consider sponsoring Ben with either a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Your donation will help It's The Pits with day-to-day care, including food, vaccinations, flea treatment, treats and toys. Click on the Sponsor This Pet link above to make your donation today. Thank you!