August – ADOPTED!

Greetings! My name is August and I may still be young, but I am 100% GSP in tiny puppy package! My foster family calls me Piglet because of the whorls on my adorable hindquarters, or Nugget because I love to snuggle. As long as I am getting attention and training treats, I’ll answer to just about anything. I am that smart and that food motivated! My days are currently filled with playing with my three year old Labrador foster sister (she’s just about my favorite thing in the world and I let her have all my toys, no questions asked), training (I already know how to “sit”, “place” on my blanket, rest in my crate, sleep in my crate at night, and “down”), go for walks wearing my handsome harness (best thing EVER), chase the tennis ball (do I have to give it back? Can you throw it for me again?), and nap. I love meeting new people and when my foster dad gets home from work, I like to greet him with my entire body wiggling and then jump into his lap for a cuddle. Is there any other way to greet the people you adore? I also love to just watch what is happening in the world and take notes. Have I mentioned yet just how smart I am? If you have training treats and show me what you want me to do, I will try hard to do it for you. I really want to make you happy (unless there is a bunny, then I want to chase the bunny)! And sit in your lap. I really want to sit in your lap.

At 13 weeks, I am still a puppy, which means I am still trying to learn how to be alone. Young as I am, it is still very uncomfortable for me to be in my crate by myself with no one home. My foster mom says we are nearly there! I will never be the kind of dog who can be crated for long hours while a human goes to work. I need a friend near me to feel secure. We’re also nearly there with what my foster mom calls “house breaking” (I don’t want to break anything, I promise!). Because I am a baby, as long as I am let outside after sleeping, eating, or playing, I am good to go! That means a lot of going outside during the day! A dozen times or more. Yay!

My foster mom wants me to mention that I had a bit of a rough start in this world, losing my mom at five weeks old. Because of that, I missed out on some essential canine social cues that I should have learned early on and I am a very sensitive boy. New, big sounds are pretty scary at first (I saw a man bouncing a big ball today and it was weird), but my foster mom is helping me not be so scared by new experiences (any time I stop because of a new sound, my foster parents shower me with treats and I love it!).

My foster mom also wants me to tell you that because I didn’t have a mom to show me and my littermates how to properly interact, I am still learning how to feel safe and comfortable around other puppies. I love balanced and stable adult dogs, but puppies make me nervous. I don’t really want to share anything with them and their goofy energy frightens me. When I get frightened, I do the only thing I know how to do to get them to go away from me. My foster mom and dad and the lady who comes to the house once a week to “train” me are helping me be more relaxed around other puppies my age, and are helping me learn to move away from them before I get too nervous, but I feel best when I am not forced to play with them or be in a big group of them. Apparently this will be very important to reinforce every single day moving forward. That sounds like a lot of work, but because I am still a baby, there’s a lot of hope that I will one day be a-ok with other young dogs.

Puppies like me are a LOT of work. We are not a good fit for a lot of people and there is no doubt I am going to be a go-go-go kid! But the great thing about getting me as a puppy is not only will I strongly bond to you, but all the energy, time, training, socialization, and attention you invest in me over the next two years will pay off a thousand fold when I am an awesome big boy!