Hello there – my name is Aaron, as in Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner of Criminal Minds. Much like the character on the series, I can be pretty stoic, but I’m learning it's safe to let the puppy in me come out and enjoy my surroundings. My three siblings and I came to MN from New Mexico in a not so great situation where our mom had many litters and we were all living outside, so we're happy to have been rescued by Save-A-Bull. That being said, we are the muttiest mutts you'll ever meet! We are mainly Pittie/Bullie even though we don't look it but we also have some (takes deep breath) Chow, Husky, Shar Pei, Aussie, Shepherd, Chihuahua, American Eskimo, Polynesian Street dog (google it – my foster mom had to) and get this – 2% Wolf! Yes, you read that right – I said I'm 2% Wolf. Pretty cool, huh? My foster mom calls me her "little wolf" and sometimes Prancer – because she says I look more like a reindeer and when I'm really happy on my walks I definitely prance!
Some things to know about me – I am kennel trained and potty trained. My foster mom has bells hanging on the back door and I very quickly learned how they work. I just ring the bells and she opens the door for me – I feel so pampered. I've learned how to “sit” and wait for the okay before starting to eat my food. I recently learned “down”, “shake”, "look" (this one takes me longer since I'm so shy), and “leave it”. We are going to start working on recall now and I know I'll ace that too. Though I can be shy with new people and surroundings, I'm not shy about being sweet. I'm the gentlest pup and ridiculously sweet once I've warmed up to you. Since learning to shake, I use that as my way of asking for things like treats, scratches or play. It seems to be working pretty well but sometimes my foster mom tells me "no more" and I accept that.
I've recently changed foster homes for a change of scenery and to help work on some of my anxieties about the outside world. As I mentioned, I came from New Mexico where we lived outside and didn't have much human interaction so meeting new people and going new places makes me nervous. My foster mom is dedicated to helping me discover that I don't have to fear new adventures or people and that I can just enjoy being a young pup. I have a 3-year-old dog sister here who is helping me too. She loves to play and is really good with matching my level of play. She is really confident and so she and my foster mom are showing me that the world isn't as scary as I thought it was. I envy her confidence and want to be just like her one day. I'm in the city now and so I'm hearing all sorts of noises I hadn't heard before which doesn't really bother me as much as I thought it was going to. When we're on walks and I hear loud noises or see people walk/running towards us, it makes me kinda nervous but I'm getting used to it and not trying to run and hide anymore. Instead, I'd just prefer to walk faster to get outta there. 🙂 My foster mom does a good job of stopping and hugging me to reassure me that everything is ok. I really like being close to her when I get spooked by something. She also really encourages me to face my fears but she doesn't force me to do it. She gives me the space and time I need to do things on my own and then gets really excited about it. I'm not as excited about my victories as she is but whatever, it's fine. I think we're going to try a weighted vest this week and see if that makes me feel better when outside. I'm kinda excited to try it on and see how I look!
I've met a few new humans and dogs since being here and it's gone pretty well. I definitely warm up to women faster than I do to men but I'm doing so well compared to where I was just a few weeks ago. I even went and sat on a patio with my foster mom, her brother and my dog sister – it was a relatively quiet patio but nonetheless, I did it!
My wish list for my new home would be something like the following:
There is so much more of my personality that is to come – I just need someone to give me a chance to show them what an awesome dog I am. Perhaps that someone is you!
