Soy
Name Soy
Gender Male
Age 6 months old
Breed Jindo mix
Weight 2-25lbs.
Dog Good with dogs
Cat N/A
Kids Good with kids
Crate-trained Good in crate
Housebroken In training
Leash In training
Meet Soy! Soy is an adorable 6 months old Jindo mix! Soy will grow into a good family dog in the right environment and with the proper patience and training. He is gentle with people, particularly children, and other animals and plays well with other dogs. He would do well in a home with children who will play with him and another older dog to guide him. He is very happy and calm when he can spend time outdoors, so a yard where he can run and play will be ideal for Soy.
Soy can be timid and very hesitant in new environments, but once he can be gently coaxed to get to know a new place, he will grow more confident about navigating it. His foster home has been working with a private trainer to teach Soy his name, basic commands, and to build his confidence so that he is able to maintain a more balanced energy most of the time. At the moment, Soy can oscillate between being very hesitant (ears back, tail down, refusing to go anywhere) and very bold and energetic (jumping around, not listening, intent on doing what he wants). The trainer believes that building his confidence will help him exist in a more comfortable, happy middle ground that would help him listen and learn better. We believe that being able to spend time consistently outside with children and another dog would help him in this respect. Soy is much calmer when he can go outside to a grassy park.
Soy’s challenge right now is to be convinced to walk in unknown places. He is very reluctant to get into the car, as he gets motion sickness, which can be worked on. Another dog and an owner who is dedicated to continue working with him will help him shift from an energetic playing state to a calmer state more quickly and to rein him in when he is feeling especially bold and willful.
He currently has extreme hesitance on walks to new places where the walk will take a lot of time and patience, but on the walk back, he knows the way and can walk more confidently without stopping as frequently. When he is nervous, he tends to shut down and lie down on his belly. His foster parents found that saying his name in an enthusiastic voice, making fun noises (like “lalalala” in a more high-pitched voice), and giving a treat when he looks at you is a good way to convince him to stand up and keep going. He is not very food-motivated and will not always take the treat, but stopping to connect with and reassure him is very important for him in new places. He can also become visibly scared of loud cars and buses and his foster parents will need to get down on his level to hold and reassure him. Learning new places and new stimuli can wear him out, and he usually needs rest when we return home.
Soy is learning and is clearly smart and trainable, so continuing with this process will be important for him. He is mostly potty-trained, except for a couple of accidents, and is learning to walk better on leash and other basic commands. He is in the process of internalizing “sit,” knows how to touch his nose to the hand (in response to “touch” and holding out a flat palm) in preparation for more leash training, and knows his name. Training will require a lot of patience to build his confidence. We’ve found that he is not extremely food-motivated, though some treats can work, but a good reinforcer is playtime with someone. He enjoys being chased around, so the trainer will have him practice something, then have her daughter chase him in a circle before practicing again. Food-wise, he enjoys peanut butter and beef, lamb, whitefish, and liver (his favorite) treats—these usually need to broken into fairly small sizes for him. His foster family have also been feeding him mostly with kongs, which seems to calm him.
It takes time for Soy to slowly form relationships with humans, and he may be a dog who becomes attached but not very demonstrably affectionate, which may also be due to the extreme environmental change he’s gone through recently. He will occasionally come over to say hi and wants pets and belly rubs, but he also wants to have his own space most of the time. Soy will form a bond with a human slowly over time, so this will take patience and respect for his space. The more that someone can bond with Soy, the more successful they will be in introducing Soy to new environments and training him. We are looking for a home who is willing to put in the time and patience to show Soy that the world is not a scary place. Soy is patiently waiting for his forever home!
