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ZENFULdog of the Month: Lightfoot

Happy New Year ZENFULdog Family! Welcome to the January 2023 edition of ZENFULdog of the Month featuring Lightfoot!


Lightfoot is a gorgeous Northern breed mix with a wonderful temperament who is fairly mellow for his breed. Kendra has a soft spot for northern dogs so meeting Lightfoot was love at first sight! She attributes much of Lightfoot’s chill behaviour to his pet-parents, Taras and Jan, for “meeting his mental, emotional and physical needs through proper enrichment and exercise.”


Lightfoot with his friend Zero

Lightfoot

Age: 10 ½ months

Meet Lightfoot’s Family

(Taras—Lightfoot’s pet-parent): Taras is a big softie who loves to rub Lightfoot’s belly just as much as Lightfoot loves to be rubbed. Taras and Lightfoot eagerly explore the world around them and love to learn together.

(Jan—Lightfoot’s pet-parent): Lightfoot is Jan’s perfect companion for hikes and long walks in the woods. Jan is an outdoorsy person who looks forward to teaching Lightfoot to jog with her in the spring.

(Whiskey—Lightfoot’s feline sibling): Taras describes Whiskey as the friendliest former barn cat you have ever met. Whiskey is 11 years old and tolerates Lightfoot mostly for his leftovers.


(Juno—Lightfoot’s feline sibling): Taras describes Juno as “ a rambunctious, 18-month-old former stray kitten [who] enjoys running past Lightfoot to get his attention when he’s sleeping.” Juno and Lightfoot are still figuring out how to be friends and Taras believes Juno will one day curl up on top of Lightfoot.

Taras describes Lightfoot's Personality: “He’s assertive! Lightfoot wants what Lightfoot wants—and he will let you know. But at the same time, he’s really eager to make his people happy. And he loves everyone: people, other dogs, even cats he’s never met before. He’ll bring a toy to our own cats and try to encourage them to play with him; it’s adorable.”

Taras Shares The Most Unique Thing about Lightfoot: “He doesn’t bark at anything! Not at people or animals moving outside, not at dogs barking or

coyotes howling in the middle of the night, not even at the doorbell. It’s honestly a little weird.”

Taras shares another funny trait— Lightfoot “likes the taste of beer. Picking up discarded cans on the side of the road made him develop a taste for it, so now when we leave our Friday night pints on the coffee table, we have to keep him from helping himself!”


Lightfoot's favourite Treats/Foods according to Taras: Lightfoot is a big chewer so he enjoys anything that he can gnaw on for hours. Lightfoot’s absolute favourite treats are marrow bones but he enjoys antler sections as a close second. Lightfoot is also perfectly happy chewing on sticks and logs he steals off their wood pile. He also really enjoys “his nighttime peanut butter Kong.”


Taras Lists Lightfoot’s Favourite Activities:


  • Running

  • Playing with doggy friends

  • Digging in the snow

  • Howling for attention


How Lightfoot Unwinds After a Full Day of Activity According to Taras: Lightfoot unwinds by sleeping near his people—“his favourite spot is under the master bed.”


If Lightfoot had a Human Voice: Taras and Jan figure that if Lightfoot had a human voice, he would sound like a young Michael J. Fox: “earnest, energetic and intelligent—with a bit of sass.”




Lightfoot’s Training

Lightfoot attended puppy classes, private sessions and Level 2 Skills and Socialization at ZENFULdog Training.


Kendra commends Lightfoot and his pet-parents for “doing level 2 twice to help him through his tough adolescent phase to give him more time to grow and experience new things while practicing known behaviours for success. I did the same with my own dog Ren, actually, we did level 2 three times because training isn't a race or about crossing a finish line, it's a journey. [Our training] goal is to always put our dogs’ mental and physical health first while having fun as a team.”


Taras Tells Us How Training has Shaped Lightfoot: Training has not changed Lightfoot but rather changed their understanding of him and how to work with him. Taras explains that training has helped him and Jan “to understand his needs and his language so that all three of us can learn how to work together.”


Taras Describes Their Biggest Training Challenges: When Lightfoot was younger and didn’t want to do something, like walk back to the house

or do more training, he curled up and anchored himself on the ground. “Thankfully,” Taras explains, “he seems to have grown out of that.”


Taras and Jan also struggled to get Lightfoot to go all the way ‘down’ and to ‘stay down.’ But, Taras says they learned a few tips “and there was a huge improvement after only a few days!”


Taras describes Lightfoot’s Biggest Training Success: As long as Lightfoot is awake, he is on the go so Taras and Jan are impressed by how well he obeys the ‘Stay’ command: “He’ll still turn his head a lot to look at what’s going on around him but he remains in ‘Sit’ until released.”

Lightfoot’s Most Rewarding Training Moments: Taras and Jan are especially proud of how far Lightfoot has come learning to go into working mode when they give him the ‘Walk’ command (which they use for ‘Heel’). Taras explains: “It wasn’t easy for him, but he’s getting better and better at it all the time!”

Kendra adds: “Jan and Taras are very cool, outdoorsy, down-to-earth people. Not everyone is equipped for a journey with a Northern dog but they did their research and knew they could provide Lightfoot with a good home and they have.


I have seen them love training with Lightfoot and, like any person teaching dogs, I have seen them struggle but I have never seen them give up or blame their dog. They always rise to the occasion to help lift their dog up. They are a beautiful example to us all of what can be accomplished when we truly respect and love our dogs. ”


A very special “Thank You!” goes out to Taras for providing so much fantastic content for this feature. Don’t forget that you can follow ZENFULdog Training on Facebook to stay connected to your like-minded dog-loving community every day.


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