Arsen is a 1-year-old puppy that SPR rescued from the Navajo Nation’s shelter back in November 2021.
Arsen was fostered and subsequently adopted as a foster failure, however, the other dogs within the
household began to reject Arsen. In order to try to keep Arsen, the adopter opted to try Arsen in a board
and train program with K-9 Defense. Wes and his team have been working with Arsen since the middle
of May and absolutely adore Arsen. Through the evaluation and training all involved has decided that it
is best that Arsen stay as an only dog home. He is well behaved, even more so now that he has training
under his belt. While Arsen was living with his original family, he loved to snuggle. He is all about the
pack love. He will sleep with you and just wants to be with his person. The area that Arsen will need a
great deal of work and support is his confidence.
Here is what his trainer has to say:
“Arsen is a sweet pup. He is relatively easy to manage with considerations. We have not seen any
concerning behavior that would cause us concern outside his need to be in a one-dog home with a
heavy focus on continuing to build his confidence. Arsen will crate and kennel cooperatively once he
gets into a routine.”
They also have this to say about his issues that he will need supportive care on:
“Arsen has exhibited significant nervousness during training. We feel the behavior will be related to
genetics vs. bad experiences. Our system is designed to help dogs become more confident and “free”
internally. We accomplish this through a highly reward-based system providing an outlet to navigate the
world’s stressors. Arsen tends to shut down during training while using supportive rewards-based
training. Once we reach these stress thresholds, it is near impossible for any learning to progress to
occur. Will this get better? Yes, with time and significant effort and time. Will this allow Arsen to live a
stress-free live? No, the levels of internal stress Arsen faces are incredibly high. We recommend a strict
routine of environmental management in a single dog home with someone who is invested in learning
about canine behavior and training.”


If you can give Arsen an indoor forever home, please fill out our online application on our website at http://www.savingpawsrescueaz.org/adoption-form/  

 We will only schedule meet and greets with an approved application. We are an all-volunteer organization.  It may take a couple of days to process an application and complete reference checks.

Thank you for your interest in saving the life of a dog.