Let me Introduce Kash, who has earned the honor of achievement of the week. Here is Kash, the most handsome Am Staff and his human Chelie. When Kash first came to me he was literally exploding with more Arrousal, Stress and Anxiety than I have ever encountered in a dog. I often use the term Aggressively Friendly to describe a dog who uses extreme appeasement such as jumping up on people. Well Kash had a massive and desperate need to tell me face to face that he was not a threat. So much so that I began to worry his attempts at appeasement could easily flip in the direction of aggression. Not with an attempt to do harm, but his need to be heard was so extreme, that there was no where else for his arrousal to go should he be triggered even a little more. There were moments I doubted if I could communicate to Kash that I was listening and that he could relax now. But his person worked hard at home with him and we began to see small changes such as a calm drive home… Finally, literally like a switch of a light bulb, Kash understood he was safe and that he would never need to appease me again. And that was the last time Kash jumped on me. Believe it or not he began to walk into the building and immediately lay down on his mat. Not only that but before entering he was able to calmly stay outside with his human for a few minutes to potty. I have to say that despite his arousal and stress level being greater than any other dog I have worked with, his turn around was also quicker than any dog I have worked with. Kash had a desperate need to feel safe in the world, and once we were able to communicate that to him, his understanding was profound!  The skys the limit Kash!!