It's been a while since I've posted much (I've been lurking tho
), we've been pretty busy for the last few months but thought I'd let you know how we're getting on.Precious will be 3 in October, he's done a lot of growing up and has calmed down a LOT
We still have some issues, but overall we're doing ok. At home he is now just lovely and chilled, even enjoys a cuddle- I do need to do some door bell/visitor training tho but keep putting it off as our homelife is generally pretty quiet so I suppose it's just not been a priority.
I've worked really hard on his obedience and focus outdoors, he is certainly much improved and more relaxed, and actively checks in/ pays me attention much more than before- it seems he enjoys interacting with me now as opposed to just treating me like a cumbersome accessorie..
We still have reactivity issues with certain other dogs, particularly entire males and neutered boys with attitude (like himself
) but it's more an exception than a rule now and managing it is kinda second nature. I suspect a lot of it is frustration/ leash reactivity but I'm not about to put my theory to the test by letting him off.. He also still has the occasional tantrum when he gets frustrated or over aroused, but they are monthly rather than daily now. And a relentless thief of clothing, remotes and mobiles; if given the opportunity. Work in progress I've discovered he is really really good at tracking- our instructor (ex-police dog handler, pretty old school guy but happy for me to train using what he calls 'fluffy brigade methods'..
) reckons he's the best dog he's seen in a couple of years so that's pretty cool. We are currently easily doing 3-4 turn tracks with several articles, on grass and dirt; and we've signed up for a little tracking competition in October (nothing fancy, just for fun). Precious absolutely loves it and I enjoy it too.We're also working on our Uber Dude title dog tricks, almost there so hoping to get a video together quite soon- I'll put it up here when we get there. Just for fun, but I find I do a lot more and better with his training when I have specific goals.
It's been and still is very hard work, to get such a challenging dog when I was learning as I went along myself has been a pretty steep learning curve and my Precious and I have a long way to go yet; but it is really nice to take a minute to look back and realise that we have actually made a whole lot of progress too
