Jack's first tast of freedom

[jacksdad]

well yesterday I got another glimpse of how Jack might be without the leash in my hand, and got to test our recall work. (first time was with a 30 foot leash on a beach with lots of distractions, but I held onto the leash)

It was at the end of our walk and we were crossing the grass field at the park heading back to the car. when we ran into a couple who were letting their small dog (about the same size as Jack) run around free off leash. of course the dogs spotted each other and the other dog came running over. I started to go into the normal block, distract routine, but something just said go with it and stopped. Which was the exact opposite of what we had been practicing on the walk. turns out this was good call. Jack and the other dog hit it off and started trying to play Jack's favorite game, chase. being on a 15 foot leash he has room to start to run around a bit. but in doing so he started to circle around by behind the couple. to keep them from getting tangled I dropped the leash and moved to catch is as he came out from around them. but rather then grabbing the leash I went ahead and let the dogs play.

IT WAS SSSSOOOOO COOL. Not only did Jack stay close and he and the other dog play nice and he was relaxed, he went up to the man and almost let him pet him. the guy didn't force him self, just knelt down and offered his hand. and when they stopped playing Jack either came when I called or came on his own and just sat in front of me. this went on for about 30 minutes.

Now I realize part of the draw to stay close was the other dog and other dog was content to stay with his people, BUT it was soooo cool to see the recall work starting to take hold and work in the real world. rather then just practicing with the leash in my hand as a safety net.

Still have a ways to go before i am ready to try this as a regular thing, but it was nice progress check. Not exactly how I pictured Jacks first time "off leash", but it went soooo much better then I could have hopped.

Well back to the recall work so that we can hopefully do this more often.

[wvvdiup1]

That's great to hear, Jacksdad! Just think that someday soon you will be able to let him off the leash and when you go to call him to you, he'll come running with his tongue hangin' out!

Good work, Jacksdad!

[Mattie]

Jacksdad, that is wonderful, especially as I have had another sleepless night. It helps us when we hear of your successes, Jack is such a lucky boy having you for his dad.

Sometimes we get bogged down with the training and forget that we are training for a reason, you listened to your instincts and have seen just what fun you and Jack are going to have one day.

[Noobs]

Great stuff there, jacksdad!

when they stopped playing Jack either came when I called or came on his own and just sat in front of me. this went on for about 30 minutes.

Do you mean that for 30 minutes he either came to you or came when called, and then you were able to send him off again to play more? That's awesome!

[jacksdad]

total time he ran around, came when called, or came to me on his own etc was about a 30 minute period.

so it was run a few minutes, come when called....run some more, come on his own to check in...walk around, come when called, played some more, checked in with me...towards the end he just sat right in front of me patiently and calmly while the other dog moved around and talked with the husband/wife who's dog Jack was playing with.

I still can't really say or explain why I just went with it because not 10 minutes before we pasted a dog that there was NO WAY in you know where I was going to let Jack go up to or let the other dog come close to Jack and I think even Jack got that feeling to because he didn't press the issue. can't explain that one either, but something about the way the lady was handling the dog put me on alert, then as the dog got closer it started giving us hard stares. I am so glad our goal is not to try and meet every dog we pass. Fortunately Jack did his part (mostly) and responded fairly well to me working on redirecting his attention. the stares were making him a bit antsy, but he didn't "explode".

[Noobs]

Because you've gotten to know your dog almost better than he knows himself. AND he's talking to you and you're listening. Well done.

[Fundog]

That's a fantastic story, Jack's dad--- Thank you for sharing. I also found it to be of immense inspiration and encouragement to others who are struggling with similar issues.

[Sabrina]

Wow!!! Thanks so much for sharing that fantastic story! It was so great to hear how in-tune you were with Jack/the surroundings/your own gut. The things you've posted about your work with Jack are helping me a lot as I work with Charley, and it's so encouraging to hear how far you guys have come.

[MPbandmom]

Congratulations! It's so nice when one can relax and go with the flow and it all works out well.

[emmabeth]

Awesome stuff! You guys are like the poster kids for positive training you know!

[wvvdiup1]

I took Karma for a walk at a state park not far from where I live. As we were walking, I decided to give her more distance on her long leash and she did really well. She stayed near me, and when she moved away from me, whether she was greeting the other people or other dogs, she came to me when I called her on the first call.

Then she and I went for a walk along the lake and I allowed her to wade through the water to cool off. As we're walking along the lake, some ducks were swimming beside us, about 30 feet away; instead of Karma going after them and pulling me further into the lake, she avoided them! I thought "WOW!" because 24 hours ago, she pulled me into the lake at another state park!

I guess she was "ducking out" on this opportunity to chase ducks considering what happened last night at the other park!

[josie1918]

Bravo Jacksdad and Jack!!! All of dad's hard work is going to get him a really cute dog that by the way happens to mind as well. Does it get any better than that?

[jacksdad]

Awesome stuff! You guys are like the poster kids for positive training you know!

I only hope that by sharing both successes and ooops it helps others hang in there a little longer because there is light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an on coming train. And if it helps avoid some of the mistakes I made so much the better. I know how overwhelmed and down I felt at times earlier this year. I was just hoping for a quite walk, the idea that Jack might be able to run free (no fences, no leash) and play nicely with another dog wasn't even a hope.

[Mattie]

It is all down to you Jack's dad, if you hadn't put the work in Jack would still be as bad if not worse, you have learnt to read and understand him as well as making him feel safe.

[wvvdiup1]

I believe successful training comes after some mistakes in which we learn something from those mistakes. Whatever it is that we learn from those mistakes, we apply to our training our dogs. Fortunately, our dogs are patient with us and are able to learn with us!