It's been quite a long time since I posted, but I felt an update on Preston was in order. Well, today he played with the big dogs at the the dog park and we both survived
He has come a very, very, long way since he came to me last May. We have worked hard everyday on a ton of issues, mostly his interaction with other dogs. We started from scratch with his looking at a dog from a distance, then eventually walking with quiet dogs, then over time doing two to three hour Sunday walks all over town with other dogs, each week adding a new dog until we grew to a group of eight. A couple of weeks ago I introduced him to the dog park, allowing him to see the dogs playing through the fence, while we stayed in a smaller confined area. During each visit a dog would join us and Preston learned to interact off leash and most importantly, learned to play with another dog! Today, I decided it was time to join the big dogs. He kept looking through the fence at them and whining. So I opened the gate and off he went. I stood back, held my breath, watched and waited. He did brillantly! Only one very big dog became a huge pain wanting to dominate Preston. Preston defended himself telling him to back off, but the dog just wouldn't stop. Preston never bit him, but I felt he was getting close. I got between them, and asked the owner to get control of their dog. By the time we left, the two of them were quietly sharing a bowl of water. I came home with one very tired, but very happy dog.
In other areas Preston has blossomed into healthy, fun loving, well mannered, toy monster, and lovebug. He is pure delight! We are still working on recall, but the park has shown me we are on a good path...unless a squirrel or rabbit gets in his sights
In the spring we will start agility classes since he shows no fear in jumping over a 3 foot fence, jumping over the couch (instead of going around it), jumping onto the kitchen table from the floor (and falling asleep on it after eating what was there), and going through tunnels.So, thank you to everyone on this forum, especially the experts! Your knowledge and help is what got Preston and I to this point. Although I rarely posted, I read constantly and integrated everything I read into his training. I have even helped a few others
Hopefully in a few months I will have an update on his agility training.
Shyrl and Preston
