Stuart is still doing a good job. We were able to make our way downtown today and he did fine. He politely said hi to some admirers and held a Down/Stay and waited outside a smoothie shop with me while my sister got us some drinks. He was interested in a dog walking by and woofed a little but was corrected easily. Had he been allowed to escalate past the first woof he probably would have started pulling but I corrected him as soon as his ears went up and he noticed the other dog. This "correcting for bad thoughts" works extremely well with dogs that are sometimes reactive to other dogs, people, cats, etc while on a walk. Instead of waiting for bad behavior, correct the dog as soon as he notices his trigger. This keeps the dog from escalating from excitement to agitation/arousal which is more difficult to control.
While at the farm Stuart has gotten along fine with my dogs and has played well with Ace and with Kylie (though Kylie sometimes ignores him). However, we met some of my advanced clients today by chance downtown and the meet with their huskies did not go as smoothly. Stuart immediately tried to dominate one of the huskies and ended up getting snapped at and then she didn't want to play any more. I would not consider Stuart to be aggressive but he is rude with introductions and would probably be combative with a dog who reacted to his antics or to a dog who is so submissive that they make themselves a target. In short, Stuart is sometimes a butthead who gets into trouble on the playground. But he can make friends and does enjoy the company of other dogs. He may be better suited for the walking trails at the park instead of the big play ground where all the dogs play in a group because some dogs he isn't interested in being friends with.
We did not get his go-home video taken today because by the time we were home from the walk down town it was pouring rain and it hasn't let up since. In fact, I am shocked that our internet is still up. I hope we are able to get out to take the video tomorrow. Stuart is no fan of this weather. He did well today and we pushed him pretty hard with meeting new dogs AND going down town. I was pleased with how well he did. He is a smart cookie and he just needs that firm direction I have mentioned in earlier blogs.
While at the farm Stuart has gotten along fine with my dogs and has played well with Ace and with Kylie (though Kylie sometimes ignores him). However, we met some of my advanced clients today by chance downtown and the meet with their huskies did not go as smoothly. Stuart immediately tried to dominate one of the huskies and ended up getting snapped at and then she didn't want to play any more. I would not consider Stuart to be aggressive but he is rude with introductions and would probably be combative with a dog who reacted to his antics or to a dog who is so submissive that they make themselves a target. In short, Stuart is sometimes a butthead who gets into trouble on the playground. But he can make friends and does enjoy the company of other dogs. He may be better suited for the walking trails at the park instead of the big play ground where all the dogs play in a group because some dogs he isn't interested in being friends with.
We did not get his go-home video taken today because by the time we were home from the walk down town it was pouring rain and it hasn't let up since. In fact, I am shocked that our internet is still up. I hope we are able to get out to take the video tomorrow. Stuart is no fan of this weather. He did well today and we pushed him pretty hard with meeting new dogs AND going down town. I was pleased with how well he did. He is a smart cookie and he just needs that firm direction I have mentioned in earlier blogs.
RSS Feed