Dog Park
Why do I still go to the dog park if I don’t support dog parks? Simple, I have a small fenced in backyard and I only go if there are no strange dogs coming in/out. Many behaviors issues start at the dog park because a lot of owners haven’t trained their dogs properly or have wrongly decided that their aggressive dog is safe enough to be around other dogs. Dog parks can be used safely ONLY if you are around dogs you know very well & all dogs are properly trained, otherwise, it’s a recipe for disaster. Three of these four dogs are mine and one is my parent’s. All dogs I know thoroughly & all dogs are properly socialized and have good manners.
Beau Off leash
Some off leash work with Beau today; in order to safely have your dog off leash, the obedience must be immaculate. For example, a teenage girl kept calling trying to call Beau over to her but he continued to ignore and engage only with me. We’re still working on prey drive—he loves to chase squirrels—but practice makes perfect! If you’re thinking about starting off leash training always begin in a fenced in area!
Dog Park
A little bit of fun at the dog park this morning🤣 of course everyone has to chase Evie because she loves a game of chase—also the first time Beau & Evie have been out together & it’s gone very well
Treadmill
Evie ran at 3.8 mph, Winston at 5.5 mph, and Beau at 5.4 mph!
Kong
Every dog got their own kong filled with treats tonight; all dogs are kept separate to avoid fights over resources as Beau is a pretty big resource guarded. I think Beau is probably the most excited to get an enrichment activity 🤣
Evie’s first time on treadmill
All three dogs walking on the treadmill!! Evie’s previous owners reported that she would walk through but was scared when it turned on and would dart off of it. Unfortunately for her, I’m more stubborn than she is & we got her going on it!
Beau is looking good on the treadmill 😃
Beau is working on the treadmill now! I say he might be doing better than Winston 🤣
Thought the weather was perfect to try something new! I’ve got Winston running on the treadmill which was about as easy as I thought, now we’re teaching Beau & Evie.
Training
Another day of training; working on off leash stays specific to each dog & I think they did pretty well!
Starting to work on extended off leash stays
He’s still in the process of learning an implied stay and an extended off leash stay—it took us a while, however, we eventually got to 10 minutes!
Working on some off-leash recall today; it took about 7 tries to get Beau to understand that just because I walk off doesn’t mean he follows. Winston, as always, maintained a perfect stay even when Beau moved. Always end your training sessions on a positive note and never give up, make your dog do what you’re telling them no matter how many times it takes!
Can you walk both dogs at the same time with one being off leash😉 this is what perfect control looks like and this is why we train
Our first bath! Muzzle went on because I’ve been told he wasn’t a fan of baths, which is apparent from the way he’s panting (sign of stress). He even got his nails clipped (which was a battle). Afterwards, I got him some nuggets & the wonderful employees at JustRite gave both of the dogs… a hot dog!
I decided to take both dogs to the park today so they get used to being around one another; I was pleasantly surprised when they started chasing each other around, because Beau wasn’t sure of Winston at first & was growling at him on Friday. But we’ve gotten past that! Beau made sure to let me know that he liked running around in the dog park by giving lots of kisses!
This is something I’ve been working on with Winston, as he struggles with it…he is amazing at laying down when told from a distance but being told to return to a sit while he’s currently laying down is harder to do from across the room. Practice makes perfect!
Doesn’t like me near his kennel…clearly. But that will change, we’re going to work on trust and making my approach to his kennel a positive one! Working with aggressive dogs is by no means pretty!
We’ve learned most of our commands in French, we just need to work on spin…he may have been a little upset I wasn’t throwing the ball🤣