So those of you who have seen my other thread know that the past week hasn't been rainbows and sunshine with Klaus, but I wanted to share a few proud moments I've had with him too in the past couple weeks, because I don't think anyone can appreciate how proud of his successes I am like other GSD owners. This si the Brag section, so brag I will
1. We've been able to start ditching the prong on our walks for the flat collar and still do a great loose leash walk (99% of the time :grin2: ). He still needs the prong for things like heading to the park or beach because he gets SO excited, but just the fact that we've been able to make the switch for neighborhood walks has been great!
2. He's gotten so good at staying in "place" for things like us eating dinner. He stays right there for the whole time, so patiently. It's such an improvement. I think a big help is that we play a game every day where he stays in place while I hide treats all over the house and then he goes to find them. He LOVES this game, so I think he associates place with getting to play it. We're still working on holding it for things like my husband and I going in and out of the front door, but I'm feeling more confident that it will come.
3. Klaus handled a big mistake on our part like a pro a little over a week ago. We were playing fetch in the park late at night when there are few people there, and he was on the long lead so we could practice recall too. A lab came walking along off leash with his owner, an older lady. Klaus loves meeting dogs in the park, and we have a few regulars that he gets to run around with. As a rule, poorly behaved dogs usually aren't off leash on the path, since you need to be able to call them to you quickly if the park patrol comes along to avoid a fine. We yelled to ask if he was friendly and she said yes, and we thought, ok, great, Klaus is on the long line so we can practice recall from another dog. Well he went to meet the dog, it was fine until the other dog started growling in Klaus' face. No snapping or anything, but Klaus just backed off and came back to us. Of course the lady tells her dog, "no no be nice" and to us "honestly he's really friendly" and the dog approaches Klaus again and growls. The lady gets between them and leashes her dog, and I figure it's over and we'll part ways.
Suddenly out of nowhere, this woman lunges forward, puts her hands on Klaus' cheeks, and sticks her face right in his face, telling him how cute he is. It was so unexpected, and so incredibly stupid on her part, that I never could have predicted it. My heart was in my throat, and I just yelled "no" and jumped in between them as soon as I saw it happen. Thankfully Klaus just looked at me like "mom, get this crazy woman away from me" and we walked away and I was left in awe of how anyone could think its a good idea to stick their face in a strange dog's face. Needless to say we will be vetting our training buddies and owners better in the future before an introduction, but I was so proud of him not reacting, especially immediately after a dog had growled at him.
1. We've been able to start ditching the prong on our walks for the flat collar and still do a great loose leash walk (99% of the time :grin2: ). He still needs the prong for things like heading to the park or beach because he gets SO excited, but just the fact that we've been able to make the switch for neighborhood walks has been great!
2. He's gotten so good at staying in "place" for things like us eating dinner. He stays right there for the whole time, so patiently. It's such an improvement. I think a big help is that we play a game every day where he stays in place while I hide treats all over the house and then he goes to find them. He LOVES this game, so I think he associates place with getting to play it. We're still working on holding it for things like my husband and I going in and out of the front door, but I'm feeling more confident that it will come.
3. Klaus handled a big mistake on our part like a pro a little over a week ago. We were playing fetch in the park late at night when there are few people there, and he was on the long lead so we could practice recall too. A lab came walking along off leash with his owner, an older lady. Klaus loves meeting dogs in the park, and we have a few regulars that he gets to run around with. As a rule, poorly behaved dogs usually aren't off leash on the path, since you need to be able to call them to you quickly if the park patrol comes along to avoid a fine. We yelled to ask if he was friendly and she said yes, and we thought, ok, great, Klaus is on the long line so we can practice recall from another dog. Well he went to meet the dog, it was fine until the other dog started growling in Klaus' face. No snapping or anything, but Klaus just backed off and came back to us. Of course the lady tells her dog, "no no be nice" and to us "honestly he's really friendly" and the dog approaches Klaus again and growls. The lady gets between them and leashes her dog, and I figure it's over and we'll part ways.
Suddenly out of nowhere, this woman lunges forward, puts her hands on Klaus' cheeks, and sticks her face right in his face, telling him how cute he is. It was so unexpected, and so incredibly stupid on her part, that I never could have predicted it. My heart was in my throat, and I just yelled "no" and jumped in between them as soon as I saw it happen. Thankfully Klaus just looked at me like "mom, get this crazy woman away from me" and we walked away and I was left in awe of how anyone could think its a good idea to stick their face in a strange dog's face. Needless to say we will be vetting our training buddies and owners better in the future before an introduction, but I was so proud of him not reacting, especially immediately after a dog had growled at him.