Gosh, David, I really like his focus on you. You do what I do with my dogs where I randomly call them to me and reward. When we walk/hike, I’m always in their side eye. They’re constantly checking in. I love when he just sits and stares at you just waiting for direction. Such engagement. Reminds me of my current guy, and why I love German Shepherds. They live to please you.

Although I will say, it’s harder to do this type of recall in South Florida unless you have a large plot of land that is lake free. Every trail has bears; panther, snakes, alligators. I preferred training dogs in the Midwest. lol

 

Yeah I enjoy that 100% focus Max seems to be excel and have a great attention span. It’s fun to watch it strengthen as they mature.

@tycsco I never wanted to feel the need to reward any barking but to call dogs away if they are watching over their property. As a with suspicion - with in regards to just watching a person and checking their eyes - a big thing with Max you can see if they are responding to do the awareness of different interactions between you and that person. Max is watchful he is fine upon approach but watchful in general if out and about with strangers. What I find interesting though is I had met some friends that Max has not ever met at different parks or local trails on different occasions and upon meeting that person he warmed up instantly to them so he is definitely taking cues from me. He will right away want to check out if they are carrying a walking stick or whatever they are holding on their hand but he seems to accept them in my circle as it’s what I am doing. Luna the same but she is less watchful. Once Max knows the new person is part of our group and enjoys taking in wafts of their smell and may steal a smell or two. Luna will say hello and share some affection and be done. Important to watch your pup and in greeting people out if you pup is uncomfortable with meeting strangers then as you said it’s important for her to focus on you. You also may want to try meeting some of your friends at the park that is unknown to her and see if it is more of a positive and fun interaction but at the same time making sure her attention is on you and just enjoy the trails together.

 

My house is approached by a 100 yard single lane private driveway with a 20 foot natural waterfall under a single lane wooden bridge that drives directly into what would look like my formal driveway as far as parking. There is one streetlight on the other side of the bridge and the property is totally and heavily treed to the point where the streetlight doesn't even shine on my driveway in the Summer.
There are "private road - no cars or pedestrians" and "No Trespassing" signs along the side which turns back 90% of the occasional car that ventures that far. 100% turn back before the bridge, even doing the 360 on the single lane width. Occasionally we have had people come down to take pictures beside the waterfall and that's kinda OK but I've asked them not to tag the location when I see them. I even had a bride and groom arrive to take pictures even further up my property and that was OK too....I guess. Somewhere Harley is in some stranger's wedding photos.

The point is it's private property from a long way back and certainly in my direct driveway. And dark. Very dark.

So I'm 100% fine with my dog(s) alerting to any car that pulls into my driveway or walks across that bridge. The bridge "bumps" and no one gets on the property driving without me knowing. Harley has always done a single bark and Rogan lights up the house. I always get up and see who it is and good boy(s) and that's it. Once I enter the situation, the bark stops. Never more.

What's even better about that is I can settle my dogs to know these people are allowed before someone knocks which would set them off or choose to meet the visitor outside if it's a delivery etc.

It's funny this topic has come up because just this morning because I hear some noise outside the house and couldn't figure out if it was a neighbor's chain saw or it sounded like an ATV. Turns out it was some kids and their tuner cars taking photos. In this case I sure didn't need my dogs to let me know someone is there but it was great having 200 pounds of dog with me as I approached and asked them if they knew they were 10 yards up my driveway. They were polite and all good.

The dogs can also differentiate our cars as well as my parents and my sons. They only go to the door when they arrive and don't bark. They alert to those cars 50 yards away, especially if the windows are open.

Long story short; I like when my dogs alert and I like when they stop (when they're supposed to).

 

Been a while since I last posted.. Reya is progressing great in all aspects and I couldn't be happier with her. She is still leash reactive toward other dogs (but she is improving significantly). The prong collar is a sure fire way to remove the reaction but we are still working toward dropping the prong and having her stay attentive to us.

She plays great with other dogs no matter the size and besides the initial burst of excitement/jumping she is great with people loves kids. We just started making her go to her bed and relax when having company over, to avoid the barrage of licks and jumping. Once she's calm we let the visitor greet her.

It has just been a matter of figuring it out as handlers and thankfully Reya is patient

 

Pretty girl! She's getting big to, I can't believe how quick these pups are growing.

 

She does look massive. I could mistake her for a full grown adult in those pictures.

 

Ahhh the licks! Lol I joke that Max has a whip tongue! LOL

 

Reya is looking great! I'm proud of you. You've been putting in some work

 

Thanks David! Appreciate it. No days off with this dog! Haha we are learning a lot and she is progressing more and more every week.

 

Well December has been off to a slow start! Reya cut open one of her pads on a sharp rock face while out for a hike. Unfortunately she had to get stitches but they were removed yesterday and we are finally back to our normal walks. Staying away from any off leash activity until the wound fills in some more but it’s healing well.

She never seemed to be in any pain, and never favoured the injured paw so trying to keep her off of it was a nightmare.. thankfully we are almost back to normal (knock on wood).

Looking forward to getting her out and adventuring again! Another good week or two of rest and the vet figures we should be in the clear. On the bright side.. here is a rare picture of her not being Ms. Serious!

 

Well December has been off to a slow start! Reya cut open one of her pads on a sharp rock face while out for a hike. Unfortunately she had to get stitches but they were removed yesterday and we are finally back to our normal walks. Staying away from any off leash activity until the wound fills in some more but it’s healing well.

She never seemed to be in any pain, and never favoured the injured paw so trying to keep her off of it was a nightmare.. thankfully we are almost back to normal (knock on wood).

Looking forward to getting her out and adventuring again! Another good week or two of rest and the vet figures we should be in the clear. On the bright side.. here is a rare picture of her not being Ms. Serious!


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How is she healing up? I bet she's driving you crazy to play

 

 

Beautiful dog. I just love the updates on this litter. 💕

 

She hates the snow..

 

Lazy sundays with mom on the couch! Since she was a pup she always had one of us home with her during the days due to covid but these past two weeks shes had to adjust to our "new" work schedules as things are getting back to normal.

It's amazing how she was able to adjust. I'm a little biased but.. such an amazing dog. Always ready for whatever we throw at her

 

Beautiful dog! Have you gotten a handle on the reactivity toward strangers and/or dogs?

 

She has no reactivity whatsoever toward people/strangers and does wonderful with kids! She goes everywhere I do as long as they allow dogs. Here is us at the bookstore tonight (I don't usually drop the leash while in public out of respect for others that may walk by but I had a book in one hand and quickly dropped the leash to snap the pic😅).

She unfortunately still is reactive to dogs. She still plays well but it seems to be more of a want/need to go over and play while on leash, maybe barking from frustration. We've cut down on random dog interactions and try to incorporate walk bys of dog parks into our routine so she can get used to seeing dogs playing and not approach. If she wears her prong collar she has little to no reaction whatsoever but i'd love to be able to cut the prong out completely. Also started incorporating "Leave it" command which she does very well with and it seems to help somewhat as long as we get it before she starts to react.

That is the ugliest dog I ever saw.
I’m sure you are embarrassed to be seen out in public with her.
I can help you out and take her off your hands..., I’ll send you my address and might even be persuaded to pay for shipping. 😂

😂 Shes just the worst!! I'll have to sleep on it 🤣

 

That is the ugliest dog I ever saw.
I’m sure you are embarrassed to be seen out in public with her.
I can help you out and take her off your hands..., I’ll send you my address and might even be persuaded to pay for shipping. 😂

 

Update?👀

 

That's not funny. Your post put this thread into the new posts and I thought there was an update.

 

Sorry, David.
OP hasn’t posted in a month. I thought maybe he gets email alerts when someone posts to the thread.

 

Sorry everyone! I've been away with work for a month now, i'll be headed home in a couple of days.. excited is an understatement. Obviously not much information to post right now. Reya has been having some quality time with her mom, I hear she's been a real cuddle bug while i've been gone. Looking forward to getting home and on some hikes, the longest we've been apart before this is about 8 hours. I'll get some videos posted on our hikes next week.

Here are some pictures I've been sent!



I do have email notifications on but with my work I have very little bandwidth while away so never got the chance to load the forum up.

 

she looks great! Thank you for the update!

 

She has a GREAT head for a female. I love it. 💕

 

She’s so beautiful. I saved that snow photo 🥰

 

She is absolutely stunning! ❤❤❤

 

She is absolutely stunning! ❤❤❤

The apple doesn't fall far that's for sure

 

Home sweet home

 

I took a couple of videos over the past week. I just need to find the time to put them together, rather than upload separately. Hoping to find some time this afternoon or tomorrow!

 

I know, I know.. still no videos.. I’ve taken on some side jobs over the past week which have taken over my late night downtime. I promise I’ll get to it soon as possible lol..

I also have some updating to do on Max and Valor! Haven’t seen any of their updates in a while, in for a long night on the forums soon.

 

waiting! LOL jk jk I added some updates yesterday

 

Where did the snow go dad?

Nap time! Post hike, in one of her favourite sleeping spots.
So interesting how different her coat looks depending on the lighting.