another update on the punky monster.
i am pretty impressed w how far punky has come since i explained to him about the word- no.
his responses arent always perfect, but i follow through and in the end he gets it.
so far we have made progress on-
no stop chasing that chicken
no biting
no jumping
no touching me when i ask you to jump
no fighting w your sister. yes i know she started it. or, i know you did. either way- no
also glad i sprung for the collar. instant attention and enough power to get him into a sit even if someone is asking to pet him, or there is a bunny, or there are a dozen baby chicken, or a strange dog, or
back to work on down, too, which are very hard to accomplish w/o that leverage because he thinks wrestling him into a down is a game.
and longer stays. he seems to remember he is on a stay a little longer w that collar on.
however, he has turned into a sneaker about getting out.
he has gotten super leash wise, as in thinks he can get away w shit if he isnt on a leash.
he has already fired up the gossip chain after slipping past the grandkids at the door, and bumped into the wrong dog/owner a couple times.
so we are trying to get to off leash control, which of course goes awry.
no harm, or course, and not as out of control as it looked.
had him under control in seconds.
but still the lines are abuzz.
if we are out doing off leash, i am armed w super treats and squeaky toys and right now mostly working on getting his attention when he is in go mode. it's going well. (we start w him looking for bunnies at the farm, which is why we have to push it. they are freaking everywhere.)
my first stray dog taught me exactly how not to deal w an itchy footed dog.
i would scream and run and chase her down the alley. to her it as all part of the fun. look, mom's coming along. she is barking like mad. she must be having fun.
so i just keep cool, try to keep up, and not turn it into a contest. i toss his favorite treat at him, and hijack his nose. for him, it is about following his nose. which is why i can keep up w him most of the time.
squeaky toys arent that effective, but they help. he does want me to follow him, so he doesnt get too far. doesnt hurt to remind him where i am.
just stepping back while stepping up the distraction.
he goes for 4 days of board and train next week. think i will ask them to work on retrieve. when he got here he would play for a long time, bringing it back every time. now he is pretty indifferent. it would be great to add a ball to the off leash tool kit, so time to step that up.
also time to teach him- drop it. that nose leads him into so gross things.
i think he'll get there.
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