Snapshots and Wanderings

Well, Woozle and I have come to something like an understanding, but I'm still feeling pretty lost... He has toned down the defensive/frustrated/posturing snarkiness. I am being a better leader and not tolerating crap towards myself or Daisy. He has never exhibited even a hint of snark towards anyone else, though he definitely needs some work on manners. I think the next thing I am going to work on is "Not Jumping Up on People." He is doing much better around cars, though anything more than a quiet, residential street or a parking lot is too much for him and maintaining his focus in almost any situation requires a lot of effort from me. I am also coming to the conclusion that "high-drive" means "very easy to teach, but must be taught absolutely everything." I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just different... I hope I am capable of teaching him all that. I have also realized there is another thing he will ignore really distracting things for: a tug game. It's a good thing in some ways, but at the moment I am really wishing it was Fetch.

Yesterday I had to pick up some stuff at Lowe's. He has been there several times and I got the feeling he was rather bored. He had already had a nice long walk on a longline at the college, so his energy wasn't over the top. He said hi to a few people and then focused on me. I had some treats, but I also had to get the shopping done and that required a shopping cart. He is certainly aquainted with shopping carts; he's even ridden in them and really didn't care all that much. This time however, he was fixated on the wheels. He would stop biting them if I asked him to focus on me for treats, but then then only for a few seconds and I soon ran out. At that point there really wasn't much to be done except tell him to Leave It and ward him away from the cart. When he wouldn't, I put him back in the car and finished my shopping solo, feeling rather dejected.

Yesterday afternoon we took him to a family member's house. He hadn't been there in a while. I took him in the back yard and played some frisbee. His energy was really a bit much since he had been in his crate most of the day. He will fetch frisbees a few times, but unfortunately fetch in general and frisbees in particular aren't something he absolutely adores. He gets frustrated trying to pick them up. He burned a little energy, but as soon as he was tired enough to start exploring a little he discovered there was a dog he could see in a yard about 50 yards away that he really preferred barking at. I tried  to take him in the house, but he wouldn't stop barking, so back in the Blazer he went. I tried to get him out again, when the kids were playing in the front yard, but he still wouldn't stop barking, mouthing, jumping up and tying people in knots with his longline. He stayed in the car until we were almost ready to leave, late at night. I got him out once more for a potty break and a last ditch attempt to exercise him. When I tried to walk him, he was more interested in being a pest than exploring, which is worth pondering over I suppose, since he was in a very unfamiliar area. I didn't have any treats or toys, but we played some tug with the longline. It was actually quite successful. He does Out pretty reliably, even if it isn't instantly and he ignored a couple of barking dogs for the game. I also started combining it with obedience for possibly the first time. He was out cold for most of the hour-long drive home.

I think he's trying to tell me, he really, REALLY wants to do Schutzhund. But we've got a lot of shaping up to do or that will just be a really, REALLY bad idea.

A Bad day

Sunday was a Very Bad, but hopefully informative day...

I had Woozle out on a long line in the front yard yesterday afternoon, tied to the porch. I was watching the kids play and we were going to go on a short road trip later. I was standing next to him and he jumped up and bit me on the arm, apparently for no particular reason except frustration at being tied.  I don't think any cars/dogs were passing or anything like that. There was no way it was going to break the skin, but it definitely wasn't a playful mouthing. I immediately escorted him back to his crate. Once there, while I was trying to put him inside, he turned and put a small hole in one of my fingers (yes, it bled). I didn't react to that, but forced him in and he charged the door snarling at me.

I had been planning on taking him in the car, but in view of events, we went on the road trip without him.  I took him out 3 more times in the evening (after a banishment of several hours) for potty breaks and dinner (on a scent pad instead of his bowl). His reaction wasn't as extreme, but he did growl and lunge at the door the first two times. This has nothing to do with the bark collar; he hasn't worn the thing at all, in the crate or out, for the last 2-3 days. His barking hasn't been outrageously bad and I've totally forgotten about it. Maybe it never had anything to do with the collar at all.

All I can think of is A. hormones (he's still awfully young, but at 6 months, I'm willing to consider it). I am NOT a natural leader/alpha personality and often don't even notice a lot of probably really crappy behaviors. B. I've been giving him too much freedom around the house. I've been busy and haven't been able to exercise him enough this last week, so I've been giving him more time running loose in the house. He is mostly house trained and doesn't normally destroy stuff immediately, so I have time to take them away. Of course this leads to C. Not enough stimulation. Probably all 3 really... I guess it's NILIF from here on out...

Daisy is a slightly pushy and very forward dog, but with some structure, she has really relaxed over the course of this last year or so and now she's mostly just a joy to have around. I have zero experience with something like this.