Aww, thank you all so much for your kind words!
I am very excited for him to have a fenced in yard, and to have buddies. I think that our training will really progress when we have an opportunity to work off leash on our recall. I work on it on a regular basis on the 50 ft line, but you really don't know what you have until he's loose, lol. I did actually dare to take him to a few dog parks and with the right group, I let him off leash. It was so amazing to see him decide to come to me instead of run for the hills. This was back when the weather was nice, but I've been lax lately. His one buddy is a Mountain Cur and the owner (and one of my best friends) now has the most adorable, sweet pit. She's got a great dog park near her with nearly impenetrable fencing, so I think we may brave the park there and I may actually let him *gasp* off leash.
If you asked me last year when I got him if I thought we would be where we were now, I would probably laugh. I had always hoped in the back of my mind, but part of me wondered if his fear was so ingrained that he would never be able to move forward. I will never forget his first trip to Petsmart, where he tried to barrel roll off his leash and was so terrified that he continuously attempted to leap out of the training room. Seeing him jump higher than the solid part of the wall and half way up the plexiglass partition was just terrifying. Then spending the next few hours just trying to let us get near him was a task.
Then I think about his first obedience classes, where he hid under the chair and refused to move. Now, he gets so excited when we went to obedience class and gets so confident at Petsmart. I might join another obedience class when I can get the funds together, because I really do want to take him to some obedience trials.
The biggest break through for me though, was one day I was taking him outside on his 50 foot line with a snap on the end. We were playing with a ball, and somehow he managed to manipulate the snap with his paw and BAM he was off leash in my front yard. My heart just about stopped. Flashbacks of the first time I lost him went swimming in my head. But he kept playing, like he didn't know he was offleash. I just kept playing with him, acting like nothing was wrong. I called mom and told her to bring chicken, just in case. He bounded and played and ran in circles, and I got him to follow me around, just playing. Finally he got close enough to me, let me put a hand on him, and I pet him, then picked him up. I was in tears, partly joy and partly stress. I am now fairly confident that if he got loose on our property, I would easily be able to retrieve him. In other areas, not so much. But it's nice to think that I can catch him here.
It would take a novel to describe all the little improvements we made, and to me, even the smallest thing was a gigantic landmark. Like the one day that a little girl was quiet and soft enough that he let her pet him. That's a HUGE step. And then he even offered to sit when she asked. I literally did cry that day. I get so emotional when those things happen, lol! Then, we were able to go walking around on a 40 ft line at petsmart, and any time I asked him to change direction, he would skid to a stop, turn on a dime, and run back to me. Even if his leash got stuck on something and it spooked him, he would come running back to me for safety. I LOVED it. We then proceeded to work on obedience on that long line, so it was almost like being off-leash.
He gets so excited when we go on walks and go to Incredipet, the Barkery, and Petsmart. He handles Lowes with grace. We are nowhere near perfect, and he will revert every so often (for instance, my dad sends him into a shaking fit for some reason..), but he's continually improving. That piece of him gets just a little bit smaller every day.
I also really want to thank the wonderful people on this forum that provided support to me. Without you all, I think I would be lost. You all were so helpful and I have learned so much! I thought I knew about training dogs until I got this boy, and it has been a long hard road, but I wouldn't change a thing. (well, except for the terror of losing him in two different counties, LOL!).
I will definitely start posting more on here, I've missed it! I need to get a video of my boy, he is so adorable when he plays.
And wow, Dani - Dandie and Monet are so similar! They have the same face and expression. How adorable!
I am very excited for him to have a fenced in yard, and to have buddies. I think that our training will really progress when we have an opportunity to work off leash on our recall. I work on it on a regular basis on the 50 ft line, but you really don't know what you have until he's loose, lol. I did actually dare to take him to a few dog parks and with the right group, I let him off leash. It was so amazing to see him decide to come to me instead of run for the hills. This was back when the weather was nice, but I've been lax lately. His one buddy is a Mountain Cur and the owner (and one of my best friends) now has the most adorable, sweet pit. She's got a great dog park near her with nearly impenetrable fencing, so I think we may brave the park there and I may actually let him *gasp* off leash.
If you asked me last year when I got him if I thought we would be where we were now, I would probably laugh. I had always hoped in the back of my mind, but part of me wondered if his fear was so ingrained that he would never be able to move forward. I will never forget his first trip to Petsmart, where he tried to barrel roll off his leash and was so terrified that he continuously attempted to leap out of the training room. Seeing him jump higher than the solid part of the wall and half way up the plexiglass partition was just terrifying. Then spending the next few hours just trying to let us get near him was a task.
Then I think about his first obedience classes, where he hid under the chair and refused to move. Now, he gets so excited when we went to obedience class and gets so confident at Petsmart. I might join another obedience class when I can get the funds together, because I really do want to take him to some obedience trials.
The biggest break through for me though, was one day I was taking him outside on his 50 foot line with a snap on the end. We were playing with a ball, and somehow he managed to manipulate the snap with his paw and BAM he was off leash in my front yard. My heart just about stopped. Flashbacks of the first time I lost him went swimming in my head. But he kept playing, like he didn't know he was offleash. I just kept playing with him, acting like nothing was wrong. I called mom and told her to bring chicken, just in case. He bounded and played and ran in circles, and I got him to follow me around, just playing. Finally he got close enough to me, let me put a hand on him, and I pet him, then picked him up. I was in tears, partly joy and partly stress. I am now fairly confident that if he got loose on our property, I would easily be able to retrieve him. In other areas, not so much. But it's nice to think that I can catch him here.
It would take a novel to describe all the little improvements we made, and to me, even the smallest thing was a gigantic landmark. Like the one day that a little girl was quiet and soft enough that he let her pet him. That's a HUGE step. And then he even offered to sit when she asked. I literally did cry that day. I get so emotional when those things happen, lol! Then, we were able to go walking around on a 40 ft line at petsmart, and any time I asked him to change direction, he would skid to a stop, turn on a dime, and run back to me. Even if his leash got stuck on something and it spooked him, he would come running back to me for safety. I LOVED it. We then proceeded to work on obedience on that long line, so it was almost like being off-leash.
He gets so excited when we go on walks and go to Incredipet, the Barkery, and Petsmart. He handles Lowes with grace. We are nowhere near perfect, and he will revert every so often (for instance, my dad sends him into a shaking fit for some reason..), but he's continually improving. That piece of him gets just a little bit smaller every day.
I also really want to thank the wonderful people on this forum that provided support to me. Without you all, I think I would be lost. You all were so helpful and I have learned so much! I thought I knew about training dogs until I got this boy, and it has been a long hard road, but I wouldn't change a thing. (well, except for the terror of losing him in two different counties, LOL!).
I will definitely start posting more on here, I've missed it! I need to get a video of my boy, he is so adorable when he plays.
And wow, Dani - Dandie and Monet are so similar! They have the same face and expression. How adorable!
