Lucky playing with the neighbor.

Here is Lucky playing with the Neighbor, Peggy wanted to see it so I took a video.  Normally they are way more active than this.  Probably has something to do with the snow on the ground.

Lucky and Strangers

So last night Mom had someone over who hadnt met Lucky before. We had him tethered and I went up to her and greeted her first. He seemed fine with her. So after awhile I untethered him and went to pick up dinner for me and dad. Mom and her friend were in the basement and I guess he went down there. According to mom he seemed fine with her and went to smell her a couple times. When she got up to put a sack down he ran up to her like he wanted to play. She ignored him and he leaned in and started butting her arm with his nose.  Mom says she isnt sure if he used mouth or teeth or not.  Im not sure what they did after that but when I came home he was upstairs and the basement door was shut.

I guess she didnt actively try to move him out of her way and would just go around him. Mom says he didnt seem afraid of her. She said it was more like he was annoyed that she ignored him or that he wanted to play. Is this something I should be concerned about or no?  Other than meeting and tethering is there something I can do to prevent before that may be interpretted as aggressive?

Dog training 2/15/14

So we worked on Testing today.  Lucky did really well with it the first time.  The first time was purely accidental mom was giving him some food and just happened to ask him to bow before he got it.  He refused to do it.  So we waited probably about 15 minutes and then he did it.  So we praised him and gave him the food then we went and did it again.  The second time it only took like 2 or 3 minutes before he did it.

I just tried it a little bit ago and I ran into something that I don't think has been covered.  I asked him to sit, and instead of sitting he laid down.  Then he just kind of rolled over and acted like he was going to sleep.  What do I do in that situation?  Do I just stand there or has he really just checked out completely?

Lucky Training and Vet Visit 2/8/14

So I just took Lucky to the Vet to get his yearly shots, I added the one for Kennel Cough based on what happened.  I was actually really surprised by how Lucky behaved at the Vet's office.  Last time I took him, before he started training, he would bark at the other dogs and people and just cause a lot of problems.  Today he only barked once and that was very early when the vet was crowded and another large dog got too close.  It was half off shot day at my Vet and so there were tons of people and dogs there to get their shots and once he got settled he just sat or laid next to me.  He even sat in front of the lady sitting next to me and let her pet him, which amazed me because he rarely does that.

He is still scared of the Vet's office and the Vet, he didn't misbehave or anything but even when he was laying or sitting "relaxed" he was still shaking and hyper vigilante to noises.  The other good thing was he seemed nervous but okay with letting the vet examine his ears and his sore paw.  Last time he had a sore paw and the vet tried to look at it four people had to hold him down and even then they needed to have him come back and be sedated.  Granted the injury was more severe then, but still it was an improvement.  Lucky's ears needed cleaned and I guess were a little infected so he gave me a topical ointment for both is paw and to put in his ear to heal them up.  Depending on how long they've been bad maybe it explains some of his being bossy, I'm not sure.

As far as training goes it's still really difficult applying the more skill tasks at home.  Working on Time is something that is especially difficult and something I still haven't figured out.  We've tried to videotape but we're having technical issues with that, namely converting the videos from our phones to the computer.  The videos also don't really show any training.  They show us trying to engage Lucky in play to work on the Time concept and him just laying down and not being interested.  So really the only training I've managed to do is working on setting up boundaries (but even that is a little complicated by the fact that it's been too cold to walk him regularly so when he goes he's so excited that it's hard to make anything stick) and free shaping commands/tricks.  I'm just not sure how to work on some of the things since we don't have a fenced in yard and in the house he doesn't always want to play or run across the floor.  I've tried free shaping "come" but he likes to run up and sit or lay next to me instead of in front of me which isn't the command.  The one good thing is he will always come running in from outside, even if he's playing with the neighbor dog, if I open the door and call his name.  Sometimes just if I open the door and pat my leg.  Not sure why, or where or how he learned that but I'll take it.

Dog training 1/28/2014

So this is my first dog training post.  I have still been working on forming boundaries with Lucky such as crossing the street.  He's still got it down to where he sits before going into the street just about every time.  When he doesn't I pull back on the lead so he doesn't cross and then make sure I say let's go as we cross it.

Tonight we tried to do the Time training but it was difficult.  We attached one of the long cables we use outside to his collar since we didn't have a retractable.  He seemed okay with it and I got him comfortable running back and forth through where we usually play so he knew he could run with it.  Once I grabbed a toy to throw though he would take a couple steps and then stop.  Then he would go lay down.  I'm not really sure about what to do because I don't want to try the Time training without having a leash so I'm not chasing him down across the house if he wants to play chase.   I've also been trying to free shape Come but it's not really working because he never just sits right in front of me. He comes and sits but it's always next to me and never directly in front.  So if there was some way to do that I would like to hear it.  I've thought about maybe using treats but I don't know if that would work or if he would even here the command.  I'm going to try again tomorrow and see if I can get him to do it.