I was very impressed with how well Sadie handled herself last night, Duane. Not that she's a little monster, but it was very obvious she was comfortable.

Radar went to 'class' more for the socialization and was, yet again, wonderful. Tied him to the fence and worked on long distance downs while still being quiet, something he has trouble with because he doesn't like me to walk away WHILE he's tied up, but is okay being loose. We practiced obedience in a serpentine around three other dogs and handlers (big hurdle there), and then later practiced alone on the field with and without the leash. It was his first time being off leash in a formal heel, and he did it like a champ. Also worked on the retrieve wall or whatever it's called, and he had lots of fun with that. He was so excited about his release command that he'd yip.
His further socialization is coming along great. When he was a puppy I pretty much exhausted myself with socializing him but he still didn't enjoy strangers being around him. I think he's a slow maturing dog, mentally and physically, so it didn't hurt that I socialized like crazy, but it never stuck in his head until now. He's picking up on what I want from him fairly well and my corrections are minimal or sometimes he'll correct himself and look at me for reassurance that he made the right choice.

Agreed on both dogs, Sam. I love working with the club, partly because the observations of others are invaluable to me. I think if you keep coming, we can put titles on not only Radar, but that you can also help the rest of us.
There is one specific thing that you can help me with the next time you come. Sadie has gotten a lot more comfortable, even with me on another section of the field. However, if I leave her sight, or work with another dog, she still loses it. She will have to remain quiet on the temperament test when we go for the BH. I would like you to stay close to her and quiet her in these scenarios as part of the desensitizing process.

I'd be more than happy to help you, and depending on how things go with Radar, I might need your help, too! If you'd like to get together and work on it more than just Wednesdays, let me know. We can go to high traffic areas with just her and us humans and practice.

I continue to train my handling skills for working my reactive dog. Our biggest challenge is getting through a whole walk without a reaction. We haven't done it yet. I'm getting much better, though, at watching my dog more than the environment, and when he is starting to pant, or blow, or fixate, introducing a command to get his attention.

That is the preemptive method. When he has gone full berserko over a scent, which I cannot predict and cannot always preempt because it has come on so fast, I am practicing a different method. If I can, I just walk as quickly with Jethro away from the disturbance. But that is not always possible, and I have learned not to move a berserko dog unless my footing and balance are absolutely solid (he is now 93 pounds).

Last night I held his leash firmly with a solid upward pressure that pulled his nose up. I held him this way, as he squirmed and growled, I said, "Leave It" and then "Sit". He Sat! Even though his hackles were up and he wanted to go on a rampage. I knew better than to move him at that point, as he would just leap into another attack, so I told him, "Wait" which means he may not move his feet or butt out of the Sit position. Then, I moved in front of him, with a loose leash and watched him for any escalation, blocking his vision with my body. Finally, he looked up at me and I gave him a lot of love, making sure I wasn't rewarding arousal, but I was rewarding eye contact. If he broke our eye contact to look away, I immediately stopped praising him. When he looked back at me, I gave him the love.

I didn't give him permission to move forward until his demeanor had changed, and he was a calm dog again. The amazing thing is, that after the first outburst, we walked for many, many blocks with him completely relaxed, no charging, no snuffling after critters. When he did get excited, we did the same exercise again, this time, he was more willing to play with me, making the eye contact for love and calming down.

I am so glad I learned to give this dog corrections on the other thread. We have been making a lot of progress since then, mostly because my demeanour has changed and my timing has improved. Although things are not perfect, I am enjoying the process more.

Congrats, Jenny! Pretty soon you and your boy will be able to have a nice relaxing walk without a raised eye brow here and there.

Nice progress, Jenny!!

This afternoon we are tracking.
My 4km jog turned into a 6km as I decided that Dexter was coming too. He was good untill he decided it was over! So he sat down and would not budge. I made sure that he did not have to go potty or that he was not limping.

All was good he would do some nice ob work but not jog. So I decided that he was going to follow me. 4km is about 20min slow jog. Harley could have been off leash he was good but I did dragged Dexter untill he decided to follow again, then head back home. He can go on the same road fora walk and he is fine.

The bf let him have his way too much I think. Time to train my bf about not letting Dex decide when he want to stop or sniff. So not fun.

Jenny - it sounds like you have made a real breakthru, good for you. Way to keep at it!

Jenny - it sounds like you have made a real breakthru, good for you. Way to keep at it!

MORE TRACKING!!!! I have access to eleven acres of fields with some woods. I had my 11 year old son put down a track with hot dogs and hide in the woods with his homemade Ghillie suit and two hotdogs in his pocket. There was a moment I thought Drago was going off track but that wasn't the case, the track layer has a hard time walking in a straight line. He found Brian, got excited and got his hotdogs.