YES!

[Jordan]

So proud of my wee man. You know your making progress when, not one but two people comment on how good his behaviour is!

Theres a new kid on the block, a boxer pup, Roly he must be about 4 months old. Domino met him for the first time today. He was out running about on the grass when we came past. They grabbed him by the collar so i put Domino on lead and asked if they could meet. Roly still held by the collar was a typical pup trying to jump all over him. Domino was okay with it but i could see he wasnt too relaxed so asked him to back up which he did straight away without me pulling the lead at all. Thats when Roly mum said what a well behaved dog! YES! Domino gave a shake then he played ball while i chatted for a minute then another quick hello and off we went. 

Only a few minutes after when we were on the track I had left Domino in a sit while I nipped back to the dog bin when the staffi type dog off lead and young man came along. We frequently meet but he never lets his dog approach and he barely says hello. I always keep Domino away from them as i dont know how friendly the dog is and its never on lead........he doesnt even carry a lead that i can see! Domino had clocked them too and had stood up but not moved so i called him over, he came immediately to my side and waited and watched as they passed by. Further up the track we met them again as they were coming back, we moved to the side and Domino sat and watched them pass. Thats when the man says how well his training was going! YES!!

Extra treat tonight for Domino .......

[Kimmikins]

Woo HOO! Way to go, Domino, you little star That must have made your heart burst with pride. Huge congratulations on your brilliant training efforts, they're paying off massively!

[Adrianne]

you must be so proud of him...he has come a long long way, and its down to you .. he must be so much happier now knowing he can trust you to keep him safe and that your commands do just that.
big cuddles from me for Domino this evening... and its true - a well trained dog has so much more freedom.
well done to both of you... I hope that he inspires the owners of the little pup to follow suit .

[Jordan]

Thank you both.

He certainly has come a long way in a year, he's nothing like the nervous wreck he was! and when we first went out for a walk i might as well not have existed for all the attention he paid to me. Still can suddenly turn deaf! or play silly beepers when hes in a stubborn naughty mood and refuses to bring the ball!! But does me proud most of the time especially when it matters.

one area i need to work on with him is occasional reactive to other dogs .....yappy dog behind gate has a go at him when we pass..........so now he looks for it and has a go back ......that sort of thing........but the other day we passed a lovely lassie dog behind a gate that never even looked at him and he still reacted so need to get that sorted. Its weird cause pretty much everyday we pass conker, the border collies gate and he always barks and growls at him as does Poppy the staffi next door to us but Domino never bats an eyelid and never has! As i said weird!

We were in the garden today and several dogs passed our gate and that was absolutely fine. Only had one wee growl under his breath when a little girl passed and peered through fence at him otherwise he was totally relaxed, so i'm really pleased with that as our back garden has a lot of 'traffic' and i like to sit out when its nice or potter in the garden and last summer he was quite jumpy and reactive if someone passed and said hi etc

Hows Sara getting on Kimmikins?

[kristina]

Just caught with your post and I am over the moon for you and Domino what a way you have come with your little star,brilliant just hope I can achieve the same with this pup of mine.Kristina

[Kimmikins]

Sara sounds pretty much on a par with Domino; most kinks have been ironed out, but there are still a few that she'll throw in randomly to remind us she's still a goof! She reacts to dogs, but it seems to be when she can't predict what they're going to do, so if she's never met them before or if they're being held back by a lead she gets jumpy and the hackles go up. She absolutely adores little dogs, or really submissive dogs, or the kind of dogs that you can tell from a mile away are playful and as goofy as she is.

And I think she's definitely destined to be a PAT dog. My friend has been going through a tough time, and came over last night to hang out while her partner was at work, and Sara just laid on her oat of the night. My friend was visibly relaxing and opening up as she fussed her, it was lovely to watch. We just need to get 100% rid of her jumping up to greet people.

[kristina]

Bless her cotton socks Sarah is lovely and so lucky to have you,know what you mean about the jumping up it's annoying and Xena is the same we must put a stop to it I am working on it but it's hard thing to do as it seems to them it's the most natural thing to do.Kristina

[Adrianne]

jumping up is a difficult thing to stop, not only is it a very polite canine greeting (and we teach them to be rude and praise them when they very rudely ignore us instead) but it is also an appeasement gesture, please don't waste your time just turning around and ignoring them - it will only take one person to not do it again in their life and they will keep trying until it works...just teach them an alternative behaviour that they can do instead, preferably something incompatible with jumping up and something that can be rewarded for...mat training works well here.. and a little handful of biscuit pieces dropped on the floor ..praise/greet when all four feet are still on the floor.

[kristina]

Thanks Adrianne the one thing I never do is turn my back on any dog I tend to bend down to their level and just gently stroke the sides of their body until they have settled and said hello to me,I can do that with Xena no probs but when people come to my house or we meet people she will jump up as most non dog people don't understand by the time I have told them it's all to late she has jumped up them and I for one do want to be grabbing hold of my little girl and be telling her off for something which is a natural thing for her to do.Have to say this is all new to me my Shepherds never ever did this as they were always wary of other people and even with people they knew well never jumped up at them.Xena is a whole new ball game here she just loves everyone it's hard for her to contain the pleasure of seeing some one whether she knows them or not but when out on the roads or when we were in the woods she can be wet and muddy and people don't like it when she jumps up and gets them wet and muddy,so for now for me a sit at a distance to chat is my best solution while she just squeaks and squirms around with excitement until she settles down and becomes calm then I will let her say hello to whoever she then tends not to jump but just goes around their legs like a cat or just sits in front of them,best I can do right now? Kristina

[Adrianne]

perfect xx

[Kimmikins]

In the house, Sara is learning to wait "in the lounge" until we invite her to come say hi. And now we only have to catch her paws, lower them to the floor and remind her "paws on the floor" She loves a proper lean, where her whole body is leaning on your leg while you make a massive fuss of her. All the neighbours follow this rule now too ?
It's just making this work 100% out of the house before we even consider looking into what we'd need to do in order to make her PAT dog worthy.

It's super cute if you forget to release her - you look over to see those big brown eyes pleading to be invited for a cuddle!