Knuckles continues to be a joy and a challenge at 5 ½ months. He needs a lot of exercise and I’ve been cheating by taking him to the dog park because I enjoy it so much and it’s easy. What he really needs is a mixture of still getting socialization plus the high energy play. We re-visited a local park with a wide walking trail this morning before crate time. He is becoming more protective but I need to channel that instinct into an appropriate form. When we walk the “mall” or go into stores, he expects other people to be there and never barks or acts up. The times we were at this park before, there were only empty fields and we would walk the path and then play on the big climbing gym all alone.
Today was a whole new experience for Knuckles because the place was hopping with little league games and tons of people and noise. Yikes. He came out of the car barking. I used all the techniques we are learning in class but he was still very distressed. During all our earlier outings, I had not realized that he was learning how they “should” be and he now thinks they are his territory. He’s only been alive since the winter so he had no back up history. We started around the back of the fields but there were other people walking on them. Luckily for us, one of the first was a woman with her Schnauzer. I had Knuckles sitting on short leash but he was still barking up a storm and frankly, looking pretty scary. Despite this display, the woman stopped and let her dog meet mine. Knuckles reverted to his usual self, licked the dog and said hello to the owner. Then he calmed down and was a good boy. He just was put out and now understood I didn’t need protecting. All others we met on the path were treated just as well or ignored, which is the best.
After the first part of the outing, I felt Knuckles was settled enough (and always curious) that we could go up close to the games and mingle. This is where he is in his element. People came up to him and he was gentle. Little kids LOVE Knuckles and I had treats in my pocket so they could fed him. I teach them to lay their hands flat with the treat in the palm. Knuckles will ever so gently nibble it off. We moved up against the fence next to the dugout and watched part of the game with lots of noise and movement. He was good. I was proud.
I have been complacent. From now on I have to focus not just on exploring and exercise, but to remember that Knuckles needs continual reference and practice. What started out as a rough trip turned into a golden opportunity.
Today was a whole new experience for Knuckles because the place was hopping with little league games and tons of people and noise. Yikes. He came out of the car barking. I used all the techniques we are learning in class but he was still very distressed. During all our earlier outings, I had not realized that he was learning how they “should” be and he now thinks they are his territory. He’s only been alive since the winter so he had no back up history. We started around the back of the fields but there were other people walking on them. Luckily for us, one of the first was a woman with her Schnauzer. I had Knuckles sitting on short leash but he was still barking up a storm and frankly, looking pretty scary. Despite this display, the woman stopped and let her dog meet mine. Knuckles reverted to his usual self, licked the dog and said hello to the owner. Then he calmed down and was a good boy. He just was put out and now understood I didn’t need protecting. All others we met on the path were treated just as well or ignored, which is the best.
After the first part of the outing, I felt Knuckles was settled enough (and always curious) that we could go up close to the games and mingle. This is where he is in his element. People came up to him and he was gentle. Little kids LOVE Knuckles and I had treats in my pocket so they could fed him. I teach them to lay their hands flat with the treat in the palm. Knuckles will ever so gently nibble it off. We moved up against the fence next to the dugout and watched part of the game with lots of noise and movement. He was good. I was proud.
I have been complacent. From now on I have to focus not just on exploring and exercise, but to remember that Knuckles needs continual reference and practice. What started out as a rough trip turned into a golden opportunity.
I'm glad to hear Knuckles is doing so well. Our little one is pretty good most times, but really struggles with people coming up to our door and coming inside the house. We've had a lot of that over the past two weeks with different contractors coming in to give bids. He eventually warms up, but the beginning is embarassing. We handle him the same way we did Parker but it just isn't working. We have a lot of work to do still on Riggins. And the bad news is Parker has regressed, as his little brother's bad reaction seems to be contagious. Now we know where to concentrate on training!
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