Don't tell my dog that I'm a mess

We're taking care of the family dog, Oliver, for a couple of weeks. It's been lovely because I grew up with Oliver, raised him, and appreciate being able to spend some good time with him now that he's a ten year old. Oliver is an example of a dog that thrives under positive reinforcement training and will never need corrections. He was well socialized as a young dog and has a great genetic disposition. Any minor tension on Oliver's leash is met with an immediate response, typically of moving towards the handler. His only little thing that I have to manage while he's here is that he gets SO excited when he meets new dogs, so much so that he often tries to mount them; this is because in his adulthood, socializing with other dogs isn't a part of his routine. Oliver and Pierre are vastly different in terms of energy levels due to their age and breed difference. Pierre is a pretty high energy dog who needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation whereas Oliver is ex...

A wonderful pal expressed that they appreciate my Pierre posts, and it was just so surprising and uplifting to hear. Here I am attempting to stream-line and organize my constant, ever-changing theories, observations and often straight mindless chattering. To hear that people* find it interesting and even helpful is just, the most heart-warming and validating thing. Overall, Pierre is doing great. I'm still often a questionable leader, and he knows it, but we've made a significant amount of progress. I intend to write a post about our journey in navigating leash reactivity eventually but I've decided to focus on our "obedience" practice at the moment. If you could even call it that. General Obedience  I have been practicing his “ sit ”, “ down ” and “ don’t move ” (stay) in public places more readily. Not consistently but I figure every little bit helps. " Heel " is something I barely work on, but let's ignore that for now, I will work on ...