It's been a busy year and apart from genuinely not having any extra
capacity to process any new things about dog behaviour, hilariously, the more I learn about dog training and dog reactivity, the more insecure and inconsistent I have become as a dog handler.
I regularly google weird dog-training questions, about prong collar use especially, because I find it extremely hard to stick to my personal choices and training goals while there are alternative ideas and opinions circling around me or even directed at me. I have stopped using the prong collar, for brief periods of time, probably 3 or 4 times this past year. I contemplated getting a no-pull harness probably 100 times before coming to the exact same conclusion that it is definitely not a suitable option for Pierre (it's been tried before). I've read sensational, questionable "articles" about how all dog collars irreversibly damage dog tracheas, etc, etc. Wading through information spewed by breed snobs, vegans, people who
push their healthy dogs in strollers, among the millions of outspoken
dog owners is, complicated.
It's hard enough to find appropriate information about when to take your dog to the vet and what constitutes a health emergency, or even, what to feed your dog. Ugh, that's a whole other pile of flaming poop.
Formerly only a fleeting thought, the recognition that my confidence and consistency is the aspect that needs the most work has become very real.
Pierre was at a friends' boarding facility while we were away for two weeks, and it's providing some semblance of being able to "start over" with his training, or rather, providing an opportunity to guide his adjustment back into our routine in a more structured manner and plan for consistency better. My partner and I have noticed his old asshole self resurfacing since he returned, he's snarled at the cat, been quick to excite and react with other dogs on walks, and has been overall a bit of a loose cannon. Nothing we haven't experienced before but now we are better able to handle it. My personal vacation has made me better equipped mentally to jump back in and have the energy to navigate it and avoid lazy fixes, which is nice. It's a relief to have the motivation back to work on Pierre's behaviour modification as well as our bond.
As of right now, he's not allowed to snuggle with us on the couches unless we want him to. We put a gate up blocking him from the bedroom, so the cat has a spot to herself while we're at work. He's on a shorter leash on walks. I bought good treats and a new treat pouch, since my other one broke months ago. I'm generally going to act as if this is a new dog we just got.
I'm feeling confident and good about it. I expect he'll be back to his normal angel self in no time. I think the hardest part is explaining to others why I'm being stricter with him than usual? This morning at the park, I prevented him from playing with the one lab that came by, because Pierre was showing signs of being over-stimulated and I knew it would escalate. The lab's owner asked, "wait, why are you doing that?" and I almost felt like I had to justify my decisions but like, I know my dog really, really well, and I just want to prevent him from being a dick? Okay? Okay.
It's hard enough to find appropriate information about when to take your dog to the vet and what constitutes a health emergency, or even, what to feed your dog. Ugh, that's a whole other pile of flaming poop.
Formerly only a fleeting thought, the recognition that my confidence and consistency is the aspect that needs the most work has become very real.
Pierre was at a friends' boarding facility while we were away for two weeks, and it's providing some semblance of being able to "start over" with his training, or rather, providing an opportunity to guide his adjustment back into our routine in a more structured manner and plan for consistency better. My partner and I have noticed his old asshole self resurfacing since he returned, he's snarled at the cat, been quick to excite and react with other dogs on walks, and has been overall a bit of a loose cannon. Nothing we haven't experienced before but now we are better able to handle it. My personal vacation has made me better equipped mentally to jump back in and have the energy to navigate it and avoid lazy fixes, which is nice. It's a relief to have the motivation back to work on Pierre's behaviour modification as well as our bond.
As of right now, he's not allowed to snuggle with us on the couches unless we want him to. We put a gate up blocking him from the bedroom, so the cat has a spot to herself while we're at work. He's on a shorter leash on walks. I bought good treats and a new treat pouch, since my other one broke months ago. I'm generally going to act as if this is a new dog we just got.
I'm feeling confident and good about it. I expect he'll be back to his normal angel self in no time. I think the hardest part is explaining to others why I'm being stricter with him than usual? This morning at the park, I prevented him from playing with the one lab that came by, because Pierre was showing signs of being over-stimulated and I knew it would escalate. The lab's owner asked, "wait, why are you doing that?" and I almost felt like I had to justify my decisions but like, I know my dog really, really well, and I just want to prevent him from being a dick? Okay? Okay.
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