Expedition

Two new things happened today, both dogs riding in the car together (crated separately of course), and a trip to the Town Forest.

It was great, just what we needed to get rid of the cabin fever that all this snow has been causing. Zig got to go off leash, Pro stayed on. As I've seen with lots of new experiences for Pro, he really didn't look especially happy on our walk. He sniffed like crazy, every single pee mark left by every dog before us. It made me think of the first day he came to play in our yard, when he kept jumping back into the truck which was safe and familiar.

We saw a lot of cross-country skiers. The first set made Pro's hackles go up a bit- he has never seen skiers before. We stood to the side, watched them and ate cookies. True to his resilient nature, the second set got no hackles, and he sat quietly while I chatted with the two nice ladies. Third set, it was like he'd been seeing them all his life. What a guy!

Here they are on the trail, Ziggy way ahead.

Pro is now zonked out in his crate, brain probably busily processing all that new information.

Vicious pitbulls and their special locking jaws

OK, this is the cutest picture ever, you have to admit.

I think I've figured out the locking jaw myth, with Pro's help. We've been doing lots and lots of self-control work, from the minute he came home. Big, powerful dogs really need self control. I've read that a 60 pound dog is stronger than a grown man, and Pro weighs 75 pounds. So the thought of me wrasslin' with him just doesn't fly. It's got to be a combination of strong relationship and self control.

So anyway, when Pro gets excited, which he does a lot, he really, really wants something in his mouth. It would be great if he didn't choose someone's sleeve, or the leash, or any number of other things that don't do well with teeth marks and drool on them. So from day 1, he has had his special football tug. Whenever we're doing something exciting, like leashing up for a walk, the tug keeps his mouth busy. We've been working a little on "Go get tuggy!" but that's still a work in progress. Mostly we stick it in his mouth before doing any of the fun stuff that gets him excited.

The other day, Pro was hanging out in the living room with Mark and Ziggy, when I came home. Excitement! Pro had to grab something, and his tug wasn't handy, so he grabbed the edge of the area rug. Not ideal. We're working on "drop" too, of course, but that wasn't working- he was REALLY happy to see me. So I went and got his tug, held it out and called him from the kitchen. Pro came running, but unfortunately his vicious pitbull locking jaws wouldn't open (feet getting one message, mouth getting another), so he did a somersault still holding the rug in his mouth! Silly boy.

Snoozing Pro

Today Pro got to spend most of the day hanging out in the living room. Here he is conked out in his crate, comfy next to the woodstove. He now goes in there for naps on his own, though we also sometimes close the door to keep him contained when we need some peace.

I'm so happy with how he's doing with Ziggy. He's really getting better at interpreting Ziggy's signals, most of which are "leave me alone!" But, now that Ziggy sees that Pro will listen to him, he's getting more relaxed around Pro. So they really are getting friendlier with each other.

Training plan- week of 1/17

It has been awhile since I wrote out a weekly training plan, but it's a good thing to do to keep focused.

• Do training exercises from Ruff Diamonds daily. Recalls, LLW in the yard, others inside. 
• Flirt pole and fetch for exercise daily. Frequent calming stops, drop toy for treats, no grabbing allowed.
• Door manners- no rushing doors, needs permission to go through. He does well for going outside, but the new exciting door into the dining room is harder for him.
• Lots of relaxed time with us in the main part of the house, making sure to keep Pro and especially Ziggy feeling relaxed.
• It would be great to get out and about for some field trips, but with the extra stuff going on in my life and the expected bad weather, we probably won't get to do much of this.

Good day today

The flirt pole is working out great- I can see more relaxation in Pro's face and body. That makes it easier to concentrate and stay calm in different situations.

We're really trying to increase his time hanging out with us in the house- soon he'll have his own house, and he needs to know how to act.

Now that the kitties are being held captive on the third floor, they are safe and Pro can have more freedom to move around. He is able to go into the dining room more freely now- he runs in looking for kitties each time, with great excitement- a daily reminder that he will do better in a home without cats. This is a great opportunity to work on door manners- the door to the dining room stays shut unless he's sitting, and even then he is not allowed to barge through- he has to wait for the ok.

Today was Sunday, and a rare day off in these days of crazy busy-ness. It was a beautiful sunny day, not too cold. After Wednesday's big storm, the roads are too salty for the dog's feet, so we've been playing in the yard a lot. Big fun with the flirt pole for Pro, then he came in while Ziggy had some Frisbee fun. The dogs can hang out in the yard off leash now with good behavior if we keep things not too exciting. If we're doing something exciting like frisbee, the tension level rises. Though Pro listens very well and can be called away when getting too excited, it's too stressful for Ziggy, so for now we'll separate them for exciting stuff.

I was very happy to see one thing that happened yesterday. The dogs were both outside, and Pro got excited and tried to jump on Ziggy. Ziggy vocally reprimanded Pro, and Pro stopped right away and gave good body language- crossways to Ziggy, head and tail down, back rounded. He was saying "Sorry, no offense." Then I called him away.

Pro spent several hours hanging with us today, and it went great. The dogs mostly can chill out off leash in the house. There was one point where we could see a little competition developing over sitting near us and getting petted. No hard eyes, but some maneuvering for position. Pro was seeming jealous, and kept moving into position between Ziggy and us. So he went into his crate with a chew, and Ziggy got a chew in the kitchen, so everyone could chill out. After the chews were done, Ziggy came into the living room to hang out with us, with Pro in his crate. He cried a little, then settled down for a nap. Yay!



Ziggy having a good run



Pro in the living room- his eyes don't really glow like that!

Zig and I went to the Town Forest for some one-on-one time, and Ziggy had a nice run in the woods.

Flirt pole

Yay for tired dogs! I'll try for a little video when the weather is better. He was happy to trade the toy for a cookie after each time he caught it, but I had to hide it in the garage after we were done!

Good night at Ruff Diamonds!

Pro was a good boy at class tonight! Went into class much calmer and happier, and worked great! He loves his food! In the middle he had a little barking fit, not sure what set him off because it wasn't the most active time of the evening, but he did settle quickly afterwards.

Tomorrow we'll talk about his new flirt pole. Tired boy, here we come!

Kitty Safety FAIL

Yesterday, I made a big mistake, and was lucky it didn't turn out too badly. I was distracted by my mom's impending surgery, and left the door to the dining room open when letting Pro out in the morning. Pro went into the dining room and started to chase the cats. Octavia is young and agile and got away, but Rudy is old and crippled. Pro got him cornered. I had also been brushing Pro the night before and forgot to put his collar back on, so I had no easy handle to grab. I got my arms around his neck and Rudy got away. Amazingly, Rudy wasn't injured at all- it appears that all Pro wanted to do was bury his nose in Rudy's fur. He got a few scratches for his troubles.

Later in the day, I walked both dogs together, which went well. Then I let both dogs off leash in the yard. Pro appeared still a little wound up from his kitty adventure, so there were a few moments that I thought he was too aroused when running around with Ziggy. He would start making the typical pittie aroused squeal. However, he stopped and came to me right away whenever I called him, so we did that a few times, and called it a day.

I think this was pretty nerve wracking for Ziggy, even though there were no scuffles. I'm sure he can tell how wound up Pro is. I really need to up Pro's exercise and tire him out, and go back to some calm walking around with both dogs.

We went inside, crated Pro in the living room while I did chores, and gave both dogs a rawhide. It took forever for Pro to settle, lots of screeching and pawing, and Ziggy finally had enough. I put him in the other room with his chew so he could relax.

I have to say it was an exhausting day and I was thoroughly sick of Pro by the end of the night. Really I was very disappointed in myself for making mistakes with him today, and discouraged. It just goes to show how quickly a situation can go bad with one wrong move. Can we really handle this?

Playtime!

Well, I'm kind of glad I missed this- I would have been so nervous! While I was out today, Mark let Pro and Ziggy play off-leash in the yard! I guess it went well- they tore around the yard like maniacs, then Ziggy ran up onto the porch like he always did with Ebony if he needed a break. Pro followed him up there, they had words, and Mark settled them down. Later we went for a nice, relaxing walk.

Great day today

Today was the first day I took both dogs for a walk together, without a helper. It went great! I put Ziggy's leash on him and put him outside, then leashed up Pro and took him out. They bounced at each other a little, which I put a stop to so it wouldn't get out of hand. Pro had his harness attached to my waist belt, then another leash attached to his collar. Ziggy just had his regular leash.

Our only tough moment was when they both started barking at a dog walking by. Ziggy started it, then Pro joined in. I wasn't organised enough to keep their attention focused. Better next time! But they did settle well afterwards.

Tonight, I brought Pro into the living room to hang with us before bedtime. We crated him and gave them each a chew. This time, they settled in to chew in a more relaxed way, not gulping the chews down.

Good day all around!