December 26, 2013 Yesterday was A.J.’s first Christmas with us, and he made the most of it. His morning started as it always does: going out early, coming in and sleeping for a little while, waking me up again, getting his breakfast. He went in and out while we waited for Dylan, my adult step-son …
Author: ajthespringer
A.J. is my dog. One of the things I did while on an extended break from my career as a technical writer and editor was adopt this totally crazy and adorable dog. He's provided me with an incredible amount of frustration and entertainment. And as you can see, he's also provided me with a large amount of writing material. I'm back at work now, but plan to keep the stories coming - maybe just not as often.
We Finally Turn a Corner
Note, July 17, 2015: As you'll see in this journal entry, bringing a crazy dog into the family can be tough on everyone. Especially when a family member wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of bringing a dog home in the first place. But here's a spoiler alert for things to come: today everyone loves …
The Lowest Point
Note: We've reached the ultimate low point in our journey. This journal entry is a tough one, but I'm sharing it because it's part of the story. Like everything in life, adopting a pet can have plenty of ups and downs. We're about to experience a big "down." Ready or not, here it is: November 27, 2013 …
My Jekyll and Hyde Dog
Note: This journal entry occurred shortly before my relationship with A.J. hit an all-time low. His leash aggression/reactive issues were making it impossible to walk him; that and our training regimen were making it very difficult to get this energetic young dog the exercise he needed. We were going through some serious growing pains at …
My Day Off
November 16, 2013 Note: If you've been reading any of these past posts, you might have realized by now that taking care of A.J. is exhausting. He needs a ton of exercise, but because of his leash aggression issues every walk is a huge and stressful chore. So on this day, I decided to take the …
Still Lots of Issues
November 14, 2013 Since A.J. has had kennel cough and hasn’t been able to go to day camp we’ve been going to the park every day this week. We had quite the adventure yesterday. We got into the park and stopped. I had him sit, and I switched the leash from his harness to his …
A.J. is Sick Again
November 11, 2013 A.J. went back to the vet today. That makes five trips in the four and a half months since we adopted him. At least this time he doesn’t need antibiotics. Not yet anyway. He went back to the groomer a week ago Friday. They said he did well, although I don’t think …
A.J. Goes to Bad Dog School
November 4, 2013 I enrolled A.J. in a Reactive Dog class. Yesterday was our first class. There were seven people with their crazy dogs. Mary said by the last class all the dogs would be on their mats while one handler weaved her dog through the mats. We all laughed. A.J. cried through most of …
The Right Reward
November 2, 2013 I realize I haven't really explained in any of these posts what our training method has been for teaching A.J. to walk nicely on a leash. As I mentioned, we've started working with a trainer to get this under control. Using purely positive reinforcement, the idea is to get him to focus …
Crate Training Take 2
November 2, 2013 I’ve been crate-training A.J. for about the last month. It’s been very slow. He behaves more like a wild dog; he doesn’t even like to be in the house, let alone shut in a crate. And our first foray into the crate wound up with a bent-up crate and a dog outside …
AJ the Springer 