Before I continue with the story of A.J.’s latest training, I’d like to say a few words about the training methods I’m using. I know there are people who are adamantly opposed to training with electronic collars and prong collars, both of which I use on A.J. There are people who would like these training …
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.
Shocking
We started a new training program with A.J. today. He had stopped responding to me when he was off-leash, to the point where he could easily put himself in danger. I contacted Jerry, the trainer who helped A.J. get over his leash aggression. I really trust him and believe he’ll do what’s best for A.J. …
Sore Shoulders
My shoulder hurts today, because yesterday A.J. hung himself. Let’s start at the beginning. Earlier this week I took A.J. to the park to run off leash. As usual, he was having a fabulous time running wild and getting out a lot of energy. When it was time to go, I called him to me …
Whose Turn to Guard the House?
We had a thunderstorm very early this morning. I would have slept right through it, but A.J. made sure to let me know what was going on. When I woke up to his barking I was sleepy enough not to care what it was about. I told him “Shush,” petted him for a moment (since …
Yuck! I Mean, Yum!
A.J. will eat almost anything. I’ve tried to teach him not to just grab anything that hits the ground. This works in the house. If we’re in the kitchen and I drop something, he’ll wait a moment and make sure it’s okay with me before he picks it up and eats it. Unfortunately, this doesn’t …
Another Trip to the Airport
A few months ago I took A.J. to the airport with me to pick up Greg after a business trip. A.J. was the star of the airport. Shortly after that trip I read an article about programs at airports around the country where they bring in therapy dogs to calm and cheer up passengers. For various reasons, …
A Walking Sideshow
I can’t imagine there is anyone who spends any time around dogs and really pays attention to them who isn’t constantly entertained by them. When I got my first dog I saw all the funny and interesting things she did and thought I’d get used to it within a month or so. But in the …
The Things We Say
“I’m going out to get the monkey before it gets dark.” Sometimes I surprise myself when I actually pay attention to what I’ve just said. Today we were cleaning out boxes of old junk. Greg ran across a stuffed monkey he’d picked up as a promotional giveaway at a conference years ago. Deciding it wasn’t …
Lesson Not Learned
I ended yesterday’s post by saying “It would be nice if A.J. would learn a lesson from this but … he’s a dog.” Those turned out to be very prophetic words on my part. Yesterday we went on our usual evening walk. Partway into the walk A.J. picked up something off the ground and …
Four AM Wake-Up Call
There are certain noises that can wake you up at night and you’re instantly fully awake and alert. It could be something dangerous like someone breaking into your house or a gunshot. It could be a natural occurrence such as thunder or an earthquake. For some people it’s the tiniest sound made by a baby. …
AJ the Springer 