January 15, 2014 We had another freestyle class on Monday. Again, A.J. did great. No reaction to the other dogs, he stayed quiet in his crate, and he had great focus. He’s such a show-off. He’s really starting to get the idea on some of these tricks. And last night, for the first time, he did …
Tag: focus
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 …
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. 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 …
Mounting Frustration
October 10, 2013 Absolutely no progress. I’ve been taking A.J. to a personal dog trainer. I’ve been working with him. I’ve tried everything on our walks. Nothing is working. No progress at all. We went for a walk this morning. He did pretty well. He didn’t pull very much, and when we walked past a …
Working on Walking Calmly
Note: As I look back on this journal entry, I see that my future probably is not in dog psychology. A.J. is a very energetic Springer Spaniel who needs tons of exercise and interaction. So while some of what I was guessing at in this entry was probably accurate, a lot of it was just …
A.J. Goes to Day Camp
September 11, 2013 Yesterday ended as a bad, bad, A.J. day. The day started well. A.J. had his first day at doggie day camp. I brought him in at 9:00. I got to watch on the webcam from the lobby as they took him into the room with about a dozen dogs already there. He …
A.J. Gets a Cone of Shame
August 24, 2013 A.J. got a cone of shame a couple of days ago. His foot started to heal nicely, but I couldn’t keep him from scratching his face. I had a horrible day that day. I went to do some volunteer work at a local organization, but it turned out to be a very frustrating, …
AJ the Springer 