February 5, 2014 We’re backsliding a little. I had an extra session with Mary to figure out how to get A.J. to stop pulling so much on the leash. She didn’t really have any suggestions I hadn’t tried, other than going back to doing circles again. I’ve started doing that, which eases the pulling for …
Tag: reactive
He’s Much Better, Really
January 17, 2014 This morning we went to the park again. Other than A.J. still pulling like crazy we had a good walk. We saw several dogs, and one even reacted to him, but he didn’t react back. So other than the pulling it wasn’t bad. Then we went straight from the park to the …
Great Improvements, But…
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 …
A.J. Goes to Dance Class
January 7, 2014 This mail was sent today to everyone in our Reactive Dog class from Mary, our trainer: "I wanted to share with you just what a star AJ was in the Canine Freestyle Class yesterday. He came into a building with two moving dogs, was a little noisy but quickly settled down, got …
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 …
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. Eats Cake
October 24, 2013 Life with A.J. continues to be an adventure. (I’m starting to really dislike that word.) The latest “adventure” is his counter-surfing. He’s gone up with his front feet on the counters a few times. We caught him twice and let him know that’s not acceptable. But he doesn’t seem to care while …
AJ the Springer 