I had Deacon from Friday, August 14 to Thursday, August 20th.
Day 1~He loves the convertible, rides REALLY well, is polite about things
with my GSD Draco, no stealing toys or food after the first little
"lesson". Play with Draco indoors is rough but not over the top. He will not engage
with Draco outdoors though, too rough.
Field Trips: Walmart, Barnes and Noble, grocery store, package store, florist.
He forgets his auto sit in public, heels wide around the grocery cart and
with the cart, not with me, and tires easily, going straight into a down,
no sitting...went to MCI Norfolk where he worked with Tuffy's handler and did extremely well, Walmart, grocery store, package store and home.
Day 2~
Soft crate was demolished in the am~he didn't like being alone in a room in a crate and protested alot. Deacon is RUDE in the house. He jumps on doors, furniture and windowsills and thinks my couch is a good place to chew toys. Accident in the house because I could not get him to go outdoors~he appears to be too distracted by dog scent.
He called out of play with two female Aussies indoors at training~repeatedly~with no problem. He did ignore one of the dogs who was object guarding~she snapped at him and it didn't phase him at all, he continued to try to engage her in play.
New female WPR worked him in class~she is very dog savvy. He was good for her, but slow to execute.
Field trips:
Country fair~lots of LOUD rides, surprise noises, screaming kids, food everywhere. No problems except for the heat~he tried to crawl under a ride to escape the sun.
Grocery store~still heeling wide and with the cart.
Day 3~
In the car for 4.5 hours to NYC, traffic was brutal. There was a VERY loud car in the Lincoln Tunnel that was right behind us racing it's engine, we were in the convertible. No reaction other than to look at the noise. We're staying in a 3rd floor walkup so there's no grass to BGN on. He eliminated immediately on the pavement. Teaching him to curb~no potty on the sidewalk.
No room for a crate, so he "placed" on a folded towel and was great all night.
He has a TERRIBLE time with LEAVE IT~the scents are too much for him to ignore, but no drooling or foaming.
Day 4~
BGN on a 2X2 ft square of grass outside our apartment. No problem, one command.
Field trips:
Kids park with water spouts everywhere, running screaming kids. No problem, neutral reaction.
Dog park with several strange dogs. Deacon spent the first 5 minutes sniffing the park, ignoring the other dogs. When he engaged he was good, but there was a blind dog that he tried to mount. I was able to call him off with a verbal correction. He recalled out of play with the new dogs, also recalled out of a water spout, no problem. I asked him to sit and down in the huge puddle from the water spout, no problem.
LEAVE IT on the street is a bit better today, but dog scent is still a problem.
We walked by a construction area where the sidewalk was covered with plywood. It was raised so that the board bounced when we walked on it. No problem, no reaction.
It is extremely hot outside today, 90+ so we spent most of the day indoors working. Deacon had his first (?) raw beef bone. No problem with GIVE, even after having it for 20 minutes or so.
Down stay (without bone) for 1+hour with distractions.
Out to dinner~Deacon likes to "crawl" and needed to be corrected several times forgetting into other people's space.
Day 5~
Not perfect but much better with the smells on the street today and LEAVE IT.
Home in the convertible, 3+hours. We were stopped and involved in a rear end collision on the Cross Bronx Expressway. I had to get out and speak with the driver of the other vehicle, Deacon did an excellent STAY.
Deacon was excellent in class that night and played well with a 140lb. female Great Dane.
Day 6~
Black Dog, Martha's Vineyard
No problem on the ferry, the metal ramps, the buses, the ride there or back. No reaction to the horn, the loud speakers, or the other dogs. He is difficult to control on the path where people empty their dogs~again the scent issue. He is not interested in going to say hello to strangers while at the event, but will if you insist. A little hesitation when he got off of a sailboat~open stairway that he actually had to jump onto and he was with a new handler.
General impressions:
Deacon generally does better with a male handler than female.
He is the most unflappable dog that I have had go through my program. He is fine in any situation that I have been able to throw at him and has one gear...low. ;) Tail is always up and he loves to be with his handler.
He has a notable problem with being able to ignore dog scent in a new place but will settle in when he's familiar with his surroundings.
He plays hard with other dogs but will submit and has excellent recall out of play.
His obedience out in public is fair, but his task work is excellent.
Goals:
Better general obedience in public, including off leash work.
LEAVE IT after one command in areas with lots of dog scent.
