Heh, he really does. I think that he could make a really good gun dog, if only he had the right handler!! I can see why you were upset - and I guess I can see why the guy was a bit cross, if he didn't stop to look at what you were doing before barrelling in. Using his cat as a training aid? Well, I'm of the view that, given the opportunity, it's a responsible thing to do, to help control his impulse to chase. If your dog is on a lead and the cat is free to leave if it wants, then it's clearly not going to end up in any problem. Unless someone comes over and ruins it all. Don't take any note of him, he was just being daft.
Heh, don't expect a lot. I've been wanting to do one for a while. This is rubbish, but I thought I'd post it anyway! I'll do a proper one when I'm feeling a little more human.
@Dexter I'm guessing that you weren't in this guys garden/property but on the path so sorry no, he was in the wrong. Was Dexter pinning his cat down? Barking at his cat? Chasing his cat? Attacking his cat? Looking at his cat? It sounds to me that the cat was not bothered about Dexter and it was him charging over and shouting that caused the cat to spring back on to the wall and for Dexter to lunge after him. It sounds as if the cat was totally unbothered about Dexter if he was following you down the road and jumped off the wall to the path. You were acting as a responsible dog owner training your dog not to react and chase cats and using a cat crossing your path is part of that training. I love cats, I have 2 of them myself, but when walking Juno I use cats outside as a training aid that we don't pull towards to say hello (Juno likes cats ) but walk on nicely or we sit and watch them. If he is so concerned about the safety of his cat perhaps he should keep it in away from both dogs and cars.
Hee Hee - I loved watching that! Shadow is looking marvellous. Very interesting to see Willow's reaction - very valuable to capture these things on video. She doesn't look too bad (clearly unhappy and of course I've no idea how far away the bang was). I've seen a lot worse....
Huh. Well. I guess I can kind of see where he was coming from, I suppose. But honestly, I'd have done the same - it's just not something I'd have thought about at all. I'd have done exactly the same as you.
He's certainly beefing up a bit now. I've got him at a nice weight now, and he's building some good muscle, too. He may not be winning any awards on the show benches anytime soon, but I think he's a very handsome boy. He agrees To be sure. I've seen her a lot worse, too! It wasn't a loud bang at all. Maybe as loud as a door being slammed would sound close-up. Although she wouldn't jump at that. She did her frantic jump up a couple of times, trying to get to my face, which is a typical sign of stress for her. But, no, it wasn't bad. I'm not sure if I'm going to have much success with her with desensitisation, though. I'm going to ask the behaviourist about it when we're over in May. It's a shame it doesn't seem to help her having confident dogs around when the bangs go off - Shadow doesn't care a jot and it would have been nice to have her look to him for his reaction - and then, to other dogs. Sadly, not to be. Still, we'll keep on trying whenever DH and I are walking together in a suitable place, with the party poppers. We've not had much luck with that, due to conflicting schedules and then trying to find the right distance to let them off. The last time, we used them all and she didn't hear one!
No, she wouldn't eat for a few minutes. Not even homemade sardine oatcakes. Bad sign with Little Miss Piggy.
The cat was the least bothered of all parties I would say!!!!In fact until we got shouted at I reckon that cat was homing in on some of Dexter's treats and that was it's motivation to follow us! Anyway thanks Rosemary and Julie x I don't feel like such an animal abusing cat harrasser now!Although I think I'll stick to the feisty strays ( good practice! ) or areas away from houses for now!
My Abyssinian boy Oscar is always first in line when the treats are out, he doesn't care if they are dog or cat treats. If I do any clicker with Juno he is there straight away waiting for his treat . Pleased that you're feeling better about the incident anyway x
I thought I posted this....but think I forgot. I'm trying to keep Charlie closer on walks. I'd like him to stay within 10m - he does in familiar places, but in new places he'll go to 15 to 20m, plus zoom off time to time. He comes back, and I could always stop or recall him, but I'd rather he didn't do this - when it's super exciting, at training, with loads of people and dogs it's a bit annoying. I think I sort of want this on cue, but of course really the environment would be the cue. That's difficult though, so I'll have to have a good think. Yesterday I was just trying to work out what I wanted, today I tried to be more consistent with my rewards for what I want. richmond park by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Lovely I've just reintroduced the clicker when doing this with mine. I had been a bit lax with it, and just using the treats, but I've found that using the clicker again with it makes a massive difference.
I was thinking this morning why don't I have a "bimbler". Then I see all the overweight bimbling labs and think nah, its ok, then think I should do more training I really should. I am not doing good with any of my "new year resolutions". its great to see all these videos, they are far more inspiring than reading about what you are doing. Thanks.
Yes, you have to have a way to exercise a dog if you normally ask for a bimble. That's no trouble in Charlie's case, he'll retrieve, hunt and I'm trying to teach quartering. I'd quite like bimbling on cue, so don't have to ask for heel, but I fear that's unrealistic if he doesn't do it as a default. So the idea is to have him at heel, on a close bimble, or retrieving, hunting or quartering. When I say quartering - it's mainly running roughly side to side as we walk forward while he searches for his ball! Just in case of the unlikely event of anyone thinking I've managed to turn my Choccie Lab into a Spaniel!
I slightly struggle with the clicker for this - I don't want to click an instantaneous check in. If I do that these days, he'll walk to heel as a default. Today, I was tossing the treats to him, within the 10m radius, which worked a bit better....
I was purposefully clicking them when they weren't looking at me, just being in a particular radius. Otherwise, you're right, they end up at heel. I toss the treats all around, but I actually found when I was only tossing the treats without the clicker, they'd end up sticking by my heel (or, rather, my hand). Of course, my issue now is that the clicker is a tool of precision and I'm not after something precise. So I'm not sure if it could end up confusing them more than anything as we progress.
