Well, last night he went nuts when he saw a dog in the street and we were quite far away. It's so strange, why would he do this? Revert back to behaviour that he hasn't shown for months? Less than 2 weeks ago I could walk him round a park packed full of dogs. I can't really walk him with another dog, I don't think I could introduce any dog to him right now. Sigh....I hope it wears off quicker this time, it was very boring dealing with it last time on return to exercise. It took months.
The only thing I can think of is he has a lot of pent up energy because of the restricted exercise so seeing another dog was just so exciting. Your right though it is strange how such a short time ago he wouldn't have behaved like that. Maybe the excitement of seeing another dog has never really gone but he'd learnt to control himself. The desire to run and play because of the restricted exercise over rode his ability to control himself.
That sounds right, yes. It is staggering how quickly the previous behaviour has resurfaced. Not sure I can do much about it right now, I'll just have to tell myself I solved it before, I can solve it again....
He's probably just craving a bit of stimulation and, since you aren't giving him what he thinks he wants, he's looking elsewhere for it. Dogs are always fun, even when owners are being properly boring! How about some ongoing desensitisation at home? Get some other doggy smelling things, get some dogs on TV etc?
Oh dear. Poor Charlie, and poor you. I'm sure it's as Jen says, pent up energy and excitement. It will be easier to check this time, I am sure. He is older and calmer and he will revert back to being calm around other dogs.
Hope so. Anyway, last time I was pretty much on my own, struggling with the limited options of classes inside church halls or traditional gundog trainers that I wasn't in tune with - this time I have a good trainer and I know most of her other regular students, so plenty of help from friendly people that will help me out with other dogs and training exercises I reckon. That's bound to help.
So good to read that Charlie is doing so well , I`m sure that he will recover more quickly this time because he is with you both in his own home , bless him , get better soon dear lad x
Like you said you've solved it before you can solve it again you know you can do it. I'm sure this time it won't take as long because he is older and naturally calmer even if he doesn't always show it. Charlie has learnt how to control himself in lots of situations. Once he can start to be exposed safely to the exciting things again I'm sure it won't take long.
I wouldn't even worry about trying to solve it at the moment. You've been there, done it before and you can do it again, and as you say you're in a better position to deal with a good trainer on hand and friends with dogs. I think it's quite understandable that our dogs become excited when on restricted exercise as there is so many things they can't do, therefore those things become much more exciting than they were before - it's just really hard to see all your training counting for nothing, but of course it isn't, the training is still there just hiding under a layer of craziness
It must be disappointing and frustrating that the old behaviour has reappeared after working so hard on it. At least this time he knows the desired behaviour and so it will hopefully be much easier for you to regain calmness soon.
I am really sorry you have suffered what you think of as a set back. You spent a lot of time and effort getting the right behaviour into his furry brain, it is still there. You must both be really frustrated with the lack of exercise.
He is just such a total nutcase. But also full of charm, with bags of personality, fun, and an enthusiasm for life that I do not think can be dimmed by anything. Charlie comes in a package, and I have learned to accept that - as my trainer says "that's Charlie for you, he is who he is, and you have the dog you have". Anyway, we went wild today and had an extra few minutes sniffing around a small green area at the top of the road (he was moving very slowly, so not much extra walking) and then a very calm find it game in the kitchen for bits of kibble followed by an extra kong. He's asleep now.
I was going to ask the same thing, Karen. I was thinking about him, and you too, Julie, when I was walking my two this evening.
Ah, thanks for asking (I know I'm a total bore, so don't encourage me to bang on too much! ). It is really lovely to think people are thinking of us. He seems still to be doing well. He is obviously feeling good, and he is bright and happy. He is, considering that he is naturally a complete hooligan, being a good boy...(he doesn't like having his leg iced, so good boy Charlie). good boy by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr Compared to last time, he is dramatically better at this stage. He has hardly any muscle wastage at all, the inflammation has completely subsided already and he has had no post op bruising. He is also much brighter in himself, as last time I was worried about him being in his cage too much at the rehab centre. It might be wishful thinking....also, his leg was in much better shape to start with this time as we caught it so very early. Against this, because he is living as normal a life as possible at home, caring for him at home while working has completely put our lives on hold. No visitors to the house, the cleaner can't even go in the kitchen (I have to clean it myself, shock horror), and both of us have had to arrange our work to work part time in the office (one of us AM, one of us PM) - plus one of us sleeps downstairs, luckily that's usually OH. Our life is a round of timed walks, ice, proms, massage.... But it's worth it. He is on 5 x 10 minute walks already, which is great. 50 minutes walking only 2 weeks post op is great going. They are boring walks because we can only do one of 3 routes from the house - down the road, up the road to the school, or up the road to another road. But, still.... 2 week vet post op check up tomorrow night....
