A Better Day
Time heals all wounds, or so they say. I’m feeling a bit better today. Working at home sometimes makes me feel more isolated and sad, but today I’m enjoying the quiet with my dogs. Timber went to daycare yesterday so today he is super mellow and I love it.
He’s been walking around everywhere with his tennis ball in his mouth. It’s so cute. We’re not used to having a dog who likes to play fetch, but Timber has really caught on and seems to enjoy it. We’re still working on him bringing the ball back directly to us and dropping it. But the command “drop it” does seem to get him to loosen his jaws and allow us to take the ball. And when he really wants to play he’ll come drop the ball at our feet.
The last few nights he’s started sleeping with his ball. Which I find hilarious. He’s not supremely obsessed with it or anything. He doesn’t have to have it at all moments and he doesn’t attack the other dogs if they pick it up and play with it. But he sure does love that ball.
Having a dog that will fetch is really nice because there’s a built in way to exercise. Hubby doesn’t always feel like going for a walk, but Timber always needs to get his excess energy out. So they can go in the back yard and play for 30 minutes before Timber says enough.
Trooper on the other hand needs a walk for his exercise. Playing is just never enough for him.
I’ve decided that I want him to be able to walk by a house with a dog in someone’s yard and ignore that dog. There is a dog on the corner who attacks his fence, barking and growling. Trooper tends to want to “attack” back (not literally, but he will bark, growl, and pull on his leash to try to get to the fence”. So for two days now we’ve walked by and I’ve used his choke collar and said “leave it” … I’m not sure if this is the right way to do this though.
Yesterday I took some treats with me and made him sit in front of the fence (it’s a solid fence so you can’t actually see the other dog) while the dog was going bonkers. He sat very nicely facing me and I gave him a treat and told him he was a good boy.
I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do either.
All I know is that I need to be able to walk him without worrying about him going nuts when another dog is aggressive towards us. It’s going to be my new project with him. I’m open to suggestions too. 
February 19th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’m glad you feel better today. Just love your babies. That’s all you need to do and they’ll love you right back.
Have a terrific day.
February 20th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I wish all our Dogs would play fetch. It is only Faye who will take any interest in anything you throw. Daisy and her Pup Jet simply ignore anything you throw for them or even run AWAY from it!
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I used to have a black lab who didn’t like to fetch. I would throw the ball, and he never wanted to chase it. He also despised water. However, he was a rescued dog, so I wasn’t sure if his past was the cause of his atypical labrador behaviors. He was the most loyal dog you could have, though.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Well we all know my dog loves to play fetch. Ha.
I think what you’re doing with Trooper sounds good. Sometimes I have treats in my pocket and offer one to Ace as we walk by another dog so he looks at me and totally ignores the other dog. Then he gets the treat. I don’t know if that would work for Trooper or not.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:29 am
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