Training: Behaviorist House Call

Now that Barry went through an obedience course that we all learned a lot from we wanted to really work on his loose leash skills. The obedience course barely touched on loose leash walking and the trainer thought Barry walked well by our side at the time. He didn't. Not really.

I'm sorry I don't walk well on a leash. It's just not
natural to me to do this. Be patient, please.

Husband has said many times (sort of, kind of, not really jokingly?) that he will need surgery to repair the damage caused by Barry pulling so hard it yanks his shoulder out of place. Barry does pull hard. That hard. We have used the methods we've learned and were shown and maybe we just weren't consistent enough, or didn't use them properly. We're not entirely sure what's gone wrong. There has been progress in some ways. For example, he pays attention to us more often during the walk. It started out that he wouldn't even realize we were walking him. He was zoned out and focused on anything but us. The obedience course did show us the 'Look' command or 'Watch'. This is meant to bring his attention back to us. He knows now if we say, "Look" he will have to look at us and he'll get a treat or praise. Sometimes he still doesn't look at us but sometimes he does. It's better than nothing. It's been getting better but he still pulls like a motha. I mean it. This guy is a bull. His body is built to pull weight I think.

With the Spring and Summer hopefully upon us we'd like to take him on long strolls through the park, around our neighborhood and by other dogs, to pubs and restaurants with outdoor seating, in general just walking down the street without him being so leash reactive to other animals that it scares other people, and last, to let him play with other dogs that are friendly and have owners that don't mind their dog meeting Barry. We likely will never take him to a dog park but we will encounter dogs at public parks, on sidewalks, and other various public spots. I'd just love to be able to allow Barry to meet other dogs. As it is now we only allow it under certain circumstances. He's just too darn leash reactive. We certainly don't think he needs to be perfect. I'm not perfect myself and I'd never expect that of another person much less my beloved baby, Barry. We do want him to be less rude, though.

So it came that we would need someone to help us with his walking and some of the behavior he exhibited while on walks, towards other dogs, and those squirrels. We looked into a couple of things. There are some more courses we could take. People that do specialized obedience training, training for pit bulls, etc. Some were cheap and even free and others were outrageous and would require Barry to be at a boot camp for two weeks. We don't really think Barry needs an entire overhaul, just some redirection. We are the ones that really need to figure out what we're doing wrong and how to change that as well.  We decided if we could get a trainer in to come to our home and and work with Barry in his environment and all of the usual distractions (rather than at a class in another location) it would be highly beneficial.

I don't really wanna leave to do training. Okay?

Our dog walker recommended a behaviorist she used for her dog, Rose. I immediately contacted the behaviorist, Megan, and we were set an appointment for a house call. She is local, makes house calls, is highly recommended and her price is right. With realistic expectations (because please, never have unrealistically high expectations, you set yourself up for disappointment) and a touch of hope we awaited her visit and we all had a bit of pep in our step.

Next up on training: The Tip of the Iceburg

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Don't let the fact that it's sunny in this pic fool you. It's
absolutely frigid!

This winter has sort of been ridiculous. I've never known a colder winter in all my days. It also just so happens that this is the year we picked to adopt a dog who needs to go outside multiple times per day to use the bathroom. However, I'm glad we adopted a dog this year because if it had been last year or next year Barry wouldn't be around to adopt! So, essentially it's lucky...? Anyway, my whole point is that it's been really cold. No living creature can survive for long out in this weather. It's important to keep that in mind when going out in weather like this. You wouldn't go outside in little clothing and no shoes. I won't allow Barry to go out au natural either. He is a short haired dog and needs at least a layer over him. We have a number of sweaters, a red puffer coat and purple PAWZ booties for him. We choose whatever sweater is near and go with that usually. His puffer coat is uncomfortable for him and we only make him wear that on the very coldest of days. In my mind that's still not enough but he's mostly just fine. We do have to limit the amount of time we're outside, though. Not just for our sake but for Barry's. We MUST go outside to let him use the bathroom but then we head back in once that is done.

Here is his red puffer coat. It's too tight across the chest for him
but it's the warmest thing we have for him for the very
frigid days.

This goes without being said but many of our days have been spent indoors. We have to get creative on what to do with our time. There is only so much cleaning you can do, TV mostly just stinks (thank god for Netflix), and cooking & baking can be fun but being sedentary with loads of good cooking & baked goods = weight gain. Then again, it is the winter and you should put on a couple of extra pounds to help protect from the cold. Right? For Barry we have a number of things we do to keep him exercised and moving. Husband rough houses with him a little. We do a sort of agility course that we've set up. By agility course I mean two chairs, a broom stick and an ironing board. We have him sit then jump over the broom stick (which is held up by two chairs on either side), then crawl under the legs of the ironing board and back over the broom stick and jump up on the bed. We mix that up a bit and do different combinations.

Keeping his eyes on the prize. 

He has no problem clearing the broom stick.

 I wish I had better pictures for you. These two pictures just don't capture what's really happening. I'll post a video soon so you can see. It's really cute and we have a lot of fun. It takes quite a bit to wear him out. Eventually he starts panting and showing off that cute pit bull smile. He also loves the flirt pole. This wears him out pretty quickly and he needs a water break shortly after we're done. All in all, we do what we can to give him plenty of exercise. If you don't know about the flirt pole and you have the same issues as we do (frigid cold, your dog can't get enough exercise outdoors), you should look into it!! This is a great indoor exercise option for your active dogs! Check out the one we got here.

When it gets later we wind up sitting in front of the TV and relaxing. Barry promptly jumps onto the couch with us and lies lengthwise on his back so we can rub his belly. Many times he'll start dreaming when he's asleep. He must be running and chasing squirrels or playing with dogs in his dreams. His paws and back legs are moving and he just sort of looks like a spaz with his eyes closed. When he really gets into the dream he'll start dream barking. It's not like a regular bark. It's like a puffy closed mouth high pitched yelpy bark. It's actually quite hilarious and I've tried a few times to get this on video but have been unsuccessful so far. Every time I reach for my cell phone to capture these moments he either stops or wakes up from me moving so quickly to reach for my phone. I will get this on video and I will share it with you. It is one of the funniest things I've ever seen!

I have to say, I cannot wait until the weather starts to warm a bit. It will be so nice to be able to take Barry out without wearing my dexterity-killing gloves (so instead of picking out one treat for him I give him a whole handful because I can't feel the difference), getting on my huge oversized coat, and putting booties on Barry. It's all so time consuming and annoying. Also it's cold outside.

Watching TV with Dad is nice when it's too cold to stay out long.