2020 10 11
I got all set to write this daily doggy and then the neighborhood came alive with an argument between two people male and female sounded like coming from the boat ramp but it S ET our dogs often barking ----next thing the phone rings and I couldn't tell who was saying what and I just couldn't understand whoever was talking and then the more I listen to that screaming and yelling from the boat ramp I figured maybe I better let the police know about that one so I called the police to say there's somebody in the neighborhood having it sounds like having a fight and they said well they were just coming up this way anyway because they had a complaint that my dogs were barking well Be barking at the fight I think .
I should write life in the neighborhood at 4:00 AM because I did not call the police a few days ago when MIDNIGHT… the house at the bottom of the driveway was making loud banging noises which I was afraid was a rifle shot but THE OVERNIGHT PERSON said no those were firecrackers ----it was brief and it stopped so I didn't call the police I could also tell you that there is somebody Who seems to come home noisily at two 2:30 which I'm told is when the bars close and then in the other in the other neighborhood the development is someone who during the week seems to get up at 4 and go out get in the car and bang around maybe going to the airport who knows it's not necessarily quiet and of course my dogs react to all of it .
So now that it's quiet at 6:25 ..I'll go back to the dog fight which happened two days ago and it was Henry and SIMBA..A REAL FIGHT.. A FEW HOLES, BUT NO SPURTING BLOOD. APPARENTLY BROKEN UP WITH A WELL PLACED BUCKET OF WATER….
This is very long but there are so many subtle things that go into this dealing with a dogfight .
I DECDIDED I WOULD TRY AND FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON…. SO.. I GOT A CHAIR… IN THE SHADE… OFF CAMERA IN CASE THINGS GOT ROUGH….My equipment included another bucket of water and a wiffle bat I had two short leashes 26 inches long on the normal chain collar S and as I said a comfortable chair .. Judy bought out “HAPPY Henry “ it was lively but I made him lie down on my left and asked Diane to go get Simba .. Diane was worried about being able to hold him at all (And this is supposed to be a service dog ??) so she went got him and he barreled out the BARN door stuck his head on the ground to sniff everything insight wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to her .. then I asked her to bring him to Me with Henry sitting on my left ---I told him very quickly in no uncertain terms to lie down he almost did but as a second thought decided to stand up again at which point I told him again to lie down with the collar with me on top of him then --- OVERWHELMED, he lay down . and look very confused.. AND I QUIETLLY TOLD HIM “GOODE BOY “ AND QUIELY PATTED HIM… so I had the two fighters on either side of me lying down with both with tails wagging apologetically and HENRY really didn't want to look at Simba . so I can tell who the guilty party was .
I could tell that also by the way SIMBA came out of the barn not paying the slightest bit of attention to Diane . so I did decided he needed to be a little more attentive to whoever was talking to him and everything went very well till I asked him to move to my left side at which point he got his head inadvertently on the wrong side of my leash and realized he could just pull me over which he did pulled me over with the chair ----but I did not let go ..At which point I basically created a lot of confusion yelling and carrying on and got him over next to my upside down chair and told lie down in no uncertain terms and he did he was very embarrassed about the whole thing . I watched him very carefully and he thought of getting up again and trying that again at which point I snapped that collar with a good yank and told him down in no uncertain terms and he lay down . at that point he was re focused on what I was saying .AND I QUICKLY AND QUIELYT SAID “GOOD BOY” ANS SAT DOIWN AGAIN…
I WAS MAKING THE POINT IF HE DID AS HE WAS TOLD THINGS WOULD BE NICE . IF HE STARTED DECIDINTG THINGS FOR HIMSELF THINGS WOJUDL GET VERY CONFUSING. Dogs do not like being confused . they are super followers and as I have often said---” allies are people with common enemies “
so I decided to get up and walk with him ---I can't walk very far and it has to be done very carefully or I fall over ..so I stood up and took one step with a very loud “Simba pay attention “ HE DECIDED HE WOULD DO THAT…. .
we then walked one step at a time over to my car about 30 feet away and he could not have been better behaved . he would not dream of tightening that leash which I was holding in two fingers for somebody to video the fact that there was an absolute change of attitude with that dog . I put him in the car I drove around no problem never barking at other dogs nothing .
so I decided to shock Linda who's been here a horror stories about little Simba ..I walked in the house carefully explaining to Simba that he was not to get a half an inch ahead of me . we walked in past Bentley and Gemini and fizzle and chaos AND I asked him very politely to lie down on the bed which he did I dropped the leash and said to Linda “There is a trained dog” she could not believe it . but his whole attitude was entirely different he was not the Horror Story that was in control .. after awhile I asked him to get up and he did came over to me with his tail wagging and stood there while I used him to get up out of the deep chair and walked him back to my car absolutely perfectly .
THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR DOG TRAINING… WHY ARE WE WANDERING ALL OVER THE COMMUNITY WAITING FOR THE DOGS TO BECOME “TRAINED” WHEN INFACT MAYBE FOR SOME ---WE NEED A CRASH COURSE IN WHAT IT IS SAFE TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE…
I NEVER USED THE WHIFFLE BAT…. THAT BAT IS TO MAKD SOUNDS BY HITTING THE GROUND OR FENCES ETC… CREATINGB CONFUSION… WHEN SIMBA KNOCKED OVER ME AND THE CFHAIR, AS FAR AS HE KNEW—HE DID IT AND IT WAS A BAD THING TO DO. ME ON THE GROUND WAS A LOUD CONFUSING MESS……I WAS A MUCH NICER PERSON IF HE STAYED QUIET AND =MOVED SLOWLY. AND HE WAS HAPPY DOING THAT..
DOES THAT MAKE A TRAINED DOG? I DUNNO… BUT IT MAKES ONE A LOT EASIER TO HANDLE THAN ONE THAT IS JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHIHNG TO DISTRACT THEM.
SO AS THAT CONCEPT GET S TO A PERSON…Like Abby with Mary who wants to put her nose down and sniff everything it should be easily corrected which is shaking that chain collar you don't need to really yank it --- IF shake doesn't work then you tweak it . and if that doesn't work you bring it back to me and I'll Explain it to them again but it shouldn't be necessary … .dogs like following directions that they understand .
THAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN MY MODE OF TRAINING....AND PEOPLE HAVE LONG SAID MY DOGS ARE THE HAPPIEST BEST BEHAVED DOGS AROUND... SOMEHWERE ALONG THE WAY SOMEONE TRIED TO IMPROVE IT WITH BOOKS AND ADI ... AND PAPERS AND RECORD KEEPING....
TIME FOR BACK TO BASICS...
MARY DID NOT QUITE OFFER TO WRITE A TRAINING BOOK........ BUT SHE ALMOST DID.... :)
