Jackson at Two and a Third or So/Emma at Four?
Jack's a big boy now, holding steady at 85 lbs. Between his fear issues, puppy energy, and size, it's been hard for me to train him outside, so Doug has been doing most of that. However, he's been pretty good lately, so I took him with me on my morning walk and he did very well. Some pulling, and he shied once or twice, but not nearly as badly as he used to. He heels fairly well, and responds, albeit grudgingly, to whoa and sit. At the beginning of the walk there's the "I need to mark every tree" problem, but he smoothed out after a while and the second half of the walk (1 mile) went quite well.
I had him sit while I talked to someone in their driveway, which he did without panic, and we passed a lady with a pit bull on the far side of the street and Jackson didn't really react. Best-Damn-Dog-Ever Molly was still quite wild and exuberant at two, so I have hopes of Jack continuing to mellow out. He's a little better with guests, too, though crowds are just too stressful for him and he prefers his giant-size crate. When it's time to go on the dogs' weekly jaunt to Doug's office (he takes them away on sangha night), Jackson will sit to have his training collar and leash put on, and sit and stay while the door is opened. Emma, meanwhile, is rolling around on her back and jumping in the air. "I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T SIT STILL LONG ENOUGH TO GET MY LEASH ON! WHY AREN'T WE LEAVING YET?????"
We still have the unexpected people-coming-to-the-door issue, and Emma can be quite aggressive, jumping and barking, with her back up. My not-perfect solution as been to teach them both "Out!" whereupon they race out the back door and around the corner to the side gate to bark. Like I said, not perfect, but safer for people coming to the house. I may have to enlist the Dog Whisperer. He's pretty good at that one.
With guests she calms quickly and is everyone's best friend. Jackson wanders around wuffing and snorthing, and if the guests stay long enough he'll come in for a sniff, or even bring a toy. What a weird pair of dogs we have. When they've gone to doggie heaven, years and years from now, I think I'll get another Papillon as a pup. Bosco was an adult rescue and had Issues, but was a good dog overall. Just once I'm going to go to a breeder, see the parent/s, look over the litter, and try for a Dog-Without-Major-Issues. Just once! Is that so wrong? ;-)
Jack loves to play fetch and catch, but only indoors, and to his credit, he's the only dog I've ever had who obeyed "give." He and Emma are quite useless at the beach, content to amble along and get their feet wet while the other dogs show off. Jack is much admired and asked about, thanks to his unusual conformation and stripes. Poor run-of-the-mill Chihuahua mix Emma gets quite overlooked, poor thing, and she's the friendly one.
I had him sit while I talked to someone in their driveway, which he did without panic, and we passed a lady with a pit bull on the far side of the street and Jackson didn't really react. Best-Damn-Dog-Ever Molly was still quite wild and exuberant at two, so I have hopes of Jack continuing to mellow out. He's a little better with guests, too, though crowds are just too stressful for him and he prefers his giant-size crate. When it's time to go on the dogs' weekly jaunt to Doug's office (he takes them away on sangha night), Jackson will sit to have his training collar and leash put on, and sit and stay while the door is opened. Emma, meanwhile, is rolling around on her back and jumping in the air. "I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T SIT STILL LONG ENOUGH TO GET MY LEASH ON! WHY AREN'T WE LEAVING YET?????"
We still have the unexpected people-coming-to-the-door issue, and Emma can be quite aggressive, jumping and barking, with her back up. My not-perfect solution as been to teach them both "Out!" whereupon they race out the back door and around the corner to the side gate to bark. Like I said, not perfect, but safer for people coming to the house. I may have to enlist the Dog Whisperer. He's pretty good at that one.
With guests she calms quickly and is everyone's best friend. Jackson wanders around wuffing and snorthing, and if the guests stay long enough he'll come in for a sniff, or even bring a toy. What a weird pair of dogs we have. When they've gone to doggie heaven, years and years from now, I think I'll get another Papillon as a pup. Bosco was an adult rescue and had Issues, but was a good dog overall. Just once I'm going to go to a breeder, see the parent/s, look over the litter, and try for a Dog-Without-Major-Issues. Just once! Is that so wrong? ;-)
Jack loves to play fetch and catch, but only indoors, and to his credit, he's the only dog I've ever had who obeyed "give." He and Emma are quite useless at the beach, content to amble along and get their feet wet while the other dogs show off. Jack is much admired and asked about, thanks to his unusual conformation and stripes. Poor run-of-the-mill Chihuahua mix Emma gets quite overlooked, poor thing, and she's the friendly one.
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