Day 107 - Sunday (A trying day):
Happy Easter all... This morning we got up early and went for our 30 minute loop walk. Finster carried a nice plastic bottle for the trip today, we are ridding West Bergen Rd of litter one walk at a time. When we got back I fed him and got ready for church. Finster got to sit in the car during the service, which he didn't seem to mind.
After church we went to the inlaws for some lunch. I took Finster out of the car and ran him around a bit with Sparkles. After he did his duty (way over in the corn field, he needs his privacy) I tied him up to the screw in stake near sparky. He barked his head off so I moved him to the side of the house so he couldn't see us or sparky and he was much better. Before lunch we went to Grandma's so I put him in his crate so he didn't bark his head of and annoy everyone while we were gone. When we got back we ate and then went for a tour of the estate.
At first I left Finster off his leash, he never goes far from me when we are walking alone. Within the first 5 minutes he wandered across the road. After this I went and got him with his leash to continue walking. Once we got further from the road I took his leash off again. He stayed with us this time. Erin took Sparks off his leash and Sparky took off into the field. Finster followed Erin as Erin chased Sparky down. I tried to get Finster back to me but the "Come" command got ignored.
After the walk we went to my parents house for lunch number 2. The kids were in their easter best so I put Finster in the fenced in back yard while we ate. He pretty much barked his head off out there, which got ignored by us. He calmed a bit after about 10 minutes. When we were done eating my parents let there dogs out and the 3 of them played for a while.
Later in the day we went to Grandma's and then the inlaws, Sparky and Erin went with us to Swallow Hallow a trail in the swamps that we used to go to a lot as kids. Erin had Sparky out in front and Finster would not stop pulling to walk with Sparky. I was trying to stay back with Erica and the inlaws but Finster was having no part in it. He would go a few minutes at a time walking nicely but then he would go for a few minutes of pulling like a moron. I was tired out and disgusted after that mess.
After the walk we went home. When we got home Sedona greeted us with some barking, which Finster ignored. ...That is until Don (Sedona's owner) came out to get Sedona. Once Finster heard him he made a bee-line straight across the road into their yard, my "stop" and "come" commands were completely useless. I was a bit frustrated at this point, and for some reason picked him up and carried him back across the road. Finster must be so confused, I have to figure out a way to make his realize that he is only supposed to go over there if I take him.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
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1 comments:
A "dog" thought to prevent Finster from going across the road.
Purchase some flags like the ones you see when they are training a dog for the invisible fence. Place them in the ground about 6 feet from the road and about 4 to 6 feet apart. Put Finster on his leash and for the next week, let him walk up to the flags but don't let him touch them. Pull him back sharply as he reaches for them and say "NO". Because he is a smart little guy, he might get the message that you don't go beyond the flags. Leave the flags there for at least a month, then start taking every other one out over the next four weeks. If this doesn't work, to quote a famous chef, "kick it up a notch". Purchase a remote shock collar. Put the flags back up and start the same process above over again. After the first week, when he goes near the flags this time he gets a little reinforcement from the button in your hand.
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