Patriotic Pup
Fast forward to a 3 1/2-year-old Beau. At 15 months, he was a pistol beyond managing on most days. I will admit, I was less than hopeful that he would become a well-behaved dog. Today, I can say that he has made a lot of progress on the journey to dog sainthood. You know those saintly dogs. They walk calmly at the side of their master; they play quietly in their backyard without barking at everyone; they keep their teeth to themselves.
Beau isn't there yet, but he has calmed down substantially. He no longer does a body slam on me coming off of a full speed run. Usually, I can get him to come in the house. Treats insure compliance. But he has learned there are rooms where he is not allowed, and he is pretty good about not taking food off the table. He rests his chin on the table and gazes with longing at me while I eat, but that's pretty much as far as it goes. Oh, wait. He did lick the end of a chicken leg the other day. Well, still, he didn't wrap his teeth around it and run off with it.
It took some doing, but I did manage to get him to pose for the above picture. This was the best out of about 25 shots. He does sit on command, usually without a treat. He does give me paw and high five and he loves to play which hand is the treat in. He is correct at guessing about 85 percent of the time.
So he barks a lot; annoyed neighbors are not amused. That's okay. I am not amused by most of the things they do, but I am a nicer person about it. I recently invested in one of those collars that beeps, vibrates or jolts when I press a button on the device's remote control. This is about the fifth one I have purchased. They work great for about a month and then not again. That is the point I am at with this unit. It doesn't seem to be working any more. Vibrate and sound have worked wonders. I do not want to zap him. Alas, I may have to send it back and see about another one.
The big issue he has is leaving the neighbors alone. For some reason he is wild about them. The collar has helped, but like the vet assistant said when he was a puppy, he will need high value treats. I don't know how much higher value treat I can give him when I have steak in my hands, and he would rather race back and forth along the fence line as the neighbor woman works on her garden. I don't want him to bother her. I usually can get him under control within about two to three minutes; however, at 90 pounds, he is hard to slow down. I wonder if he needs more companionship. I have toyed with the idea of getting a second dog as a playmate for him. But he doesn't do well at doggie day care; they say he is anxious and won't play with the other dogs, but he loves the staff. He's a people dog.
