[squidwanda]

I think it would be nice to have a thread where we can all come and say what our dog did today that made them proud. I want to hear everybody's warm, fuzzy stories. I will start:

I think I may have hit a turning point with my Akita puppy's reactivity towards men. Loki started to get a little aggressive and bark-y when he hit his 6 month birthday. I stopped taking him out to the dog park for awhile because he would guard me from other owners, and got a bit nervous about taking him out in public. I had a trainer come out to give me some new strategies to nip it in the bud.. everything has been doing really well but today he showed me how much happier and confident he is.

I usually take the dogs to one of our local dog parks in the morning between 10-12ish, when there usually is nobody or only one or two other dogs. Today there was a nice woman with an adorable sheepdog mix and her male friend who had a great dane. Everybody was playing nicely, although I was watching to make sure Loki did not show signs of unhappiness with the man being around. A few minutes later I realized that Loki was not playing anymore, and when I looked around, he was doing his tricks for the male owner! He was happily engaged in preforming his sit, down, and shake and accepting treats/scratches with confidence! I am happy to see that all my hard work with counter conditioning has worked, and Loki is widening his comfort zone every day.

 

[traciek88]

Aw, that's some great progress to hear about him! =D

Stella was really good in the pet store today when we went to get some things. She didn't try like crazy to go after the cats in the kiosks. She's doing better at some distance recalls too. As for Tyrion...well, he's cute. =P

 

[IrisBramble]

Rosie met the neighbors dog she loved her was very social with her and the lady.

 

[Liminal]

I know I've bragged about it elsewhere but seriously, I'm just going to sit here and give my dog a silent round of applause for that time he saved one of my ducks from an owl attack. He succinctly proved his value to me as more than just a pet that night.

Our herding instructor also said he wasn't a bad dog, and coming from her that feels like high praise. She also compliments the kind of power he has on stock when he's using his head the way he should - calm but with enough natural presence to move just about anything.

I had some rough patches with him as a teenager when, despite my affection for him, we just didn't seem to gel - but the more he grows and the more I grow as a handler the more we're flourishing as a family and as a team. Love him.

He's also learned to gentle up while playing with my boyfriend's Beagle puppy, which for him is quite an accomplishment since he's an enormous meathead.

 

[BusterBCsMum]

I had a consultation with a new client today, 5 month old Old English Sheepdog puppy who's very jumpy. Also my ankle is playing up and I'm limping quite a bit, Buster did awesome walking very slowly next to me, even around the jumpy puppy. He did great being my demo dog whilst showing his level of training and obedience, whilst being berated by an off leash Lab that kept running over and annoying him.

Another puppy joined us for a while and he did great hanging out with everyone and playing with his frisbee

 

[Laco]

I really wouldn't know where to start. Samantha only has to be in the room with us to make both my wife and me feel so good about her.

There is a saying that goes, 'Everyone thinks their dog is the best dog in the world, and everyone is right'!

 

[Laus2002]

Jax is very reactive to people coming to the house and it's something we've been working on for the 18 months I've had him, he used to go absolutely mental as soon as he heard a car pull up outside to the point he didn't even hear me if I tried to get his attention, he'd bark, run up and down the hallways and up to the windows and jump up and down like a madman, it really was a full on panic attack.

It's taken a whole lot of love, time and patience but this morning my best friend came round (who we spend a lot of time with a who Jax adores!) and the first I knew of it was when she let herself into the kitchen via the back door!!

I can't tell you how huge this is for Jax, I'm so very proud of him! X