When I went to Murray’s last night, Freddie was on the treadmill and he didn’t like the fact that I was in the back yard. And he showed it. But, we are heading for a walk with Milo tonite.
We took both Freddie and Milo out for a walk last night, but we changed it up. Lets start out with Freddie, get him used to me and get me walking him – then the owner went to get Milo. Again, Freddie lunged at me a couple of times – even though through the last walk he finally accepted me. Owner passes off the leash to me, me walk for a bit, Milo calms. Now bear in mind, Freddie has spent a good 20 minutes on the treadmill before this walk, most of his energy is burned off and he’s thinking clearly. And the bugger still comes for me.
At about the 16:30 mark, the owner slips into the front of the house to get Milo – Freddie’s father and I walk Freddie around the block to meet up. Freddie calms with me once he accepts that he’s alone with me – but wait til he sees his owner and Milo. 18:26 mark, Freddie comes for me again because Milo is stirred up. Again, the walk is rough starting out, but that will change. 20:13 mark, I squat down and call Milo in – I get his arse but he’s showing that he does care about my presence. Milo really started trusting me from the last walk we were on. Now I want Freddie to watch his father coming to me – I want to gain Freddies trust through Milo.
Freddie is one tough nut, and he takes a while to crack. Long story short, he does come to me during times on the walk – but it’s acceptance, not trust – and Freddie tends to present ass first. I’m not a dog, but I’ll take it.
We’re not making much headway with Freddie by walking together so at the 48 minute mark, we split off and go our separate ways. Murray takes Milo home to get him on the treadmill and I take Freddie for a good walk. Now it’s time for him to show his true colors.
When his owner wasn’t around, Freddie calmed down, wasn’t pulling much and not reacting too badly – all things considered. Freddie is one of the most needy when it comes to his owner, and that can make him dangerous. If you notice on the walk, many times he’s stuck to his owner trying to get away from me. This isn’t good and is the very reason for wanting to work him alone.
52:30 mark, I finally get what I needed. He came to me face first and of his own accord. Now I know that Freddie needs to be worked solo, this is the only way he won’t be distracted. And yes, I will be taking Freddie for 24 hours at some point – he’s almost ready for it. 24 hours away from the pack and the family will do him a world of good. One one one, he’s not dragging me around, he’s loose leash for the most. Squat down several times more through the walk, he doesn’t care but he’s not coming to me – and this is ok. He’s not showing much in the line of insecurity with me. At the 57:55 mark, he chooses to come again for affection.
Back yard, the bane of these dogs existence. You have to realize that all the dogs have done over the last year is protect the back yard – it’s their territory and it changes everything. Bear and Mini are much less reactive in the back yard now, but we need to get Freddie and Milo to the same point.
Milo is on the treadmill when Freddie and I enter – and soon as Milo sees me, Freddie makes a go for me again. This is at the 1:02:10 mark, you can clearly see him lunging at me, but responds to the leash. I don’t like using any force on dogs – but when a dog comes for me with the intention of biting – I will protect myself. Anyone would but it’s minimum force to put a stop to it. Straight up taught leash is enough to shut him down.
I fully expected this to happen, was ready for it – because this is Freddie’s way of being. But this will change.
Stay tuned.