Jacks First off leash beach trip

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jacksdad
Posts: 4887
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Jacks First off leash beach trip

Post by jacksdad »

Last Friday I took the day off and decided to take Jack to the beach since it's been a while. Took him to a more "locals only" beach. which basically means 99% of tourist won't go there since there are no restaurants or other attractions. Just locals taking their dogs to the beach. Up until I actually took the leash off I was undecided if I was going to keep him on the 15ft lead or let him go. With in seconds of hitting the beach the first loose dog came up to us, at which point I figured since Jack couldn't run out into a street and his recall is pretty good no point leaving him on the leash.

We walked and ran up and down the beach meeting and ignoring dogs without one incident of Jack going into reactive mode. He was very mildly reactive to a couple of the humans that took interest in him despite being asked to ignore him, but that was before we hit the beach. oh well. at least his reaction wasn't a full on flip out and was just a couple huffs and some almost "obligatory" barking. needless to say we didn't stick around.

One recall incident stands out. we were walking along and a couple with two dogs, one loose, the other on leash came towards us. I call for Jack a little too late and he unfortunately ignored me and went up to say hi. with in second it was obvious that the one on leash was mildly reactive. and despite ignoring me a second ago, soon as I saw the on leash dog was uncomfortable, I called Jack away and he came instantly. I scooped him up and we chatted with the couple briefly. they apologized (though they had nothing to apologize for) for their dog's barking. I told them it wasn't a problem, that was Jack a few months ago so I understood. should have seen their eyes.

The only "bad" dog encounter actually falls more into the too much of a good thing category. It was a young German Shepard. Both Jack and the Shepard did calm greetings, play bows etc. start to run around in a circle together, all seemed well, until the play progressed a little bit more. The Shepard became far more physical than Jack likes and he tried to end the play and got cut off from me once, but made it back to me the second attempt. Jack I believe "got it" that it was just play, but it was still play he didn't like and his whole body changed. rather than loose and relaxed, he became stiff and his ears were in the "alert" position the rest of the walk back to the car.

Having had a couple days to think about it and observe Jack over the next couple days, I really do think he understood it was play, because he wasn't anymore or less reactive over the next two days. If anything he was far less reactive to dogs then people. a complete switch. The best analogy I can think of to draw the right picture is (you'll get this if you have kids), is when you give in and let your kids play at the park longer than you should have and now they are too tired to 100% process/deal with things that happen to them or asked of them. Too much of a good thing. Had this happened 30 minutes earlier or even at the beginning of the walk, I think Jack would have shaked it off. I should have ended our walk when i first thought to at 15 minutes before, but was so focused on how much time we had actually been there and the fun we were having that I lost sight off all that Jack had to deal with. Too much of a good thing. This lesson reinforcement was a free bee in terms of possibly setting him back, thank god it didn't. Just the same, we took it really easy and low key the next two days to let him rest and recoup. minimal dog contact.

How I knew he was ok. In the past, the next week or so Jack would have been more reactive to dogs. But the following proved to me Jack was ok. There is a guy who runs with his two dogs off leash through our neighborhood. Two loose dogs and a man while on leash in the dark (he tends to run early, early morning) is too much for Jack. So he of course goes into reactive mode if we get surprised by them. only happened a couple time. Well, Sunday we passed their house, the dogs were loose on their front porch. Jack's only reaction was to sniff the air and keep moving on. Not one pee. He knew they were there, they knew he was there, no one pushed the issue. even just a couple months ago this would have been reactive time, barks, growls, pulling on the leash etc. I was sooo proud of him.

With the exception of the one "bad" encounter I couldn't have asked for more out of Jack at this point. No issues with any dogs, not even the "bad" one in terms of being dog reactive. he came when called 95% of the time. Voluntarily checked in. keep an eye on me. would range out a bit, then come back on his own. i was soooo proud of him.
wvvdiup1
Posts: 3397
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Jacks First off leash beach trip

Post by wvvdiup1 »

You ought to be proud of yourself and Jack! You've worked hard with Jack and you're seeing the results, or if you will, the "paybacks" to all of your hard efforts in training and working with Jack. Even though you feel you had a setback, it seems Jack has come through it well but if this bothers you a little bit, remember, you saw your dog's behavior and you seem to know what to do to handle similar situations. From what you've posted, I wouldn't consider that a setback, considering what Jack could have or would not do from what he has learned from his training. You both are still on course with your training and I say to this with thumbs up "Well done Jack and Jacksdad!" :D
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Mattie
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Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Re: Jacks First off leash beach trip

Post by Mattie »

Well done Jack and Jack's Dad, you have come a long way in a short time. :lol:

You seem to have reached the stage were you need to be able to let him off the lead in a safe area but what is a safe area? To me this is the hardest part of turning a dog round, when to let them loose and when to keep them on the lead. You will make mistakes and Jack will react, how you both handle this will set you up for the next time. Keep it low key as you are doing and Jack will soon be there.

Think you need to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. :lol:
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jacksdad
Posts: 4887
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Jacks First off leash beach trip

Post by jacksdad »

wvvdiup1 I agree it wasn't a set back, but it could have been. Just shows how far Jack has come that it didn't turn into one. BUT it was a good reminder about pushing a successful situation and how even successes can reach a tipping point and you run the risk of it becoming a setback or a negative. Again, thank god it didn't happen this time.

Mattie, yes, finding and choosing a safe area for off lead time isn't easy. until this beach trip, most of our off lead time has been at a couple local high schools, low chance of human and dog contact. So this was his first trip to a place that had lots of other dogs and people and him off lead.

I don't drink, but we celebrated with a little Haagen-Dazs frozen yogurt. Jack got a little taste too :D
dontpugme
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:01 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Jacks First off leash beach trip

Post by dontpugme »

That sounds awesome! You've done so much with Jack! I wish we had a "doggy beach" close by.
--dontpugme
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