Thursday, September 4, 2008

Nobody puts Baby (I mean T-Bone) in a corner...

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while because nothing new was happening. Last week we went back to obedience training and T-Bone decided he wanted to participate - he was really good. Did all the commands perfectly, and not just once (which has been the case previous weeks where he would do it once then lie down and just look at me) with regularity. The trainers thought perhaps a gentle leader would be a good idea given his size. (Currently 50lbs) Well, we did not have success the last time we used one, in fact he had found a way to get it off and chew it to pieces. People would tell me we didn't put it on correctly etc. Well, he was fitted for one last night at the beginning of class. BIG MISTAKE. Class was a write off. While the other dogs were walking and heeling in the circle T-Bone and I were asked to stand in the middle out of the other dogs way. Why you ask??? Well, seems Mr. T wouldn't participate whilst wearing the Gentle Leader, instead he was writhing around trying to get it off. I am not talking about just 5-10 minutes, no the ENTIRE hour was spent figuring out. Well 45 minutes after putting it on properly, he had found a way to get it off. He used his nail to unclip the strap underneath that tightens it and slip it off his face. He did this 2 times. The trainers were amazed, they have never seen a dog do that before. They suggested that if he knows how to do it, not once - but 2 times, he will likely just remove each time he puts it on. Kuvaszok are a smart dog. He knows how to undo the clip!!! WOW. Anyway, once he got it off he was not happy with me, he just sat and stared at me, with the expression of "how could you do that to me?" "That was not cool."

On a different note, we (I) have been having some problems with Mr.T's dominance with me. He really is showing no signs of it with Mike, but when I am sitting on the couch in the basement especially, he will bark at me, nip me etc. I was at a loss of what to do. Our trainer gave us a list of things to do for behaviour modification. They were all things we were already doing, fortunately the hubby has a PhD in Animal Learning. So I told our breeder - she suggested I pin him down and sit on him until he stops resisting, showing him I am boss. Well I told the trainers this and they said NEVER do that. It will make him more aggressive. So I mentioned it at the vet today, and they said the same things. Now I am at a loss!!!! Thoughts anyone???? Ok, he is being neutered today, hopefully that will help his behaviour at some point. Lately, he has been much better. He is slowly understanding I control the food, I control his access to outside, I control the crate etc. Perhaps we are at a turing point!