So excellent on all counts. All of that is perfect, I am so happy for you! I am so glad that you pushed for more information and realized that it was not okay that it was provided to you.
I just got back from a field trial with our dogs. My husband runs Venom, our young, reactive male. I had already run my girl Everly and was going back to my friends RV with her and I saw my husband across the parking lot. He had Venom on leash and saw a friend who was walking two puppies. He hadn't seen her in a long time and they went to hug. I was too far away to say anything, but I thought, "Oh no, not good, not good" and then, the puppies jumped on him, they all got tangled he got reactive and snarked. They go into the field and guess what? Venom doesn't hunt, is hyperfocused ont he other dog, runs to the other dog and is picked up (that just means he is done hunting). So, we had to have a heart to heart I just told him, you HAVE to advocate for him. It is OKAY to tell Sheila, hold on one second and call me to hold him, or have her hand her puppies to someone. It is not okay to 1) let him get in that situation and 2) run him after he has already gotten heightened where he could frighten another dog. He understood. I totally get how challenging it is to get everyone on board. My husband is on board but still isn't always diligent enough. Anyway, I am super excited about your plan. It is a good, solid one.
I just got back from a field trial with our dogs. My husband runs Venom, our young, reactive male. I had already run my girl Everly and was going back to my friends RV with her and I saw my husband across the parking lot. He had Venom on leash and saw a friend who was walking two puppies. He hadn't seen her in a long time and they went to hug. I was too far away to say anything, but I thought, "Oh no, not good, not good" and then, the puppies jumped on him, they all got tangled he got reactive and snarked. They go into the field and guess what? Venom doesn't hunt, is hyperfocused ont he other dog, runs to the other dog and is picked up (that just means he is done hunting). So, we had to have a heart to heart I just told him, you HAVE to advocate for him. It is OKAY to tell Sheila, hold on one second and call me to hold him, or have her hand her puppies to someone. It is not okay to 1) let him get in that situation and 2) run him after he has already gotten heightened where he could frighten another dog. He understood. I totally get how challenging it is to get everyone on board. My husband is on board but still isn't always diligent enough. Anyway, I am super excited about your plan. It is a good, solid one.
Just wanted to come back and update that we've had a better weekend with Jake. We have an consultation with a dog behaviourist booked for December 1st that we feel good about the methods she uses. Until then we will keep Jake in the house and in the back yard to avoid potential issues.
We did talk with the dog walker on Friday evening and I was disappointed in that discussion. I tried to ask a lot of questions to try and help us figure out what triggered the response from Jake, but she wasn't helpful at all. She just kept saying she didn't do anything different there wasn't anyone else around. Needless to say we don't trust them anymore so we will no longer be using their services.
We got Jake some new toys to help with mental stimulation today so we can work on physical and mental stimulation.