Unfortunately, the side yard was not available, so I did the best I could on a short leash. Buster was less sensitive to anything I did and has a ton more energy, though friendly and wanting to play.
When doing the "eyes" exercise, developed by Kevin Behan, Natural Dog Training, I noticed a marked difference between Flo and Buster. Flo "got" it after seconds and was able and willing to connect. Buster ... totally did not know what to do thefirst few time - or rather - he didn't want to look at me...he wanted the treat, finally looked away. After a few attempts, he for 1/2 sec looked at me...and I gave him a treat. He loves playing tug, and I think that will be a way to connect. Pushing? Not him, not yet, how different from "Flo", who pushed freely on the first day. With him, all I could do was touch, no pressure. Time will tell more. He seems eager to connect nonetheless. I would LOVE to work with him more. He does overshoot trying to grab a large branch I hold. I think I better get some leather gloves :) Hopefully I can see him with other dogs Monday.
Day 2 and 3- Well, no other dogs Monday or Tuesday, so I took him out again by himself - he is a great dog ...making eye contact easy now and learning my hand signal for wait, which I introduced today so he learns to not jump for the stick unless I say "ok". He has got a ton of energy and definitely you must pay attention when you walk with him. He is strong and will be able to sweep you off your feet in more than 1 way. After some running and fetching sticks he practically melted in a petting session :), wow, that was so nice. Still tentative on pushing, though he did ...:). I interpret that as a sign of trust.I would LOVE to work with him every day. He is such fun, willing to learn ....Time to rearrange the rest of my live :)
Sammie's Friends description:
Poor Buster. He was part of a hoarding case and had been kept in a small pen without clean water and proper food. He was very skinny and very hungry when we put him in the kennels but very, very sweet, giving lots of kisses and love. Buster is now neutered and up for adoption, he does well with other dogs here at the shelter, we're not sure how he'd be with cats but there were some on the property he came from. Buster is a Pit mix, approx 1-2 years old, come and meet him today!
To read more about the "Eyes" exercise, both theory and a good description on how to do it, please check out Lee Charles Kelly's post on "Eyes" here
or here.
This is from the middle part of his post:
The “Eyes!” exercise has the effect of increasing your dog’s social attraction toward you, reducing his natural resistance, and has the added side-effect of grounding your dog’s energy whenever it starts to spin out of control. This makes it a great tool for curbing leash aggression, an overeager interest in squirrels, or even for training the recall.
Before we get started, remember, dogs respond to us on an unconscious level either as pack members (when we hang out at home), potential prey (when we play with them), and potential predators (because our level of gaze is the same as that of wolf’s only natural enemies). In the wild, eye contact can spell the difference between life and death. We want to make our dogs’ eye contact with us a solution to their problems, not a cause for concern or resistance to obeying us. We want to reduce resistance and amp up our attraction to them. And one way we can do that is by making our eye contact with our dogs a source of pleasure and satisfaction.
So here’s how we do the “Eyes!” exercise (as with most exercises where you’re using food, I personally wouldn’t do this with a dog who has food aggression, or whom I don’t already know pretty well): continue here.
Again, to read more about the "Eyes" exercise, both theory and a good description on how to do it, please check out Lee Charles Kelly's post on "Eyes" here
or here.
This handbook will help you to choose the best candidate for a personal protection companion.
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