Comment on my video please.

[Jynx]

I'm sure you got the right dog to,,they compliment each other,,tho you love peyton and she is a good dog, I don't think you want "two" of them )

What Jax lacks in confidence right now, is pretty normal if you ask me,,he's in a totally new environment, home etc, and as you say, he is still settling in. Also what he lacks in confidence he will get from Peyton who is a very confident dog in any situation , he'll pick up on her q's as well..

Again, I think the difference in the learning curve is a couple of things,,he is NOT an aussie, borders ARE more serious, he is a male(I find them doofier than the girlz, not a bad thing) and well, sometimes males are slower))

You got the right dog, and he'll come along nicely I'm sure)

 

[Baxter'smybaby]

Oh, I told my Mom, I got another dog. I told her that I looked at close to 50 dogs. She said, "You look at 50 everything."

Mom's right, I'm a careful shopper. Before I buy a pair of shoes, I have to look in every store at the mall but I get the right shoes in the end. I'm convinced I got the right dog for us because he "fits" like a comfy loafer around here.

I love this! I wish everyone would take time to really think out adding a companion to their house!

 

[JoeLacy]

Morning Jynx.

You are right about not two Peytons, I looked her right in the eye yesterday and said' Babe, you are sometimes a monumental PITA, but GAWD.. do I ever love you." I meant both.

Peyton is a firecracker, confident, razor sharp, opinionated, reactive and can be stubborn.
Jax is more cautious, relaxed, slower mentally and goes along with the program much better.


If I had to describe them by a Rock Band.

Peyton is Metallica
Jax is Snoop Doggy Dog.

If you could see them right this moment, they are running through the house like a couple of wild kids. They started playing tug of war this morning over a chew toy. I've never seen that before from Peyton, this is a wonderful thing.

If Jax has the toy, peyton comes over than tries to get it. If she get's it, she moves towards him as if to say, now come get it! They have two of the exact same toys in the room but they only play with the one that the other ones has. It's another VERY good sign of their compatibility.

They both rode in the backseat of the car yesterday for the first time and they did perfect. Peyt and Jax just get along great and seem to be getting along better everyday.

Maybe Jax will mellow out Peyt and Peyt will help him come out of his shell. We'll see, but yes, they are two very different dogs and both very very sweet and social and honestly, I could not pick between them. Fortunately, I don't have to , they are BOTH mine and I love them both dearly and surprisingly equally.

 

[JoeLacy]

If you've been reading along on all this, you might remember Jax was terrified of electric doors and would completely shut down. I helped him get over that yesterday in our one on one time and here's where he was as of this morning.

YouTube - Electric doors and Jax

This is actually siting politely for Petting CGC test 2 as well.

Test 1. Accepting a friendly stranger by Jax.

 

[JoeLacy]

Here's loose leash walking, Sit down on command, Grooming and appearance, come when called and a fail at stay at very end.

YouTube - VID 00054

 

[Zoom]

Congrats on such a well-fitting pick! It really pays off to be so picky, to find something that you know works for both you and Peyton. I like the name Jax and he really is a lovely looking dog.

It sounds like you've got a great handle on the training! The only thing I can think of to comment on is the food--1.5 cups actually sounds just right. Sawyer is 55lbs and I used to feed him 1.5 cups of food when we were on Innova Adult and now that we've switched to grain-free (Nature's Variety Instinct Duck & Turkey) he gets about 1 cup a day (1/2 cup twice a day) and holds weight just fine. I'll up it a bit for his dinner if we've had a super active day of hiking or something.

And I love his eyes.

 

[JoeLacy]

Hey Zoom ,thanks for weighing in.

He will only eat 1-2 cups anyway, I put out 3 and had some left over. He's thin in the body and big in the head. He could pass for a Lion. I can clearly feel his ribs, vet says 5lbs or so and he'll be about right. That would make him 42-45 lbs.

You know, the funny about his eyes is how people seem to love them, even total strangers comment on them and how nice they are. That ACO was a nut case and lucky for me, she knew how to dial the phone.

If I'm not training right, you guys only have yourself to blame, you guys trained me. It's more difficult in some respects than Peyton and easier in others. Peyton came out just fine, Jax will turn out just fine too.

I just need to let him settle in and keep doing what I'm doing and all will be ok. This is day 4 and you can see the progress he is making.

 

[Zoom]

I think for 4 days he's doing amazingly well. It takes at least 2 weeks for the initial adjustment period anyway, so you'll see him warm up and settle in more and more as the days go on. By the time 6 weeks has passed, it'll be like he's always been a part of the pack.

Not everyone has such a smooth adjustment, that's really great to hear!

 

[JoeLacy]

Tomorrow I plan to ramp up his socialization like I did Peyton. Start in the morning on the bike and jogging trails at the lake. He has an interest in chasing these but has not broken to a dead run. He's just interested. We'll sit on the bike trails and watch for a long while until he understands not to chase those.

In the afternoon, go to the Farmers market for some crowd work. They have narrow walkways and the crowds can't be avoided. Around Halloween we'll do people in masks and costumes and try to get an arts and crafts fair, outdoor concert in soon.

The weather is changing here, I need to make the most of it without pushing him over his fear threshold.

 

[lizzybeth727]

If I'm not training right, you guys only have yourself to blame, you guys trained me.

 

[JoeLacy]

I saw the Border in Jax last night big time.

I've already mentioned he's self aware, looks at himself in the mirror, I've also mentioned he looks for airplanes flying over and jax looks UP more than any dog I have ever known.

Last night he got in the bed last night for the first time, laid next to me and watched TV. Yes, he watches TV. I was watching Animal Planet Super fetch, it's a dog training show and Jaz was "focused". He fell asleep, and so did I but he clearly saw what I saw and watched intensely.

Another Border like thing he did last night. Yesterday, he found one of Peyton's soup bones, I told him to drop it (we're not doing bones yet) he did and I put in on my desk in the office.

Last night when he was standing on the bed in the bedroom, he saw OTHER bones sitting on top of a table. Not the same bone he had earlier, but bones that looked just like the one he had earlier. He "focused" in on the other bones.

What was interesting about this is what happened next. I could see him trying to figure out a path to get those bones. It was as though he was planning his "route" to get up there. I could see his head turn as he was planning which chairs had something in them and he could not jump in vs. the chairs that were not occupied.

He didn't make a move for them, (leave it works well for him) but he was sure thinking of a "best" way to get up there and it wasn't just jumping straight up on the table, instead he was thinking of a possible clear and easiest path. Jax is a very perceptive and apparently a clever "thinking" dog as well.

Peyton got mad at me last night because I wouldn't let her eat out of Jaxs bowl. She all but tossed her nose in the air in indignation and pranced off to her kennel. She wouldn't come or even look at me all night. She was letting me know, she wasn't too happy with me and played hard to get. She's still a little mad at me this morning. She came over once, then remember she was mad at me gave me a dirty look, and walked away to go play with Jax. I don't have dogs I have personalities.

 

[smkie]

THat's just too funny. I have never had a dog pay any attention to the screen of a tv at all. IF you wake up and all the bones are stashed somewhere Jax may be watching you instead of you watching Jax.

 

[JoeLacy]

THat's just too funny. I have never had a dog pay any attention to the screen of a tv at all. IF you wake up and all the bones are stashed somewhere Jax may be watching you instead of you watching Jax.

It should be interesting with a BC and an Aussie in the house, that's for sure.

Speaking of hiding, Peyton used to hide her toys from Wes, she leaves them out and plays tug of war with Jax. At first I thought she was trying to take them away, but then when she had control of the toy, she moved towards him brushing his mouth with the toy encouraging him to grab on and pull. That's when I knew all the growling and tugging was just rough play. They are just being playful dogs and there's nothing I have seen so far that would indicate differently. The bones thing might be another matter entirely though.

I'm finding it much easier to work with Jax alone. All this basic stuff is bore to her and she can be distraction. Kind of like that cut-up guy when we were in school. Fun to laugh at his jokes but it didn't get me good grades.

New things for Jax today, bikes, roller bladers, joggers at the lake, ducks and walking over wooden bridges. Afternoon is walking through crowds and the evening ends at the dog park with Peyton. Tennis balls, clicker, bait bag, and leashes locked and loaded. We're off..

 

[JoeLacy]

We had a really good day. He's so close to CGC now it's amazing. The only thing we still need is stay place and maybe supervised seperation and he's done.

I threw him some real curve balls today and he did great. His reaction to distraction is 100% improved. I really had some distractions for him.

Wooden bridge, over water with joggers, bikes, strollers and people walking by. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't encounter all this, but if he's good here, he would be very good in the real world.

We sat and watched at a distance first then moved him closer and closer, finally we were on the bridge and that's where the video starts. He barely even reacts at all. Remember too he would spook at his own shadow 5 days ago.

YouTube - Wooden Bridge and Jax + Distractions

 

[JoeLacy]

Next was walking through a crowd. He was more distracted by the smells than anything else. He seemed to handle it just fine.

YouTube - Walking through a crowd test 5.

Then we ended the day here at the Dog park.

YouTube - End of day 5

 

[smkie]

Wow that is just great! Especially with that person walking so close by. He didn't look like any of it ruffled a feather. Way to go JAX!

 

[JoeLacy]

Yes and he doesn't want to chase joggers or bikes anymore, that's fixed too. I taught him "leave it" early on and used it today for things he was a little too focused on. He left them alone once he understood "what" to leave alone.

We met a lot of kids today who wanted to pet him. He was very quiet and let them. We met a few dogs and he was moderately interested at best.

I was standing talking to a couple who had a Rody, a pup. We must have talked for 10 minutes. Jax didn't really react at all. We walked on and met another lady who said she had been watching us. She told me she was impressed I had such a well trained dog. This is only a few minutes from sitting on the bridge and having those bikes fly by. If Jax was over his fear threshold on the bridge, it wasn't showing.

When we got home we strolled through the grocery store parking lot where we've been working last week. He was so relaxed, I thought he was to to go sleep on his feet. He's not uncomfortable now with people walking and things moving at a normal pace. The desensitizing appears to be working.

The dog park is pretty much the same, all about "the ball", he won't play with other dogs but doesn't bother any dogs either. He's ok with others sniffing him, but not humping him. He's barely dog reactive at all.

He's also making better eye contact now which really helps. When he's undecided as to what to do, he looks to me for directions.

Jax is coming along just fine. My biggest challenge now is stay. He just wants to come with me and because he's so sweet how can I say no?
When I tell him to stay he thinks I'm scolding him.

He trusts me now. He can be asleep on the floor and I can hold his feet, play with his ears, rub his tummy and he doesn't even look up or flinch. I think he's starting to realize, nothing in his new life will hurt him and that includes me.

 

[smkie]

THat's the best news of all...your last sentence. I am so happy for Jax and for you and Peyton too. I like happy endings.

 

[JoeLacy]

I think he would cgc certify today if he only knew stay. I thought about taking cgc classes, but after what I've seen in the last 5 days, we don't need them I don't think.

I have yet to have anyone comment negatively about his Devil Eyes, as a matter of fact, women seem to love this guy and kids too and all ages and sizes. Many comments like "Beautiful dog" from passer bys.

Lots of comments asking what breed is Jax. Yesterday, someone asked me what "mix" he was. LOL. Most say they have never seen a BC that color.

It was also interesting at the DPark yesterday, people were giving Jax and I a wide birth. They seemed to enjoy seeing Jax run and catch and were moving their dogs to other areas. Even apologized if their dog got in our way. People like Jax.

You have to think too, he will only get better and he's not even settled in yet and he's a puppy on top of it. He's already is an easy dog to take just about anywhere right now. Little yap dogs make him nervous and he spooks. It's not the size but all that racket they make. We have some work to do there, but we have plenty of time to get past it.

Stay is important though and we need to do that one next. I'll start trying different methods today and see if we can make some headway. I think part of the problem is I've trained him to follow me on a leash, I think he believes he should follow me everywhere. NOT to do that is a new concept to him and he doesn't understand. It's not defiance at all and he still hasn't left my side in the last 5 days other than to play with Peyton. Jax does what I ask, when he knows what I'm asking him to do. He's a very go along with the program type dog.

I joined the BC forums a few days ago and really got slammed for trying to do too much too soon. They were saying don't teach anything at all for a while and don't try to desensitize. Jax has responded well to both and I can't convince them of that, so what-ever. They don't know me or Jax. You would have thought I had stolen a BC from a puppy farm and had it tied to a tree with a shock collar. Ugh, I have a problem with people who say their methods are the only ones that work and particularly when they have never spent even a minute with my dog.

Anyway, Jax is better than ever, more relaxed, better trained, happier, more playful and day 6 is teaching stay.

 

[smkie]

If I had let Pepper settle in I would have lost her. SHe needed someone to tell her she was important enough to stick around. People were a quick meal, a fast warm up, and a place to get away from. If training is gentle and understanding i think it helps to start from the beginning. Something to follow, something to understand. IT establishes you as a leader and for my lost souls that was something they had been looking for. THey had caregivers, they came and went. THis was something different and it was rewarding. I do not know a dog that doesn't like to learn or one that doesn't crave the time together. THe lightbulb goes on and it isn't just for the owner. You could see in Pepper's face the GOtcha moment. SHe was every bit as pleased as i was. IT made her watch me more, and want to know more and that made her want to stick around. It made us a team.