Houston we have a problem...
This dog is the worst sock /slipper stealer I've ever known!!! (and I've known a few, believe me.)
And you thought I was going to say our Teddy had turned into some snarling monster... Have some faith, people!
Yes, like a lot of dogs he LOVES cheesy socks, shoes and slippers. There's a very good reason for his; these items are intensely saturated with our scent more than just about anything else, other than underwear (let's not go there, eh?).
The fantastic thing about Ted though is that he learned in about two instances that if he picked something up and brought it to me, I would exchange it for a small piece of food. By the end of the day he was picking up random items, bringing them to me with a 'Sit' and releasing them on command. No conflict, no chasing him to retrieve the odd sock or dropped piece of paper out of his mouth, no pulling jaws open or holding him down. I've never fostered a gundog before and it's honestly been a joy to live with a dog that has such an intelligence about his mouth; working with mastiffs is a WHOLE different ballgame!
Last night some idiot was talking right outside our gate and Teddy became quite anxious and barked for a while until said idiot moved away. He has barked a few times at outside stimuli and the odd knocking from next door. The easiest thing to do with this 'There's-someone-outside-come-quick!' barking is to simply appear in their presence completely unperturbed and do something banal such as fetch a glass of water to show the dog that you aren't bothered by the stimuli, they don't need to be either. Ignoring the dog completely isn't the best thing to do as it makes them more anxious, but giving their anxiety attention in the form of talking to them or telling them to shut up isn't a good move either as they soon realise that's a button they can push to summon you if they're bored...
The weather has been utterly pants all day so we haven't had a chance to get out for a long walk but I then just split the walks into 10 minute excursions and he's been out for about 4 of those today and one more to go before bed.
We've been playing fetch with a toy indoors but somewhere along the line Teddy's been taught to tug for competition. Such a shame because he'd have so much more fun retrieving and releasing but he hasn't learned that yet. We'll work on this a bit more but the best thing to do with a dog that refuses to give it up is drop your end of the toy. Repeatedly and immediately he pulls on it. Poor Ted was a bit confused as he is used to the human end of the toy being a bit more obstinate and competitive!
He's had another very quiet day chilling in his bed while I work a few feet away in the office but he's equally as happy to chill even when I'm not in sight, which is perhaps the most important thing to teach a dog within the first 48 hours - to be happy on their own.
More tomorrow, Teddy fans...
