by Eugenie Chopin
Sometimes if I call he’ll come racing back, but I always have to be careful as I don’t want him running into traffic. Although we have very little traffic, you never know when somebody might be coming around the curve. If your dog is off the property, it’s really best to calmly go fetch them. I just walk up to him and gently take hold of his collar to lead him home. If you make too much of a game or run towards him, he thinks it’s great fun to run also! Fortunately he doesn’t go far and most often comes when called. So two things need to happen in the near future: work on his “Recall” and neutering!
With any luck the neutering will make his wandering less likely and decrease the urge to mark his territory. Although I have to admit it never lessened Danilo’s interest in the girls! I have waited this long in order to give his bones a full chance to mature as he’s relatively small for a male Golden.
Harley is also food obsessed but is very good at waiting when being fed. I.e. I put the food down, but ask him to “wait”. He sits and stares at me waiting for the magic words: “OK” before he dives in. Of course food drive is great for training purposes. I could feed him and still do a clicker session as he’s always ready for more.
I have a question for you readers: Does anyone know of a way to clip very hard old nails? Angelique has a few that are so hard that nothing I use works. Does it help to soften them in water for instance? Any advice most welcome!
Shanti, in the meantime, has been back for another Acupuncture Treatment. It does seem to help for the discomfort she seems to be in with her back. It’s amazing how she lies there with the needles and actually almost falls asleep. She seems more relaxed these days with Angelique’s presence and they often are outside in the garden together with no problems.