Had a really good session this morning with both dogs. Went to the local park which was actually quite busy. A lady with a spaniel and a ball thrower and old couple and there very good dog and then a man with his dog on a flexi that he just let drag him towards us. I had to keep changing direction to make it obvious that I didn’t want to interact. Both mine stayed off lead and were very good despite a good stare at the other dog. I let them both have a good sniff and then we did some individual food play, which I haven’t done for quite a while. One dog sits while the other dog plays. Muttley moved a couple of times so I just put him back where he started and he got the idea. Bentley kept making it look like there was something horrible on the ground and he couldn’t possibly sit down. But both did well. Bentley did a few good barks on command. Then we walked back through the village and on the way I saw a couple that have two spaniels. I’ve been trying to have conversations with more people and the lady actually stopped and spoke to me even though I had Bentley too. I think they like to talk to other spaniel owners. I had a few bad encounters with this couple when we first moved to the area so they have a rude nickname but I might have to change it if they keep being nice to me and keeping their dogs under control. Bentley was actually very good and just sat while we talked. Opportunities like this are really good for him (and me).

We’ve done a lot but I just keep forgetting to post it 🤦‍♀️ I’m also rubbish at videoing stuff. But I’ve been working on ‘speak’ with Bentley. He will easily bark at other dogs but is more reluctant/well mannered? And wouldn’t bark out of frustration at me. I managed to start it it with frustration for food last week and have been trying to practice it and link it with a command ‘pardon?’ He’s been doing well at home but do you ever get that feeling that you’ve created a monster? On a walk we past a lady with a similar, unruly dog like Bentley and we managed to stop for a minute and were having a bit of a chat. I had my hands in my pockets which I think Bentley must now associate with barking and he just sat and barked at me. So, I obviously need to work more on only barking with the command. Any tips anyone? Other than that, I’ve been trying to be more friendly to other dog owners when out walking and hopefully open up some opportunities to explain to people I will see regularly walking in my local area that Bentley isn’t aggressive, he just barks. It’s going really well so far and yesterday I did a local walk and spoke to loads of people. They all comment on what a beautiful dog he is and it makes me relax more, which then helps Bentley to relax and not react so much. We actually passed an old man I see fairly regularly who asked me if he was friendly, to which I said yes and he said that was a relief and he wouldn’t be scared of my dog anymore 🥹

Discuss anything here. If animals could talk, which species would be the rudest?

Does anyone else have big differences of opinion with their other half? When my husband talks about walking the dogs he makes it sound so simple that I end up thinking I’m the problem and just over-complicating it all. (I do all the dog walking/training). I don’t know if it’s a male vs female way of thinking but I will literally spend a whole night dreaming of different scenarios of meeting other dog owners and how to handle it etc. So that discussion was yesterday and so this morning I thought I would try and put his way of thinking into action. I went to the local woods which is quite scary for me with a reactive dog because its narrow paths and lots of bends you cat see around. First footpath we met a man with no dog - perfect! Then we met a couple and her off lead dog. I know Bentley will bark if I let him loose so I asked him to heel and held his little grab lead. The lady called her dog to go with her but it veered towards us slightly and Bentley did a bark. The lady laughed and told her dog ‘that will teach you’ and we had a brief chat and carried on. Anyway this could be along story of if I explain every encounter but actually it was very good. We did meet the lady with the two dogs that charged at us once but she kept them under control and we actually passed really close with no reaction. Maybe I’ll try going to slightly busier places a bit more often rather than just avoiding. In other news with such a muddy garden, I’ve been trying to teach a new routine when the dogs come in from outside and getting them to sit on a towel and spin to wipe their feet.

Some very different days over the weekend and start to the week. We did a big family walk with babies, bikes and general chaos and he was brilliant. Rushed a couple of times by off lead dogs and didn’t react at all. Lots of natural engagement, really nice recall and I leaned on emergency downs quite a bit, they were clean and effective. We also did a fair bit of engaged play around some pretty intense distractions and he stayed very sensible with the kids, which felt like a big win and a nice marker of where his head is at right now. We took the weekend a bit easier after that, which he needed, then since I’ve been back at work I’ve slotted in some pivot box sessions to remind him where “heel” actually lives and work on some basic position accuracy. He is still forging in the heel on walks and it still takes more correction than I’d like, although it is improving. The pivot work definitely helps keep the picture clearer for him and also continues to build hind end awareness, which feels important after a lot of drivey sessions recently. We also had the vets for annual vaccines, which was a bit of a reality check. I realised I’ve not done anywhere near as much desensitising as I’d intended since he hurt his paw and needed treatment. He was nervous, but better than I expected with the slick floor which has been a problem in the past (but we’ve been going to a lot of shops to work on this), and we managed some play and searching for bits of pate in the consult room. He was unsure about the hands on physical exam but tried hard, and didn’t flinch at all with the vaccination itself. He switched off the nerves really quickly when the jab had been done which is a huge indication he was feeding into me and I was super pleased to have my trainer friend with me for a lift and emotional support 😅 We have been working on a chin target and source focus, but I didn’t feel he was advanced enough rely on it today, and I didn’t want to bring the ball in and tip him into higher drive when he was already a bit unsure. It felt like one of those moments where management and keeping things neutral was the better choice, rather than pushing a concept too far too fast.