We talked to the trainer about their little "affectionate" spat and he doesn't seem to be too concerned. He told us that we did the right thing by letting the dogs sniff outside first and that this is something they will grow out of. Right now, they are still getting used to living together.
We had guests over for dinner on Saturday night following their spat. Our friends brough two dogs with them - a shitzu and a shitzu-cairn terrier. We were prepared for this. Before our guests arrived, I walked Guinniess and Basil a couple of times around the block. Keith had Basil while I had Guinness on leashes. We kept them several feet apart.
Our guests rolled up. The dogs Dante and Comang arrivead and hopped out of the car. Basil and Guinness did the usual pulling on the leash to go towards the new arrivals. We reminded them to sit and tried to get them calm. Basil was fine. Basil got to go sniff the dogs first. Guinness was really jumpy and whining. After he was calm, he got to go sniff the dogs. We walked all of them into the open space of our back yard and one by one, we let the dogs off the leash.
Guinness was last to be let off the leash, but it didn't take long before he lost all interest and wanted to sniff and eat grass instead. I let him off the leash. He paid no mind to the other dogs. He and Basil sniffed and greeted the other dogs and there were no incidents for the whole night!
In addition, I'm training the boys to "Stay" reliable. Guinn knows "stay" but Basil doesn't so much. However Basil is better at staying once he sits while Guinn can't seem to focus on it. I'm training them to go sit in their "Spot" (in the corner away from the front door) so that I can approach the front door without crowding. I'm training them to not bark or jump at the front door when the doorbell rings as well.
Basil is really starting to get it. YAY! I ring the door bell. Basil barks "bark bark bark". I signal him to "go to your spot" and sit. Gets treat. I command him to "stay". I walk away, walk out, come back in. Basil is still sitting in his spot. I tell him "good boy! come!" He comes. He gets a treat. BOY, it's a lot of work! It's a constant process. I have to maintain that "I'm boss" all the time!
After 3 days of doing this repeatedly (15-20 times), Basil's "bark bark bark" became "bark". Once, he didn't bark at all!!! I was so proud. He even stayed put in his spot!
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Sounds like they'll get the hang of it eventually. There's a learning curve like with everything else in life. I'm sure they'll be loving the treats as part of the schooling!!
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