Blitzen's 3rd and 4th months, March and April 2021, with us went by quickly! So many things to work on, so little time to work on all of them.

Some days it seems like he is making good progress. Then other days, it seems like progress is backsliding or just moving painfully slowly. Any of you who live with dogs with behavior issues will probably be able to relate.

Blitzen was doing very well on his walks on the long line in early March, so we started working toward being off leash for part of the walks. Pretty quickly, we were able to move to off leash on the lower part of our property that is fenced in. He is still leashed when we walk anywhere else. He has done very well off leash, enjoying the chance to run but still sticking nearby and checking in frequently. And he generally responds well when we call him. This piece of his training has been going very well during these two months.

I was not crazy about the snowstorms that seemed to keep coming and coming. But Blitzen LOVED the snow, even when we had pretty deep snow that was hard to maneuver through. He loved every minute of it.

Blitzen's training sessions have mostly been going very well. He does great with the basics, like Watch Me, Sit, Down, Stand, Wait, Stay, Heel work and Touch. We also continue to do a lot of his physical therapy exercise and he does very well with most of those.

I am working on a few other things, gradually adding in some things like Around Momma, Fetch (this one we are working on a small piece of it, not the full fetch yet), Under and some other things. He is doing well with most of these things, though the Fetch will take some time. It is not something that comes naturally to him.

We are continuing to work on his resource guarding. In regard to his bully sticks and other chew items, he has improved a ton. He never growls when we walk by. I can sit near him and feed him treats. He will actually move closer to me sometimes when I sit nearby. He has done GREAT with that aspect of this issue.

His guarding of other objects, in particular, when something drops on the floor that he is not allowed to have, is taking a lot more time. That guarding behavior is still being worked on. So far, we have been able to get everything away that we need to, with the exception of the occasional tissue that gets eaten. We generally need to guide him away with a treat trail. That can take some time and effort if he has something he considers very high value, but so far it has always worked. This is one we will continue working on until we can safely get him to give up things much more readily.

His issues in the evening are an ongoing project as well. While his pain issues have decreased, his concern over being handled or sometimes even approached in the evening are taking some work. He has made some improvements. But we still have lots of work to do here.

We have worked on getting some outings in. When he first came, because of his pain issues, he was on very restricted activity. He has been thrilled to get out and about more lately as we have been able to start getting out for some short local hikes and walks. So the good news is that he has really done well with his leash manners on our outings. Better than I could have expected.

The not-so-good news is that he was so excited about seeing other people and other dogs that he told everyone in a mile radius about each and every one of them! When he gets excited, he barks. And he barks loudly and with great enthusiasm. Anyone who has met him can tell you.

The other good news, though, is that as we were getting out more, we were able to get the barking to reduce. We were actually able to pass by people and dogs without any barking. He is getting much better at pulling off the trail and sitting while they pass by. Well, not always great at sitting. But better at not barking. Sometimes good at sitting and waiting.

The outings are a work in progress, but as we get out more and practice, he does better! Go figure. Practice actually helps!

Blitzen has been coming to classes. Ed brings him to my classes. And he often will bark when he first arrives. But he settles in quickly and does well in class. He normally gets focused and does quite well once he gets working. We will be keeping this up for at least the next year.

Blitzen has actually helped me out a few times with client dogs. Sometimes when working with dogs who are reactive toward other dogs, I take one of my dogs or one of our boarding dogs (if they are one of my regulars and I know them well enough that they can handle it) and have them help me out in a session to act as the neutral dog. Blitzen has helped me out a few times and done quite well. Despite his barking when he gets excited, in these situations, he actually has done quite well.

The handling issues are still going very slowly. Trimming nails and similar tasks are still very very hard for him. We continue to work on them, but the progress is much slower than I would have expected. More on this next update.

The majority of the time, he is a joy to be around and a fun addition to the family. We do have some serious issues that we are working on and that make those other times not so pleasant. Keep an eye out for additional updates as we move along!

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