What We're Hoping To Achieve In 2020
As Josie and Edie obviously aren’t humans they aren’t aware of the concept of New Years Resolutions and live blissfully unaware of the societal pressure to change your life when the new year rolls around. However, there are a few things I really want to work on with them in 2020 to help us live an even happier live with each other and this is what we’re hoping we can achieve in the next twelve months.
Josie’s recall
Last year we worked with a one on one trainer to help us improve Josie’s recall and to help us curb her urge to run over to other dogs and in under a year she’s made so much progress. It’s made walks so much more enjoyable as we don't have to be so on edge of her being around other dogs and people now we’re so much more aware of what triggers her. Whilst we’ve made a lot of progress with her we’re nowhere near where we’d like to be with her so it’s something we’re eager to work on into 2020. Something that we’re currently trying to work on is her instinct to go and explore areas of the forest where she’s more than likely found something to chase. So every time we pass that spot on a walk she will more than likely disappear to see if the fun thing she chased once is still there. She’s a real creature of habit with this which has helped us be aware of the spots we know we have to be careful with and instead of putting her back on lead which is what we’ve done we’re trying to use a toy that she likes to distract her. Josie isn’t hugely into chasing a frisbee or a ball for a long period which is why we’re using it as more of a distraction as it keeps her focus for long enough to avoid her disappearing.
Edie’s lead work
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned Edie’s tendency to pull like a tiny little steam train before and it’s something we work on everyday when on a walk. For the most part we pick walks where Josie and Edie can have a good run around and there’s very little time where they might be on lead. Which isn’t something that helps with Edie’s pulling as she’s not used to it and that is our problem rather than hers as it’s up to us to teach her how to walk nicely on her lead. At the end of December Josie became quite ill and lost over a kilogram in rather a short space of time so we’ve had much shorter walks than usual and on lead walks too which made us realise just how important an on lead walk can be for the pair of them and it will be something we're way more conscious of in the next 12 months.
edie’s confidence with other dogs
When Edie was a puppy she had a run in with a not so friendly pack of dogs and they scared her so much she ran through the forest and into a 60mph hour road and if it wasn’t for a nice man stopping traffic and picking her up we would have lost her. It’s something that haunts me to this day and we believe one of the biggest reasons why Edie struggles a lot being around other dogs is because of this as well as another bad encounter with an aggressive dog who pinned her to the floor by her neck. As with Josie something we’ve always been conscious of is making sure the girls are well socialised with all types of dogs and whilst Josie generally loves most dogs and enjoys to play and run. Edie generally won’t go near them unless it’s another whippet or short haired breed. Last year we had a little bit of progress with her but now we seem to noticing her regress, she’s barking out of nerves and often if left off lead has been know to try and run away from other dogs and it’s something we’re desperate to work on. Whilst I accept Edie probably isn’t going to the dog who actively wants to play with other dogs which is fine I really would like her to feel more confident in their presence and not be so scared.
more one on one time
This somewhat ties in with how we hope we can make Edie feel a little more confident around other dogs. Last year we realised that we weren’t spending enough time one on one with each of the dogs and it’s something we want to work on in 2020. For Edie a solo walk will mean a chance to socialise with other dogs by herself and for Josie it will hopefully mean dedicated training time. Solo walks are something ideally we’d like to do once a week time allowing as sometimes our schedule might not allow the time but it’s something we want to make sure we’re doing more. Trying to train two dogs at once is really difficult so not only do we need more one on one time on walks but also at home too so we can properly work on something.
dental hygiene
Something that I’ve not needed to do until now is brushing Josie and Edie’s teeth but I’ve noticed a little bit of plaque build up right on their back teeth and as it’s in such a hard to reach area chews don’t always get right at the back of their gums. Which means brushing is the best option for us to get to the spots that need to the most help and last year we gradually starting introducing brushing but it’s not something we do as much as we should. For general dental maintenance we try and buy tough chews like pizzle and raw meaty bones as well as having things like buffalo horns and antlers in their toy basket which they’ve had for years as they’re not incredibly strong chewers and they both regularly use them still. Thankfully Josie and Edie both seem ok with their teeth being brushed but I think one of those finger brushes might work a little better to get right in the back of their mouth comfortably which is where the problematic areas are.
