As I previously mentioned Rusty and Chloe have some socializing issues and a few other smaller things. We take them walking every evening and it is really embarrassing when all the other dogs approach us tails wagging and all R & C wants to do is attack them.

I posted all the issues we are experiencing on the forum and got some valuable feedback.  One thing I never thought about was that they said since they are from the same litter that they are very attached and that could be part of the problem.

One of the VIP Forum members called Hutch6 gave us quite a bit of advise and then offered to meet us with his 3 dogs to observe their behavior and try a few exercises.

We met with Hutch6 (Ian) in a moor in the Bradford area. Chloe was a bit carsick but I am prepared for this, no worries.

We met up with Ian and his 3 dogs, Dillon, Kes and Jess and what an experience it was!!!! We separated Rusty and Chloe and Ian took Dillon on the one side and Rusty on the other and kept on feeding them chicken pieces while trying to get them closer to each other.

He determined that both Rusty and Chloe are perfectly happy with other dogs around as long as they don’t see their eyes. I have absolutely no idea why they have a problem with that but he proved it over and over. They were sitting back to back touching and Rusty would be happy as long as Dillon did not look at him.

Ian did get both Rusty and Chloe to walk in a pack with his 3 dogs and it gradually improved over the 2 hours.  Jim and I both agree that Ian definitely has a way with the animals.

I feel that we have hope now to resolve this socializing issues with Rusty and Chloe. It will require us to take them on separate walks and spend a lot of time on the fields to teach them social skills.

No one said it will be easy but I am ready for the challenges ahead.

We bought one extendable lead to see how the dogs like it, as we didn’t want to waste money on two if we were not going to use them. It seems that the dogs love it and walks are a lot easier. I am sure we will get another one so both of them can walk around on their own. It is quite convenient to have these when we are on the open fields as they can explore the area without pulling on the lead. It is also nice when we run around with them to give ourselves a gap to run. These two little animals are super fast and it is truly amazing much stamina they have.

We went to the fields with our neighbor and his dog Luna and it was not that great as she is so submissive that Rusty and Chloe just want to stand over her and growl. When we were in the field Luna, was running around and played with the other dogs, but we had to hold onto Rusty and Chloe, as they wanted to attack all the other dogs. It is a little embarrassing and not to say the least frustrating.

I posted on one of the Pet forums about our problem and after receiving quite a bit of advise we are now meeting up with another pet owner this weekend to see if we can do a bit of socializing with more ‘secure’ dogs. It seems that they need a bit of being ‘put in their place’ and I will blog about this next week. A little nervous but I hope we achieve something with it.

We have also signed them up at a Dog day care to teach them some further social skills. This Woof Day Care has everything. They have a field to run around, a chill out area, a play area and then of course the time out area for naughty dogs. I think Rusty might find himself in there A LOT!  Looking forward to seeing if this will help and feeling confident that every little bit we do is a step closer to being successful in teaching them social skills.

I love our family and I hope to over time, get better at being a dog owner.

Over the weekend Mum and Dad came to visit and at first we were quite worried, as dad said he didn’t like dogs. Well be that as it may, Chloe managed to get herself to sit on his lap. I would never have believed it if I didn’t see it myself. He still says he doesn’t like dogs with a smile on his face. The dogs were also invited to visit mum and dad with us and she was once again invited to sit on his lap. Although we don’t allow the dogs on the couch or to sit on our laps, we don’t mind that if dad comes to visit that he spoils her a bit. I mean isn’t that what grandparents are suppose to do?

I was also quite proud of them as I went out for the day with mum and they stayed inside and made no mess. I am so proud of them. I did come home at lunch to let them out, but they are definitely starting to understand what the boundaries are.

We go on regular walks and during the week I had to carry Chloe back. I couldn’t see what she stepped in and I soaked her leg in salt water but she is stepping on her paw again. We are not walking for a day or two so she can recover completely.

We joke about Chloe as sometimes she seriously looks like Yoda… No Kidding! They both have such wonderful personalities and I am proud of their progress. All I can say is another successful week.

I really would love them to be more relaxed on their walks but I think that is going to take some time and a lot of patients. We are doing about 45 min walks at the moment as I need the exercise and since they have so much energy it is just enough to get them to calm down.

I really enjoying having them back and they have made such a difference in our life.

They advised me to walk them down the road a bit before putting them into the car, as it would clear their heads a bit because they have been in an enclosed environment for 6 months.

With the trip home they were quite happy to sit in the back, which we closed off with a doggy guard. Chloe gets carsick and this is why we had a plastic cover installed in the back. Everything went quite well and although she got sick we could easily clean it.

When we got home we let them into the back yard and we sat there for a while so they could get use to their new home. Only much later did we show them through the house so they could see where they are allowed to go. For example upstairs is off bounds and it is almost like an invisible barrier, as they do not go up the stairs. Very cool!!

The first few days we struggled to get them to eat, and they only started eating properly yesterday.

We are having a few behavioral issues with them that we are trying to resolve. They are jumping up when one of us walks into the house and we are trying to ignore them until they stop. The second thing they do is pulling on the lead when we go for a walk. I stop and I don’t move when they do this, as well as changing direction. This will take a lot of work to resolve and I will see if there are other possible exercises we could try. The other thing is they bark when they see other dogs. I don’t think they are aggressive dogs but they are not good with socialising with other dogs. This is really my fault as in South Africa it wasn’t safe to walk alone at night.

I think we have achieved quite a bit with them in just one week. I am very proud of them and will keep on posting updates on their progress.

If anyone knows what causes it , please post me a reply…

He definetely thinks he is pack leader and I need to get that out of him.

It is going well so far, so I am very positive about it.

She taught me that the dog always walks on your left hand side. If Chloe doesnt acknowledge me or starts pulling I must change direction. We did this a few times and it didnt take long before Chloe got the hang of it. We then tried a different method with her walking next to me and if she starts pulling I go backwards and start calling her by clicking my fingers. It worked wonders and it only took a few times to get her to walk next to me. Very impressive.

I need to try these excersises with Rusty and it should be done with him alone. I also have to practice this with Chloe prior to next week.

I am going to work really hard on getting it right.

They have been such good dogs at home and I can see the results of giving them sufficient obedience, love and excersise.

Will keep you posted on the training tomorrow.

They both sleep outside in their own kennel every night which took 2 weeks of them fighting to get in to the door during the night. It was quite an accomplishment. They are happy and they now have their own space.

Rusty doesnt mark the house anymore and they go outside when they need to go..

The part I am still struggling with is walking them.  Chloe is absolutely crazy and hyperactive the entire walk and rusty reacts based on that. Although he is better at the walking than she is he still pulls at the lead a lot.

I have called a few places and I am going to start one on one obedience training on monday. I have decided since Chloe is the worst of the two that I will be taking her.

Besides focusing on the walking I would also like to learn how to teach them when I move to the UK to beable to hold out for me to come home and that they do not think the inside of the house is a bathroom. Over here they can stay outside during the day but in the UK it is to cold to leave them outside.

I also would like to learn how to get them to stop jumping on me and visitors but I am sure I will get to learn all of it.

And lastly that they dont bark at other dogs.

Monday is the first class and I am very excited about it.