harry immediately won my wife over. she was "all in". me? it took some work to build the circle of trust. i had stuff to learn, he had stuff to learn. harry nipped me 4 times, and pissed in the house 3 times. i was usually doing something stupid to get him to nip me. like trying to pull a bone out of his mouth. harry had separation anxiety. worst personality trait in a dog IMHO. hard to manage. my wife and i just about wore out my front door pretending to leave. coming and going, repeatedly. we would sit and watch TV, and for no reason, get up and leave..shut the door. he would freak. sometimes we would grab the car keys, he would freak..but we wouldnt leave. we kept him guessing.
we walked him by the clock. 3 miles a day, which is alot for a dog his age. 11yo this november. kept him tired.
this past week was a milestone! we left him uncrated during our departures. no pissing, no freaking out! some honey nut cheerios hidden in a dog toy, give it to him in his unlocked crate, and we leave with no fanfare. we return with no fanfare. pretend he doesnt exist until he calms down. I THINK IT WORKED!!
one last hurdle. we need to shut off "harry the berzerker" when the doorbell rings. that british woman victoria stillwell has great skills. we are using her tricks.
here is a gratuitous pic. our dog harry.
