Learning not to bark at dogs on a walk

I've been testing Mom just to see if she's a bit tired of being boss. So far, she doesn't seem ready to give up the role. I keep her on her toes though. For instance, when we go on a walk and I see another dog, I wait for her reaction. When she stands there watching the dog I know one of us has to act, so I step in and start barking.

Mom tells me, "Quiet."

But I keep barking because by the time she says anything I'm so focused on the other dog I think maybe the dog will come over to play. After all, I'm barking as loud as I can. I drop into my play stance. Mom took a Control Unleashed class. She will watch and say, "See that?"

Well, duh. Of course I see that, why else would I be barking like a mad dog? She tries to walk away, but I'm so sure I can get this other dog's attention if only I growl so I plant my paws on the sidewalk and put all my strength into holding my position in case the other dog comes over to play.

Okay, let me tell you, growling is not a good idea. People stare. The owner of the dog I'm barking at runs off and Mom takes me to the car and the walk is over.

Now that is not my idea of fun. Apparently Mom feels the same way. The last few weeks she takes me on walks, but as soon as I see something exciting she changes direction! She talks to me and has me start working. You know the routine. Sit. Stand. Down. Stay. Touch. That sort of thing.

All the time I just know the dog behind me is probably leaving the scene. I try to look back to make sure the other dog isn't coming my way for a friendly sniff, but Mom gives me something else to do and distracts me. It is getting to the point where I don't much see the point of barking at all. Mom is just not interested in these other dogs.

Mom seems happy that I'm more focused these days on her than the other dogs, but it doesn't take an Australian Sheepdog brain to realize not one dog has ever given me a treat for barking and Mom clicks and treats with CHEESE when I sit quietly and watch the other dogs go by.

Mom says I'm developing discipline, but I think I've found a new way to get cheese snacks.

The dog next door

I don't understand the Labradoodle next door. Actually, she lives behind us. A fence separates her yard from my woods. She comes outside and always trots over whenever she sees me outside. Then she stops about six feet from the fence and sits down.

Why doesn't she come up to the fence to greet me? 

She paces back and forth sometimes. Once, when the snow was over two feet deep she very...carefully... put one paw in front of the other...stopped... put another paw out, kept looking at the ground, and slowly...made her way to the fence.

We touched noses. We turned around and sniffed rear ends. We played all day running along the fence, stopping to sniff, then running some more. What fun!

The snow melted and she never ventures near my fence. She acts like she is afraid of the fence. My fence is just a wire fence - the kind you can see through. Deer fencing, Mom calls it. There are big squares about four inches wide in the wire.  There is plenty of room to stick your nose through and do a proper greeting, but my next door neighbor never comes close to the fence.

Mom says my friend doesn't come near my fence because the Labradoodle has an invisible fence that is about a foot away from my wire fence, but I know there is no such thing as an invisible fence. After all, I'm a Doberman and too smart to believe in invisible fences. 

Jolly Ball

This week Mom brought home a jolly ball to replace my soccer ball that is now a deflated piece of remnant leather. At first we all thought the Jolly ball would be Doberman safe, but it turned out that the jolly ball, which does not deflate as promised, is not alas, Doberman safe.

It felt good to sink my teeth into the Jolly ball. I liked to get the ball into my teeth and chomp down. I could carry the ball around in my moth and had a great time. However, one night in about 5 minutes I was able to chew off a small part of the handle. After that I was on a mission. Every chance I got I chewed on that hole until the entire handle was off!

The handle came off in small bits I couldn't choke on. And Mom never gave me the ball when I was alone to make sure I didn't get in trouble.

There is one good thing about not having the handle though - now the Jolly ball rolls much better. Jolly well, in fact! 

Ice, ice, ice

My backyard is nothing but solid ice. Ice makes running for frisbees hard. Mom is afraid if I run on the ice I'll get hurt, but I have lots of energy that I need to get rid of so I want to run.

Not only is Mom afraid of me getting hurt on the ice, she is afraid she'll fall on the ice. She comes down the stairs with slow, deliberate steps, clutching the rail. She is the alpha dog and I have to follow her. I want to dash in front of her, but no, she makes me stay behind.

Once on solid ground I run in circles but the circles have to be large because I need a lot of room to stop. With a big circle I can turn without getting my long legs all tied up and falling. I did fall once. My legs crumbled under me. Down I went. I slid fifteen feet before I hit the edge of the woods. Frozen pine needles stopped my momentum.

Balls don't bounce on ice they glide across the frozen snow. You can't practice agility on frozen snow. Mom says it is too cold to do obedience outside. (I hate the sit command on frozen snow.)

Winter. Snow falling is fun the first time it happens. I stood in the middle of the backyard staring at the falling white flecks in the moonlight, snapping and trying to catch each flake.

Snow was fun in December. Today is February 20. Snow melted and froze and now the backyard is hard. I can't run and I can't play. Snow isn't fun anymore.

The snow can go away now.

Exercise in the snow

I live in a home with over an acre to play in. You might think that would be enough exercise for a Doberman, but while free play is fun, it isn't real tiring exercise.

The streets around my house are salted. Mom thinks this isn't good for my feet and the town might not be using salt at all but chemicals. Mom hates chemicals on the street, so she refuses to walk me on the street. It doesn't help that she gets home after dark either which makes walks dangerous.

So we've started checking out parks every weekend. During the week we get exercise by going to agility class, obedience class and weekly playgroup. Well, that's three times a week. Better than nothing. Now Mom has added Saturday and Sunday walks in the parks.

First park we went to was Rocky Woods in Medfield. This was tons of fun. When I came home I was too tired for puppy testing but man did I feel good. Yesterday we went to Noon Hill and had the place to ourselves - except for some animal that seemed to be tracking us! I was nervous but Mom stayed cool so I figured hey - she's the alpha dog, let her protect me and I followed her lead. Guess what? We never saw whatever was making me nervous. It may have helped that Mom decided maybe I knew something she didn't and turned around. We'd been walking for an hour so she wanted to get to the car before sunset anyway.

I like parks.

Oh yes, and I did find something that is definitely Doberman safe! I'll blog about that tomorrow so Mom can upload a photo.

Winter in New England. I think Mom and I are getting the hang of it. (Just as it turns 50 degrees! Think I've been inside all day? You must not have a Doberman in your house!)