Slumber Party

June 20, 2009 at 8:11 am Leave a comment

Who gets the corn?

Christa’s Butch and Emma are staying over this weekend. This is the first time since Boogie’s “training” ( I use inverted commas because I have been slackening off on the rules… ) that the Boogs has been in the presence of other dogs in this home. The boys still insist on playing with the same toys at the same time… there is much barking and whining and pouting but sigh, what can ya do.

We put the Sprenger prong collar back on Boogie because the Martingale collar was losing its effectiveness and Boogie had started pulling on the leash again. And the last thing I want to deal with is walk two/three dogs at the same time with one of them pulling us all off course.

Well, I had an amazing experience today.

I asked both Boogie and Butch to SIT before our walk this morning. Both boys sat and STAYED (with treat reward) while I opened the front door and stepped out first. Then I said “Ok! Let’s go!” and led them both out the door. Boogie walked on my left, Butch walked on my right and yes, there was some pulling on occasion (to sniff and mark) but a light tug of the leash on either side was all it took to get them both walking calmly in a straight line.

It was like a miracle… The three of us walked for about 2o minutes NON-STOP – Boogie on my left, Butch on the right and it was the BEST dog-walking experience I’ve ever had! We walked and walked – no pulling, no stopping, no dramas. Boogs was well-behaved and even Butch was moving along without his usual compulsion to pee on every single tree.

It was as if the three of us were walking to the same rhythm, totally in sync. Both boys sat at the traffic lights. Both boys moved at the same pace. Every 5 minutes or so, I’d let them both go off to the grass/bushes/trees and both boys would pee or mark at the same time. Then off we’d go again, back on track, back in sync.

I think having another dog like Butch around is a really good influence on Boogie. Maybe it’s part of the “Pack experience”, I don’t know. Boogs is also a lot more affectionate towards Wes and I (or clingy?) with B&E around

Well, I am going to break the training rules again. I was going to crate Boogie tonight and have B & E in my bed but that doesn’t seem fair, does it? What the heck, Boogie, for two nights only, YES, you may sleep under the covers with all of us. Two nights only while Butch and Emma are sleeping over.

I love having Boogie in bed!