Update on Boogie

November 26, 2010 at 7:53 pm Leave a comment

Following on from my previous blog entry, Boogie is doing fine. His wounds have scabbed over and I have to stop him when he scratches them but otherwise he is a happy doggie at home – very playful and snuggly. He loves his new rubber monkey and joyfully unstuffed a Santa plush in 30 seconds. He also has a new harness – the Comfortflex Harness – which is great because it goes around the shoulders and chest and puts no pressure at all on his neck (where the wounds are).

On our walks, Boogie is more tense than usual and quicker to stiffen when we see another dog, but that’s normal after what happened last week.

In fact, I think I am more traumatized than he is. The other day when we were out walking I heard a clink of metal behind us (like a dog tag or bell). I whipped around and saw a loose furry animal… it was only a cat. Boogie didn’t even see it and he kept trotting along but my heart was beating so fast I felt like I was going to throw up.

There are some excellent posts on the Functional Rewards forum (a Yahoo group for dog trainers and reactive dog-owners who use BAT) which include ideas from many trainers on what to do when you see a loose dog coming at you. I am not alone – other people have had worse experiences with loose reactive dogs, and there are many ways to deal with this problem.

I may get some sort of pepper spray as much as I hate the idea of carrying extra stuff on our walks. Next week, we are doing a BAT session with Irith (The Sophisticated Dog) and her English Shepherd so that Boogie has a POSITIVE experience with a big dog…

Anyway, soon it will be Boogie’s birthday! Three years ago on December 11th, I adopted him from Boston Buddies. I am helping Boogie compile a birthday wishlist 🙂

Below, two photos of the Boogs wearing his new Christmas bow tie.