I hope you are not getting fed up with Zeus posts, but these things need saying. Whilst I was out in the field with him last night The Princess decided to join us. He was loose and therefore I only had my voice to control the situation. Saying "please go away Isla" was never going to work, there was more chance of getting through to Zeus. "Leave it," he looked over at Isla and then back at me. "Leave it .. where is your ball?" Yeah the ball was more important .. Good lad! He regularly now meets cats face to face, there is no doubt if they run he will chase, but mostly these don't run and he responds well to "Leave it!" I don't think he has it in him to harm them, but as with any dog the urge to chase is strong.
Yesterday afternoon I asked Linda to come into the house, to meet Zeus in the kitchen. During these months of lockdown we've hardly seen anyone, let alone had anyone in the house. As I would with any of the dogs and any planned visit I popped Zeus in his crate 5 mins before her arrival. He barked with natural guarding instincts, the same as any GSD would, "good lad, quiet now ... right decision." Lin sat down, I let him out, they said "Hi" and Ted came out, followed by a fair few more toys. Ted was originally Siska's travelling companion, but when she decided to remove his ear he was confiscated. Zeus loves Ted, and he may stay in one piece longer with him than with little Miss Mini Me. (I swear she is just like her mother - cocky, confident, obedient and sweet!)
I was preparing our evening meal as I was chatting to Linda, she couldn't believe that Zeus never once tried to steal anything, she remarked that at almost 10 years old her Lexi would have grabbed the goodies. To be honest given the opportunity some of mine would have done too, but Zeus is no thief, unless you include kitchen roll of course. (I still chuckle as I think of it!) Lin asked about the training I've done with Zeus over the last 2 months? I had to confess I've done no formal training with him at all, I've simply taught him the rules and boundaries of life at Blanik. Yeah simply I've taught him how to live with us, what I expect of him and of course what he can get away with. I'm way past the days of obedience training, sit, down, show off, stand on your fecking head doesn't do it for me anymore, I did that all with Blade and I haven't done it since. Of course I still teach them but only as boundaries for everyday life, I also find they learn so much from the pack. To be honest I don't teach sit as an exercise now at all, I haven't for years, though I use it for photos and they pick it up there ... I teach down, "stand - wait" and wait obviously as a separate command, I don't teach stay any more, I simply concentrate on wait. (they can be helpful as different commands, wait until I call you, or change your position, stay until I return.. never move, stay) I teach a send away of sorts as simply go to bed .. go to lie down. No one is allowed to push first through a doorway here, the consequences of that could be disastrous with Jezi and Nico the other side of it.
One thing I do still teach and expect is a recall. In my opinion the most important part of teaching a recall to a puppy is that they learn to want to come to you. A puppy/dog should always be praised for a recall; scolding, ending games instantly, grabbing at collars, putting leads on etc will only ever make them consider their options next time. As bright intelligent dogs next time they probably won't return and the vicious circle begins. Thankfully my younger generation are fantastic at it ... only really Jezi and Tali have pushed it over the years .. though I do remember too well that puppy Sammi and I had words about it, but by the time she was 6 months she was great, so a long time ago. Of course no dog is a robot and sometimes we have blips and disappointments, but we don't dwell on them we deal with it and move on. Zeus' recall is still unpredictable, but it is improving and he has realised, I hope, that being with me is more rewarding than being away from me.
