Bull Terrier man was discussed and now maybe I have to consider that he's not an arrogant twit but a very naive individual. I think now he's been made a lot more aware, and I hope he takes the information that he's been given and uses it to advantage to keep his dogs safe. Now he's one that over the years has pushed my buttons, I can't deny I've screamed at him like a fish wife on so many occasions, particularly when Jezi was alive. Hopefully he won't take risks with his current dogs, in the present climate it really would be putting their lives in danger.
The conversation moved to Zeus, and though there was no criticism of why he walks alone on a retractable lead with head collar the question was asked. Well to be honest the answers are simple, keeping myself and my dog safe are paramount, nothing else matters. I read online that a rescue society oppose to using head collars, they say that because dogs dislike them that you are setting yourself and your dog up to fail before you've even gone out. Well you know, let's think of it this way, without this head collar Zeus would have to walk to heel on a short lead, he simply would get no freedom. I have tried to teach him a recall, but to no avail. I doubt he would "run away" from me/us, but if he saw sheep or another dog then he'd be off .. also he doesn't always agree when the game is over and choses not to come in. Imagine that on the mountain. Nature or nurture? Like I've said before, I don't know, but his siblings all have a better standard of obedience and I didn't see anything to concern me in the 8-week-old puppy. From choice, I wouldn't have him on a head collar, from choice I wouldn't be using a flexi lead, from choice he'd be running free with Siska and Beti, but when circumstance change we have to adapt and change our mindset to suit. Flexi lead and head collar it is for Zeus then.
I've had numerous male dogs here that were not bred here, Jay was 9 months when I got him, Kai and Finlay were over 3 years and Nico 17 months. Simba was bred here and returned at 3.5 years old. I've not failed with any to have them off the lead on the mountain, hell Nico was off the lead within two days, he obviously wasn't going anywhere and with Louis as a mentor he was immediately on the right track. None of these lads had had it easy, with Nico coming from a home that I would consider abusive.
If you think Ross is loud then you never had the pleasure of meeting Kai, and Jay wasn't much better to be honest. Kai was hugely imposing, full of self-confidence .. but so loud! Jay was the class clown, we called him Captain Chaos, a bit of a marmite dog, but I loved him. He was Louis' dad, so as much as he was a handful, he gave me the most precious gift. Kai was Asha and Mikey's father, one of those dogs that you remember the first time you saw him in a show ring, a dog you could never forget. To be fair Finlay was easy, why he was left in the pound I'll never know. Yeah he was a bit of a dumb blonde and until he was an old dog we had a very strong bond. What went wrong? I don't know! Simba was from my "A" litter, brother of Seffe and Dexi .. a bit of a hard knock, but he'd had rough and with love, patience and understanding we found the real him ... We could do anything with him, he had total respect for me and Steve and Simba stayed with us for the rest of his life.
Anyway, I've digressed into my memories, simply I mean I've managed to get dogs with a past to respect me enough to be loose on the mountain, and I had confident in them to listen. I won't be letting Zeus off the lead, I know full well who he is, and I love him enough to not risk it. He is who he is, a bit of a knob, but he's our knob and keeping him safe is as important as keeping him happy.
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Nico, Simba
Kai, Finlay, Jay
