So I took the first two months to build trust and routine with Mr. Dudley. Now we are starting to see some of the issues I need to work on. Dudley is absolutely amazing meeting other dogs. We do a Saturday morning walk with one of my neighbors and his dogs as well as with a friend whose dog needs some exercise and pack time. Dudley is one of the most stubborn dogs I’ve met and also very sensitive, being a rescue and having some Boxer genetics. Unfortunately, he has started to bolt on me after pooping and doesn’t respond to the commands “wait” “oh my god, don’t run across the road” “are you seriously going to go up the hill to the neighbor’s house and not come back?” etc. Since I can’t trust him to be off leash unless we are at a certain distance down the road into the woods, he will be on a long lead until we have a recall command that is solid. When he’s around a pack, he follows their lead. When we are alone, he has proven that he is unpredictable. As I am fond of saying, he doesn’t have a spare leg so we will work it out on my terms 🙂
When he was back in Texas with his foster mom, he was used to going to a gated dog park. So he has the memory of being able to run and eventually reaching a fence. Last night scared me so bad to see him run to the end of the road, wait for a minute and then run across the road back to home. Thankfully it was still light out and the two cars that were driving saw him and slowed down until he was across the road. I didn’t scold him when we met back up. I realized that I shouldn’t have given him that trust so soon without having a solid recall. He knew what he had done was not the best decision but in his mind, he did go home to his safe space.
It’s all about observation and making changes.