Today was a challenging day with Sonny. He's been kind of bored lately and I have been kind of tired and a bit lazy when it comes to continued training. He tries my patience on many different levels and I fear he's wearing me out. At the dog park today there were no other dogs for him to play with. I pulled out the ball to play our first game of catch outside, ever, and it turned into a game of catch, run back toward me, run past and drop the ball beyond, ignoring it completely.
There are really only a handful of things that cause me stress when it comes to Sonny and his training. Things he knows, but doesn't obey: 1. come, 2. no bite, 3. no jump, and 4. drop. Drop and come are generally used simultaneously after he grabs an object and runs completely ignoring "come" and "drop." It's frustrating beyond comprehension sometimes and it's all I can do not to lose my temper. It makes me question what the hell I have done and/or are doing wrong.
I have to remind myself that you can't reason with a dog, especially a Jack Russell Terrier who is strong willed and determined to try and go his way. In his way, he reminds me that with patience and tolerance we will get past these challenging times. Because there are times when he does pause long enough to let me know he's thinking about doing the right thing and there are times when he actually does, sort of.
I also keep reminding myself that we are closer to the end of the puppy months and maturity will set in. Until then, patience and tolerance. Patience and tolerance. Patience and tolerance.
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