We totally admit that at some point over the summer we got really lax with Finn's training because he was doing so well and we were exhausted from getting him to that point. In all honesty, he was a nightmare when we brought him home a year ago: huge, hyper, strong, untrained, etc. We would come home from walks in tears because it was just so hard to control him or get him to listen or just stop pulling. We could see little improvements here and there but most days we were just so tired and completely demoralized.
And then some time in the middle of June we realized that he would walk beside us more often than not. We realized that we were successfully refocusing his attention when bikers and joggers passed by. We realized that we could call his name across the park and he would respond. He was calmer; we were calmer. Walks were enjoyable. The dog park was fun. We had finally emerged from the bad place.
We relaxed. Maybe too much.
We haven't worked on anything new with him for months, just coasting by on what we were able to accomplish to make him manageable. But it's not enough anymore. For his mental stimulation, I've started to teach him to "find" something. I hide a carrot under a bowl and he has to point to the right bowl (out of three choices). He was so confused the first time we played, but it was so awesome watching it click for the first time. Confused as all hell again today though...
We've also started walking the boys separately whenever possible so that we can give Finn all our attention during his walk. We only started walking them together in mid-November because it was just impossible previously. Separate walks take more time but it really gives us quality one-on-one time with each dog.
On a lighter note, here is our other type of quality time :P
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