Hump day - no not literally *LOL*

Well -  another day on our journey - and another day of  Earl learning what is OK and what is not OK - and us practicing what we need to do and learning along with him.


He is still getting his morning feed just from me and is better at not approaching till he is invited. Tonight we had OH do the feeding and me in the lounge with him. He did approach OH when he was putting the kibble in the bowls but backed off quickly - he then submitted and lay on his back - I think what we need to do when he does that is just give him a simple "Good Boy" and then walk away from him - he needs to be staying away from the kitchen gate and moved away from it if he does go all intense but not as full on - having to be on his back while the food is being prepared - he jumped up at me tonight - no real intention except a feeling that he was uncomfortable with what I was doing and wanted me to back off (which I didn't - I grabbed his collar and told him NO) - he quickly went back down onto his back and I gave him praise but not as much physical praise as before and he seemed more comfortable with that.

When OH put the food down Earl lay down and I walked around the lounge a bit - he didn't get up and waited till he was invited to eat. I have been waiting till he is lying with his legs to the side and looks away before I call him - Mark talked about the energy level we needed to achieve before we let him eat.

I am glad I asked OH to do the feeding tonight - I think we both need to be involved in it so Earl sees us as both claiming it - and it meant that when he jumped at me I handled it confidently - which made me feel better.

In other Earl news he plays a mean game of soccer with a Kong - those big paws are good at batting that thing around - but don't let him step on your toes - because they HURT!  (Note to self - make sure you are wearing sandshoes next time you take him on in soccer!)  He spent the afternoon snoozing on the lounge chair and will probably spend his evening snoozing in front of the heater - hard life as a dog hey!

I need to keep reminding myself that this is ongoing and that progress will take time - and those magic words

Calm, Confident, Assertive :)

ETA - just had a game of 'fetch' with him - put the toy between my feet and waited till he looked away before throwing it for him - he is so funny to watch when he runs and pounces on the toy :) All wrinkles and loose skin flapping.

He and the kelpie are currently having a game of bitey - face, initiated by the kelpie pouncing at Earl - I so love watching them play - he does all of the head over the shoulder stuff and pushes her around with his nose but then she will bite his front legs and he will fall over trying to get them out of her way. He is now alternating chasing her around the lounge room and falling over trying to run away from her. The noises he makes are not growls - they are like a cross between a whine and a groan - weird bl**dy dog. And - as usual - they got slightly carried away and I had to go and break them up - and that is when he needs to settle down and stop with the mouthy play - which he did. I know - I am the fun police - bummer :).