Unleash the Hound!!

Release the Hound!

I realized it's been a while since I've done a Jack update, shame on me! We've been doing so much!

Jack has made great progress from his initial runaway risk status to now being allowed off-leash in low distraction environments. I'm so proud of him!

He still struggles with focus when we are around other dogs, I recognize this is mostly a lack of exposure - we live just far enough out of town that he only really encounters my neighbors dogs a couple of which are not very friendly so we just watch them from a distance.  What he really needs is more distraction training and working him up to those higher stimulation environments. He's already proven he can do it by our walks, we just need to be a bit more consistent with the walking.

Off Leash!! Can you believe it!

To set Jack up for success I take all the dogs out every morning, this is usually our "hard" playtime, I run them hard, then they chill while I finish getting ready for work and eating breakfast.

Usually by the time i'm done getting ready for work they have had a good hour to cool down from their play time, this is very important so that you don't run into tummy twisting issues!

Then I feed everyone breakfast, potty the dogs, and head off to work while they settle in to sleep. At this point we are still crating Jack - he's the instigator and I worry he'd wind everyone up and they'd destroy something for fun if I left him un-crated.

On a good note, Jack loves his crate. As soon as they've pottied he knows the routine, he runs right in and lays down awaiting his precious cow horn that I give him to chew when I leave.

In the afternoon when I get home I take the dogs out again for some more playtime, and then we train. Depending on how ambitious i'm feeling we'll do a group walk, but more often then not I feel like I can accomplish more with just one dog for a training walk at a time.

When we do training walks my neighborhood is really busy, all the kids are usually home and playing basketball in the street or riding their bikes and scooters up and down the sidewalk. It's the perfect place to train and since we're hoping to send Jack home in a week I've been spending a bit more time on his training walks than on Dante and Ziva's... Naughty me, they've gotten a bit lazy when we go for walks.

Off-Leash Playtime!

During a training walk I bring tons of treats and Jack is really learning to ignore the distractions and he can now walk past almost anything without an issue. We can even walk past barking dogs 80% of the time without him trying to engage!

Yay Jack!  

In the mornings and the afternoons when we play I've worked Jack up to being off-leash. I'm always careful to watch my surroundings, his recall isn't perfect, but at least now I can retrieve him if I need to rather than him just running away. I never take him off-leash if their is another dog around, not because he's reactive but because he is that rude dog that would run up to another dog and we all know how I feel about those kinds of dogs/I do not want to be THAT person.  Dumb Ass Dog Owners - HERE

Jack the #offleash wonder dog! On a more serious note.. Please don't just let your dog off leash, if you can't control your dog then they do not belong off leash. A leash is not only for their own safety but for the safety of other people and dogs. We have worked long and hard on this with Jack, and I only let him off leash in environments where I know we can safely train/play. He can't resist other dogs yet so we play super early in the morning and I'm always careful to watch for anyone with a dog. Having a reactive dog (Ziva) I know how frustrating it is when another dog runs up on you when you are out on a walk minding your business. I don't want to be THAT person. 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 #dontbeajerk #dontbeirresponsible #beresponsible #trainyourdog #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcement #playtime #offleashtraining #offleash #jack #happyhound #houndmix #mutt #brindleicious

A video posted by DZ Dog Mom (@dzdogadventures) on Oct 15, 2015 at 11:32am PDT

Unleash the HOUND!!! Jack is doing great off leash, we've been practicing daily and using lots of #positivereinforcement it's amazing to see how far he's come, granted we've had this silly hound for 6 months... But we think we've finally found Jack his forever home! Hopefully he'll be joining them next week! #fingerscrossed 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 #captainjack #jack #dogtricks #trick #offleashtraining #positivedogtraining #positivelytrained #prongcollarssuck #prongiswrong #practicemakesperfect #FinesseNotForce #adoptdontshop #plotthoundmix #muttlove #mutt #doglovers #training #fosterdogs #fosterfamily #fostermom #hound #houndmix #brindleicious #badassclub #fitdog

A video posted by DZ Dog Mom (@dzdogadventures) on Oct 15, 2015 at 9:11am PDT

Way to go Captain Jack!

In case you need reminders...

More of Jack's Shenanigans HERE:

A New Jack

The Straw That Nearly Broke The Mama's Back

The Bolting Issue

A Gate for Jack

Control Unleashed - Recall With Jack

Loose Leash Walking!