Funny to see this thread dredged up again. Too bad by a spammer...
Jack is working out great. He's pretty eager to please and quick to learn if I provide the appropriate motivation. Most all of his mouthing is gone now, the jumping up we're still working on but it's not near as bad as it used to be. He's figured out I don't want him jumping onto me, so when I get home from work I'm treated to a dog that's jumping all around me with only occasional paw contact. Pretty funny. If I just put my hands behind my back and stand still he's figured out he'll get petted and paid attention to quickest if he sits and chills out. Also got him trained to walk at my side with no pulling whatsoever on the leash. He still tries to walk out ahead though so I'm frequently still correcting him for that. He knows that I want him so that his head is even with my knees as we walk and that he has to match my pace. When there are no distractions he does it perfectly.
I've been working 7 days a week with only the occasional weekend or Sunday off for the last three months, sometimes 12 hours a day so the dogs have been a bit neglected. Still, Jack's behavior has come a long way and I don't have any problems leaving him and Tor alone together.
Took him on a 3 day backpacking trip on the Lake Chelan lakeshore trail from Prince Creek to Stehekin back in late May and he did great. By the third day he'd figured out how to walk behind me without constantly trying to pass or run ahead. We saw a bear only about 50-60 feet off the trail and he just stood and watched it. Didn't bark or even act nervous or excited. The first day of the trip I had him tied to me with a long leash and he'd occasionally pull me to a sudden stop. At first I couldn't figure out what was catching his attention, but on about the third time I realized it was these little gray lizards hanging out on the burned, fallen trees all along the trail. The lizards must've moved/gotten startled as we passed, catching his attention and making him freeze in his tracks.
Just snapped this pic of him snoozing on his blanket at the foot of my bed.
...Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain...
"I enjoy skinny skiing, bullfights on acid..." - Lacy Underalls
The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them.
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