What We discovered today...A.J. Was formally trained in agility. The more I gave commands the more it came out. Right to the way he went to my hand thinking he was getting treats. He walked a 50 ft log ,flew over hinge cuts with just hand commands and then broke and went into a wild run zipping through down falls hurling over logs zigging here and there then returning to my side. We have not done any of those things before. Mississippi, I'm thinking a disaster landed him with out owners and lost.
That is fun to see. It's amazing how agile they really are. I'll tell you what, I've had German Shepherds and German Short Haired Pointers and my Black Mouth Cur is the fastest, most agile dog I've ever had. On my easement (straightaway) I've clocked him at 34 and 35 mph in my UTV. Also, twice I've accidentally let him out when deer were in my bean field and I had to scream at him because I thought he was going to catch one of them. He loves to run. Like your dog, when I'm trying to race him with the UTV in the woods, it's fun to see him go over and under blow downs and other obstacles so fast and graceful with ease. Now you'll have to build an obstacle course for AJ.
I already have ideas running through my head. He's now going out to potty with e collar on, no corrections needed. So funny when I have morning coffee in computer room he's not allowed,due to my being coffee head to toe. This makes him upset so he will scratch until reprimanded. Well this morning he threw himself . Went and got his big chew bone and literally threw it at the door after it was closed...made us both laugh.
Credit where it is due....the person that started his training did a heck of a job! WE brought home a space cadet on Thanksgiving. Today I did a 50 yrd sit and stay hiding behind a cluster of pines. He didn't move a muscle until I released him. He has finally realized he is home, he went on a territory marking binge for the first time.
Bad way..he would be fine one second then totally loose his mind. His jumping was horrible! At Christmas our daughter walked through the door and he went crazy to the point of peeing on her leg as he jumped on her peed all over the entry way.... That has all calmed downthe scenting was along the trails on the way back to house.
Yeah that jumping on people is bad. My female gets super excited when my wife gets home or when any company comes over and starts jumping around and going crazy. No peeing, but will jump on people if not corrected soon enough. Some day I hope she tones it down a bit but she really loves people. My male doesn't do that at all but he is well trained at 7 1/2. He does mark his territory and mark over any other animals marks as well. Sometimes, when marking, he starts kicking and scratching the ground like a deer making a scrape. You don't want to be behind him when he does. Don't ask me how I know. Lol
Too late...LOL Yesterday daughter visited with her two elder dogs. We put his collar on before she arrived. Lots of beeping but he actually did well. They had him a month and he bonded to them. Her old girls never tolerated his attention well but he couldn't stop trying. So I learned another valuable thing about A.J. He has no aggression. Those old girls tore into him and he never barked, growled or bit. He did mouth play like dogs do but never bit down . He does "pick" relentlessly. She took pics and got some great shots. It was a great play time in our woods for all.
Another great day..our walk but then we did border training and I just ignored him and got some woods work done...he never left or should I say, allowed me out of his line of sight and came to my YoYo command. I spent my time doing the annual dead tree dropping. Young dead ones I can push over. Here are a few pics from the other day of "Quality time"..hahahahaha.... with our daughters old girls.... PS.... no actual bites were ever landed that day...
So I may have a little issue with AJ. We've been training on running hinge cuts and hurdling them as well. He loves to fly, but today I allowed him free range in the house area as I shoveled the drive. 3 times I had to yell at him for hopping up on top of the boat cover and on to the hood of my car...lol. He's a good boy though, today he was allowed to get out of sight and explore around the house. He came right back on the return command. . May have an issue with his bond to me though. He cries when the computer room door is shut. Then as he was curled up next to me , hubby came up to kiss me and was met with a growl. The telephone repair guy went right off the deck when I opened the main door. ..I yelled through the storm,"just a moment" as I crated him. I socialize him and he goes everywhere with me. Never barks at people when left in car in parking lot, great when people want to pet him. Home, whole other story. So...training will be taking a different turn for a while. Will need to train both hubby and A.J. Because hubby is afraid to take him out potty without a leash(running away). He's a smart dog and won't trust hubby until he feels trusted. I can see it in the way AJ looks at him.
Oldnothead ! please do not take this comment personally, I love your posts and wit ! What does this post have to do with whitetail deer hunting ?
I'm working A.J.'s training toward the ability to get him to shed hunting and then deer tracking. Due to him being a rescue and not a pup, not knowing how bad past abuse was, training basics and slow rolling is essential. This was in mind when I started to post here. What I do know is he was starving when picked up and was actually still very thin months later when we got him. He has to eat from a special dish to suppress his inhaling his food. He had a horrible lead behavior. I was just sharing a journey and things I'm discovering. Though not necessary, I'll let you know when I get him there.
OND, I enjoy this thread because I love dogs. They deserve our attention to bring about the best experiences for both humans and dogs alike. I have read up on Curs and through my experiences they are very intelligent and sensitive. They do not respond well to harsh punishment. They may become resentful and lash back. Being stern and consistent is a must. If something goes wrong with training or behavior, a stern NO! and a redirect of their mind set is usually all that is needed. Sometimes all you have to do is act upset and ignore them. After a few minutes they will do anything to get on your good side. Do not give in right away or they will learn that they can charm their way out of trouble! You probably knew all this already. I forgot...... why is AJ not allowed in the computer room? As for AJ growling at your husband.... it means that you're number 1 and the dog thinks he's number 2 in the pack order. Hopefully your husband will work with AJ more, gain his trust and the dog will learn his place in the pecking order. When my Cur was young and strongly bonded to my wife and I, he growled at everyone or anything that came close to us. We learned that when someone was approaching or coming to our door, we would extra cheerful in greeting them ( if it was someone we liked ). That helped the dog to understand that that person was OK to have around. My dog didn't necessarily agree with it but he was cool with it and hoped the person would leave real soon. Looking forward to more training progress.
I agree! The computer room is where I go to read ,research and get off my spine. Part of the connective tissue issues I've had all my life causes me lower back pain. I usually have my morning coffee there. He's managed to drench me in hot coffee 3 times. That said, yes they learn quickly, he has a dog bed in there, now when he sees me with a cup of coffee he runs ahead of me with his antler chew and lays down on his dog bed. Letting me know he plans on being a good boy and not mug me the second I settle in...lol Training is actually pretty easy thus far,though we have had few wild life encounters due to weather. From the get go he has been very freindly with our cat. Yes decided not To put her down. She is still hanging in there with her 4 daily hot water bottles and super insulated house. They meet and greet each time he goes out and he respects her food dishes. Which I find amazing considering his food obsession. Having Curs I respect your imput immensely. I had also wanted to show looking at rescues and working with the right ones can give unexpected great experiences.
I agree! The computer room is where I go to read ,research and get off my spine. Part of the connective tissue issues I've had all my life causes me lower back pain. I usually have my morning coffee there. He's managed to drench me in hot coffee 3 times. That said, yes they learn quickly, he has a dog bed in there, now when he sees me with a cup of coffee he runs ahead of me with his antler chew and lays down on his dog bed. Letting me know he plans on being a good boy and not mug me the second I settle in...lol Training is actually pretty easy thus far,though we have had few wild life encounters due to weather. From the get go he has been very freindly with our cat. Yes decided not To put her down. She is still hanging in there with her 4 daily hot water bottles and super insulated house. They meet and greet each time he goes out and he respects her food dishes. Which I find amazing considering his food obsession. Having Curs I respect your imput immensely. I had also wanted to show looking at rescues and working with the right ones can give unexpected great experiences.
I'm also enjoying reading this thread. The best dog I've ever had was one I picked up from the local animal shelter. They felt she was 3/4 black lab and 1/4 Border Collie, and between 6-9 months old. She was very timid in the beginning, I got the impression that she had been smacked by someone often using their hand, and lived her life to that point in an outside pen with little attention. She would cower if you raised your arm near her at the beginning. Our stairs freaked her out, she had apparently never seen stairs and it took her 3 or 4 days to get brave enough to go up/down them. She was very eager to please and very smart. House breaking her consisted of catching her in the act one single time, scolding her, and putting her outside. I couldn't believe it, that was it and she never went in the house again. The only issue we really had for a while was she would chew when we left the house. Shoes or jeans of all things. We learned to put our stuff up, but the kids would still leave something out once and a while and she'd nail it. She did this until probably 2-1/2 years old and then it suddenly stopped. She was also very gun shy. Labs normally aren't so I blamed that on the Border Collie blood, but I don't know for sure. I started her out by shooting a .22 well away from her, she hated it and couldn't ever be convinced otherwise. 4th of July was a very stressful time for her. She loved to play fetch, but only with a tennis ball. Wouldn't do it with sticks or anything else really. I had to train her that cats weren't something to be killed on sight, she almost got a couple of the neighbor cats a couple times but luckily I could call her off of them. Only thing she really every showed aggression at. She passed away this Spring, she was 14-1/2. Still get a lump in my throat talking about her. So enjoyable to have a good dog, yet so tough because they don't live near long enough.
A. J. had his vet appointment for second heart worm test. Not goid news he tested positive and has hook worm. They sent out blood samples to get a confirmation then will look at treatments. Hook worm meds I can do...99.19 for 3 pills WTH! Anyways good news 1. Perfect weight and body tone 63.5 #'s 2. Confirmed my thoughts on age, no older than 18 mos. 3. Breed ,vet, we have a local Dutch shepherd breeder. She wave her hands over AJ and said he's all that! with mnt. Cur not blk. Mouth. 4. Every single employee had to pet him. Only issue is knowing he has worms they all had himlicking their masks. Lets hope no covid! They wemt gaga over him...lol
