Ranger was such a good boy at the park last night that I just had to share how proud I am of him... Some of you may remember my post of about a month of so ago, where I let my frustration at his behavior with other dogs get the better of me and he drove me to tears... well, tonight I was almost crying cause I was so happy.
He has been doing increasingly well at remaining calm when another dog is close to us. It is only when the other dog comes right up to him that he acts as though he has issues, although I have not always been 100% sure that the snapping and such are not just his messed-up way of trying to play...
Well, without going into all the details, let me just say that Ranger played (on-leash) with another dog at the park tonight! He didn't snap, didn't growl, didn't try to fight. I knew that he was capable of this, but it had just been so long since I had seen him do it, that I had lost hope. I think the key was that the other dog just went belly up (in a friendly but not overly submissive way) when Ranger was sniffing him and didn't try to sniff back or get in Ranger's face. Once Ranger was done checking him out and Sammy (the other dog) sat up, they just started to play.
I was so happy that I wanted to throw myself on the owner and beg him to call me everytime he or his wife bring Sammy to the park, but I restrained myself. Â
Anyway, I am very proud of my good boy, and I think it was a great experience for both of us. I certainly shall still be on my guard about letting him approach other dogs, but this shows me that maybe I don't need to be as paranoid as I have been being... And it was great for him to have such a positive experience with another dog, and increases his chance of having another one...
GOOD BOY, Ranger! Â
