Three Months at Home
Today marks three months since we adopted our spunky Smokey Jameson!
Being a family of four has been a learning process for us all. Dog dad and I both made adjustments to our morning routine so that we both go on our two morning walks, so each dog has a handler.
Holly has learned how to play, which is one of my true motivations for adding a dog to our family. Watching the two of them chase and bark together has to be one of my new favorite things. She’s also done a great job training little brother to be a good boy, demonstrating tricks for him so he can follow along, or leading him to the kitchen to get his harness on for walks. And she wouldn’t be a proper big sister if she didn’t get him in trouble from time to time, too.
But this boy has learned the most, and I’m so incredibly proud of him. When he arrived home, he didn’t know his name, or how to sit, stay or come when called. He was overbearing with Holly, and even tried jumping on her trying to assert dominance.
Soon, he started to learn her cues and her rhythms, like he learned ours. He figured out when morning started, when breakfast was served, and when Holly was fired up for playtime. He learned how to spot his own rabbits and lizards in the park on walks, and what our usual morning walk paths were.
Now, not only will he sit and stay on command, and come when called, but he will offer a “shake” for a cookie, lay down on command, and give “paws up” or a high five for treats. He’ll even spin when lured with a tasty bite!
His biggest challenge is his reactivity to strangers and other dogs. On a good day, he can be redirected from intense interest to walking by politely. On a not-so-good day, he will bark and lunge until he either can’t see the target, or until dog dad picks him up to restrain him.
Three months ago, we didn’t have the good days, where he could be redirected. So while he isn’t where we want him to be yet, we are happy to have each and every good day, and even just one good walk sometimes. We know he’ll always need a bit more support from us than Holly did, but she was only six months old when we adopted her, so she hadn’t had so many opportunities to pick up bad habits.
Smokey’s also learned to model, though that is largely without direction from anyone. He poses on the stairs, complete with a come-hither leg that would absolutely be his Tinder profile pic if he had one. His other signature pose is hugging his favorite tree in our yard. It’s hysterical, and I’m not sure whether he knows it. He has such an innocent little face, I’m never sure when he’s trying to be a troublemaker or not.
Our next fun project, now that it’s kinda fall here (last week was lovely, but November and 90 degrees is not working for me), will be bringing our at-home agility set outdoors to see if Smokey will take to it.
Holly does agility, like any other tricks, for cookies, or to show her brother up. So maybe making him check out the jumps and tunnel will inspire her inner champion to come out. Or maybe he’ll have a future in dog sports…if I can train him not to bite the competition.
