Good enough

I took the dogs on a jog last night after I got home from school. They seemed so relaxed when I got home, they didn't even bark when I came in. It doesn't make me feel that great to know that when I'm gone all day they are calmer and happier, but I guess it's better than the other way around.

We walked RIGHT NEXT to a lady with a shopping bag on the sidewalk, and I was pushing chicken into Gustav's mouth so fast he barely had time to look up. No problem.

We saw a whole bunch of dogs, and Dottie was perfect. Gustav did some pulling and growling and hackles, but nothing out-of-control and each time I was able to have him sit and look at me. He did one amazing look-at-me when he was pulling at the end of his leash trying to get a better look at a dog. With just one "Goose!" he turned all the way around towards me and licked his lips, despite the fact that he was so aroused and intent.

All three boys in the band came in the front door last night with nary a bark from either dog. It helped that I saw them out the window and was already in position by the time they knocked, but still!

Gustav was affectionate and snuggly to the boys. A ball rolled under Christian's (my brother) feet and Gustav decided he couldn't take it. I pointed this out and Christian threw the ball for him. Then he pet Gustav on the head while he had the ball in his mouth. Gustav was pretty pissed about this, he got rigid and put his ears back and kind of stared at Christian from the side. I told Christian to stop and there was no problem. I don't know if this was primarily from resource guarding (the ball) or being pet on the head when it wasn't his idea. I think Gustav makes a huge distinction between going up to someone to be pet and having someone approach him to pet him. After a while he went to the other room to scratch his ear (I think he knows that Justin and I will tell him to knock it off if he does it in front of us, he has a scabby ear), then returned and sat near Justin. I felt like he was getting increasingly stressed and overwhelmed, but I could be projecting. At least once he lay down on the floor near Christian, very relaxed, which was great. If the boys had stayed much longer, I probably would have considered putting him in his crate for a break or having the boys toss treats or encouraged Justin to keep him over by him. Sometimes I stare so hard at him during these types of events that I think I'm imagining some body language that Gustav isn't actually displaying. I'm not sure. After Feisty Fido is over, I think I'm going to have a check-up appointment with a behaviorist to gauge his progress and get some ideas for the future. Sometimes I think he's improved a lot, and sometimes I think it's just seems that way because Justin and I don't put him in situations he can't handle anymore. After all, he's always been fine with the band, it was just our own concern that led us to isolate him from visitors for a while. So a reintroduction to a situation he never showed any problem with doesn't feel like such a triumph. Oh. I just typed my way into feeling less proud. I think I'd better stop.