Taexalia

wild.life

Logan’s Learning, So Am I

Logan and Gemma

I have become a bit of a dog person, truth be told, but then who can blame me when you look at those two faces?

Logan has been with us for five weeks and he seems to have settled in well. We were even blessed with the company of GemmaDog last week, which turned out to be a wonderful test of my pack leader skills - and also taught me more about Logan as a kind of secret bonus.

Things we have achieved:

Walking at heel on a slack lead.
Walking at heel off the lead - only in secluded out of town places, but no attempts to run off.
Lying down - usually only needing a hand signal.
Lying Sphynx or sitting - usually in response to the presence of Biscuit.
Identifying which pocket the Postman keeps biscuits in.
Going to the loo wearing raincoat - this involved one episode of going for a full walk, refusing to do anything and then demanding to get out again as soon as the coat came off - followed by a very swift squat.
Lying quietly whilst meals are prepared and walking to the dish so as not to skid on the slidey kitchen floor.
Going for walks without nervous halts in response to trains, traffic, roadworks, other dogs, loud noises.
Ignoring the pack leaders when they are eating their dinner (mostly).
Sleeping all night - although not sure if that is such an achievement for a Greyhound.

Things we are working on:

Stairs - inside stairs are easy, as are most outside ones - but the ones from the front of the house to the street are still confusing. It should be noted that when GemmaDog was staying these stairs posed zero challenge and both dogs came straight down them without pause.
Being calm when we meet other dogs. We expect dogs who get to meet us to be well mannered, but we are still learning not to get helicopter-like in response.
Differentiating between Teddy Trump and soft furnishings.
Differentiating between Teddy Trump and anything made from paper.
Making oneself invisible when in possession of soft furnishings or anything made from paper.

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." - Edward Hoagland