Shiloh......A legend in his own mind😊

[CherylHampton]

Well its been awhile since Shiloh and I have checked in. To catch you up, he's doing much much better about getting in the car. He still hasn't figured out he can jump in(he jumps quite high at other times so know he could) at least I don't have to coax him anymore, when I open the door he's right there ready to scramble inside. It just looks odd since he's so tall now, but I will take it. So far he's never shown any aggression toward people, and loves kids to distraction(and he's a good boy about not jumping up) can't recall if I've mentioned it, but he had started showing some of his what I assume is his protective instincts, although he's NEVER been aggressive toward anyone and is a bit of an attention seeker with new folks. What he does do however(and he can't get out of the yard now) is when I open the door to let him out, he charges out barking, growling, literally rearing back  on his hind legs, then hopping around(yep all four paws off the ground). He has a routine, straight out the door, sweep left, then center, then right, back to center then back to me. He looks back at me after each direction and honestly if a dog can make an expression of being proud of themselves he's got it down pat. I wanted to have a watch dog that would alert me to anything out of the ordinary, which he does, but is this behavior a precursor to him actually attacking something?  He started this when he saw his first deer, he'd charge and if they didn't run he'd tuck his tail and do the running.  The deer at moms and here are used to dogs. As long as the dog doesnt close in, the'yre like meh, whatever. He does it occasionally in the day time but it started out and is still mostly at night and doesnt require actually having something to chase after. That was a long way around  to asking  if I should try and discourage his behavior or let it be? He's quite entertaining and its really hard not to laugh, especially at his bark, growl, rabbit hop combo😊 but if he thinks he's doing something important I want to be supportive too. He hasn't been fishing with me yet, but I'm honestly don't know how he would do meeting a strange dog. He's still good with the neighbors, and tries to get a!omg with my daughters mini shnauzer but Chloe wants no part of him and I can tell it makes him a bit edgy, but he's never shown her any aggression and Chloe would definitely be all over him if she could. Anyway he's a good boy and tries really hard to do what I ask him to do. I was so hesitant to get another dog but he's made me glad I did. 😊 as always thanks for your help.

 

[JMFS]

I love him without even meeting him!  He sounds like a happy boy.  :)

It was probably Super rewarding to meet that first deer and he Could be hopeful to see one again if that's what started this ritual.  I have a feeling a lesson on "wait" at the door is going to be advised.  In a fenced yard it's not a Huge deal for them to bound happily through the door and into the fresh air with all the sniffs to be taken in; however, if you find yourself somewhere without a fence this could be dangerous.  Even though we have a fully fenced yard I make the girls wait at the door until I've scanned the area.  Thus far I've saved a couple snakes, a lizard, our cat (they'd trample the poor guy in their excitement), and prevented the rehearsed behavior of charging towards cyclists, runners, and some of my favorite people in the world - UPS / FedEx / USPS.  Had one of those snakes been venomous, or the cat been injured, or the gate been open (which it Was the other day, I nearly had heart failure when I saw that because I'd already given them the go ahead Assuming the gate was closed like "always") we could have ended up with a bad situation.

Esther has bad impulse control because . . . puppy.  I am keeping her on leash until she can wait, without being asked, like Gertrude does.  Currently she would delight in destroying our irises.  I can't stand the things, but really don't want to have to replace them - the next owners can do that (they'd probably replace whatever I put in there anyway!).

All that is based on me again assuming that he's not holding a wait before bounding out.  If he Was waiting, got the go ahead, and Then went on this frolicking romp through the yard then I personally see no detriment in allowing him to celebrate the joy of being outdoors.  Momo was my watchdog and his first order of business was to do a lap or thirty around the yard to ensure everything was as it should be once I gave him the a-okay.

[Adrienne]

Hi Cheryl, 

Glad to hear that Shiloh is now getting into the car, your effort seems to have paid off. It sounds like he may a bit anxious/super motivated about getting into the car quickly, so that may explain the scrambling. 

Your question regards to the behavior at night sounded familiar, so I took a look back and noticed I replied to you about this time a while back. If you haven't seen my reply, it is here in your previous post at the end: