My friend and I were discussing dog training techniques. Her German Shepherd is friendly, but a bit too enthusiastic when jumping up and greeting people. She has an invisible fence and is concerned that when delivery people and other strangers come into the yard, her large, barking, charging dog will frighten them. If they turn and run, who knows if lovable Marley will switch into guard dog mode. So she's meeting with a dog behavoirist to tackle the situation.
Kelly, on the other hand, is none too friendly with other dogs. Saturday we had her at the vet's, which was quite busy, and she was shaking with nervous energy at all the other dogs in close proximity. We had to keep her right at our feet so she wouldn't lunge at any poor critter hoping to meet and greet. Whenever a new dog entered the room, Kelly's fur on her neck went up, she glared and growled. Not a friendly welcome. And quite tiring to keep in check. I'd love Casar Millan to come straighten her out.
The other problem we have is with begging. Kelly's getting to be quite the pest at meal time. She looks at me with those big sad eyes--just stares as each forkful is lifted. I admit, I've been guilty of dropping her a few table scraps. Especially the burnt edges of baked chicken that was left in the oven too long because someone distracting was on Oprah. But what once was cute and endearing is now getting annoying. Any suggestions?
