Chester – Day 8
We live in a great neighborhood. It’s a housing area of about 50 homes; one street entering that curves into another, and up a short hill to another. The homes are situated on one looped road that just changes names and contains two cul-de-sacs. It’s a very private, family neighborhood and a great one for training a fearful dog. Most of the time it’s pretty quiet but there are just enough pitfalls to use as teaching aids.
At first I thought the distant road noise might bother Chester, but I’ve found that he’s not only good with “white noise”, but he functions better when it’s present … like a newborn baby. Any droning, background noise is a comfort to him instead of a source of fear. He never flinches at airplane overhead or a freight train whistle. We hear a lot of trains although we never actually see them. He’s less fearful in the house when my iPod or the TV is on. It makes sense if you think about it because the noise helps muffle sharp sounds that startle him so much.
Walking should be a pleasant experience, for the dog and his owner. Casey loves walking and running and chasing around like a dog should. She’s not the most graceful walker; she will actually step on your foot if you’re not careful, but she loves just being with us and enjoys the exercise. She also looks at her walks as social hour because people actually come out of their houses just to pet her.
Chester was made for walking. He has long, sleek legs that seem to glide along like one perfect, fluid movement. I’ve never seen anything like it except in the show ring when I watch the national competition on TV. His gait is beautiful. His walks are not. There might be a strange barking dog inside a house or in the backyard as we pass. Children play on their bikes and scooters or play hide-and-seek or tag in their own front yards. Small children drive those noisy big wheels-type toys on sidewalks. Cars might pass on the street or back out of driveways. In our neighborhood there’s always the possibility that a group of kids will approach to pet Casey. She has a reputation as a safe dog because of her manners.
Since last Saturday when we got Chester, we’ve taken him on as many walks as possible in the neighborhood. Casey walks twice a day and is temporarily missing out on her once-a-day off-leash run at one of several parks in the area. We can’t take Chester there yet for fear of losing him. He freaks out in open spaces and if he escaped from his leash, we might never catch him. Note: We use a collar and harness for Chester and double hook them with the leash.
On walks the past week we’ve had abrupt stops due to noises, numerous tries to climb under vehicles to hide and several attempts to bolt and run back home. Hiding beside large bushes makes you invisible, just ask Chester. Once at the top of a hill Chester realized that Casey wasn’t in sight so he stopped and started spinning like a top. He didn’t stop until she was by his side. Several little neighborhood girls on bikes and scooters headed our way and Chester looked like he wanted to dig a hole in the sidewalk to escape. Some kids were jumping on a trampoline in a back yard down the street, laughing and giggling but Chester didn’t think it was funny at all. He freezes whenever he hears a dog bark from their own house or back yard. Once he tried jumping into the back of a parked truck to hide.
Today Chester led the pack. He seems to enjoy walking ahead of Casey. She would have difficulty leading him anyway so it’s good to have Chester lead at something. Casey acts like his big sister and leads him up and down stairs, outside to go potty and to and from the car for rides. Leading walks is where Chester will shine. He’s found one of his own strengths and he walks proud. Casey has to double-step to keep up his pace. He will continue to have issues with noises and other people, but we’ll keep working on it. Then someday he and I can walk alone and he will be my jogging partner.
Note: For Chester’s first week we’ve tried to allow him time in his best comfort zone. We made a deliberate decision to let him acclimate to us and the house. We let him spend the majority of his days in one of three hiding places in the house (or his kennel/bed). Today I seriously changed that.
Chester had such a good walk this morning so I felt he could handle a “different” day. After our morning walk I shut doors to my office and bedroom so he couldn’t go to those comfort areas. When he tried to hide between the dining table and the wall, I opened the drapes and made it light and open in there. He was forced to spend the next 4 hours in a wide open, well lit part of the house with huge open windows and nowhere to hide. He did wonderfully well. He sat in several places (up against walls but not hidden) and watched me work in the kitchen. When he sat upright he could see Glenn working in the front yard. He didn’t lie around looking so sad or lost. I turned up the volume on my music a bit and he watched me dance around while I caught up on housework I’ve neglected this week. When we went to the basement to have lunch, he spent most of the time down there lying against a wall, but not under the table.
We’re making progress … one day at a time … but Chester is capable of so much more and he’s worth every effort.
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