Attempted to walk "the black menace" (AKA: Jager) this week. Wow! It's been awhile since he has been on a leash for a civilized walk. When we went camping, he just roamed free with Roscoe and Lucy (his hunting companion who came along with her daddy); They had a great time and he was well mannered and minded when called. However, put a leash on him and he turns into the Tasmanian Devil from Loony Toons. He pulled and jerked and spun around like a mad dog. He even growled at a sweet little old lady walking on the other side of the street! (Quietly enough I don't think she heard him) What is up with that?
OK, to be fair, he was immediately intimidated by the standard poodle who lives across the street. He (poodle-boy) was lounging in the sun (finally, sun in Idaho) while his owner was vacuuming out her car. When we exited the house he immediately came across the street to investigate. He had an "air" of superiority around him. (He's
French... what else need we say?) Jager was quite happy to see him... at first. But after a few minutes you could feel the tension growing. I heard a deep rumbling and the two were so close, I could not tell which dog was making the noise. Better to exit before this got ugly. Jager had him in sheer bulk (Poodle-boy was trimmed up so he looked pretty scrawny... but he was taller) and I had no doubt that Jager could hold his own, I just didn't want to be on the other end of that leash while it took place. Besides, the neighbors are fairly new to the area.... not much of a welcome.
The poodle kept following as I tried to drag Jager down the sidewalk. I didn't want to yell, "Go Home!" to him, it seemed so rude! After all, he was a neighbor. I kept politely asking him to "go" and after a few feet my cat, Rizzo, came along and took the poodle's attention. Wonderful. Again, no doubt that Rizz could hold his own. He's about 12 years old and quite dog-savvy. He lives outside and is suspicious of all canines, but afraid of none. And, he can climb any tree with the speed of light.
By the time we ditched the poodle after the first block, Jager was a wired-up mess. Every dog-bark, kid-laugh, car back-fire he was jumping. It was a joke. I would say "Sit" and he'd drop. He would stay until I said "Come" at which point he would lunge ahead of me jerking my arm out of it's socket. Followed by an expletive on my part and the command to "heel" (Which he ignored as I don't think he knows that one anymore) so I resorted to "Sit" again. Then we would repeat this whole process for the next 20 feet. After about 10 minutes of this go-halt-jerk gait, I said the final word.... "ENOUGH!" ... and we turned for home. He did ever-so-slightly better on the 5 blocks home (probably from lack of oxygen pulling on his leash so hard) and even managed to walk by my side on his own a couple of times. I made him sit and stay several times to slow him down, but again, may I say, WOW.
The poodle was no longer outside and we made it into the house without incident where I unsnapped his leash, announced my need to continue my walk ALONE, and left. And to think, I took him because he is better behaved than the bassets on leashes. Actually, Roscoe gets tired so fast I don't get much exercise (I have to frequently stop as he just sits down in the middle of the road looking at me as if to say, "This is good; you can carry me if you'd like."). And Cooper barks and snarls at every dog or person we pass. He also pulls and lunges and since he has to wear a harness (go ahead, try a standard collar and leash with a basset hound), he's frequently up on his hind legs as I'm pulling him back in his harness.
All this sounds like I need a visit from the show, "It's me or the dog!", doesn't it? I've noticed on that show, they have never had a basset hound. I would sure love to hear from others who do and see if they have better luck "training" their hound dogs. Jager is not hopeless; in fact, I have no doubt if I work with him regularly he will have leash etiquette down pat in a matter of a week to 10 days. I just hope my arm can hold out until then and that the neighbors and their children are wearing ear plugs.
