<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><DIV>Well, I succombed. After our most recent dogpark misadventure, I decided I needed to find some alternative to our one local dogpark (on this entire island!!) that was predictably safer. Harley has been dying for social contact (moving meant leaving his girlfriend, Ruby Chiquita the vagrant chihuahua who hung out at our house, behind with her rightful owners in the old neighborhood), and Bo has become more big dog phobic since the recent attack.</DIV>
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<DIV>So I signed the boys up for one day a week at a new doggie daycare facility in town which has just opened up under the careful supervision of a respected trainer in our area. I have resisted this alternative for awhile, (kind of like public vs. private education), feeling like the responsible dog owners should hang in there and make the parks available to everyone a safer place--but since I failed to protect Bo this last time (this is the second time we have been attacked there--the other time was Harley, who appears impervious and wasn't at all traumatized by the experience), We went the private route. We visited the daycare, where the supervision is very close (about 1 person for every 4 dogs). and were pleased with our visit. Both hounds set "goals" for their education--Bo to overcome his fear of big dogs; Harley to stop barking if mom is out of sight for more than a few minutes). The boys had their first morning this week. Bo initially bayed
whenever a big dog came over to him, but after the first few hours when I picked up the hounds, he was mingling casually and smiling. Harley got sprayed water on his toes when he barked but cuddled when he didn't bark and also seemed good at pickup. I got homework to stop worrying and fussing so much over them, reinforcing all the wrong behaviors. This weekend Harley didn't bark much when I came in from a meeting away, and Bo ventured out of the house a bit more. I am wildly optimistic. Like Cesar would have said all along (and I have known this all along), certainly I have been a large part of the problem. I also recognize that these blankety-blank irresponsible dog owners who bring unsocialized dogs to the dogpark are another part of the problem.</DIV>
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<DIV>Interestingly, when we interviewed at the doggie daycare, the trainer asked me "which dog" it was that had attacked Bo? I was surprised and said, "Well, a black pit-lab female ironically named 'Sweetie'". The trainer said, "Yes, I know that dog. The owners fancy themselves dog trainers but don't know what they are doing--that dog is a multiple biter and should not be at the park. I have told them that myself". Huh? This is a small community that I now live in. Wish us luck. Val, Bo, and Harley</DIV></div></body></html>