Banjo Knows Her Name-O

This happened four days ago: Well we jumped a huge hurdle today. Even though we don't have a fence yet, I had her in the back yard with a leash. I let the leash handle go because she does really well staying close by my side while sniffing the grass and looking for lizards. First thing in the morning she is very rambunctious. Before I knew it she darted off into the next door neighbor's front yard. I didn't dare chase her. I called her by her name but she is still trying to get used to being called Banjo. She ignored me.

I did my Indiana thing and made the "AET" noise through my nose and mouth. It stopped her for a minute but then she heard dogs barking and ran towards the street. She stood in the middle of road and tried to figure out where the barking dogs were and what she should do next. I called her name again. She turned and looked at me. This was progress because she acknowledged that she recognized her name.

Part of me wanted to run, chase her down and grab her leash to stop her but I knew that it would forever be a game to her. I started to walk inside the house to get a piece of hot dog or some other tasty lure to coax her back into the yard. But again, I stopped myself. I knew it would start the game of running off just to get a special treat.

There she stood in the middle in the road waiting to see what I would do and still trying to figure out which way to run. Because the garbage truck and the recycle truck were both collecting refuse on our street, it made her even more confused as to what to do next. Even though both trucks were many houses down, the noise kept her from focusing on the barking dogs and unfortunately on me.

Watching her stand there smack dab in the middle of the road, I knew it was a pivotal training moment for both of us. For her, it was a defining moment of whether or not she would allow me to be the alpha. For me, it was a defining moment of whether I should panic and go ahead and chase her down and then deal with the consequences of her constantly running off every chance she got so she could lure me into a game of ridiculous "catch me if you can."  Or, should I own this moment and take a chance by commanding and demanding that she follow me.

There we were at a stale mate. Her watching me stand by the front corner of our house and me watching and waiting for her to make a run for it. I called her name again firm but not angry or hateful. , "Banjo."  She looked at me, I turned and walked along the side of our house, She couldn't see me.  "Come!" I commanded her as I continued to walk at a confident pace. I've worked diligently with her the last three days. This was the moment that would determine how much she respected me as her alpha.

Within seconds she came full throttle running up the driveway and around the house. She is only four months old with gangling long legs and huge paws, very much a clumsy puppy.  Without turning around and looking at her, I commanded her, "Heel!" I've been drilling this word into her to keep her from walking ahead of me. It worked! She stopped running and fell in behind me and walked at my pace. I didn't grab for the leash just yet. I wanted her to know that I trusted her to stay by my side.

Standing now in the back yard, I slowly and gently picked up her leash. I petted her and said, "Good girl." She turned her mouth into her awkward puppy smile and accepted any and all praises that I would be willing to give her. Yes, she is a good girl.

So far, I've been training her without any treats. I praise her for her good behavior and admonish her and then ignore her for misbehaving. She is a Cur and after reading up on this breed, I've found that they are eager to listen and willing to learn. This particular breed loves to please their master. Of course, it takes a lot of training, a lot of dedication and a lot of repetition and a lot of consistency but she really does want to learn to please.

Yesterday was a rough day with trying to get her to walk on the beach trail and hoping that she would be well behaved enough to take her to the actual beach to frolic in the water. But she isn't ready. She also lowered her hind quarters in hopes to pee on my dining room rug yesterday. Mi Miguel and I both caught her.  Just as she lowered herself, I shrieked to high heavens scaring her back into a standing position. I immediately took her outside to her favorite potty spot. She peed, I praised her. This morning I took her out for her first thing in the morning pee. A few hours later she went to the door to let me know she had to go potty. Because she was caught in the act, she now gets it. We don't pee on the floors, ever.

Today, with her choosing me over running free, made me realize that she loves being with us and she is catching on and learning our ways as we learn her ways. Banjo has a vet appointment today. Hopefully all goes well and they find her to be in good health. She seems happy and healthy to us. I sure hope she is because we're getting incredibly attached to our sweet girl.

It's been four days, like I said since I drafted this post. We've been to the veterinarian and found out that she is most likely Black Mouth Cur and Malinois mix. Oh my what a combination this is turning out to be. We are having a difficult time getting her to calm down. It looks like puppy training classes are up next.