Gabe update

I've had Gabe for about 6 weeks now. We had 3 private lessons with Lee Mannix about 2 weeks ago. When he first met Gabe, he told me that I'll be as trained as one of his interns by the time I'm finished with him. But the little guy is incredibly smart and is picking this up really fast. Lee was surprised at how fast he was learning to relax when other dogs came near, instead of going crazy. At home, certain behaviors, like jumping on me or barking at my other dogs to get them to play have completely ended. In fact, he quit doing those after just one time-out.

Outside, at my house, is a different story. He still barks at everything. I'm just not getting through to him. I understand that if a dog knows to do something in one situation, it will not automaticallly translate to other situations. I know that you have to teach a dog to do that behavior in many different situations before they can generalize. He was perfect at the trainer's, but he's just not getting it at home and I'm at a loss for what I could be doing better.

It's frustrating because I'm leaving town in a few weeks for a long trip and I just want him to be "fixed" so he can get adopted by then. I'm sure that this attitude is what is slowing down his progress. If I can figure out where he can go when I leave, if he's not adopted by then, I will probably be much less stressed about it. If my only option is to put him back in the shelter (and possibly face euthanasia while I'm gone), I'll have to cancel the trip I've been planning for years. I'm working with tlac staff on this now.

Tlac staff, by the way, have been incredible. They've reimbursed me for $235 of training costs (which is only a fraction of what it would have cost if Lee hadn't given us such amazing deals). They've been really supportive and thankful the whole time. I get to take Gabe on tv next Friday (hopefully he won't be a holy terror). I usually get the feeling that they aren't crazy about volunteers putting so much time into just a few problem dogs, but I haven't felt that way at all in this situation.

Gabe is at daycare today with Lee Mannix. Daycare at Lee Mannix's isn't like doggie daycare at other places. The day is spent on training and working on the dog's specific issues, rather than just playing with other dogs. Hopefully, this will help us all figure out how I can teach him not to react when outside at my house. We also have 3 more lessons coming up and he's enrolled in a 6-week group class after that (which may have to be postponed if he's not adopted because I won't be in town to take him).

Lee Mannix and his trainers have all been amazing, too. They've given us really, really cheap training and have gone out of their way to make this work. And if Gabe needs even more training, one of their trainers started Schrodi's fund, to help pay for training for dogs like Gabe.

So, everyone has been incredibly helpful and Gabe has learned a ton in the last few weeks. If I didn't have this damn deadline looming over my head, I'd probably be viewing this situation completely differently.