today we went to elvaston castle for a walk.... i kept my self calm and relaxed all the way there and told my OH that the minute we got onto the field i was going to let fred off his lead, my normal routine is to scan the horizon and check where all the dogs are and not let fred off until we have a clear run around us :2431: ...my OH didnt belive me as hes heard it all before lol....

WELL.............. i did as i said and fred was really good..... there was a lady with 3 border terriers.. fred spotted them and off he went... i thought oh god here we go.... my OH went into panic mode .... i said leave him he will be okay.... his worst crime was the way he bounded over all rough, the owner panicked a little, but i went over and reassured her fred was perfecty fine... just before i got there, the mum terrier saw fred of and told him what for... the woman laughed and eased up a little and we had a lovely chat whilst i was admiring her dogs and fred completely ignored them :2431: ....
we saw plenty of other dogs on the field, he didnt bother, he would look at them, i would call him back and he came :group hug: ..... he had a bit of a spat with another dog in the woods, fred bounded onto her, and she went for fred... fred went back but not seriously lol... i grabbed him, and he calmed down, the other owners apologised and said thier dog is normally okay, i said it was prob freds fault, he needs to learn manners lol.... we carried on into the woods with fred off lead.... until he got so carried away with his ball and the water, he barked excitedly at a little girl, right close up to her, the parents were absolutely fine about it, and i couldnt apologise enough, in fact i apologised every time i saw them lol.... after this frederick was put on his lead.... he never bothered growling at other dogs whilst on lead, the only time he did was when we tied him so we could have a coffee... i told him off then some bloke said... '' errrm dont tell your dog off, its that other dog thats off fault, its owner should be watching it'' we didnt know where to look :2431:

we had a bit of an issue with fred whining 'really really louldy' when we werent all together, so i worked on this to nip it in the bud,not moving unless he stopped the noise, it took bloomin ages lol... one woman kept turning round and looking at me, then she said something, i couldnt quite catch it but she made me mad, so i told her to f**k off :2222: ....

but all in all....he was bloody good :group hug:

we are actually getting somewhere :group hug: :group hug: .. and fred isnt dog agressive like i thought he might be... i am sooooooooooooo relieved and loads mote confident now

Aww wow thats fantastic Shelley,well done to you both.

Thats excellent hun!

cheers guys.... im sooo chuffed, i know it may not sound much to some people...but to me it really feels like im getting somewhere with him now ..or should i say with myself :2431: ... the maddening thing is its all so simple really, i should have started as i meant to go on ....

That is brilliant news hun he is a good boy and well done you for knowing he would be fine

Bryn will often bark a bit on lead at other dogs and occasionally off lead but he is fine with 99% of dogs just comes over some times as a spoilt brat which of course he is

:2431: sounds like fred then ... i could kick myself for not having this confidence at the start of his life.... he did get a little over excited at his new found freedom though, have to get that out of him lol

now you do have, you both will go from strength to strength

I was in a good situation though hun we knew most people and their dogs from when he was a wee pup so it was easier then again so did Misty and look how she turned out

lol ...bless misty :love: .... i was too over protective when fred was younger.... i thought every dog would attack him, instead of letting him get on with it i shielded him.... not anymore :nhy: ..... hes a free doggie

to freedom to freedom to freedom

to new found confidence :group hug:

so you def gotta bring him down here next year if you visit your friend in GCG

Well done Fred and Shelley Its great when you finally get to the point where you feel confident enough to let them offlead when other people and dogs are about
I remember feeling great when we got Keira to that point

I really hope to get to that point with Mickey aswell no matter how long it takes

Sounds like you all had a great day

absolutely sange.... give me a few weeks and i will be able to take him anywhere.... :group hug: :group hug: :group hug: ... we will have setbacks,but i wont let them set me back


the feeling is great isnt it bren :love: .... you will get there with mickey hun,no dount about it, youre working on it and doing all the right things.... and hes still young...so dont worry :love:.... freds two and ive only just got to that point with him.... i was a little slow :2222:

Agree with Shell, Bren, Mickey may be like our two, over excited and rough but no bad intentions

my OH panicked more than me today hes normally the chilled one :2431: ....

i feel free .... you will definately get there bren, zep will help you