Neighborly relations

[summer_jackel]

Bliss is of the opinion that neighbors should be met with great joy and wagging, followed by an armful of joyous, wiggling collie, a personal human necessity that he is happy to meet. I am of the opinion that if people want 70+ lbs of collie in their arms (and this only because he's a thin beast), they will ask, and the canine in question is to sit politely until they have indicated this desire.

We keep having this discussion, and it's hard to train him out of it when he is almost never poorly behaved in any other context (other than that 'not liking food' thing). The problem is, the neighbors keep encouraging him. I need to teach them to wait patiently while I correct him, before running up to him excitedly and accepting the proffered armfuls of collie. That's much harder to accomplish than training the dog.

Comments

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The neighbors have to be trained, too. ;)

I assume that the proper thing is to make sure collie ALWAYS sits and waits, before being called and leaping up into their arms. Do that enough times, and it'll become ingrained as the New Routine. But...bad habits are hard to break, be it canine or human, so assume it'll take a LOT of repetitions.

On both sides.

Bliss, on the other hand, sounds like an adorable pooch, so it'd be HARD to resist his charms. :-)

[saigh-allaidh.livejournal.com]

Humans are the hardest animal to train. Goats are probably the second hardest.

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

Bliss is quite the extrovert. And I can attest to the charm of hisself flung cheerfully into ones arms.

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

Did you really name him Bliss Like Chaos because he was the type to walk up politely?

[smudge-dragon.livejournal.com]

@.@ lol! Remind me to warn you anytime I (and James) might see you. This is the exact behavior that will send poor James climbing the nearest tree in pure terror. (Poor guy)