An Update :)

Rocky is doing really well. I am enforcing the rule that I always walk one step ahead of him when outside, unless he's offleash. So far, on leash, he does well, and is only barking some of the time at passersby, while other times, he doesn't. I have yet to figure out the difference between those he barks at and those he doesn't. He is not pulling as much either when I'm doing this, so I think this is good progress!!

Also, we have set a time for him to eat instead of just doing it when he begs for his food. Right now, it is before we go to bed. However, he is still going inside at times...maybe I need to switch this to the mornings? He is a small dog, and only gets 1 cup of food a day per the vet. Not sure still on this ...

Lastly, he is still barking insanely when others come over to visit us, and the only way to shut him up is to wiggle the buckle on the shock collar (the vibrating kind, not a real shock). Even then, he is always on edge and jumpy around the person/people. Even if they give him treats, and we don't shake the collar ...

Anyway, those are the updates today! Keep the comments coming, I love hearing what you have to say! :)

Going Inside

Now, who couldn't love a face like this??? Everytime I get annoyed with Rocky, I take a deep breath and just look at him. I can see there is a soul in his eyes, and can see his undying love and loyalty to me there too. So when he takes a huge, watery crap on my carpet in the middle of the night ... well, I'm told you can't reprimand them if you don't catch them in the act, that they don't know what they did wrong because their memory isn't like ours. I can, however, see he feels ashamed when I find his gross addition to my white carpet. His tail goes down, he won't look at me ...it's like he can sense I'm disappointed again.

My vet tells me he's going inside not to piss us off, but because he just has to go. But we walk him so often, and there are times when we ask "do you wanna go outsiiiiiide?" in the voice that gets him all excited, and he'll just lay down and roll over. If we pick him up to go outside anyway, he'll just stand there. He's a weird one, for sure. However, it seems even when we feed him on a schedule, he still has little accidents in the house. Any input?

Today's Walk

Today my husband and I took Rocky out for a walk. At one point, far ahead, I saw a jogger coming our way on the sidewalk, so I led my pup over to the grass and told him to sit. I gave him lots of petting and high voiced praise as he sat, spotted the jogger and pricked his ears. Suddenly, his panting got heavier, and I could just sense his sudden agitation. As the jogger closed in on us, Rocky became frantic, growling and barking at him until he passed us and even then, Rocky stayed agitated until about two or three minutes later, after the jogger was out of sight.

Now we have tried group trainings (he passed both classes), shock collars (the one that vibrates not shocks), a spray bottle technique, and even just having strangers who enter our house give him treats each time they come in, and nothing has worked. Advice? Rocky needs your help!

New Neighbor

So over the weekend, we were at my parent's house. They have a lot of land, and Rocky is relatively good off-leash, so he always gets to run around and chase balls out there.

However, this time, my mother opened the door to let him out (which I told her not to do w/out checking around first) and he instantly bolted off, barking at the new neighbor they have nearby. Of course, I had to chase him down, and he avoided letting me grab him while still growling and barking at the poor man next door. He was really nice about it, so I just focused on getting Rocky under control.

Now, what I don't get is this: I understand if someone comes into our home and he barks at them like this, if he thinks it is his territory, but outside? Why can't he understand there are other people in the world? Any thoughts?

Meet Rocky, the Crankiest Dog I Know

It's been 2 years since we adopted the rescue known as Smokey and changed his name to Rocky, and he has been the sweetest pup to me and my fiance (husband in 17 days eee!). However, when he comes across another dog in our area, he'll ALWAYS snarl and lunge and bark at them, tail wagging, and unless I squat down and push his butt to the ground, he ignores me completely. He knows the basic commands, sit, stay, come, but when he sees another dog OR just another person walking along, all that training goes out the window, even with treats. This really confuses me. What is he doing? He's never bitten anyone.

Also, anyone who walks near us outside or anyone I'm actually with (like yesterday I went to see some friends) Rocky just starts barking and growling. He will come up and sniff them eventually if they are friends but doesn't relax around anyone. Paul, a friend of mine, has been around Rocky a lot, just not every day. The first few times Rocky was around Paul, he was fine, but this was in a crowded area. Paul even held the leash while I went to the bathroom and such. But if Paul comes over or if it's just me, my fiancee and him, Rocky barks and growls like he hasn't seen him before. Every time.

The only progress made is with our friends who do understand the fact he is a rescue dog, and they deal with the constant barking and growling, and they sit on the couch, and Rocky will then jump up and lick their hand and sit on their lap. But as soon as they stand up, Rocky jumps down and barks and barks again. Why can't this dog relax or get used to people and be friendly? Is there anything I can do to make Rocky a happy people/other dog loving pup? Any help is GREATLY appreciated.