I have not written in this space for some time. This was on purpose, because I did not want merely to vent about the first days of settling in as they were happening, but rather to reflect upon them in a quieter moment. You’ll note that I have changed the name of the blog as well. This is because Aladdin is my dog now. There is no “once and future Canine” anymore. Aladdin is the dog I have, for better or worse, and he must be the dog I work with. he is definitely not rocky. There can be no comparison, nor should there be any. I must take this dog on his own terms and not try to make him into another kind of dog.
There have been challenges and triumphs aplenty in these first weeks. He either makes me want to lie down and cry in tearful frustration or to embrace and kiss him for the sheer joy of his inteligence and his bold efforts. He is an excellent worker but is also rather distractable by food and things to sniff. He has begun to respect my voice in a real way as of now, but when food is involved, there is nothing for it but to both tell him and show him that sniffing and eating it is not to be done while he is in harness. The only exception to this is if the food is in my own hand, as with the clicker training that we do.
He is a lovely dog, filled with fun and spirit. I know that when he does something for me, it’s because he chooses to do it. he chooses to do it because he wants to please me. Otherwise, he is a happy-go-lucky dog who will get his nose into anything and play with anything he can find. Where Rocky was born to work and enjoyed it primarily so he could get to the end of it and sleep or eat, Aladdin must be coaxed and asked to work rather than to play. It is a very interesting challenge, because this playfulness, if channeled into the right direction, means that he will solve problems for the mere challenge of them. He will work as though it is a game in itself, and he will work for me if I can encourage him as agility trainers encourage their dogs.
It is a strange dance of praise and love as well as some correction. I do not know how long it will be before we are truly working in sync, but I am willing to keep working with him and to pray for patience as we go on. He is a typical young dog by all accounts, and those accounts make me feel encouraged. He will make me a better handler over time, and for that I am grateful. I love him completely, and am more saddened when he does something unguidelike than actually angry. If I am angry at all, I am angry at myself for not being a good handler. I must curb this tendency. I have been taught well by competent teachers, and I am being taught by aladdin as well as the days go on. In time, we will work well together more consistently. For now, progress is being made every day, and he is generally working well. We must only work on being inside food-profuse public places and not having him run amuck, diving for scraps as though they were freshly-killed carcasses which he and his imaginary wolf-pack had just taken down on the run. We will figure things out. he will truly be my dog one day. As it is, he is three-quarters mine as of now. It’s just the food thing we have to manage somehow, and we will do it. I’m determined that we will do it.
Hopefully I will not wait so long before I write again. However, I’m glad I waited this long. I want this to be a positive blog as much as it can be. I will not vent my frustrations here, but rather reflect upon our adventures when time and patience permit it. Now, I will end this latest update and return again soon.