Tabitha and The James are two totally different dogs. He is a solid pillar of a dog that couldn't care less about what I am saying. She is a shipwreck, constantly in code red, focusing on me with rapt attention to the point where it can be unsettling. It's really helping with training though. I raised both dogs totally different. Jim got the semi knowledgeable exposed to anything and everything training. Tabitha got the pretty dog training savvy approach with limited exposure. Jim was raised in the crowded vibration of Boston where everything is a walk, bus ride or train ride away, everyone wants to meet your new puppy and dog socials are everywhere. Tabitha was raised in Phoenix where community is very lacking, nothing is walking distance and due to that you just use your car and ignore the bus system. Add to that the summer where no one/nothing goes outside for any reason (because they will quite literally drop dead from the heat) and you have some limited general public socializing time but tons of indoor training time. Also, when you use different techniques, everything changes. Jimmy will work for treats. Tabitha will do anything for a toy (this is the method I am sticking with as it's heavenly). So these two animals in my house are quite unlike one another. However, it is in ways that pretty much kick ass no matter how you cut it.
Anyway, we started going to the bogs and at first Jim ran amok here and there in the grass looking for land creatures to kill. Tabitha has always just wanted to play with her ball and I am so okay with that. We practice training while Jim practices the art of stealth. Poorly at that. After a while I felt bad for him and showed him frogs and sometimes I would egg him on and convince him he needed to find them and kill them. Every last one. All frogs must die. Well, I got all cocky the other day and said, "He's not fast enough. He'll never catch one." and followed it up with a mighty scream of HURRY JIM! GET THOSE FROGS!
I was so asking for it. That was the day he figured out he was moving to fast and they were jumping out once he had past by. The next thing you know, he's moving super slow and really focusing and then smashing a huge frog to death with his muzzle. I don't know if I have told you, but Jim does not kill things by putting them in his mouth. No no, biting gets you in trouble and he takes this rule very seriously. First he catches it by scooping it towards him with his feet and giving it one good pound with his muzzle. Then he holds the broken little creature under his paws and proceeds to crush them to death by essentially head butting them with the front of his tight lipped muzzle. It's brutal to say the least and I cringe every time I watch him but end up cheering in the end because he's always so proud of his victory.
Frogs pop. Did you know that? Apparently, one good whack can make their to tight body burst wide open. Jim is a frog popping machine. It makes our bog trips a little less exciting and a little more exciting. For once he's doing something and wagging his tail the entire time. Total 100% bliss. When I consider that, I can handle the fact that the frog population is going to suffer this year. A happy Jim is a happy JH. So long as I have one dog that will sit and stay, the other can murder away. It's a fair trade.
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