Sorry, Charlie Part 2
Continuing the story about the rehabilitation of an American Pitbull Terrier named Charlie.
Charlie on 3-12-2009
In case you haven't seen it, here is Charlie's evaluation:
I think it would be quite different now (but maybe not either).
March 12, 2009 -- Saint Clair Shores, Day 13
The last few days have been going very well. I think Charlie could be placed into the right situation now without a problem. Not every situation, but the right situation. I've thought about it and will try to describe the ideal person to adopt Charlie. It would have to be someone with time to spend on Charlie, I would think a younger person with lots of energy. Either a young single person or a young couple, preferably with no children. Not that I would be worried about Charlie with the kids, it's just that I think not having kids would allow more time to spend on Charlie. He is going to require a lot of time to adjust and for training, more than the average dog. People with kids, particularly young kids, probably wouldn't have enough time and energy left over to give Charlie the attention he needs. Older people might not have enough energy to keep up with Charlie and to let him burn off his energy every day, hopefully with a very long walk and exercise and play. It would also have to be someone who can be in solid control, and never ever show fear to Charlie. It does not have to be someone overly strict, just someone in control who would never let Charlie dominate them.
Yesterday was very good, Charlie Peanut and I spent some time at a local park and I worked on their recall, which went well. So well in fact that we went back home so I could grab my camera and shoot a little video during the last light of the day. I am to the point now where I challenge Charlie by trying to sneak away when he is not paying attention, or going behind or around anything to block his vision of me. This includes the small buildings and pavilions in the park. Usually, when the dogs lose sight of me they come looking. If they don't I give a call or whistle and see how they respond.
Here are Charlie and Peanut together, after I had ducked away and gone around a building to try and lose them.
Charlie and Peanut are both in this one as well, you will notice how quickly Charlie comes and how well he responds to commands.
Today has been kind of a rough day for me. I had to drop Peanut off at the vet this morning to be spayed. I don't like it when my dogs have to go under the knife, and I like it even less when they have to spend the night at the vet's office.
It was very good to have Charlie with me and we spent most of the day walking around town. When the sun started to go down, we went back to the park so I could let Charlie have some free time to just be a dog and roam around and sniff things and leave his scent markers. He earned it by performing very well on lead for me.
Another man and dog came into the park, so I was watching Charlie for his reaction, which I got on video. The other person and dog are on the other side of the fence in the video. They are playing fetch with a ball. It is a softball diamond, and Charlie could easily go through the opening in the fence if he wanted to get at them.
You'll see Charlie pay attention to them. But the bad sides of Charlie's personality, fear, insecurity, aggression, dominance, do not show themselves. On day 1 or 2, Charlie probably would have attempted to charge, or at least all his hair would've stood on end and he'd have barked his head off.
Today, in a much better state of mind, Charlie pays attention to them but never tries to approach, does not show any bad behavior whatsoever and in fact doesn't even bark at them. Again, I try to back up and sneak away and leave Charlie to his own devices. I want to see if he thinks that he can have a go at them if I am beyhond the range of physical control over him. He notices what I'm doing and stays near me. He is wise to all my tricks now and I rarely even have to call his name, he likes to stay close and keep an eye on me. I am really happy with him and his progress and now really enjoy spending time with him, he has become a really good companion.
Here are Charlie and Peanut last night, notice no muzzle with bone between them. I snuck in to click the picture, I do not keep them under constant supervision. I have no worries or fear about any type of fight or attack anymore, and Charlie has rewarded my trust by being very solid and tolerant of Peanut.
Also, Charlie has stopped scratching at his face whenever I ask him to do something and it is finally starting to heal up. I am putting Aloe Vera on it and the hair is starting to grow back. Now, he acts just like any normal dog in most situations. If he starts to show signs of getting fearful or agitated, he is easily brought right back under control in a matter of seconds. Tomorrow will be intersting, as I have to pick Peanut up from the vet and I wonder how Charlie will react and if he'll be able to tell she is not at 100% and if he is extra gentle with her.
March 15, 2009 -- Saint Clair Shores, Day 16
Well, where to start? Seems like I just did a big update and posted videos yesterday and I look and it was 3 days ago!! No news is good news I guess!
For starters, Charlie has been great with Peanut - she has a nice scar up her belly full of stitches, so I worried about how Charlie would treat her. I didn't need to worry, Charlie's treatment of her hasn't changed, it's been very good and continues to be. Maybe something is changing with Peanut's hormones since being fixed because today she actually tried dominating Charlie and assuming the mount position. Pretty funny and Charlie was a good sport about the whole thing, not giving any reaction at all.
So the last few days have been good, in fact you might say boring. Very typical with training and long walks and no drama. In my mind, very good with progress being made.
Today was a full day, with lots going on. It started this morning with a long walk enjoying the sunrise and the start of a beautiful day. A peaceful, uneventful walk. We walked along the lakeshore for a bit and I got to watch Charlie and Peanut react to a flock of geese and seagulls. It was very good, both dogs stayed under control and just showed mild excitment. Then around noon I helped a nice lady train her Rottie. Kellie and Mason and I had a very productive time together, I enjoyed meeting them both and Mason came around and we made some great progress. They left around 3 or so with Kellie feeling in control of Mason. I took Charlie and Peanut for another long walk. This time we hit the park, a big basketball game was going on and Charlie behaved well and I was happy. I allowed Charlie and Peanut some free time off lead to run around and play, again they were well behaved, under control and they burned up a lot of energy. Then I hooked them back up and we started for home.
I happened to see a friend of mine on the street, he saw us and started to approach. When he got near, I saw Charlie having a negative reaction to him so I pulled Charlie's muzzle out of my pocket and put it on. I carry it in my pocket now (as you could probably guess) in case we decide to go some place really public and full of people such as PetSmart, or I see Charlie having a bad reaction to someone. It's been several days, maybe even a week, since I've felt the need to muzzle Charlie in any situation.
Anyway, when my friend got close enough Charlie went ballistic and it was a bad, ugly scene. I was really disappointed, I was hoping this kind of thing was history, I hadn't seen anything like it for several day, but it is not. It also discounted a theory I had. I was wondering what makes Charlie react negatively to some people but not others. I thought maybe it was fearful or insecure people, but that is definitely not the case. This person is a dog lover who approached without fear or any sort of negative feelings, he just wanted to say hello, greet Peanut and meet Charlie. Also, it is not a reaction to anything I am feeling because this person is a friend and someone I looked forward to approaching and coming in contact with, so there was no anxiety or nerves on my part as he approached.
Charlie's reaction was really really bad, just like day 1. It took several attempts before my friend could first approach and then several more before he could actually touch Charlie. Without the muzzle, it would have been very bad, Charlie was snarling, growling attempting to strike whenever he got within reach of the leash. And even though we persisted and got to the point where he could approach and eventually touch Charlie, it was not a good day out and I was not a happy camper. I thank him for his patience and persistence and helping me in a tough situation. I tried not to show my disappointment in Charlie, I didn't allow myself to get angry and we just walked home like normal. And we saw a familiar person on my street walking his dog. I walked right past with Charlie, no reaction to him or his dog.
Then this evening, around 6 pm, CuJo was dropped off to spend a week with me to over come some problems and get trained up. CuJo is a 3 year old husky who is very hyper and has bad manners. Well, he basically has no manners but the few he has are bad. I spent a few hours with CuJo and took him on a nice, long walk and already made some progress. So I am completely spent, exhausted after a full, strenuous day. I am trying to remain positive about Charlie and his rehabilitation, but today was a blow to my outlook and my confidence has dropped.
Tomorrow will be fun as I will introduce all 3 dogs and walk them together. Don't worry, I won't allow anything bad to happen as I have muzzles for all and won't remove them until they are used to each other and I am sure they won't fight.
As I have mentioned, Charlie's problems are not related to other dogs or animal aggression so I don't anticipate trouble there. I'll let you know how it goes........
And finally, what I said in my last update about Charlie being ready to go into the right situation was definitely premature!
March 17, 2009 -- Saint Clair Shores, Day 18
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
I have a great story to tell about last night, Charlie and CuJo meeting each other, but I can't give the best right off the bat and end with today, which was rather more subdued. Let me start by saying I just had my first really good, productive walk with CuJo, the troubled husky. So it took me nearly 2 days to get through to him, but I have done so and the hard part is over. Yesterday was great and I wish I had a film crew to get it all on film. Anyone want to start a Detroit based reality show based on dysfunctional dogs?
Yesterday was interesting in a lot of ways, and a lot went on around here. The day started with a construction crew arriving to do a few small jobs, fixing some broken bricks and doing some tuck pointing around my house.
I started off by trying to walk CuJo, which went badly. CuJo has no idea how to behave on lead. In fact, he has no idea how to behave in any situation, but is especially bad on lead. When I first hooked him up to the leash and left my back yard, he started howling, crying, screaming, twisting, rolling, it was quite a scene! He managed to shrug off the gentle leader I use - the first time I've seen a dog be able to do that. He appears to be quite the escape artist. He was biting my legs, arms and hands at every opportunity.
So I got him in a rig he couldn't get out of (a choker chain) and tried to go for a walk. We didn't get 2 houses away, after plenty of struggle, and CuJo went dead weight on me, lying on the ground and refusing to move. Still howling, spitting and crying, just refusing to walk. So I dragged him along, it reminded me of dragging a deer out of the woods after I shot it.
We got a few houses away and CuJo decided his tactic wasn't working, so he got up and started moving again, but not walking with me. He went back to jumping, twisting, trying to go between my legs, wrapping the leash around my ankles, biting at any part of my body within range of his teeth and anything he could to fight the situation. I thought it was pretty comical and after a while, when I saw CuJo starting to overheat and have foam coming from his mouth I took back home and put him in his cage to calm down for a while. I was disappointed, I like to win those situations the first time out so there is less fight the next time. But it was pretty warm outside, CuJo still has winter coat and is over weight and not in good shape at all. I was saving the introductions for later, after I got an idea of CuJo's personality and his issues.
Once he was calm, I let Peanut into the room he was in. He was in his cage, so nothing bad could happen. I just wanted to get an idea of his state of mind and how he would act around other dogs. I knew that by simply observing Peanut I'd get the answers I wanted, her reaction would let me know his state of mind.
He snarled and charged at the side of his cage in an attempt to intimidate Peanut. It worked, she immediately fled the room and wanted nothing to do with him. She stayed outside, in the hallway and just barely poked her face into the doorway. Cujo would see her and start to growl and bark and she would cower back into the hall, looking to me for help. That told me all I needed to know, he was in a bad state of mind and looking for confrontations. I decided he would get to meet Charlie first and I must admit I was quite excited about the prospect. I knew I was in for some good TV, and hopefully CuJo would get his comeuppance and I wouldn't have to do the dirty work!
To make things a little more fair for CuJo, I took Peanut and Charlie for their normal long walk. Finishing by letting them have free time running in the park off leash. The walk was good and uneventful. I knew Charlie had spent a lot of energy, so CuJo would have the slight advantage of not having to meet Charlie when he had a full tank of gas.
We got back to my yard, I muzzled Charlie and left his leash connected to his collar. I put Peanut in a bedroom and got CuJo out of his cage, and put on his leash and muzzle.
I knew they wouldn't be able to injure each other while muzzled, but I left the leashes on in case one of the dogs managed to get out of the muzzle or otherwise figured out a way to hurt the other dog. I wanted to be able to drag them apart in the event of an emergency, or at the very least be able to drag one away from the other. I wish I would have been able to film the meeting or had someone to film while I acted as referee. It was fantastic, even better than I thought!!
First of all, when I put Charlie's muzzle on he took to pouting. He stood very still, head and tail down giving me the sad look. He was wondering why the muzzle and what he did wrong. I tried to let him know he didn't do anything wrong, but he was about to meet a dog with no social skills and I didn't want injuries, or worse, for CuJo to get killed.
CuJo hated the muzzle even more than Charlie and was howling and crawling around, scraping his face along the ground trying to get it off - it was the first time I put it on him. By this time, it was starting to get dark and I knew a video probably wouldn't come out anyway. I also figured that with my luck, I'd wind up with video of Charlie getting out of his muzzle and killing CuJo and I didn't want that. I also knew that I had to be ready to react in a split second should things take a turn for the worse and that I'd need both hands. I figured it would be a lot noise, pushing, maybe some fur flying, maybe 5 or 10 minutes of serious confrontation and not much more than that. More noise than anything. I was wrong.
Charlie was to the rear of the yard, still giving me the pouty look and not moving. I led CuJo out of the house and slipped off to the side, merely to observe. As I mentioned, I knew they wouldn't be able to seriously hurt each other, if at all. I've done this kind of thing before with unstable pitbulls and the best thing to do at first is just watch and let the dogs spend all their energy and sort out the pecking order by themselves. It's almost like letting 2 unruly 10 year olds sort things out before having to intervene.
CuJo saw Charlie a second or two before Charlie saw CuJo. Charlie was still standing still as a statue and giving me the begging eyes to please take the muzzle off.
CuJo took off straight at Charlie, with murder in his eyes and making a growling noise. As soon as Charlie noticed CuJo, he turned and launched himself toward CuJo like he was shot out of a cannon. They were on a collision course, both moving at near warp speed. They connected with a thud and Charlie bowled CuJo over, and was immediately on top, giving him the good news.
I had to stifle a chuckle and be ready to act just in case Charlie some how or other got his teeth on CuJo. Charlie was on top, shaking his head around as though he had a hold of CuJo in the way that pitbulls do when they grab something and try to shake the life out of it.
CuJo went into a state of panic, his face said it all. What was I thinking and what have I gotten myself into!! He couldn't get to his feet, he couldn't even manage to get away from Charlie at all.
Pack order sorted out in around 3 seconds flat. Even though CuJo is much larger, maybe twice the size of Charlie, he was pinned to the ground and unable to get up. And Charlie didn't have use of his mouth, he was in complete control using just his body. And I have to admit there is no sight quite like the awesome power of a pitbull on the attack. Maybe Mike Tyson in his prime, but that's the closest thing I can think of. No fear, no hesitation, simply violence of action and all out attack. No thought or hesitation whatsoever. Here is a dog coming at me, now I'm a heat seeking missile!!
Once I saw CuJo surrender and the "fight" basically over, I decided to see if I could calmly get Charlie under control without having to yank him away using the leash or yelling at the top of my lungs. I said in a calm voice, "Charlie, OUT, leave him alone, he's had enough." I didn't approach or move toward them.
Charlie looked up at me, back down to CuJo, he took a second or two. I knew he was considering his options, waiting to see if CuJo had anymore fight in him. CuJo didn't. He stepped off of CuJo and stepped away, looking more at me then at CuJo.
I had an, "Ah ha" moment and a light bulb went on in my head, but more on that later.
I was curious to see how CuJo would respond once he got on his feet and sure enough, he went right back at Charlie. Before I could even think, "What an idiot" he was flat on his back again half a second later. Charlie didn't make a sound this time, just went into action. This time he pushed CuJo into a corner, against the fence and garage and poor CuJo couldn't move an inch. Charlie pressing on him with all his strength, giving him even more good news!!!
Once the fight left CuJo and he started to whine and whimper, I asked Charlie again, in an even more quiet voice, barely above a whisper, "Charlie, OUT" - I did not move toward them or attempt to influence Charlie's response physically. His reaction was instant. He stopped, stepped off of CuJo and backed up a few feet. His eyes flicking back and forth from me to CuJo just waiting for CuJo to try something stupid yet again, or, I think, for me to give him a green light to launch another attack.
CuJo got up and was a little more docile this time. Well, he was LOT more docile this time!! After a few short, tension filled moments of indecision, he started sniffing Charlie's rear and I knew the worst was over. I was curious what Charlie would do, he was still none too happy about the muzzle and was staring at me with head lowered and tail down. He was completely ignoring CuJo, not even looking at him.
He tolerated CuJo's sniffing until CuJo went in front of his rear leg and stuck his head back between Charlie's legs. In other words, he was sniffing right around Charlie's family jewels, if you'll pardon my French. Charlie immediately spun around and let out with a BWAH sound, bumped with his chest and backed CuJo off. I didn't even have to say anything as that's all Charlie did, when CuJo cowered in fear, Charlie stopped and backed off. I watched for 2 or 3 more minutes just to see. They came to a sort of understanding and started to move around the back yard. Charlie definitely in command, chest puffed out and looking for any kind of challenge. CuJo was very submissive and stayed behind Charlie, following behind maybe 2 or 3 feet where ever Charlie went. If Charlie turned and made eye to eye, CuJo would just sort of shrink to the ground, tail firmly between legs.
So I knew everything between them was settled, I didn't worry about another attempted fight, I grabbed both leashes and off we went walking. By this time it was dark and I was glad. It was quite a bit cooler, I didn't want CuJo to overheat - he is a husky still in winter coat and a little over weight and out of shape.
As soon as we got back out of the yard, CuJo went into hard core struggle mode again. Howling, screaming, twisting around and rolling. Charlie ignored him and focused straight ahead, looking forward to a walk. We didn't even make it 2 houses away this time and CuJo went into dead weight mode again. This time I knew it was dark, much cooler and he wouldn't over heat so I was determined to drag away until he either lost consciousness or I couldn't pull anymore.
Just as my arms were going dead and was beginning to think about turning back around and heading home - I was not worried about CuJo physically, he was breathing fine, I was just about spent and couldn't pull much longer - he got up and started walking. It was still a struggle as he wanted to go every which way. He would sprint ahead to the end of the leash, run to one side then the other. Charlie totally ignored him, never went to attack and just focused on the walk. After a short time I was spent trying to control CuJo, we returned home and after a few more uneventful minutes of the 2 of them free of leashes in the back yard, I put CuJo in his cage for the night and let Peanut in the back yard with Charlie.
I was slightly curious as to how Charlie would react to Peanut at this point, because he just had a confrontation with another dog and was obviously sparked up, but I needn't have worried. Charlie and Peanut were just like normal, 2 peas in a pod.
Which let me know a few things about him and brings me back to my "Ah ha" moment. Charlie went at CuJo in reaction to CuJo's attempted attack and really bad state of mind and negative energy. He doesn't react that way to Peanut because of her state of mind and friendly nature. I had the idea that maybe I react too strongly when Charlie has a negative reaction to people and tries to strike. Instead of yelling really loud and dominating him physically, and sometimes having to put him to the ground by his neck, I can try a different tactic - let him get close and ask him to calm down, on his own.
This will take someone allowing Charlie to charge and probably make contact and staying calm and allowing me to handle it. Even though Charlie will be muzzled and can't possibly bite, I know it is still easier said than done. A charging pitbull will flat out rattle most people, muzzled or not.
I am thinking that once he does his thing, shows how tough he is and is allowed to make contact but can't bite, he will calm down again rather quickly, just like he did with CuJo. But I can't be certain until I try that approach. And even then, it may take many repetitions to extinguish that behavior. In an ideal situation, I would have 100 people lined up down the street and let Charlie go at them one at a time until he is out of energy and the bad reactions are history. I have an idea of 1 or 2 people with the right personalities that I could ask for help, that only leaves me about 98 or so short. Any one else want to help?
Any volunteers out there who will let a pitbull charge them in a frenzied state, and trust that he can't bite and that I can handle the situation??
I will end by saying that first thing this morning I let Charlie and CuJo out in the back yard together, muzzled of course but no leashes and no worries. There was no confrontation at all. After they went potty I hooked up the leashes and off we went. CuJo was like a different dog and behaved quite well. I noticed he was taking his cues from Charlie, stopped pulling and even started to sit when I stopped, all without being told. So just as Charlie learned the rules of the walk by observing Peanut, now CuJo has learned the basics just by watching Charlie. Around mid-day I took Peanut and Charlie for a long walk.
Sometime around 3 pm I took CuJo by himself to see how he would behave and after a few fits and starts, we wound up having a nice, long and relaxing walk. I still haven't introduced CuJo to Peanut, I am worried about MY reaction. I will react very violently toward CuJo if he goes after my girl, and I'm pretty sure he will. She still has a long cut down her belly and a bunch of stitches, and I will be very protective.
So I'm leaving that for tomorrow. Hopefully a few more walks with Charlie and them being together in the yard will calm CuJo down and give him some more social graces and the meeting with Peanut will be better. Stay tuned!!
March 21, 2009 -- Saint Clair Shores, Day 22
What a great day in the life of the Detroit Dog Trainer. My real breakthrough day happened yesterday with CuJo, the unbalanced husky. Today was just gravy. Normally, the dogs are gone before I get to see the finished products and the results of my labor. Usually I have to go toe to toe with dogs that have been abused and mistreated for years, and right when they just start to come around, they leave and go back home.
CuJo's basic obedience, leash training, and social skills are all at a high level after just 6 days of work. Good thing, too, as he is going back home tomorrow.
Also today, Peanut went to the vet this morning and got her stitches removed after her surgery a week ago. It was an interesting time because the vet suggested I leave Peanut and Charlie apart for most situations to leave no chance of injury or ruptured stitches. So basically all week I have been rotating 3 dogs as far as feeding, going outside and walks. Granted, there have been times when I've had them outside together, or fed them together, or walked them together.
But Peanut and Charlie have not had unsupervised time in the back yard since Peanut had surgery and has had stitches, following doctor's orders. They can play quite rough sometimes and after explaining this to the vet, he suggested they not to reduce any possibility of complications.
This morning Peanut went in and had stitches removed and I asked the doctor about her condition and would it be ok. He said it should be fine. So after walking and working with CuJo,then walking Charlie, then walking Peanut, I gave Charlie and Peanut some alone time in the yard. Of course, a few minutes in and I went out with my camera and got the following.
Charlie, the killer pitbull in action!!
Do you think they missed play time? Just as I appreciated Charlie's power and athletic ability the other day when confronting CuJo, today I appreciated the athleticsim and grace he showed while playing with Peanut. For all is strength and power, he is remarkably gentle with Peanut, even when she is biting him. He jumps and twists to avoid her bites and never bites back. I probably have an hour or so of video of them playing, and just tried to pull a minute or two to post and share so you could get an idea of the relationship they have and Charlie's ability to relate to other dogs. Please forgive the state of my back yard. Winter just passed (hopefully), grass is not growing yet and yard work has yet to begin in earnest. You might notice a few times the dogs' breath in the air, a sign that it is still pretty cool out.
I also have some good news: well, possible good news. I ran into a friend of mine, it just so happens the same friend that Charlie had a bad reaction to earlier in the week. The guy Charlie tried to attack, who let me work until he could approach and touch Charlie. He related to me that Charlie made quite an impression and he is considering adopting Charlie. He is a previous owner of a red nose pitbull and has experience with the breed and handling dogs.
He thought Charlie was beautiful, liked him and the fact that he could be tough when need be, and thought Charlie might prove useful as a watchdog for his business, in addition to being a good companion to him. No promises and nothing definite, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!
March 24, 2009 -- Saint Clair Shores, Day 25
Ok, so where to begin since last time? CuJo's owners, John and Therese, came and picked him up on Saturday. We spent several hours together as I demonstrated their new, well behaved dog and how to handle him. He behaved well on lead and in response to commands. They were very happy and I'm glad to report CuJo got a stay of execution.
Sunday I came to a realization. I have to work with and walk Peanut and Charlie separate to get best results for each. I can walk them together ok, but when I have to correct one, the other is slightly confused and vice versa. Also, one can always get the other agitated and I found myself going back and forth like a yo-yo. Dealing with just one at a time is better for all concerned. Their behavior is more consistent and the walks are much easier on my part. The one drawback is that I have to walk twice as far. Oh well, I can use the exercise.
Yesterday was mildly interesting during my first walk of the day with Peanut. We got to the end of my street and turned right, heading north on Harper Avenue. We had only gone a short distance when I saw a familiar face approaching us from the opposite direction. The Fisher King was headed our way, complete with the same tattered gray 80s era Member's Only jacket he had on last time (in case you're not up to speed, go back a few days and read about the drug dealer guy with the 2 pitbulls).
Only this time, instead of 2 out of control pitbulls pulling off of each arm, he had a pitbull on one arm and a small fluffy dog on the other. It was originally white, I think, but now a dirty gray thing, looking like a Westie or something similar, I'd guess maybe 10 or 15 pounds tops. On the other arm was one of the pitbulls I saw last time. Both dogs in a frenzy and barking their heads off. I'm not sure what happened to the second pitbull or if he traded it in for a fu-fu type dog or just can't walk the 3 of them together, but the little dog made the whole scene comical to me. He saw me shortly after I saw him and we had a brief eye to eye as we drew near to each other. This time he veered off to my right, way up into the grass to go around me by about 15 feet. As we passed, he nodded and said something - my headphones were blasting Rage Against the Machine in my ears and I couldn't be bothered to remove them and listen to him. I just nodded back and kept on walking. We passed without incident and I didn't look back, instead focusing on Peanut. I knew if she spun around something was coming my way and I'd have to react, otherwise, they were continuing on their way and so was any drama, which is what happened.
I'm convinced that the reason he went around this time as opposed to last time is I had Peanut with me instead of Charlie. He must have instinctively known that she was capable of licking him to death on the spot and gave us a wide berth to avoid that fate.
Today was interesting during Charlie's walk. At almost the same spot as last time I spotted my friend walking toward us down the sidewalk. Go figure on the timing, but I figure he must be destined to cross paths with Charlie. It was not planned or anything and I haven't spoken to him since last time we came across him during a walk. He's the same guy Charlie tried to attack a few days ago. This time he saw us and tried to approach in just the same manner as last time - smiling away, arm extended, hand open palm and bending down at the waist. I saw Charlie start to tense up and told him (my friend) to stop. I wanted to run my idea by him and try approaching in a different manner. I pulled Charlie's muzzle out of my back pocket and slipped it on - no need to take unnecessary risks. I told him to not bend over or extend his hand or to talk to Charlie with baby talk - he was just giving Charlie control of the situation. I asked instead that he walk upright, confident and ignore Charlie and whatever Charlie might do. As Cesar would say - no look, no touch, no eye contact.
So he walked up, Charlie huffed and puffed and made a lunge at him. Instead of reacting quickly and physically with Charlie, I barely reacted at all. I simply patted Charlie on the head and told him to relax, everything is ok. When we drew level with my buddy, I told him to turn and walk with us. Charlie made some noise and made one more half hearted attempt at lunging toward him and then quickly fell back into step beside me. After a few more steps, I handed the leash over to my friend and told him to keep walking. A few more steps and I stopped walking and just observed. The next thing I knew, my friend was petting Charlie, who was reacting with smiles and wagging tail. They were quick friends, we resumed walking together and now Charlie was doing everything he could to get attention and affection from my pal. The whole thing took maybe 2 minutes. A lesson learned and a major victory for Charlie as far as I'm concerned. My friend was all smiles as well, saying, "Did you see that!! Have you ever seen him make friends so quick, that means something!"
I said you're right, and why don't you take Charlie home right now!! Really I was thinking that I have only seen Charlie make friends quicker once - and that was with me - but have never seen him warm up to someone he had such a negative reaction to initially. So I asked my buddy about taking Charlie and he explained that he lives with his father, and is trying to convince his dad to let him bring Charlie home. We agreed to arrange a meeting between Charlie and his father.
One down and about 99 more to go as far as Charlie meeting strangers and having a positive experience result. I still haven't got any volunteers!!
Continue to CHARLIE PART 3