When Will Atticus Be Ready?

At a recent family get-together, The Whole Pack was out in my in-laws' fenced-in yard.  Luna was in the lake, Foster was continually considering how to get under the platform deck to hang out and look for critters, and Atticus was attached to me by a leash around my waist.  Atticus has been home for 7 months and disappeared for two hours earlier this year.  He has been labeled a "Treeing Walker Coonhound," a breed recommended to never be off leash unless hunting.  While I'm not ready to accept that he can never be off leash - in part due to my belief that he is certainly a mix of breeds, and in part due to my belief that if you can train a dog to track a particular scent and tree a bear you can train a dog to stay in your yard - I'm not ready to give him the chance to jump the three, four and eight foot fences in my in-laws' yard.

Particularly when we're in new environments, Atticus needs a little extra attention to stay with The Pack.

I was asked, "How long until you let him off the leash?"  Usually, I can answer a "dog" question quickly.  I have a lot of opinions, and I've answered the same questions a million times, but I didn't have a clear answer for that question.  I thought about it a little more, and then I had a totally true and great answer.  The moment was gone (Don't you hate when that happens?!?!), but I felt more confident about why I was doing what I was doing (Don't you love when that happens?!?!).

How will I know when Atticus is ready to be off leash in my in-laws' yard?  When I feel more confident that his desire to please us is greater than the power of his nose.  A classic Nurture vs. Nature.

You shouldn't base life changing decisions on feelings only so I will support my feelings with some behavioral observations.  I am working on Atticus' recall - he's actually been great from the beginning - but with nature's scent distractions, he's challenged when outside.  Still quite good, but that is one way he shows his attachment.  There are other less obvious to people ways he can show his attachment and respect and I'm looking for improvement in these areas as well.

One, when the dog food in the bin is exposed, Atticus must not put his head in the bin to eat cups and cups of food.  When the food bin is open in my presence, Atticus is excellent about looking to me for permission, and he never receives permission to stick his head into the bin for feasting. When the food bin has been left open outside of my presence, Atticus has enjoyed many many many mouthfuls of food.  He no longer pulls anything out of any garbage around the house.  He no longer takes anything off of counters.  When presented with a food bin opportunity though, he is still taking advantage.  Sometimes; not all the time.  When he no longer does this at all, I will know that he has respect for the rules even if I am not right there.  That is true discipline.

Showing how disciplined he can be while waiting for his dinner.

Two, Atticus has this tremendous sense of urgency when we're walking.  Everything interesting is not only 18 inches outside of my arm's length, the need to investigate is immediate.  He has greatly improved his walking manners, greatly, but they still need some work.  When there is no longer frequent tension in the leash, I will know that he is understanding that we are walking together, and the point of The Walk is for him to follow me.  I do not agree with The Walk being "His Walk," and I'm not waiting for him to "outgrow" the pulling and urgent behavior.  We work as a Pack on our walks, and it's challenging, and sometimes not even fun, but I see him remembering tension in the leash means slow down, and walking in front of me is unacceptable.  Not all the time, but more of the time.  I remember how it was when he first came home.  It was as if he'd never encountered this leash contraption connected-to-a-human thingy.  He has shown me he is working, and he knows I appreciate his work.  He's getting there.

Pulling with a friend.
Sometimes I ask them if they have an appointment to get to that I don't know about!

I also need to work with Atticus on things that will fulfill his scent tracking needs.  We have done some work with that in the house, and if I work with him inside and outside, he may be more interested in the game playing possibilities while we're outside than in jumping over a fence to follow a scent...and be hit by a car...or fall through the ice...or be considered a stray...and I don't even want to think about it.

Atticus is VERY interested in this thing I keep calling a "snake."

So when will Atticus be allowed off leash in a yard?  I'm not sure, but I'll give him a chance soon, after some more recall, discipline and scent tracking time!