Mylo is a swimmer!

Last week while Chris and I were on vacation we took Mylo up to Bloomingdales. Its a little conservation area with a bunch of trees and a lake. 

We were impressed with how well Mylo did off his leash. He stayed with us the whole time. 

But the funniest part was him and the water. There were at least 7 other dogs there going in to the lake and swimming. Mylo would only go as far as he could still be standing. Luckily Chris' aunt brought a ball and we would throw it into the water and mylo would retrieve it. 

At first he would wait till it waded closer to shore then slowly he would go a bit further to get the ball but when he would swim he was splashing like crazy, panicking to get back to shore.

Happily though, by the time we left Mylo realized that he could swim and that there was no need to panic and swam gracefully in the water.

Mylo Graduates

So Mylo has graduated from beginners obedience. He wasn't "TOP DOG" but he did come in second place. (Only because Mylo and Chenga were the only two dogs that showed for evaluation) But he still did FANTASTIC. He scored 44.5 out of 50. 

YAY MYLO!!

We are taking a short break before we continue on with training.  The next class started tomorrow and that was too early and its my birthday so Chris and I wouldnt be going. So the end of August Mylo will be in intermediate obedience.  

Very Polite

Last night Tim and Mary came over to our place for dinner. 

I was a little worried about how Mylo would react to having people over in our house since he's still getting used to it, but I must say he was GREAT.

He barely pounced on Mary or Tim and this was the first time meeting them. Then he left them pretty much alone while we hung out in the living room

We decided to eat downstairs away from Mylo since he definitely would've been begging for food and I dont think that nice expecially when we have company. 

I think we are making progress and hopefully it won't bother Mylo one bit when we have company. It's just going to get him used to having people over.

A new look.

So yesterday while Chris was walking Mylo, Mylo decided to eat his leash. (He gets nervous and starts to chew on the leash when he's to close to another dog on his walks) 

Chris went out today and bought him a new leash which is blue. We've had this blue collar for a while just as an extra so we thought we'd throw it on to match his new leash. 

Mylo has a new look for the summer.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 Also the quick change to this hot weather has not been great for Mylo. He gets tuckered out so fast on our walks in this heat. I feel bad for the poor guy. We keep his walks short during the day. He needs to go out for a pee. In the evenings is when we've started taking him for his long walks. Its not as hot, and the sun's not beating down on his black fur.

Patience is a virtue... and a hard thing to have sometimes

Mylo has been driving Chris up the wall lately.  It's funny how things have switched. Mylo used to be the one driving me bonkers. Mylo ate our couch, our window sill, part of our stairs and baseboards which are a few things that drove me to tears in the beginning. 

Now I have learned that 

1) the dog can't be caged cause he's hoodini and gets out while its locked. (the cage is still locked once he comes out) 

2) He's not so horrible now as in the beginning

and 

3) Its just stuff that can all be replaced. (eventually - we arent running out to fix it right away just incase)

But this time around Mylo is getting things that belong to Chris. Like new hockey shirts, shoes, etc. As well as running away on Chris and getting into the closet. 

I know Chris has said Mylo should go back to the pound. Im positive he doesnt mean it considering when I was in tears he told me Mylo wasn't going back. So now its my turn to put my foot down and hold up the fort. 

We would never get rid of Mylo but I do know this for sure .. if for some strange reason we ever did. There will never be another dog in our house. 

Why? Because I dont think its fair. Yes, Mylo is a heck of a lot of work and TROUBLE but so is every dog and if we ever got another dog we would go through the same thing all over again. So lets just work with what we've got and sit back and realize that we have come a long way with Mylo and YES he will get better. With our help.

First day of class

Today was our first class of doggy obedience. I was terrified considering Mylo has been having a few issues. Of course he barked at all the dogs as they walked into the room. But I must say he did very well. Mylo does know the basics pretty well; sit, laydown, shake a paw. 

Our trainer introduced Clicker training. Mylo seems to be taking pretty well to that. He needs to get used to it and thankfully she said he will be weened off the clicker by the end of the class. 

We worked on the basics, and getting used to the clicker. By the end Mylo was exhausted because as soon as we got home he fell asleep under the computer and has been there since. (1 hour) 

Now we will just have to remember to use the clicker. Its a matter of chris and I getting used to using it.

A bite...

So Monday night Chris took Mylo for a walk. When he came back he was pretty upset and told me that some yippy little dog bit Mylo. Of course I was surprised and asked what happened? Chris said that there was an asian lady with her dog off the leash and her dog came up to Mylo when he started to bark and wanted to play. Chris of course had Mylo on his leash. The little dog ran up and bit Mylo on the belly. Chris lost it and started yelling at the lady who of course did not speak english.. or pretended that she did not speak english. 

The next day at two separate times when we took Mylo out for a walk he went strange and started nipping on our arms. He even destroyed Chris' sleeve and just bruised my arm. We think it has something to do with the biting incident. Today he has been fine. But we are watching him closely and working on his behaviour. 

I also enrolled him into Dog training. He starts May 12 and hopefully that will help.