IT’S Teddy the labrador’s second birthday and it’s hard to conceive what the house would feel like without him.
Our inquisitive black bundle of fun has matured into a 40kg Tigger-like high-energy presence: infinitely curious, hugely well meaning and still demonstrating a perversely independent streak at the most inopportune moments.
On the plus side, he still sleeps contentedly through the night in his den, has the gentlest of mouths and is, we are reassured by all who know him, a “sweet boy” who doesn’t appear to have a nasty bone in his body.
He’s never snarled in anger and will patiently let puppies clamber over him, children pet him and more boisterous friends nibble, pester or bounce all over him.
Despite a couple of unpleasant bites from jealous assailants before he was chemically castrated earlier in the year, he’s shown neither fear nor resentment towards grumpy or barky dogs, although it’s taken him time to learn how to take a more cautious approach towards unfamiliar canines and learn that not all human strangers want a huge black beast careering towards them at high speed determined to make their acquaintance.
There are a dozen things we should be grateful for: he doesn’t howl or bark, for example, or nip ankles, bite fingers or hump visitors’ legs.
He’s even learned not to stare beseechingly at us when we eat a meal and from a young age he’s known how to ring a bell by the door when he needs to go out for a wee or a poo.
But recall is still a challenge – despite our persistent efforts to encourage him not to race off to explore the nearest fascinating distraction, be it human or canine. From Day One, he’s demonstrated that boundless bouncy enthusiasm that labrador owners recognise only too well.
And while smaller cockapoos and poodles with their tiny paws and winning grins can perhaps get away with an audacious leap at a passing stranger, 40kg labradors cannot count on the patience and understanding of random passers-by.
Apart from the embarrassment factor, there are genuine safety risks involved when a large dog bounces at someone young or infirm, never mind smaller, older dogs with health problems.
To celebrate his birthday, we have finally graduated from his harness to a slip lead, and it’s been a heartwarming transition.
He never really approved of his smart blue body harness, but it played a crucial role in preventing him from pulling like a train on walks, the two-clip attachments limiting his capacity to yank you off your feet.
Likewise, the Halti headcollar was no silver bullet to the lead-pulling problem, but an invaluable part of the training process, particularly important with a powerful dog like Ted, who joined our family too late for those crucial initial puppy obedience classes.
Using a slip lead wasn’t possible when he was younger and would bolt like a greyhound out of a trap at any intriguing passer-by – and the prospect of neck or whiplash injuries was a serious deterrent.
But now that his loose-lead walking is so much better, the slip lead is a lot more practical: and it’s almost as if he’s proud of being trusted more. He certainly looks more excited at the prospect of a walk, and slipping it on and off is infinitely easier and less stressful than getting him into the harness.
But recall still isn’t guaranteed – and as one trainer pointed out, if you haven’t got 100% recall you haven’t got recall at all.
He’s undoubtedly making progress, though – and the number of successful stress-free off-lead outings has dramatically increased since he’s been able to use the slip lead.
Reliable canine role models are hard to come by but spending time off lead with a favourite friend is a perfect way to expend all that excess energy.
But of course the whole process is a learning curve, and back when tiny Teddy first arrived we might not have realised quite how long it would take to get to this stage.
We’re making good progress and even strangers in the park comment on how much calmer he has become since they first saw him.
Yes, there’s a long way still to go. But despite all the hard work, Teddy’s firmly part of the family now and we wouldn’t have it any other way, however long it takes to turn him into a model canine citizen.
