This is Zwi. He is our beloved village idiot. (Truly this dog is as stupid as they come, but he has a heart of gold. Anything that is alive is his friend.) There is not a mean bone in his body. He is as lazy and good natured as they come.
However, he does have a very strong stubborn streak in him that he can enforce simply because of his size. (We're talking nearly 90lbs of dog.) He is nearly my size and borders on close to six feet on his hind legs. That stubborn streak has been on full display for the last 24 hours.
For context, our backyard at the old house was completely fenced in, something that is preferable with greyhounds. Zwi has been on lead lines before, (never unsupervised), and has adapted well to the line set up we have at the current house. (Bigger yard, but it isn't fenced). Our main lead line broke. It needs replacing and we just haven't had time to do it.
We've been using the slightly shorter, lighter travel line as a stop gap. Well, Zwi, a.k.a Captain Stupidity wants nothing to do with it. Too bad. You have to deal. Zwi won't get off the back step. He is also not coming back in until he does his business.
I take the step out of the equation by moving the base clip of the line to the in ground pivot. Zwi can't reach the step, but he does get up on the patio and proceeds to tangle himself up on purpose. Untangle repeat. Put him on the leash and show him where the new borders of the lead line go. Still convinced he needs to be on the patio.
I moved the pivot point itself and took Zwi with. He cannot reach the patio or the back step. He has full range of motion 360°. Walk him on the leash so he knows where his edges are. Again. Clip him on the lead line and I just l left him alone.
I kept an eye on him to make sure he was okay. But once familiar temptations like the patio and step (challenged areas) were removed, stubborn mode turned off.
Zwi voluntarily strolled around the perimeter of the pivot edge and did what he needed to do. Once he finally stopped ramming his head into every wall he could think to find, he relaxed and realized he was just fine. He laid down in the grass and enjoyed the afternoon.
And for as stupid as he is, Zwi has very good functional memory. Once he decides to learn a command or boundary he knows it and obeys it to the utmost of his ability (except when he gets stuck in stubborn mode.).
Overall, Zwi is a remarkably good dog, but like people he has days when you wish him to the dark side of the moon. On those days I remind myself of all the things he could do and doesn't given his size. How little work he truly requires, how laid back and gentle he is.
Rue Dog on the other hand is too smart for his own good, needs constant enrichment, is double coated, sheddy, noisy, and has endless energy. Rue Dog is high maintenance. Zwi is as low maintenance as they come. Rue figured out the lead line set up in about 30 seconds on his own.
I needed to put in the patience with Zwi to get him out of stubborn mode. He is big, but he is also a klutz, and I didn't want him harming himself if he freaked out. Hence the active edges with the leash.
It wasn't a lot to ask given the resources and attention I put into Rue Dog and Potato Cat. Both of them like doing the agility course (and Potato Cat knows as many commands as Zwi), Zwi has no desire to even try.
Zwi is not treat or toy motivated. He is people motivated and stubborn mode is his way of demanding some attention when what seems like a simple shift feels impossible.
I worked with him and took the points of contest away so we weren't pushing each other's buttons. Him for attention, me because he does actually know better and the behaviour was solely to garner attention.
Once he realized he would not get his way and that I was working with him to find a point he could start from things clicked. But on both sides we had to compromise.
He might be stupid, but Zwi is a good teacher in things like patience because he doesn't learn things readily and can be stubborn, both traits that can be very challenging, especially when featured in concert. He's a good dog, not a perfect dog.
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