Hey there!!
I would like to thank everyone from Animatch for being there for me, taking care of me and finding me my furever family! I am so happy with my sister Chloe. we love to play and wrestle, and every morning, we greet each other with playful kisses.
My mom Tina, loves walking me, as I am such a great walker and we walk together several times a day. Daddy even told me, if I learn not to run away, and to come when he calls, I may even be able to one day learn to walk alongside him with Chloe, without leashed and to play at the park across the street. But I am not ready for that yet 
Only the yard (in spring) and dog park for me for now.
I am working on not having accidents in the house as I get a little anxious when I am left alone. But I am doing much better now that I have my own space, and hope that I’ll be accident free soon.
I am learning new words and commands pretty quickly, and love to show off the tricks I have learned. I am an affectionate boy and love cuddling with my family on the couch at night. Good things there’s lots of room for Mom, dad, my doggie sister Chloe and the 2 kitties!
Thank you Animatch!!
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Riley (formerly Kayak) looks as handsome as ever. Happy to hear that he is fitting in so well and that he has a patient Mom and Dad.
What an absolutely beautiful doggie! Keep up the great progress Riley! You are one lucky furbaby!
We are lucky to have found him
He is a great addition to our family and he is learning everyday. He was definitely not an abused dog, he was fed, groomed and unafraid of people.. but I think what he was lacking was attention and direction.
He is a bit of a pig head,, but responds very positively to attention, praise and treats. Typical retriever that he is, he wants to please and jump on everyone he sees
Hes a good boy and as I write this message, him and Chloe are playfully rolling around and wrestling next to me.
We are having some issues with training him off leash, because the moment we take the leash off outside, in the yard or dog par, its like we don’t exist anymore… Sometimes even treats aren’t enough to get him to come back. But we are working on it and its only been a few weeks. He will come around and learn in time.
Tina & the dogs
Funny that you mentioned that he may be part Great Pyrenees. Our Zoey is part Pyr, as well. From my understanding of the breed, Pyrs are very independent (they GUARD the flock/ herd, whatever its called) out there on their own. They are stubborn, very intelligent and listen WHEN THEY ARE IN THE MOOD! Know what you call an off-leash Pyr?? Dissapyr!!!
We also have not been lucky teaching Zoey to come to us when she is off-leash, especially if something more interesting is around. Hence, at this time, she is no longer ever off-leash! She will be 3 in the summer. She is also a Tête de Cochon….She can be 100% compliant but can also look you straight in the face when you’ve asked her to come…and turn her back and walk away!!! Depends on her mood, (or if you happen to be using a tasty morsel as bait!) LOL…. Yep, your doggie could very well have great Pyrenees in him!!! LOL Good luck! and if you come up with a great secret to perfect recall…please let me know…(and yes, we did go to Puppy Classes and Obedience Training!!!) Take care~
Hi Tina… (Guess I will have to get used not to call you “1010! anymore!) Thanks for the news… And guys, talking about tête de cochon, Toscan sure joins your babies! He’s fine until he sees a dog… or a cat… or a bird… or a fly, for that matter! Then, I strongly believe that instant earplugs grow in his ears! (I have taught him hand signs, just in case !...) Keep on working with Reilly , he’s very lucky to have found you… And He is so beautiful! Congratulations again!
Hi 1010rikku .. great to hear that nearly every thing is working out .. He is a beautiful dog ..
LOL Dissapyr, thats a good one
We live in a quiet circle, houses all around, with an “unofficial” dog park in the middle. Most of our neighbors have dogs, and they all converge to play together in the circle while the parents throw various balls and frisbees while they chat. We would really love for Riley to be able to join in on the fun, but the moment he’s off the leash HE BOOKS IT!! Fortunately, he is a little overweight, so doesn’t make it too far before he runs out of steam… It will take some time, and some chasing, but I think he might learn
This weekend, we are going to try tiring him out real good at the dog park, make him run and run and play like mad, before bringing him into the circle and dropping the leash, while each of us placed each other strategically and calling him back and forth while rewarding him with his favorite treats.
I have confidence my Riley boy can learn
DEBBIE! I found some awesome advice on teaching a dog off leash!
Its naturaldogblog, and its by using a SUPER long lead. I need to find one for Riley! This guy also has some interesting advice on playing tug of war with your dog.
Thanks so much, Tina! I will check it out, for sure~
You have a very beautiful boy there
If you’re looking for a very long leash, go to a tack shop (it’s store for horse stuff) you can buy a lounge line. It’s a long line they use to exercise horses and looks just like a leash. It has a clip on one end too 
Don’t know where you live, but there are two tack shops in Hudson. One is Sandridge and the other is Crazy Carousel. Good luck 
Thanks Edgar (tho I think that ur a lady)...that is awesome info. and I live about 20 minutes from Hudson…and would for sure go out there to get me one of ‘em l-o-n-g leashes!
haha, you’re right, Edgar is my dog’s name, my name is Lynn:-) If you know the area, Sandridge Saddlery is on route 342 just off the corner of Cote St. Charles. If you come by the 40 take exit 22 turn right (if you’re coming from the west island) go past Mon Village down the road to the stop sign, turn right and it’s the second building from the corner
Thank you!!
I’m in Chateauguay, so I will have tto do some research and find something closer, but there’s always the Internet
I am very excited to try this technique with Riley! Hopefully I can find a long line before the weekend!!
check on line or your local phone book, I know for sure there are tack shops in Chateauguay:-) Tack shops always carry these lines (leashes)
Look under Sellerie or saddlery 
oops, sorry 1010, just had a quick look on line and it seems there isn’t one there. There’s one in Hemmingford, Montreal, Vaudreuil.
Montreal could work… I am going to Google that now
Thanks Lynn!
~Tina
Riley is gorgeous <3 Sounds like another perfect Animatch match!!!!
We can get long leashes at Dollarama at my end of town. Used it to try to teach recall with my two nuts with limited success. Unfortunately, it was not the leash’s fault…my girls just want to run run run!!!
Good luck!
Thank you everyone!
Yes, Riley is a great match to our family! I was wondering if anyone had any good training ideas with regards to dogs who get UBER EXCITED when they see other dogs or people.
When I take Riley on his evening walk, we often come across neighbors with their dogs and Riley looses it. As I see them approaching, I have him sit next to me and stay… and he does pretty good for a while, but inevitably, when they reach us, he is crazily pouncing and jumping and I am struggling to hold him.
Having him learn to be offleash would be a bonus, but this one is probably more important to learn :S
Thanks fellow Dog Lovers!!
try doing some focus training with him. cut some chicken, salami, hot dogs, something really tasty and he doesn’t usually get, into little pieces. get him to sit in front of you to start with, take a little piece let him sniff it and get him to look at you, when he does let him have the treat. repeat it a few times, each time he looks up at you let him have a piece. get friends or family to try to distract him, keep his focus on you with the smell of the treat. when he’s good at it you can move outside doing the same thing. when the other dogs are in sight, make him sit and get him to focus on you using the treat to keep his attention on you and not the other dogs, when he looks at you let him have the treat. keep doing this until the other dogs have gone past you. hope it works
That some great advice, especially since he LOVES to eat! I think if I had little pieces of hotdogs (or chicken dogs) he would look at me with adoration beyond anything I could imagine lol! My Chloe girl understands “Look at Mom”...but I honestly dont remember how I taught her or how she picked it up.
I guess each kid is very different and methods need to be altered to meet their needs
Thank you!
Hi Tina and Lynn! Well, I sure hope that the treats will work for Riley! I tried everything with Toscan… He’s gonna be 10, and he still goes nuts when he sees a dog… The only difference is after the walk : then he seems like 20yrs old! Sore legs, sore hips… I had to get some grip-ons for my boots, so I would stop boot skiing! or getting dragged behind him when he made me fall… soooooo embarrassing! But I think that somehow the wires touch when he sees a dog. I tried with treats, but nothing could keep him focused. What works best for me is keeping walking as if nothing happens… I know, hard for arms and shoulders… I wish you better luck with Riley! LOL!
LOL
It is totally embarrassing!!! Those other dogs are all looking over like “whats HIS problem humf” and my arms are sore trying to hold back my happy go lucky kujo.
I have ended up on my butt a few times… I must admit. He has been learning words very quickly, and he understand the sit and wait at the door, until you are invited out. It could work, and if not, its good training excersice for his mind
Wow! you guys…I am so happy (well not really) to hear other people’s stories, ‘cause my little Millie is a TERROR on LEASH! She spots a moving “anything” from a mile away, be it human, or doggie and starts pulling like mad. As we get closer, ‘cause ultimately the “whatever” is coming towards us, she LUNGES and GROWLS, SNARLS and PULLS to get at this “passer-by”. It is so embarrassing because everyone thinks that she is soooooooooooooo cute, and some people want to pet her, and then..WHOA!!!, the little terror “attacks”, and people are so taken back! What’s worse, after we’ve reined her in and prevented contact, she then continues LOOKING BACKWARDS, and still pulling and still trying to get at the “WHATEVER”....Have to admit, that our “Millie NO!!” has not worked, nor has trying to distract her with treats….she goes into a trance / craze, and its as if we aren’t even there! Very frustrating and not pleasant to walk at all when other people with or without dogs DARE to be out and about at the same time as us….which tends to happen ALOT!!!
LOL! So you have a mini Toscan, Debbie! I understand exactly what you’re saying… that’s how I started walking late…very late, at night, when most people are in for the night! But, of course, having a GSD sure is securizing, cause most of the time, when we do come across people, THEY change sides! LOL!