A belated hello.

Hello to everyone on the the forum.
I'm sorry that I dived straight in without an introduction, I shall put that right.
I'm 64, male and I work as a computer tech.
I live in Essex, UK, which is one of England's most rural counties with endless miles of wild saltmarsh coastline and open farmland, in contrast to the dreadfully misleading media image of Essex, which really refers to the urban strip between London and Shoebury via Barking, Dagenham, Thurrock, Basildon and Southend-on Sea.

I've had dogs for over 50 years, mostly crossbreeds and especially lurchers which I never used for hunting.
Rosie is my first staffie.

Many years ago I used to do a lot of wildfowling and I was always impressed by the rapport between the dogs that always accompanied us as essential hunting partners and their owners, who were mostly 'Owd Essex booys'. These dogs would wait silently for hours, sometimes shivering with cold, sometimes buttoned, soaking wet, inside their owner's coats. They knew exactly what we were about when we were carrying guns and the mad terrier and scatty spaniel would become silent focused hunters, fixed to their owner's heels when walking and still and quiet when we were hiding up, waiting for the birds to come in.
I've seen dogs go from stretched out, sound asleep, to full silent concentration in a second, with no perceptible (to me at least) clue from us as soon as one of us spotted an incoming flight. They would watch their owners all the time and would respond to the tiniest of signals. Sometimes no more than a glance in the right direction and a nod would send the dog hurtling into a patch of cover where a bird might be hiding or, while walking up or roughshooting, a dog would stiffen suddenly, sometimes giving a tiny whine and focus on a patch of reeds 25 yards away. We all got the message, directly, without words, and I don't think I ever saw one of those dogs give a false indication.
That was a partnership with a dog that I wanted.
I stopped hunting 30 years ago but I still want that close relationship which is based on mutual trust and liking rather than of simple dog training.
I'm getting there with Rosie. She's not perfect but that's because I'm far, far from being perfect myself.
I still think far too much when handling her, rather than getting in touch with my wilder, more instinctual side which is what she finds easiest to understand.
Body language, intention, energy, she reads very well.
Sometimes I can get impatient, such as when she's slow to respond or ignores me to go to greet someone or some dog and then I have to remind myself that at 2 ½ years old, the equivalent of a human teenager, she's a young, inexperienced, bouncy, friendly, staffie and the last thing that I would want to do is to turn her into an automaton or have her cower at me.
So she teaches me patience.
Sometimes I get that self-defeating edge of panic in my voice when she runs towards what I consider a risky situation with perhaps a less balanced dog or some other danger.
So she teaches me to remain calm.
Sometimes, if perhaps we are faced by dogs which are not calm and friendly, she reacts as any dog will, she prepares to defend herself. I can take over then, face the other dog and claim my space.
So she teaches me to be confident, to trust her assessment of the situation (she reads dogs far better than me) and to remain calm and confident.
I suppose I'll get it one day.
In my work, I spend time in customers houses and in various businesses. I get to meet lots of dogs.
I've had rotties that want to eat me, labradors insisting on sitting on my lap licking me while I'm trying to fix a computer, bunches of small dogs yapping endlessly to get attention, fearful dogs that watch you and bark and back up if you look at them and I've learned to deal with them all in the same way.
I ignore the behaviour, and the owners opinion of their precious little (he's friendly really.) darling.
The unspoken conversation that I have with the dog, the mental state that I try to project, is that of the most popular kid in the playground, the one who's gang everybody wants to be in. Aloof. confident, self contained.
I don't look at them, touch them (other than a decisive fend off to claim my personal space) or acknowledge them in any way.
Mostly, within a few minutes, I find the dog or dogs sitting next to me, waiting. Then I'll make a fuss of them, but I always do it in a calm quiet way, disagreeing with any excitement slow hand movements, a slow massage of their neck and shoulders, no sound, just steady eye contact.

I find dogs will gravitate towards that kind of dominant, calm attitude.

Reading all this, I realise that it sounds like I think of myself as some sort of Zen master, or Yoda for dogs.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
My nickname used to be Quicksilver and chaotic could be my middle name.
The dogs ground me, force me to be calm and steady for a while.
Someone said that walking with a dog should be like a walking meditation, a time out.
Relaxed, no stress, no worry, just you and your dog, travelling together. For me, that's a worthwhile goal.
As I write this, Rosie is tethered to the leg of my chair because we are having some work done to our front door and porch and no power on earth except a tether will keep her from sneaking off as soon as my attention is on the computer, to join the men outside for a game of chase the squeaky ball, which is what she thinks they're there for.
Gotta love 'em.


Best regards, John.

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Hiya John and welcome to the forum What a fantastic intro

I thouroughly enjoyed reading that! Hi and welcome from me and Moo

welcome

hello and welcome from me and billy

great introduction

hia from me and sasha
wow what a brilliant way to hello

Hi and welcome from Roxy and me
All thats missing after that fantastic intro is some pics of Rosie....please!!

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

Welcome from us and Leia John. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your intro especially about hunting with the dogs. My dad has a black lab that is trained as a hunting dog so i know what you mean about them getting serious and concentrating when they see you with the gun. Look forward to hearing some more of your storys and thoughts.

hi from me and Herman looking forward to the pics

hello and welcome from me the wife and marley

Hello and welcome from Zac and me

Great intro!

Hey, John, welcome to the forum! It's nice to put a bit of info behind the name!

Hi and welcome from us and Suki.

Great intro

welcome from me and scarlet fantastic intor xx

Hello and welcome aboard

Hi from Me Skye and Buster

John, welcome to the forum from me and my girls Kita & Izzy

Great intro, thanks