Need Some Help

[*Lassie*]

We never do sitting while other dogs are passing now. If we are walking towards a dog and he breaks his heel close, i stop cue the heel close and he returns to my side for us to then carry on walking – he always rushed back to my side so that we can carry on walking towards the dog quicker. Maybe i should bring him back into a heel close and then change direction away from the dog??

Yes change direction 😉

[.dodger.]

[quote author=Mudgie link=topic=13697.msg260700#msg260700 date=1234800085]
Laura

This is mostly about you.  Sorry hun but it is.  Remember the difference in Dodger when I had his lead and when you had his lead  😉  Remember how him and nooch were walking and at one point even playing in the field  😉

Your shoulders are tense, you are upright, your fingers are clenched around the lead, your face is distraught.  You need to work on yourself and your body language and calming yourself – remember you are in charge – not in an aggressive punishing way – but he doesnt need to protect you – cos you are in charge  😉  Will talk to you about it more next week in person. 
[/quote]

I am trying so hard at changing and most of the time i do feel more relaxed (even only having one hand on the lead like Bev showed me) but with a couple of dogs who i know fire back at him i do find my self bringing him in closer ect so still got work to do :yes:
[quote author=piglet link=topic=13697.msg260703#msg260703 date=1234800378]
Hi,

Laura – i didnt mean someone else take dodger, i meant someone come WITH YOU to film you + him, then the difference with you + another dog.

it would have hilighted what i suspected but mudgie has confirmed anyway – that its you who is feeding his reactive behaviour 🙁

am sure mudgie will sort you and you are right – you are almost there 😀

like i said – confident but in a gentle manner – you KNOW all the theory you KNOW what to do, you just have to trust in yourself and put a little faith in your ability with dodger 🙂  i know you have what it takes – i would gladly bring my 2 to play with mister dodger and you if we lived closer 😉

Claire x
[/quote]

They’d have to walk a long way behind me because even if i’m walking to the shops with someone and i have the lead he just forgets all his training and wont do ask i ask. Any idea’s why he does it when we are around another person. I know back when he was ‘nice’ i would be slack on the training when we were out with another person and dog because i’d normally have him off lead most of the time so do you think he’s learnt from that; that being with another person/dog means he doesn’t have to listen ???

Will start practasing changing direction next time Lassie ;D

[Justine&Rafe]

Laura, I really, really feel for what you are going through – you know me and Rafe have been going through hell the past few months, so I know what it feels like.

The only advice I can give you is for you, not really Dodger – get some Rescue Remedy spray. When Rafe and I were going through Crazy Lady heel close nightmare, I’d be almost in tears by the time I got to the bottom of the road – tense, screaming into my gloves because it was driving me mad!  And no doubt that didn’t help him.  So – rescue remedy just takes the edge off it.  Just a couple of sprays in the mouth when you feel you’re ready to scream.

The other thing that really helped me was to us one of those long training leads – Claire, what are they really called??  Not so he can be a long way away, but one that you can loop round your shoulder and clip back on itself – leaves both hands free.  Found that enormously helpful.  You will find that your tension kinda goes away a bit if you aren’t gripping on a lead at all. plus it leaves one hand for clicker and one for treats. 

It’s worth a try!

Also – am keeping watching this coz R has a bit of a tendency to charge up to everyone, it ain’t top priority right now though!

[kerrie and stan]

[quote author=Justine&Rafe link=topic=13697.msg260733#msg260733 date=1234862024]
The other thing that really helped me was to us one of those long training leads – Claire, what are they really called??  Not so he can be a long way away, but one that you can loop round your shoulder and clip back on itself – leaves both hands free.  Found that enormously helpful.  You will find that your tension kinda goes away a bit if you aren’t gripping on a lead at all. plus it leaves one hand for clicker and one for treats.
[/quote]

not sure i would have a lead looped round my body with a dog that lunged :-\ he could seriously hurt laura if he lunged and pulled her over.

keep up the good work laura you will get it eventually 😉

[Justine&Rafe]

It depends how severe the lunging is – Rafe has quite a tug on him – he and Dodge are probably very similar in size.

As long as you are alert, you can lean back into it, and, well, Rafe lunged plenty, but never tipped me off balance, coz I leaned back into it.  Yes, on slippery snow I skied a little, but on solid ground I had plenty of control!

You can also hold the lead (clearly!) if you feel he is going to pull.  I just found, with both hands free I had sooooo much more focus from him, as I could use that to distract his head, instead of using one to always be holding on to him.

It absolutely depends on whether you feel it would help, or if you feel his lunging would put you in danger. 

One note of caution is that you do have to be alert, that’s the only time I got tipped – was in la la land, he spotted a dog, and pulled me backwards – so yeah, no phone calls or getting carried away chatting to someone while he’s looking the other way!

[Anonymous]

hi,

i wouldnt use a training lead like this with R or D they are just too strong.  if you cant hold the lunging you need more control on the dog, IMO you must absolutely only do this if you have a dog trained to walk to heel 😉  even 14kgs of bonnie pointing the wrong way can have you over if she wants 😉

claire x

[Justine&Rafe]

Hee hee, I can see the poss dangers, but there’s no way I’m going back to an ordinary lead now – I feel I have lots more control with this one round my shoulders!

Also – under the advice section in the main bit of the dogclub, the doggy trainer person says this about the Mikki training lead…

For those people who have strong dogs I would recommend the use of a Mikki training lead. This lead can be used in several positions, and can be attached diagonally across the chest, leaving your arms and hands free for dealing with your clicker and giving treats. Being attached across the chest means that when your dog pulls your full body can take the strain rather than being pulled forward by your arm and twisting your back.

(as I can’t do quotes yet)

So he/she seems to think it a good option for pully dogs.

[.dodger.]

😀 yes i doubt i’ll be attempting to attach him to my waist anytime soon. 40 odd kilo again 5ft 3 😀 that wouldn’t be fun.

I have to say that we had a brilliant walk this morning. I have a training lead so i had it on the longest length just walking with him. We were coming up to a  man with a dog but for some reason i was just totally out of it wasn’t focusing at all so didn’t notice the dog until it was a up close. Dodger was at the end of the lead but yet it was still slack and when he was close to the dog he just bent down to sniff – no lunging or pulling to greet at all. Although he had some of his hackles up there was no growling at all – i continued walking and just said leave and he left to follow me.

A little further down we bumped into Jet a labradoodle puppy who dodger is normally alright with but does like to have a few grumbles to keep the pup in it’s place.  I tried the same thing having dodger on his usual ‘stay close’ and he greeted in the same way :yes: We continued walking round the park with Jet and a female cocker called Holly. Both Holly and Jet were off lead playing while dodger was on his long lead trying to play with them. Was very nice to see.

I have to say dodger has always greeted dogs like this – even when he was a pup and i wasn’t nervous with him so maybe it’s in his character to be quiet an assertive and controlling dog but because of our issues over the years it has just amplified everything to the max. He always was the confident little sod out the litter.

thanks for all the advise – i’m going to work on our leave, recal, heel close and re start a whole new ‘greet nice’ just need to pick a new cue though ::) any idea’s? 🙂

After that i think i’m going to try the relaxed long line approach with dogs and pups we know and i know how they are going to react – any other dogs we’ll do heel close and if he breaks it we we stop bring him back in and then change direction 🙂

Hope i got all the right lol ::)

[*Lassie*]

thanks for all the advise – i’m going to work on our leave, recal, heel close and re start a whole new ‘greet nice’ just need to pick a new cue though

‘say hello’
‘be good’
‘be nice’
it doesn’t really matter so long as it’s different from the old cue and more importantly YOU remember it ;D

[.dodger.]

see but I’m the master of confusing cue’s – just ask Bev :embarrass:

I did have say hello – but every time i said hello to someone on a walk dodger would lunge forward towards the dog

I have at the minuet ‘greet nice’ so would like to avoid greet and nice as i’d like to start from scratch… May google greet nice in german just to go crazy :laugh: doubt many people will be saying it round here and it would certainly be something my parents couldn’t muck up :yes:

[*Lassie*]

http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/German:_how_to_greet_people

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/lj/cultural_notes/greetings.shtml ;D

[.dodger.]

😀 😀 very Good Lassie! but i have no idea how to pronounce them :embarrass: Maybe german is not the language for me ::)

[*Lassie*]

[quote author=.dodger. link=topic=13697.msg260766#msg260766 date=1234889121]
😀 😀 very Good Lassie! but i have no idea how to pronounce them :embarrass: Maybe german is not the language for me ::)
[/quote]

Ask Diesel how you say it in Flemish ;D

[.dodger.]

;D ;D will do – anyone seen diesel recently? ???

[dogloverwoooo!]

[quote author=Justine&Rafe link=topic=13697.msg260754#msg260754 date=1234886561]
Hee hee, I can see the poss dangers, but there’s no way I’m going back to an ordinary lead now – I feel I have lots more control with this one round my shoulders!

Also – under the advice section in the main bit of the dogclub, the doggy trainer person says this about the Mikki training lead…

For those people who have strong dogs I would recommend the use of a Mikki training lead. This lead can be used in several positions, and can be attached diagonally across the chest, leaving your arms and hands free for dealing with your clicker and giving treats. Being attached across the chest means that when your dog pulls your full body can take the strain rather than being pulled forward by your arm and twisting your back.

(as I can’t do quotes yet)

So he/she seems to think it a good option for pully dogs.
[/quote]

??? Why not just stick to a normal collar and lead? I think training leads (ones you can adjust the length are great) but not sure why you would want a big stong dog around your waist and how it helps the situation  ??? enlighten me ;D

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