It's a wonderful time to be alive if you're a pet owner. Dogs are being welcomed into more and more public spaces every day. But that also means that it's never been more important to make sure that our canine friends are equipped to make the right decisions when facing new challenges. Is yours ready? Author note: This is part one in a five-part series chronicling our journey to (hopefully) parent a well-behaved canine. We recently made the decision to enroll Pike in one-on-one obedience training. "Didn't you already do training with that dog?" We sure have. We took him through some basic puppy obedience classes and then enrolled him in an intensive two-week training boot camp. We're considering this his master's degree program. He's not a bad dog. He's grown to be quite lovely, as a matter of fact. But he has some quirks that we need to work on. Quirks? That's my polite way of saying that he can be a bit nutty whenever a loud vehicle or motorcycle goes by. He barks like a loon whenever anyone walks by the house, even if they're on the other side of the street. And he can go absolutely bananas whenever he sees another dog that piques his interest. So, yeah. He's got some quirks that need to be addressed if we ever want to feel comfortable engaging with the outside world as a pack. The lovely people at our daycare gave us the name of a local trainer, Ashton's K9 Classes. After a few back-and-forth messages with her, we decided that individual sessions as opposed to classes with other dogs would be the way to go and we got something on the books. SESSION 1 Our first session was held in the local park. The goal was to introduce Pike and Ashton to one another in a setting that would provide plenty of distractions so that she could see how he reacted. One of the first things she asked us about was his harness. I use a harness on both of our smaller dogs because I don't think using a collar on brachycephalic dogs is a good idea and just went with what I was familiar with when we added Pike to the crew. Her recommendation was to use a prong collar. Initially, I was hesitant because I misunderstood how the tool worked. I mean, there are a LOT of bad dog trainers out there who use them incorrectly. However, when used correctly, the prong collar is a wonderful tool that helps bridge the communication gap between a dog and its human. I'll admit, it sort of looks like a medieval torture device with its metal links covered in prongs that look like spikes. In actuality, those prongs make the collar safer than a flat collar because they apply an equal amount of pressure around the dog's neck instead of directly on the throat which can damage, and in some cases collapse, the dog's trachea. And let me tell you, this collar made a world of difference. It was like night and day. I went from being worried about whether or not I'd be able to handle him to actually enjoying a nice, calm walk. Now, before you go and buy one for yourself, I strongly recommend you reach out to a reliable dog trainer who can help you with sizing and teach you how to use it properly. You don't just slap it on your dog's neck, grab the leash, and then continue to let your dog pull you along. It's not a magic wand. You need to understand how to give the corrections that will redirect bad behavior and remind your dog of the task its being asked to perform. The corrections are quick pops of the leash that mimic the correction a mother dog would give her pup if it's doing something the mom doesn't like. These corrections help teach the dog to be consistent in any environment. It's also important to use a high quality product. Ashton had one she purchased at our local farm store and allowed us feel the prongs. The ends were sharp and uneven and would have definitely caused discomfort, possibly even an injury. She recommends Herm Sprenger collars, which are super high quality. They're designed with blunt ends on the prongs so they don't cause any pain, and they have a center plate that helps create even pressure around the dog's neck. We've been using the collar whenever we expect good manners from him. We do not leave the collar on him when he's hanging around the house or put it on when he goes outside to do his business. This is a training tool, and we use it as it's meant to be used. SESSION 2 Our second training session was actually just a few days after the first one. They'll normally be a week apart, but scheduling delays kind of messed things up. I mention this because we didn't have much time to work on what we'd learned in the previous session, so I wasn't sure how well we were going to do. We went back to the same park, but this time Ashton brought along one of her own dogs to use as a distraction. We practiced walking Pike around in a circle while the other dog sat in the center. While I can't be absolutely certain—his behavior isn't consistent—I feel like he was much better behaved than he normally would have been. And I feel pretty sure it was because of the collar. And also because we were both more confident and self-assured in how we handled him. We were establishing ourselves as the leaders and Pike was figuring out that his job was to learn. These sessions are for us as much as they are for him. Dogs don't speak English and we don't speak dog. The communication skills we're learning together are like a translator helping us to bridge that gap. I won't lie, it's hard and overwhelming by times. There's a lot to process and remember. And we're making mistakes. SO MANY MISTAKES. But it's okay, because life (and dog training) is a marathon, not a sprint. I take Pike out for a walk every day after he has his lunch. Our routine now includes stopping at every corner and him sitting until I give the command to continue on. We're also working on his making eye contact with me when I call his name. He's getting so good! WE'RE getting so good! Yesterday, in particular, was a HUGE win for us. There's an annoying Australian Shepherd with no manners that lives around the corner from us. He and Pike have an antagonistic relationship: Tony yips and yaps and jumps whenever he sees Pike, and Pike responds by also yipping and yapping and jumping. No one is vicious; it's just really hard for me to control a 73-lb. monster when he's operating at full intensity. I saw Tony up ahead of us as we approached the school and I immediately tensed up. What I should have done—what I was supposed to do—was change directions and not put Pike in a situation where he would even be exposed to Tony. But I panicked and forgot. It didn't matter, though, because Pike ignored Tony. And because Pike ignored Tony, Tony didn't react. It was a major victory as far as I'm concerned. We're also seeing some improvement in the barking area. Since I am the one who is home with him most of the day, my assignment is to distract him every time he starts to bark. When I see him approaching the window, I call his name and either give him loads of praise and attention, or a treat if I have one handy. Changing his focus and redirecting his attention lets him see that good things can come his way when he does something we like. This morning, there was a dog barking in a commercial and he didn't utter a sound. We had to check to make sure he was still alive. He was. So, again, progress. I think we're going to be working on using our e-collar with off-leash recall in our session this week. So make sure you check in to see how we do. Until next time, WOOF! Associated song: So Good by Halsey
#mybarkinglife #woof #weislasofinstagram #weisla #weimmix #weizsla #vizmaraner #frenchie #frenchiesofinstagram #pike #beezy #omar #bostonterrierlove #bostonterriersofinstagram #bostonterriersforever #frenchie #frenchielove #dogs #dogsofinstagram #dosomegood #rescue #donate #shelterdogs #obedience #dogobedience #dogtraining #dogtrainer
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |