Beth & Atlas
Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo
LOL...what should have been a nice easy day yesterday turned into an afternoon of client and dog visits. ohmygod_smile That is one of the huge drawbacks of being in this business.... :? . You love the animals so much ...you have a hard time carving out time for oneself.
Attie looks to have been fairly flat yesterday and all those afternoon tests...well they went to the dogs! He might have a busy day today and I have an "easy week" of just dog walks. So, we'll see if we can get a mini-curve done today - Weds. It does appear he is spending less and less time in those pinks I am thinking of just holding his dose for several weeks, like I did the last time which ended up getting him to settle down and start hitting consistent greens. Now...he does have to maintain an appetite and general health of good for it to work. :roll:
The hip is getting better. I am down to taking just a couple tylenol every 4-6 hours, but it still lets me know it is there.
The training session with Buddy went well. It was windy and very cold, but a few things happened that I wanted to know. As I handed the leash over to the owner, I had to stop her from winding the leash up and pulling it tight.
I explained that a constant pressure on the training harness is not going to teach Buddy to stop pulling, it is going to encourage him to pull even harder. The winding up of the leash in her hands was to get to a 4ft. length which is a common training length, but you have got to let the tension be loose. If he is pulling then stop the walk. The walk doesn't continue until he stops pulling, leading, and returns to the heel position. This is done as either a life reward or if needed a food lure and food reward. I had to stop her several times from 'winding' the leash. We visited one of the quiet streets and worked on heel and loose leash walking. Heading back to the genereal walk...she wound that darn leash right back up! So once back on the street I took the leash away from her and demonstrated that the techniques we just used, can be used as part of live situational training. I walked Buddy back home showing that he could be allowed to act like a dog and sniff, investigate etc. and still loose leash walk. When he pulled we simply stopped walking until he returned to the sit and heel position. He knows what to do, but being a lab you have to get him to want to do it. Pulling and tugging him into position won't train him.
To our benefit Buddy did get exactly the challange I wanted him to have...a distraction that makes him anxious. This was the perfect time to really touch base with the owner as to the "why does Buddy do that?" And how to handle it. I think she quickly understood her kids were in no way ready to walk the dog at this time.
LOL...what should have been a nice easy day yesterday turned into an afternoon of client and dog visits. ohmygod_smile That is one of the huge drawbacks of being in this business.... :? . You love the animals so much ...you have a hard time carving out time for oneself.
Attie looks to have been fairly flat yesterday and all those afternoon tests...well they went to the dogs! He might have a busy day today and I have an "easy week" of just dog walks. So, we'll see if we can get a mini-curve done today - Weds. It does appear he is spending less and less time in those pinks I am thinking of just holding his dose for several weeks, like I did the last time which ended up getting him to settle down and start hitting consistent greens. Now...he does have to maintain an appetite and general health of good for it to work. :roll:
The hip is getting better. I am down to taking just a couple tylenol every 4-6 hours, but it still lets me know it is there.
The training session with Buddy went well. It was windy and very cold, but a few things happened that I wanted to know. As I handed the leash over to the owner, I had to stop her from winding the leash up and pulling it tight.
I explained that a constant pressure on the training harness is not going to teach Buddy to stop pulling, it is going to encourage him to pull even harder. The winding up of the leash in her hands was to get to a 4ft. length which is a common training length, but you have got to let the tension be loose. If he is pulling then stop the walk. The walk doesn't continue until he stops pulling, leading, and returns to the heel position. This is done as either a life reward or if needed a food lure and food reward. I had to stop her several times from 'winding' the leash. We visited one of the quiet streets and worked on heel and loose leash walking. Heading back to the genereal walk...she wound that darn leash right back up! So once back on the street I took the leash away from her and demonstrated that the techniques we just used, can be used as part of live situational training. I walked Buddy back home showing that he could be allowed to act like a dog and sniff, investigate etc. and still loose leash walk. When he pulled we simply stopped walking until he returned to the sit and heel position. He knows what to do, but being a lab you have to get him to want to do it. Pulling and tugging him into position won't train him. To our benefit Buddy did get exactly the challange I wanted him to have...a distraction that makes him anxious. This was the perfect time to really touch base with the owner as to the "why does Buddy do that?" And how to handle it. I think she quickly understood her kids were in no way ready to walk the dog at this time.
