posted 12-06-2003 08:16 AM         

For those of you who have it, check out Chapter 6 and the story of the dog, Angel. It sounds like this technique will be very useful with Nala. I also thought of Maisey's recent post about Witt's pulling when he is excited - go read this chapter, Maisey!

For those that don't have the book - go get it! And until then, the gist is that a lot of "problems" are rooted at the most basic level - your relationship with your dog. Angel was a very smart dog but his owner had problems with him totally losing control and lunging around on the leash and barking madly, etc, when under certain stimulating situations (like being around a bunch of other excited dogs).

Suzanne insisted that the problem was in the connection to the dog. You need to pay attention to your dog and truly be with him, and teach your dog to be with you as well. Not just next to each other, but TOGETHER.

So she has this anecdote about first getting Angel to pay attention to her, by drawing on his love of motion and using treats. Then she walks him by her turkeys, and the dog freezes to stare at them. She calls his name, but there is no response at all. No twitch of the ears, no darting glance, nothing. He really can't hear her. (Nala does this with the cats.)

So instead of jerking him off his feet with his collar as some would suggest, she regards him like you would a spouse who was engaged doing something else and you were trying to get his attention. She called his name softly, jingled the lead, tapped him on the head gently - all the while waiting for him to acknowledge her even a tiny bit. When he finally did, she slowly managed to guide him away from the turkeys. It was very important to get him away before he totally overloaded and lost control.

Her theory is that if you can teach a dog to attend to you and maintain your connection even in the face of exciting things going on around him, he will listen to you and respond to you. She doesn't agree with some trainers who make the dog constantly look at the handler - because a dog can look at you and not be paying attention! She believes a dog can and should look at the interesting things in the world around him, BUT also learn to maintain his connection with the handler at the same time. It's another aspect of teaching self-control, as her free article talks about (http://www.flyingdogpress.com/artlibreg.htm).

She says she can tell a lot about the relationship between a person and their dog by how they walk together.

So anyway, I love this book!

posted 12-06-2003 10:24 PM         

It did cause a bit of a stir-up on the "stay" though, as when I first made her sit, then wandered off, she thought for sure I was trying to sneak away and hide . Once she understood that I'd be back though, she's done pretty good (now she'll hold a sit/down stay in the living room while I make food, check email, etc in other rooms of the house, then come back 15-20 minutes or so later to release her and play with her), so I can't complain. She's unshakeable when we go for walks offleash (only in fields, etc when I'm sure there's no one else around), stays within 5 ft or so, keeps one ear flicked back, and glances at me every few seconds to make sure I'm not thinking of escaping; unless I shoo her out to run, or we go someplace where she knows she's allowed to run around.

posted 12-06-2003 10:30 PM         

"She says she can tell a lot about the relationship between a person and their dog by how they walk together."

I've heard this before, and somewhat agree w/ her. Although, if she saw me "walking" w/ my boys (like right after we get out of the car), she would think that our relationship is terrible! My boys like to P U L L ! ! But, it's because i let them. I used to try to control it when they were younger, but as they got older, i actually wanted them to get the exercise from "pulling"--me. It gives me a slightly good upper body workout along when we're walking (mostly arms).

BUT, if she saw us "running/jogging" thats a whole different picture! She'd probably think that i was some expert trainer... LOL! Well, i'm just saying this because i'm so proud of my doggs from how far they've come to understanding our "bond" as a "unit/team" when we're out exercising. Basically TOGETHER, like you've mentioned.
When we run, to me it's a beautiful site! Both my dogs are actually in harmony to "ME" !!! It's sSoOoOoO cool! Usually it's my Pei on my right, & my AB on my left. Well, at least that's the way i'm noticing how they like the formation.
I'm almost to a point where i don't have to pull/tug the leash (i have two leads connected to 1 main leash that i mainly hold) when one of them lags behind, all i have to say is "come-on", or "hurry-up", (usually it's my AB believe it or not ). My Pei is usually the one that i will have to tell "easy", & he eases back, so that their running right beside me. He usually looks right up at me too, which keeps me otivated to run longer/faster, because i know he's "tuned" into me.
I trust my AB being tuned into me almost all the time. It my Pei that i would say has the character somewhat like a Beagle(if you could understand that).

posted 12-07-2003 08:30 AM         

Nala definitely likes me to be in sight. I like the sound of your technique - I will give it a try. I think the only thing it will hamper is my already small ability to leave her outside alone for a few minutes (or even shoo her out to do her business and come right back in). She is very upset if I don't go out with her and stand there while she plays, even though I am not involved in the game.

I'm not sure where I could hide in the yard! And she usually does keep an eye on me in case I try to sneak back into the house. But maybe I should do this out in the park, where she is distracted by all the new stuff around her.