Take Your Dog With You
If you want to teach your dogs to work with you and to trust you, bring them out into the world with you whenever you can. Avoid the mind set that makes you do all your errands alone while your dog sits at home. Bring her along and always maintain the leadership position in those outings. Do not let your dog haul you around by the leash, do what it takes to keep you both working as a team. At first this will usually require one of two things: 1) immense strength and patience or 2) a good training collar or harness. I’ve talked about harnesses I love in a previous post as well as the prong collar, both useful tools. But the ‘where of walking’ is what I want to cover here.
Take your dogs wherever you can think of taking them. Ask before entering a store you aren’t sure they allow dogs, and most people will say “ok” and let you in if you seem confident. If you aren’t that sort of person, call ahead first. Here in the Fox Valley, IL area we have a great opportunity for many on leash experiences in the Geneva Commons.
Their website indicates which stores allow leashed dogs. If dogs are welcome you can bring yours! Then you have to make sure you take charge of the situation. Walk your dog outside a bit to burn off some energy and get them emptied out (how embarrassing to potty in Victoria’s Secret!!) Make sure you enter the establishment first, your dog following you. Have your dog “sit” and “wait” if they are trying to rush you into the store. If you enter in a controlled fashion you are communicating to your dog that you are in charge. Once inside, you decide what you look at and where you go. If someone wants to pet your dog, ask them to wait until your dog is under control and take as much time as you need to get your dog seated and calm. Then let them approach. Done correctly, these sorts of outings are a great way to put the basics of obedience training into a package of usable manners. And it’s a great way to get some holiday shopping done too!
Photos of Jessa
Here some photos of Jessa, with an update on her progress:
Jessa‘s been doing really well. Practically no accidents and overall, she seems very happy. We’re having such a good time with her. The correctly sized Easy Walk harness arrived today, so we’re going to start her walking with that (quick question, should we take the harness off when she’s in the house? It doesn’t look like the most comfortable thing to hang around in). All in all, she’s doing great!
Thank you again for all of your help!!
A.p.s. One of the photos is of her chewing on a Cesar Milan book. Thought that was kind of funny…
Kristin’s reponse:
I am SO happy to hear that things continue to go well. See, you can do it!! I am proud of the work you’ve done with her and her happiness is something to savor…You deserve how good it feels to see her happiness.
Also, you are right that she should not be in her harness full time. Just put it on her for walks or when you are training her or need her under control (to and from the car, for example).
Thanks for the update!
-Kristin
Progress report on Jessa
Here is a follow up note and progress report on Jessa as reported in a post a few days ago. Looks like things are looking up for them!
Yes, we are using Nature’s Miracle to clean all of her accidents and it definitely does work. The only spot she repeatedly pees in is by the door through which we go outside to potty, and those–I believe–are the “true” accidents…the times when she really was trying to tell us she needed to go but we missed the cues. Otherwise, she’s not a repeat offender in any one spot. I doused the couch with Nature’s Miracle after the incident and then took the cushion covers to the dry cleaners (which I’d been planning on doing anyway, cuz they were kind of stinky), and both seem to have done the trick.
So far this week, she’s doing terrific!! She has been really well-behaved, save a few crazy moments. She’s responding incredibly well to being gated in the hallway instead of crated. Even our dog walker noted a change in her happiness level. So that’s been good. And she has had only ONE accident. Yesterday, my husband had to work, so it was a normal day of alone time until the dog walker and then again until I came home from work. She seemed to be okay in the hallway, but it was pouring rain when the dog walker came, and Jessa refused to make outside. Our dogwalker left us a note saying she tried her best, but Jess wouldn’t go. So when I came home there was a dried puddle by the “going out” door. So I silently cleaned it and took her right out. I wasn’t upset at all, because I knew it wasn’t her fault. We had a nice walk and a fun romp at the dog park and she was great the rest of the night.
I’m purchasing the Easy Walk Harness today, then, as I’ve only heard great things about it, and I think that’s really the second key thing we need to work on. She’s gotten really good, though, with sitting before we walk out the door—she even did it without any prompting yesterday (only once, but still…it’s a start!!)—and she’s REALLY good about waiting on the steps for me to say it’s okay to run up or down. So it’s just the tugging that is the necessary correction to make.
All in all, things are on the up and up. She overall seems much happier and more fulfilled. We’ll see how she does next week when it’s a full work/school week for me and J- and she’ll be on a regular schedule.
I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for all your help and advice!!!!!
Yea! Success! Now just keep up the good work. Expect progress to improve, take a step back, and improve again as you find the perfect “recipe” for success. But it seems clear that you’ve gotten a handle on most of the frustrating problems and for that I am so happy. Keep me posted!
