Regardless of where your dogˆ‚s personality lies on
that scale, once you have given the command to heel
you must start walking and continue walking. Encourage
your dog to accompany you if necessary. Correct his
heedless rush with absolute right-about turns if necessary.
But, you should never, ever give in if your dog decides
to not follow your command and just ˆ¨sit this one outˆÆ.
Dogs learn by associating their actions with a pleasing
or displeasing result. Therefore, the dog who tries
to take advantage of the new shortened leash by surging
and keeping a strain on it comes to a sudden discovery
that you still have the situation very much under control.
As soon as he can cause the leash to tighten, he will
take his eyes off you, only to feel the sudden jolt
of your right-about turn.
By using the reserve slack in your hand properly, your
dog will realize that the leash is no different than
the long line, except that he must pay even closer attention
since the six-foot leash gives him less time to react
than the fifteen-foot long-line. Heˆ‚ll realize how much
more pleasing it is to walk at your side so that he
can see which way and when youˆ‚re going to change direction.
Your left hand giving him a pat on the head when heˆ‚s
in the correct heel position is also more pleasing than
the sudden jolt that he gets when not in the proper
position.
On the other hand, your introvert dog, one that stands
as if he had feet glued to the cement, suddenly feels
the slightly displeasing effect of the short, sharp
jerks of the leash. Hearing your enthusiastic tone of
voice and seeing your left hand pat your leg invitingly
will do wonders to make your pet choose the more promising
alternative. The moment he does, he will discover the
warm, affectionate praise and pat on the head to be
far more enjoyable than the series of sharp jolts he
experienced as a result of his initial reluctance to
walk with you.
You may have to spend each of your fifteen-minute training
sessions for the next four days in this simple leash
introduction so the introvert-type will walk without
any reluctance or fear and to stop the extrovertˆ‚s heedless
rushes by your unannounced change of direction.
Don't Be Afraid To Use Too Much Pull
Let me describe a scene of what an extrovert dog may
do when prompted with a distraction. Picture a dog tied
to a tree on a twenty-five foot rope lying in loose
coils on the ground. He is sleeping comfortably under
the tree when a cat walks by past the dog at a distance
of about twenty-seven feet.
The dog wakes up, spots the cat and rushes recklessly
to pounce on the poor cat. The dog will be stopped two
foot short and very abruptly too. After regaining his
composure, he will still strain and tug to try and get
the cat. But, unless heˆ‚s a total fool, he will not
make that reckless rush a second time ˆ± not while still
tied to a tree. But does he blame the tree? Of course
not.
You are not as firm as a tree, so donˆ‚t be worried
about hurting your pet. Your objective should be clear.
Your dog should walk at your left side, neither lagging
behind nor surging ahead.
Always remember that the leash should be slack. Eventually,
youˆ‚ll be heeling your dog without the leash and you
will realize the importance of that slack. If your dog
is used to feeling a tight leash restraining him in
the heeling position, heˆ‚ll be long gone when you walk
him without the leash later on.
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