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Post by DivineOblivion19 on Dec 26, 2005 22:35:35 GMT -5
I have always seemed to struggle with Divina and teaching her to heel. This past summer she and I seemed to mesh nicely and she finally seemed to understand what I wanted. She heeled very nicely with me on walks (the rare walks we go on). But I don't take her out on leash very much. She goes a lot of places with me but she's not on lead very often.
The last couple of times I've gone out with her to Petsmart she's acted like she's never been on a leash before. She ignores me and is waaaaaaay too interested in other things. I can understand that she wants to see and smell everything, but she's never been quite this way. I'll ask her so heel and she won't. I'll ask her to sit/stay but she'll only stay for a couple seconds and then up again.
I brought treats with me this time. I corrected her when she did what I didn't want her to do and I rewarded her good behavior. She did fine but she just didn't seem to care that much. As soon as she got that treat she was up again and I'd correct her but she just kinda gave me the paw all night.
I'm not quite sure what else to try with her. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong to have lost the connection that we once had.
She has been off lately and tomorrow at work I'm going to draw blood to have her thyroid tested because everything else is normal and I just want to make sure she's fine.
Divina is my 3 year old, 10.5 lb, deaf Boston Terrier.
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Post by DivineOblivion19 on Dec 26, 2005 23:18:51 GMT -5
BTW, I've always done NILIF with my dogs but I'm not nearly as strict with Divina as I am with Cori. So since our trip today I've become more strict with Divina. Man is she unhappy about that.
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Post by Laura on Dec 27, 2005 0:38:23 GMT -5
Lol, Miss, you answered your own question... Training never stops with them, and sometimes even the shortest break without a dose of "leash manners" is enough to set them back to being total boneheads on lead. Just pick up where you left off, go back to the basics (shorter leash, motivation of food or toy, stopping when she lunges ahead) but this time don't go too long without her on a leash . BTW, if you use food as a motivator for working the heel, my favorite trick to use with little dogs is the long handled wooden spoon with a smear of peanut butter on it, easy to swing down to their level for a reward lick ;D.
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Post by willow on Dec 27, 2005 8:31:03 GMT -5
I had the same "rude awakening" with my female Aussie, Kara. My dogs are never on leash either, unless we go to the Vet etc., but this fall I have had to walk them around our small town for exercise, due to deer hunting season out where I usually walk them. Kara was terrible! The first few times I took them, I just had her regular flat nylon collar on her, but she was so excited and interested in sniffing everything "new", she would do the same thing Divina did...do what I asked and then almost immediately go back to pulling, crossing in front of me etc., so I then tried the martingale collar on her, but that did not work any better than the flat collar, so I finally dusted off her pinch collar. Problem solved. She immediately calmed down and began to walk nice and listen to me, and I was really glad I had it on her the day a car went by us and she lunged at the car and corrected herself, because it only took that once to convince her that was a "no-no". They make small pinch collar's for small dogs too.
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Post by DivineOblivion19 on Dec 27, 2005 11:29:39 GMT -5
Thank you! I guess it's very silly of me to expect her to remember to be perfect all the time.
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