Designer Dog Blogs

by sands904 on 8/14/2009 at 7:08 AM in Progress

The trainer in our area also offers a Hiking Club where graduates of their classes can get together and hike with their dog. It is great for extra socialization and working on issues. I have been working on Logan's stress level very intensly for the past few months so I decided last night I would take him to a hike. It had been over 2 months since his last hike and in that time we have been working on him learning to control his excitment/stress and gradually introducing him to as many new people/places as possible while making sure he is comfortable before progressing.

I was so proud of him on the hike last night. When we got there there was already one dog there. I waited until he stopped whinning and dancing in his seat until I got him out of the car. I put him on the ground and worked on a few commands. He was too excited/stressed to listen so back in the car he went. I got in the car and waited a minute. He got calm and we tried it again. This time he did everything I asked so we started walking closer to the dog. When he got excited and started barking/lunging on his leash we took a few steps back and worked a couple of commands. After a couple of repititions of this we were fairly close to the dog. We waited about 15 ft (which for Logan is very good) from the dog for the other to arrive. He got excited a couple of times when the next two dogs showed up but taking a few steps back and working commands calmed him down.

As soon as we started the hike he did great. He wanted to go up and sniff the other dogs to say hi which is something he has not been able to do calmly for a very long time. I was so happy for him and can't wait to take him on the next hike to see how he will do!
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by sands904 on 8/12/2009 at 7:57 PM in Pet Owners - Pet Safety

So earlier this evening I was on my way to Play Group with Lacey and saw a dog running down a very busy road. It ran out of a yard on the east side of a 6 lane road not too far ahead of me followed close behind by a man chasing her. It was just south of a very busy intersection and I though for sure this dog was going to get hit right in front of me. I started to pull over thinking maybe I could use Lacey to help lure the dog to us. Luckily the cars in the southbound lanes where the dog currently was had stopped and made a road block so that no one else could get by. A lady was out of her car on a side street just before the intersection and was yelling at the dog. I think she scared/distracted the dog enough that the owner was able to grab her. When I pulled away the owner and dog were sitting on the side of the road catching their breath. I hope they made it back safely...

This has reminded me how important it is to teach your dog a reliable come as well as to sit and wait before going through a door, gate, etc. Another great game I learned when taking my dogs to the trainer was the 'Chase Me' game. You teach the dog to run AFTER you not FROM you when you say 'Chase Me'. That way they are following you and not running into danger. Just food for thought...
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