[bodazafa]

So I have been working with Mags on our walks with heeling - she knows it well - but I don't walk her in a heel all the time because it is so stiff and restrictive to her - I usually put her in a heel when we get into an area with a lot of people outside, etc where she will tend to want to tug away from me. Anyway, she is TERRIFIED of skateboards and bikes and will pull as far away from them as possible. Walking last night we came up two boys skateboarding on some school grounds we walk past - I put her into a heel well before we got there and immediately when she heard/saw them she wanted to pull away - the second she tried to get out of the heel I stopped walking so she had to sit - I made her sit staring at the skateboards - then I said "Magnum HEEL" and we started walking again, three seconds later she tried to get away again - so I stopped again - she sat, etc ----- I continued doing this until we passed the boys---- now if that isn't bad enough, two kids come by on BIKES on the OTHER side of her - so she was in her real terror zone ---- but she did well overall and I was proud of her. Here's the bad part - two blocks past this I see two little girls - maybe 8 yrs old - and their moms out playing - I put Mags into a heel and we walk towards them - one of the little girls starts runnning over to Mags - I stopped so Mags sat. Then the little girl runs SCREAMING the other direction saying she is afraid of dogs ---- this sets Mags off - she gets down into her "I want to play" stance with her front way down and butt up and tail wagging and then begins to try to DRAG me towards the little girls ---- I yank on her and get her back by me - try to get her in a sit - but she just won't do it and is choking herself with her prong collar trying to get to these kids - so I start walking trying to get past them - and Mags keeps jumping all around me and looking back at them - then once we are past she starts barking and her hackles go slightly up but her tail is still wagging and she is looking back at them ---- we kept walking and got past them - then she was fine.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR ---- its so frustrating with her sometimes --- its like she will listen and do REALLY good - then five seconds later act like a rabbid dog!!!

 

[attitude]

suggestion... when approaching a potential problem, people , bikes, kids, by asking your dog to sit you are giving her time to "think" . never a good thing for a dog to have time to think. instead ask her to do things that will force her to pay attention to you ie: left turns , right turns , fast heels with abouts ect. by keeping her focused on you she no longer has time to worry about what else is going on around her :wink:

 

[bodazafa]

suggestion... when approaching a potential problem, people , bikes, kids, by asking your dog to sit you are giving her time to "think" . never a good thing for a dog to have time to think. instead ask her to do things that will force her to pay attention to you ie: left turns , right turns , fast heels with abouts ect. by keeping her focused on you she no longer has time to worry about what else is going on around her :wink:

Hmmmm - okay- when I was in OB classes with her - they told me that during heels if she tried to pull, etc that we should always stop to make them sit to refocus their attention - is that wrong? We were in an area where it was a long stretch of straight sidewalk so I couldnt really do a turn unless it was into the grass or back the other way

 

[attitude]

Hmmmm - okay- when I was in OB classes with her - they told me that during heels if she tried to pull, etc that we should always stop to make them sit to refocus their attention - is that wrong? We were in an area where it was a long stretch of straight sidewalk so I couldnt really do a turn unless it was into the grass or back the other way[/quote]

nothing is really wrong as long as the method works i find that giving a dog to much time to think usually gets them in trouble . instead i like to keep those little minds busy.
yup there have been days when i can be found pretty much going round in circles on the sidewalk saying "heel" but until the dog has it's focus back on me and not whatever distracted them i just keep going. hmmm, maybe that is why my neibours think i am insane :-k :-k

 

[bodazafa]

Bump for some other opinions..

 

[peeblerelf]

Hmmmm - okay- when I was in OB classes with her - they told me that during heels if she tried to pull, etc that we should always stop to make them sit to refocus their attention - is that wrong? We were in an area where it was a long stretch of straight sidewalk so I couldnt really do a turn unless it was into the grass or back the other way

nothing is really wrong as long as the method works i find that giving a dog to much time to think usually gets them in trouble . instead i like to keep those little minds busy.
yup there have been days when i can be found pretty much going round in circles on the sidewalk saying "heel" but until the dog has it's focus back on me and not whatever distracted them i just keep going. hmmm, maybe that is why my neibours think i am insane :-k :-k[/quote]

Maybe this is why you feel dizzy all the time too? :lol: I agree with cathy, but we went to the same trainers course so maybe that's why! By constantly changing your direction rapidly, you are teaching Magnum to keep her attention on you, or else she will constantly keep getting yanked around. worked wonders for every dog i've done this with, although you do feel quite stupid constantly going back and forth, but it works!

 

[sfbullygirl]

I have found that when training my dog what worked best..and I am not sure if you are using this method ..is tohave some high value treats. When we approached a dog say and I saw her go alert, I would refocus her attention on me and the treat, offerning a samll bit, but using the treat as a lure to keep her mind occupied while we walked past the object..and I would then give her the leave it command as we passed and praise and treat immediately after. It worked...took about 2 months of consistent training to have her get it consistently.

 

[GTChick01]

Hmmmm - okay- when I was in OB classes with her - they told me that during heels if she tried to pull, etc that we should always stop to make them sit to refocus their attention - is that wrong? We were in an area where it was a long stretch of straight sidewalk so I couldnt really do a turn unless it was into the grass or back the other way

Just do a turn around and start walking to the other way, then after a few steps, turn back around. Keep doing that anytime Mag's takes her attention off of you and back to the skateboards/bikes/etc. Like attitude said, making her keep turning around or doing something she's not expecting causes her to focus her attention back to you, or she's going to get yanked.