Teaching an old dog new tricks and dogwalking.

[CrazyCatLady]

We joke that Maggie (dachshund/ black mouth cur) pulls with all 100 pounds she doesn't have (she is 35 pounds) but walking her isn't pleasant. I have been trying the stopping when she pulls and she relaxes the tension for maybe two steps. I have tried turning around and going the other way but we only get far enough for her to be in the lead again.

So I got a Gentle Leader collar. Y'all it was awful. Like sick to my stomach awful. She hated it. She got the nose part off and so I took it off and tightened it. And she kept trying to remove it. And then she got one of her fingers caught in one of the metal loops where the collar attaches to the leash and she did the loud screaming/yelping until I got her finger loose. And she still tried to remove it but now by rubbing her face on the pavement. We would go 10 steps and then rub and 5 steps and rub. Then she got the nose part off but she still has this collar that was fit like a choker necklace and she was fine with that and even went back to pulling.

Tomorrow I am going to do peanut butter on a wooden spoon and her normal harness.

I also got one for Violet but instead of trying it on her I just walked her and Marshmallow together. That went MUCH better than usual

Marshmallow walks beautifully, no pulling, not reactive but I thought it would be better to have the ability to put all of my focus on Violet when I walk her. Today I walked Marshmallow and Violet together and it went much better than usual. I didn't get body slammed nearly as much, I only became a Maypole once but she does pull. And was running circles around Marshmallow. And is slightly reactive to dogs that are barking at us in their yard about 40 yards away (sorry, I only do metric in baking). She is 6 months old and has the focus of a butterfly. Should I keep walking her with Marshmallow and worry about training her better later or make Marshmallow be there for Violet's training (I can walk her by herself in addition. ) Or keep trying to walk Violet on her own.

 

[Hemlock]

It's much better to walk them separately those times you are concentrating on a training issue. You can still walk them together at times too. It's sensible to separate dogs for exercise from time to time, as they then bond better with you than with each other, and also you never know when they will have to spend time apart, for instance when one is staying at the vet's.

 

[Finsky]

We joke that Maggie (dachshund/ black mouth cur) pulls with all 100 pounds she doesn't have (she is 35 pounds) but walking her isn't pleasant. I have been trying the stopping when she pulls and she relaxes the tension for maybe two steps. I have tried turning around and going the other way but we only get far enough for her to be in the lead again.

So I got a Gentle Leader collar. Y'all it was awful. Like sick to my stomach awful. She hated it. She got the nose part off and so I took it off and tightened it. And she kept trying to remove it. And then she got one of her fingers caught in one of the metal loops where the collar attaches to the leash and she did the loud screaming/yelping until I got her finger loose. And she still tried to remove it but now by rubbing her face on the pavement. We would go 10 steps and then rub and 5 steps and rub. Then she got the nose part off but she still has this collar that was fit like a choker necklace and she was fine with that and even went back to pulling.

Tomorrow I am going to do peanut butter on a wooden spoon and her normal harness.

I also got one for Violet but instead of trying it on her I just walked her and Marshmallow together. That went MUCH better than usual

Marshmallow walks beautifully, no pulling, not reactive but I thought it would be better to have the ability to put all of my focus on Violet when I walk her. Today I walked Marshmallow and Violet together and it went much better than usual. I didn't get body slammed nearly as much, I only became a Maypole once but she does pull. And was running circles around Marshmallow. And is slightly reactive to dogs that are barking at us in their yard about 40 yards away (sorry, I only do metric in baking). She is 6 months old and has the focus of a butterfly. Should I keep walking her with Marshmallow and worry about training her better later or make Marshmallow be there for Violet's training (I can walk her by herself in addition. ) Or keep trying to walk Violet on her own.

When you go out of the door for a walk with her, does she listen any of your commands or is she more interested what is out there?

 

[CrazyCatLady]

It's much better to walk them separately those times you are concentrating on a training issue. You can still walk them together at times too. It's sensible to separate dogs for exercise from time to time, as they then bond better with you than with each other, and also you never know when they will have to spend time apart, for instance when one is staying at the vet's.

I am both relieved and dismayed. Walking the two is so much easier but figuring out how to train Vi and not "train" something in Marshmallow was more than I could figure out.

We actually did a vet visit yesterday and Vi was scared enough to behave . . . and throw up in the car on the way home. Not too scared to eat though. I used dog biscuits to lure her everywhere (she got an unprecedented 4 or 5).

 

[CrazyCatLady]

When you go out of the door for a walk with her, does she listen any of your commands or is she more interested what is out there?

I paid more attention to specifics today. She does really well (no pulling) until we reach the road. She does listen to me but doesn't know heel. She knows Sit and wait is a bit more iffy. She does show an obvious reluctance when its not something she wants to do (like hiding under the table when she doesn't want to go out. She will go but wants to be sure that you really mean it. Or when my adult daughter tells her to do something, she looks at me to confirm.)

The wooden spoon with peanut butter on it failed. She wouldn't eat it. On thinking about it, I wouldn't be surprised if she was hit with one by her previous owner. She is also afraid of fly swatters.