[shelley]

Well - i guess i should have realised that it was too good to be true. Ive just taken Holly out for a walk - not too far, 15 mins round trip - 20 at most . well, it would be without all the stopping and starting. Anyway started really well. We have a harness for her with double ended lead. She walked really nicely. No "sit down and give up"s which she had been doing lately. When she pulled i stopped and gently pulled back, waited till she was still then praised and caqrried on.. I had treats with me as rewards etc.

Anyway we made it to the bridge with the ducks underneath (No ducks so 2 year old disappointed!!! Typical :roll: ) I decided to turn back as it had taken a while to get there. On the trip back Holly was an absolute nightmare. She bit and pulled at the lead , got herself all tangled up, and when i tried to untangle her she bit at me, and scratched my hand enough to make it bleed! She went really hyper, snapping and chewing, the more i said no the worse she got. (Daughter also being a pain at this point as my attention completely on Holly!)

Do you think she was tired and trying to let me know?? I put it down to this until we met a couple on the way and she was so excited, she got all snappy again.

Ive gone from feeling we were really getting somewhere to feeling downhearted. Any ideas where we went wrong ? When they are biting and snapping on walk, and no or off doesnt work, what then?? At home id leave the room but cant do this out After this im not sure i can take Holly and Evie out on my own, which is a shame as this would mean on some days Holly would only go for walks when hubby and i both home, early morning or evening.

Any ideas??

Shelley

 

[Kev]

Hi Shelley

Don't get disheartened when you are doing so well.Buster used to chew his lead and jump all over the place but he grew out of it. It gets better You just have to keep working on the nipping it took me nearly 6 months with Buster but I got there in the end.He didn't do it when he was outside though, but having said that you have got less control when you are outside and I think they are more excitable with all the things that are going on around them, so it just makes it more difficult.

Kev

 

[shelley]

Thanks for the encouragement Kev. At times we think we are doing really well, making progress with Holly, then she has these mad sessions - where to be honest she is like the hound from hell! :evil:

At home as you say it is easier to deal with - mopre difficult outside with a whiney toddler thrown into the situation. It didnt help that the couple we saw made a comment like "You've taken on more than i could chew with that one - shes a bit boisterous!!" :x

Guess it'll just take time - either that or i'll be in the madhouse very soon.

Shelley

 

[Rebel1]

hi shelly
dont give up. weve all been there :lol: this is where the count to 10 comes in! and believe you will probably get to a million in the weeks to come :roll: the good news is that it does get better. max is now 9 months old and i still get days where he is a total nightmare to walk. i pull him into the side and refuse to budge untill he quietens down. i use a halti for max as hes a very strong lad. another thing i do is if i know hes gonna be stroppy then i give him a good romp in the garden about half an hour before i take him out.
youll get there

 

[NicolaL]

It didnt help that the couple we saw made a comment like "You've taken on more than i could chew with that one - shes a bit boisterous!!" :x

Hi Shelley, people are always ready with their 'helpful' comments aren't they?! The number of times I've had to try and smile sweetly through gritted teeth....

As Kev and Jane have said, it will start to improve. Smudge still pulls quite a bit, but he's grown out of the 'tantrums' that it sounds like you have encountered today. One day, he went beserk and just started running round and round me and nearly wrapping me up in his lead! Was half expecting Jeremy Beadle to appear.....

Take care and I'm sure things will get better for you.

All the best,
Nic
X

 

[Kev]

One day, he went beserk and just started running round and round me and nearly wrapping me up in his lead! Was half expecting Jeremy Beadle to appear.....

Sorry Nic,but I couldn't help laughing as it reminded me of some of Buster's antics.I can laugh now but I wasn't at the time.

Shelley you probably don't think so now but you will laugh about it too, it passes quite quickly really but seems like an age whilst it's happening.

Kev

 

[BaileyBear]

Hi Shelley,

As everyone has said - it does get better! :lol:

Living where i do it's either very busy or very quiet -no middle ground - i also think i have the most judgemental people living or holidaying here 8O I used to (and still do to a certain extent) get the most aweful remarks from people. Before i got Bailey a halti, he was a nightmare, pulling, jumping, licking anything and everything he wouldn't do at home!! 8O I would come home feeling upset, frustrated with the situation and angry that i had let these people get to me ( don't these people realise you are training, and that everything takes time?). The halti brought up a whole new set of problems - people thought he was wearing a muzzle so the remarks were more personal.......

He's nearly two now and a bit gobby at times but i don't care anymore!! They don't know him, don't see him any other time than when he's out walking so let them have their opinion - but if they voice there's i have started to voice my own!!

I found that people who see us who know dogs stop and have a giggle with me and share their experiences and their dogs antics. For the rest of the them - ignore it and enjoy your dog

 

[Rebel1]

well said kaye
yep ive had the comments about the "muzzle". i even started to take max out at times when no one was about. 5am, 11pm. then realised i was adding to the problem because max wasnt seeing anybody and on the odd occasion he did he was going luppy to get to them :roll: so i now do my own thing with him and we are quite happy. sod the ones who have got nothing better to do with there time :lol: as you say doggy people no probs. its just the know it alls who know nothing!!
like you i now bite back (saves max doing it :lol: ) and if people dont like my gorgeous boy all i can say is CROSS THE ROAD :lol:

 

[shelley]

Okay im gonna bite bullet and go again this morning!! Two year old in tow and deaf ear to anyone with a comment!! The pockets are full of treats and poo bags - glaomorous life i lead :wink:

Thanks for encouragement guys

By the way talking of ridiculous comments. Here's one hubby got the other day. When a man saw Holly (3 months old!) with her huge head collar to protect her ear, wagging her tail so excitedly, he said.. "Why the collar? Is it cause she's vicious!!" :roll: Obviously a doggy expert then!

Cheers

Shelley

 

[Rebel1]

well done shelley! go for it
try to be as relaxed as you can as holly will pick up on any tension you might be feeling. even if you just manage a few mins at a time to start she will get the hang of it.
let us know how you get on :lol:

 

[Fay]

Good Luck today Shelley - I'm sure today will be better

Nic's post earlier reminded me of the time we took Harvey to some woods on his extended lead. My daughter was holding him, and before we knew what had happened, they had completed wrapped a poor lady up - Harvey has gone round and round her :lol: Luckily she was a dog owner too and found it funny!!

 

[shelley]

Well, you know what they say about best laid plans....

Thought id have a bit of a play with Holly in the garden before the walk as she was a bit boisterous - so we played a bit of fetch etc...(sort of) bit of footie, practised a bit of recall. Thought id taken the edge of the bounciness

Came back in to grab lead and lock door... theres Holly now fast asleep in her bed, looking like butter wouldnt melt. She must have followed me back in from the garden :lol: :roll:

Looks like walkies will wait for a bit!!

Shelley

 

[Rebel1]

dont you just hate it when they do that :lol:

 

[shelley]

Hooray! Turned out just to be a power nap on Hollys part i think so Just taken her for walk (short) and guess what it was really good. In fact she hardly pulled much at all, wasnt too distracted by daughter running on ahead - before this has made her want to run too.We even avoided obstacle of two dead crows on the path and she sat nicely to cross the road. Is this the same dog i wonder??

Okay so it was only a short walk but have come back feeling chuffed with us all - especially as both Holly and daughter gone off for a sleep now and i can have a coffee in peace

Best wishes all,
Shelley

(Right - where's the biscuits???)

 

[Rebel1]

A GREAT BIG WELL DONE :lol:
short is good. if its only a few steps as long as you are relaxed and happy thats the main thing. it wont always be that easy but stick with it . the more you gain confidence the better holly will respond
you are alpha in the pecking order.
as i said i still have probs with max at 9 months :roll: hes now in the terrible teen stage and rebells at everything so its then back to basics untill he settles :evil:
keep it up we are all here for you :wink:

 

[Kev]

Well done Shelley and Holly too

You're getting there!

Keep us up to date with your progress and remember if you have a bad day we are here for you.


Kev

 

[Maddie]

Goodness me you are doing brilliantly! A pup and a small child as well! I know I would go our armed with a pocket full of squeaky toys (for child and dog) and treats (for child and dog) as a method of distraction!! :lol: :lol: Keep up the good work!

Have you tried working on a touch command? Never too early to start that (and its super fun for a labbie as they inevitably get a treat so will learn super fast!) then you can use the touch command also referred to as hand targetting to get the pup to touch your left hand in exchange for a treat (and keep or attract her attention). Here's how I did it (and got mine to walk to heel).

Sit with your dog you on a chair, her on floor (Doh). Hold out your left hand and if the dog so much as looks at it (with no command) click or use your marker word (I use "Good") and give treat with right hand. Build on that until dog gets the message - left hand = good/treat. Then encourage him to actually touch the left hand and build in a "touch" command. Click and treat each time. Eventually you will be able to put your left hand virtually anywhere and use your "touch" command and the dog will touch your hand with it's nose. Make it a great game!

Once you've got this you can move onto using the touch command while walking with dog by your side. Dog now knows the touch command and if you say touch it touches your left hand which is now down by your left hand side or placed on your left hip. Bingo, the beginning of competiton standard heelwork (in our dreams!) and a way of distracting the dog - touch = yummy treat!

I know the theory and indoors in a training class I KNOW it works - outside on a lead with distractions is another matter altogether! I do still use a touch command when I want to get my dogs attention (ie distract it from another dog) whereas all the French people in my class are saying "pas touchez"!

Just something small but potentially something all the family can get involved with teaching!!! :lol: :lol:

 

[shelley]

Thanks for that tip Maddie - might give it a try. We've got our homework from puppy class too so life wont be dull.

I have to say things are improving here slowly but surely. I managed today to take daughter and dog to our village park, let Holly off lead and practise some recall - at the mo. she is good at this, as long as there is something interesting to come back to. toys or treats!! Then walk round to playground area where she sat while i took daughter to swings.

Ive been putting this off as Holly isnt allowed to walk free in this area, so i had to tie end of long lead to post, but she was brilliant. Sat most of the time with only a little bit of whining, or chewed the chew id taken for her.Bless her! It made for a nice afternoon distraction for us all, and my sanity was still intact at the end (This time!)

Mind you, you should have seen me - weighed down with so many treats, toys etc. to bribe everyone to behave. Forgot the treat for me though so an extra big glass of wine tonight perhaps

Thanks for the advice

Shelley

 

[Kev]

Hi Shelley

You are doing well! Looks like things are on the up

Hope you enjoyed your wine,you deserved it lol

Kev

 

[NicolaL]

Hi Shelley

Great to hear you're making progress - well done you! Hope that wine was lovely!

On the subject of Halti's etc, I had heard that some people were getting negative comments about them. One thing I would say is that I am noticing more and more dogs wearing them now, so hopefully people will get used to them and they will become more the 'norm'.

All the best,
Nic
X

PS. Kev, think Jeremy Beadle may have also been lurking during my 'chips flying in the air incident' (see 'Smudge in Sunny Hunny' post!).

PPS. Fay - your wrapping lead incident sounds sooo funny! Glad that poor lady was a dog lover!