Need inspiration, feeling frazzled..(long post)

Hi all,

Incase anyone reading doesnt know, I have a 21 mth old black labrador, a 15 mth old german shepherd cross & a 14 week old NI pup.

I have the GSD in training classes once a week & have been going 4 weeks now, I trained my lab Ruby with basic commands shes fab at recall etc

This week I'm feeling very low with myself & just feeling like I'm getting nowhere with training the other 2. I know it takes time hving done it all before, but I dont want the way am feeling to have an effect on the dogs otherwise am heading for disaster.

Khal now knows sit & down (as in lie-down) and is slowly getting to know to come when called. I've been training walking to heel everytime we go out with both Khal & Sasi, obviously I take them out seperately so they are getting the 1 on 1 training with me.

Basically neither of them are taking alot of notice of me & its getting me down. I'm treating them when they look at me after saying heel & they do heel but then 2 secs later after theyve had the treat, they pull again (well Khal 'wanders' not essentially pulls...

Im currently doing 7 walks a day, 3 in the morning, 1 at lunchtime with Khal (if Ive been to work in the morning & am going back to work) and 3 at nightime.

Please help me, any advice at all will be greatly appreciated. I'm not giving up on any of my dogs, I just really need to crack this walking to heel as Im fed up to the back teeth of being pulled along, not listened to etc...

The dogs didnt even go for a walk last night as I just didnt have the 'get up & go' I always have, I played in the garden with them for a while instead & thats not like me to miss a walk.

Thanks all, Bev

are you focussing on walking to heel or loose lead no pulling?
(is yr class indoors walking round in circles doing heelwork)

how fast do you walk?

is it always the same route?

is it pretty much a straight line?

what equipment do you use?

have you inasdvertently chained it? - saying heel, they look at you, you give a treat, they pull, repeat.

Well you have not made things easy for yourself having two adolescents and a puppy!

It sounds as though you have slipped into being a kennel maid rather than a dog owner. This often happens with people who have many horses/dogs. Time is taken up with basic animal husbandry eg feeding watering, grooming, cleaning, exercising with no spare time available for fun.

So you may need to review your day and time to see if you can make better use of it.

Do you drive?

Can you DRIVE to the park etc and then get each one out and do some running around, ball chasing etc and then after they have expended some pent up energy then do some individual 1:1 training on the lead?

Have you considered not actually lead walking from point A to point B but to walk around, over, through, under stuff to make the dog think?

Eg you could have a set of cones you put down to walk around, what about steps do your dog drag you up and down them? Use steps for training being with you, (not the puppy yet). If you do not have cones, what about poles, you can get a set of electric fence posts or agility poles for only a few pounds and do all SORTS of stuff with them.

Another thing is to get them walking over strange surfaces.

Owners often inadvertently train their dogs to pull by ALWAYS going somewhere more exciting than home and by reinforcing that pulling because in the dog’s mind it works, ie they pull and they get to the park.

So if you START at the most exciting place and walk TOWARDS the less exciting place it can help.

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/le...lktogether.pdf
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/lo..._diagramed.doc
http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/strolling_on_lead.doc

I'm focussing on the heel when they have looked at me & are actually beside me otherwise I stand still & go off again if Ive said "heel" they look but dont come beside me.

I walk my normal pace which isnt supersonic by any means lol

I take them a different route on a morning to where I take them on an evening , luckily there are plenty of places to walk dogs round here without too much distraction.

It is pretty much straight line & i dont use any equipment other than cheese or garlic sausage for rewarding which they ONLY get when am out as I think it makes a more interesting reward.

I just use their normal collars (clip fastening ones) & leaders.

Thanks Kruse, Bev

hello SB, i had the same visions too of rubster having a busy life all about the pressure of living up the training club expectations, so work work work to the park; the same route the dog has anticipated in a brisk pace to meet the busy schedule.
i was going to next recommend messing with the style to, adding some guided walking like you say, but maybe just using street furniture and nature

Yep street furniture is a GREAT idea, depending on where you live you could have LOADS eg benches, lamposts, bollards, bins, trees and of course PEOPLE!

I don`t do a Heel when just walking. I do Loose Lead Walking. With this, the dog is relaxed but responsive.
I teach it with the Drunken Walk method.
I do Heel only for close Obediance stuff or if we hit a problem (crowds etc). Heelwork I mostly train off lead.
It is quite tiring for you and the dog to do heelwork. So maybe you`re just asking too much?

leades? = leads? what sort of lead? longer training leads loose and relaxed and/or short taut leads?

I think the trap we can all fall into is "Destination" walking.

Ie we always think that we should be GOING somewhere instead of making the TRAVELLLING the actual experience.

If you need to go somewhere DRIVE there.

Decide WHY you are walking the dog ie

For fitness?
To get to (insert relevent destination)
Or for training.

This might colour your approach.

Are you actually looking for them to do a proper heel or just walk with you without pulling? For loose leash walking I simply turn and go in another direction the moment they start to wander ahead but before they're actually pulling. I've had no joy at all with the stop method, Rupert just stops and sits down with the leash still tight and other dogs seem to get into the cycle of stop, come back, start walking, go back to pulling, repeat.