Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A Leisurey Loose Leash Dog Walk - NOT!

Loose leash walking is NOT easy! I am to walk with my "Biscuit Buddy" (the clip-on pouch that holds all the treats) attached to my waist, have the leash in the hand opposite of Lucy and a treat in the hand next to Lucy. Then I am to walk at a very brisk pace with Lucy by my side. (honestly, think of how the dog walkers at the dog shows walk their dogs at that brisk pace for that short amount of time....yeah, that's what I'm supposed to look like) . The problem is, Lucy pulls. So, according to the instructor, the second Lucy begins to pull, I'm to stop. She is under no circumstance to be allowed to get whatever she's pulling toward. And, when she pulls, I'm not to call her, say "come" or pull her back into position. I'm to do nothing to entice her to come back and let the leash go slack. I'm to wait.  This morning I took her for a walk. We got to the end of the block. Our house is the 4th one on the street. It's not that far. It might take a minute or two to walk it normally.  This morning, it took Lucy and I 20 minutes just to walk to one end. No that's not the time for a round trip walk. That was one way. We stopped about 15 times along this very short walk. Every time I gave the command, "Let's go!" She took off like a bolt of lightening. So, before I took a 1/2 step, she was already pulling. What's really amazing is that we actually made it to the end of the block. By the end of our porch I was ready to call it quits! On the way back she did much better...or was that me just deciding to keep up with her?

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