Puppy walking

An adventure in looking after a puppy until it is old enough to be properly trained as a guide dog for the blind.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Another thing we talked abut yesterday was making connexions. Rockwell will learn one thing about obedience, like how to sit when asked. Then he will learn another thing, like how to lie down on command. He will learn how to leave things alone. As he learns each thing, they are separate entities in his mind but one day, he will make a connexion. He will be able to say to himself, "these things are related. Every time someone snaps up on the leash, it means I shouldn’t be doing something. Every time someone asks me to do something, when I do it, I get praise." He will connect the dots and understand that they all relate to self control. If he controls his impulses, he gets praise. And I don’t mean control as in stop doing something altogether. I mean control as in channel or work with. I already see the glimmerings of this connexion ability and am looking forward to the coming months when I will see it more and more.

4 Comments:

At 12:06 p.m., February 17, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi there.. I know you have a protocol you have to follow but I'm wondering if you can use TTouch with him?

There is something called a balance leash that I used very successfully with my puppy who was a puller.. .now she walks beautifully next to me.. no jerking, no popping etc etc...

Just a thought... :D

 
At 1:33 p.m., February 17, 2006, Blogger JuliaR said...

Hey Energy Paws! I can’t say about the TTouch because, as you know, he’s not my dog. You could talk to Guide Dogs directly about it but I suspect they might say whatever they are doing works for them. However, we DO use a balanced lead when working in public places and it works very well. I also blogged about leashes over here. This was just a regular dog-walk where he wasn’t wearing his special jacket. I have been working on the regular leash corrections as taught to me by the PW supervisor and they have been working as long as I have his attention. Since he is a puppy of course, he is easily distracted!

 
At 5:00 p.m., February 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi there! that "balance lead" looks like it does the same thing as a "balance leash".. around the front of the chest so that you arne't choking the dog and it helps bring them back to "balance" No pulling etc..

Cool

 
At 5:58 p.m., February 18, 2006, Blogger JuliaR said...

Energypaws, what I find amazing is that it works so WELL! Except of course if he takes off after a squirrel or something. :) And his future work is to be a guide dog for the blind, so he will be using a harness that feels like the balanced lead. A win-win situation.

 

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