Who Leads?
posted by info@greenpets.com @ 2:57pm, Wednesday 17 December 2008.
Dragged. Yanked. Pulled.. some of you call it Walking. You know what I'm talking about; you are at one end of the leash, and find your dog at the other end- miles in front of you - ecstatic that he is on a wild journey through the city. The hunt is on for him, and he has no care that he is pushing over women carrying Christmas packages, knocking down kids on bikes, or that your shoulder has almost become detached from your body.
"He's too strong", "he's just being a dog", you say.
I wonder about these excuses for our dogs behavior. If you had a child that liked to play in traffic- would you make the same excuses?
The answer of course is no- playing in traffic is not safe for kids.
Running down the street and pulling as hard as they can is also not safe for your dog. There is a time and a place to let a dog be a dog- to sniff and run and have its own way. It's in the safety of an enclosed area under constant supervision.
There are two main reasons for not letting your dog yank you down the street- the first is that most collars put a lot of pressure on the trachea (windpipe) and a dog with a high pain thresh hold is not going to tell you when he's in pain or when his trachea has collapsed from constant strain.
The second reason is that because you are not the alpha to your dog, when he sees a squirrel across the street, and wants it badly enough- there is nothing you can say that will make him stop. I don't take this subject lightly, and I believe it is important enough to not pull any punches here- if he pulls the leash out of your hand to get to whatever it is he needs (wants) to get to- the thing that could be in between the two in a city like DC is a truck.
At the end of the day, basic obedience is NOT about you having total control for control's sake- it's about safety for your animal. The piece of mind of knowing your dog is safe in any situation should far outweigh any hesitancy about what your training collar may look like, or the time you need to put into having better communication with your dog.
My favorite tool for helping a dog to not pull on the leash is something called the Gentle Leader. I have used this in obedience training for over 15 years and have found nothing more effective.
Designed by a vet, the Gentle Leader has the unique ability to communicate your needs to your dog in a language he can understand. The top loop that goes high and tight directly behind the ears simulates the way a mother dog would make a correction to a puppy in the wild. The loop that goes over the nose simulates the way an alpha male would make a correction as well. When the two tighten as you make a correction, its just like you are saying "no!" in dog. Plus, there is the added bonus of not putting pressure on the neck. No more chocking, no more danger to the windpipe.
Come in to GreenPets and have one of our trained staff members find the right Gentle Leader for your dog. You will be thrilled you did!!
Comments
Hi,
very interesting post and an even more interesting concept. I am very curious to test it actually. Though one though does come up: will this type of control then spread to other areas of his/her training as well? In other words, will the (alpha-male) control then also be applicable in normal household situations?
Thanks for the info and the post!
Regards
Leo
www.petstuffgalore.co.uk
LeoH - 12:01pm, Tuesday 17 February 2009.
Thanks for the question Leo!
The answer is , yes. The gentle leader is a training tool and teaches your dog how to behave in every situation. Once your dog's behavior turns from inappropriate to appropriate, that becomes the routine. Dogs are creatures of habit, and once the "habit" is acceptable behavior, that becomes the norm. The ultimate goal is to get your dog to understand and feel safe knowing that you are in control so that they don't have to be the alpha. It spreads to every aspect of their daily routine.,
tori@greenpets.com - 6:05pm, Thursday 19 February 2009.
We just adopted a year old stray from an animal shelter in S.C. She is the sweetest dog I've ever had, but she practically rips our arms off when we walk her. We bought the gentle lead, and it has improved things - somewhat. The problem is that now she pops up on her back legs and tries to paw the lead off of her face. I scold her and she stops, but I can't help wondering if maybe the lead is wrong, or maybe she's wrong for lead. Any suggestions?
Dave Ray - 8:51am, Friday 24 April 2009.
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seofrontline - 7:27am, Monday 6 July 2009.
I like this saying. It is interesting and useful.
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davidmorgan - 8:32am, Wednesday 4 August 2010.
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