I admit it. I am to blame. I know it. The buck stops here. When Bella acts up and cannot stop or control herself, it is because I have not done my job. So as of yesterday we've stepped backwards several paces. Time for the owner to relearn.
I took off her prong collar and do not allow surging, lagging or sideways lunges. Walking on a leash, no matter how normal (or not) the environment, requires Bella to pay attention to me. I am doing lots of stopping, backing up and going in the opposite direction.
In a day and half, she's doing much better, so I've obviously done something correctly, but it also indicates she's a smart, observant girl. This afternoon there was a yappy, ill-behaved puggle straining at the end of its leash towards Bella. My girl, though very eager to check it out and with only a very minor "Na!" from me, stayed at my side. That was fantastic—I was very proud of her.
I am also re-working stay. She's great at home and questionable everywhere else. On walks, I'm putting her on a sit stay and walking around her and dancing, albeit quietly and not very energetically. Initially, she broke her stay the minute I did any aberrant moves. Today she's holding it longer, but I'm also not pushing the limit. I want to keep it short, sweet and successful.
The other thing I need to do is devise a word (settle?) that she recognizes to mean lay down, be quiet and stay. In our Noseworks class, she is absolutely distraught when my friend,Shari, and Bella's friend, Amber get up to run their paces. She howls, low woofs and is anxious. So "settle" will be important. What I am presently doing with her in class is putting a tiny treat on her front paws and making her wait until I release her. That is working, but it is a known trick. "Settle" sans food–or self-control–will be the end goal.
Have you worked your pup with that? What did you do?
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