Sunday, September 14, 2008

The dog walks

Scotty. He can make me so angry. He's been to two classes, and while the other dogs learned "lay down" and "watch me" commands, we still practiced leadership exercises, because all Scotty wants to do is jump and bite my hands. He won't listen long enough to sit. The trainer insists that he is making progress, and not to give up. Well, I can't very well give up- he has to get trained (if he wants to live or continue to be our pet).

Yesterday, as I went to take Scotty off his chain in the yard (our yard isn't fenced in, so I put him there if we are outside), he went wild once again. So, I picked him up by the scruff of his neck, as my trainer advises me. Only, Scotty panics and bite my arm - piercing me with his sharp puppy fangs. So, here I am bleeding, and trying to control my dog. Yah, this leadership stuff is a bunch of crap. Training without treats is stupid.

I got out the training collar, and took Scotty for a walk. You are thinking, he pulled me down the street right? Nope- he was walking like a pro before I even got half way past my neighbor's house. Scotty is finally listening to me! I couldn't believe it. After just a few corrections with the training collar, he was walking next to me and treating me like I am the boss. We walked like this for 45 minutes. I am so pleased!

Treats are good too : ) I started using treats to teach Scotty to sit before I put his lease on and Voila! No more biting my arms and going crazy. Today, Scotty played "grrr fight" (tug of war) with both of my kids. He only jumped up on them a couple times, and stopped when we reminded him. Our dog is shaping up : )

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