Am I doing the right thing? 8 1/2 mos. on a prong

[Maxxx]

Moondog, I was told by the trainer to work him with his back to the other dogs, that's why I did it. When Max is facing the other dogs, he tends to ignore me and try to play with them. I'll try it the other way around tonight and see if it helps. He's constantly trying to look behind him. I just figured it was because he wanted to play with the other dogs. I never occurred to me that he was feeling anxious by having his back towards them.

With regards to working outside the ring, that won't be possible for a lot of the class. The way it's setup is the ring is divided into 4 or 5 stations and each station works on a different exercise and you rotate around. And if I do end up outside the ring, there's people watching and there's another puppy class going on in the other ring. If there's an opportunity to work outside the ring, I'll try it. I'm open to any suggestions right now!

[Maxxx]

jlaack: I'm going to start out really slowly tonight with the prong. My main focus tonight will be being close enough to him to give him a quick correction if needed but more importantly, I'm going to watch him like a hawk for any sign of intent. If the exercise I'm doing is not conducive to that, I'll either try it outside the ring like moondog suggested, or modify it in some way so that I can accomplish my main goal. I will definitely make my corrections with a quick jerk and make sure the leash is slack at any other times :)

[Maxxx]

Well, last night went well. There were only 3 of us there since most of the people in the class decided to stay home because of the thick dense fog. Max and I could train as far away as possible from the others so there was no need to leave the ring. I will reserve final judgement to a time when everyone is there.

He was definitely easier to handle, which my knee was thankful for since it's not completely healed yet. I only used it when he was paying too much attention to the other dogs and for the most part, I caught his intention in time to give him a correction.

I feel like I've failed him somehow.... that I could have done more, or something different

Alice's Mommy, I know exactly how you feel!

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

I feel like I've failed him somehow.... that I could have done more, or something different

Oh cheer up!

Giving up would be getting rid of the dog or relying on a prong for the rest of your dog's life...now you are managing things while you work out some training issues...I think we all need to manage things at one point in time (using whatever tool we need to) as WE learn & grow as trainers - no one comes out of the womb with perfect dog-sense.

[Maxxx]

Thanks Ayoka. I needed that! :)

[Maxxx]

I have good news! My knee was healed enough to take him for a walk this evening (hubby had taken over that responsibility while I recuperated) and the walk went AMAZINGLY well!

I used to cross the street when I saw people, with or without dogs, heading towards us because I knew he would lunge at them. Today I thought, let's try staying on course and see what happens. He'd see the person, I'd give a firm "leave it" and I only had to give a quick correction and he did keep looking at them, but walked right with me. No lunging, no attempting to pull towards them. It was really great! And our first walk too!

I think this prong thing is going to work out really well!

[moondog]

That's good news! I would, however, still give him the distance he needs to begin paying attention to you (with eye contact) as you pass other dogs. Remember, this is a training thing and you want to build a solid foundation with him so it doesn't come back to bite you in the butt later. He will tell you how much he can handle by how relaxed he is and well he can keep his mind on you. It's okay if he looks, but he should be able to "leave it" and look to you when asked. If he can't, you're too close still. But, so far, so good!

[Maxxx]

Thanks moondog! So should I tell him to "watch me" after I've said "leave it" and then slowly fade out the "watch me" cue? Would that be the best way to encourage him to look to me?

[moondog]

I'd spend a lot of time using both commands. I still use both out in the neighborhood for dog arousal with Chili to make sure she really does take her attention off other dogs. For other things, like poop sniffing and such, I just use "leave it" because it's okay with me on a walk if she continues to enjoy the scenery. Dog arousal is tougher for her to let go, and easier for her to revert back to, so I make sure I keep her attention on me while passing.