Need help in dog education

[Barbara]

I know I am not born to be a leader of a dog pack but if you own a dog you should be isn't it?

Last year, half a year after the death of my dad, my mom (84 years old) moved in my region (10 miles away from me). She owns a wire hair doxie, Amber, who is 5 years old.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid73/p46465d930f3f7c06ba047be1498e66a3/fb705446.jpg

Just like her human daughters ;), my mom did not really educate this dog. Amber does whatever she wants. She eats stuff she finds on the street (and has got a tummyache more than one time). My mom would never let her off the leash outside which is a good thing as she would never come back.

What worries me most: Amber pulls at the leash. And of course she can pull so much that she could get an old frail lady to fall. (She even managed that one time but thanks god nothing happened).

So my question: How can I educate a dog to walk at the leash?

Second: Who has to educate the dog? I mean, my mom should be Amber's boss? Or? What role do I play in this story? My mom is not consequent and I'd better try. But on the other hand I see her only on weekends.

Should I try to get them into a dog school?

I am very stupid in dogs and very grateful for any advice.

[aly]

Hi Barbara :)

Amber is a CUUUUUTIE!!!

There are several tricks to teach leashwalking. I'd say it might be best to see if you or your mother could go through a positive reinforcement obedience class. A lot of it is geared toward teaching owners how to teach the dogs, and you'll come out of it with some valuable lessons.

In the meantime, you may want to consider a Gentle Leader, No Pull Sporn harness, or something similar as an aid to leashwalking. It won't train the dog not to pull, but it will prevent pulling while the dog is wearing the harness (usually). Just be sure not to get a normal harness, since those enable the dogs to pull even more (all their strength is in their chest). The Gentle Leader goes around the nose/mouth area of the dog (looks like a muzzle, but it isn't. The dog can still eat, drink, bark, etc while wearing one). The Gentle Leader basically guides their head downward if they pull and takes the strength off of their chest area. It can be hard to get used to since its on the face, but it works wonders for some dogs. The Sporn harness goes under the shoulders and does the same thing as the GL, taking the harness off the chest where the dog can pull hard. As I said earlier, these won't help with training, but can be used to make walks easier until Amber learns not to pull.

It'd be fine for you to train Amber, but eventually your mom would have to take over the training. You could get her started though. The most important thing is for you and your mom to be on the same page and do everything consistently, or Amber may learn to behave for you and not behave for your mom. She also may learn that she gets away with pulling sometimes, but not others. This will make her try twice as hard with the pulling since she knows there is a chance that she can get away with it.

Hope I made sense. I'm trying to type fast since I'm on my way out the door. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or anything you want me to clarify!

Good luck!!!!!!!! :)

[shutterbug0303]

Aly is right with the Gentle Leader! It was a life...err, arm saver for my family with our great dane. Only a few times wearing it and she had the walking thing down pat.

During my recent obedience class, we were learning heel. In order to teach this method, we would take an entire chicken-based hot dog in our hand and hide almost all of it within our palm. Only a little piece should be sticking out. Hang your arm and your side and walk. The hot dog should keep Amber's nose near your legs. You should slowly be able to remove the hot dog once she gets the idea that walking next to you gets rewarded. It is a long process and you have to be careful with your fingers because they could get "nibbled". I wouldn't recommend that your mom do this exercise until Amber is adjusted to it.

You can certainly work with Amber, even if only on the weekends, but your mom needs to try and do something too. Otherwise, your mom will be PART of her pack, and YOU will be the leader. Not good for Monday-Friday when you're not there. I definitely think that an obedience class would be helpful and fun for both Amber and you mom!

Best of Luck! :D

[IRescue452]

Hi. What a cute little doxie. I am concerned with the dog eating stuff off the streets and sidewalk. Things on the street can be contaminated with antifreeze of gas, ever look at puddles after it rains and see rainbow colors? Also people put out pesticides on their lawns and various poisons for weeds and rodents which can be on things the dogs finds to eat while walking along a strange lawn. I may be a little overprotective but I watch my dog like a hawk when we go for walks so she doesn't eat anything. For walking her I'd suggest a head halter or other such device. Make sure you teach your mom how to use the halter properly.

[lizbud]

Amber is a cute dog.:) If your Mom is willing to go, she should
attend some dog obedience classes with Amber. If she is the one
who usually walks her. You could go too. They usually teach leash
walking along with other obedience exersizes. Here's a link to
some general info on leash training. Good luck with this.

http://www.perfectpaws.com/leash.html

[Barbara]

Thank you for your help. Yes this addresses most of the problems I anticipated. The problem will be to get my mom to co-operate. It is not so easy with 84 year olds.

IRescue452: I understand your concerns and have the same! I think Amber was lucky that up to now she didn't eat something really dangerous.