About Lana HawkinsHelping business owners build and maintain their small business websites.
This Thursday we shoot the 60 second web video spot for the Dogheart one on one dog training program. To quote John Speiser, owner of Dogheart, ”Dogheart has set out to raise the bar of cultural canine consciousness.”
When I first spoke to John about my dog Sadie I was frustrated about walking her, or basically having a tug of war contest down the street. If another dog showed up, which was frequent, I’d better hope there was no ice beneath my feet because I was sure to go flying.
It was getting to the point where I was dreading taking my dog for a walk. I had so many types of choke chains, halties and other restrains that my neighbors had given me, but none worked very well.
It turns out the Sadie is a very neck strong dog. She’d pull herself ’till she was dead. She was starting to choke and cough a lot from the pulling on her trachea. Not good. John showed me how to properly use a pinch collar. While it looks like a dreadful torture device, when coupled with the correct words and pulls at the right time it is actually much more humane than constantly pulling on her throat.
Now when we go for a walk I use a 20 foot piece of nylon rope and the pinch collar. She responds to my voice commands and will walk next to me, or out in front a bit, with no tension on the line. We take walks without the collar on too and she does well, but occasionally begins to revert back to the old ways so I go back to the pinch collar for reinforcement.
We’ve been working for a couple months and making good progress. Working with your dog is a lifetime commitment, I think. My plan is to get her to the point where she doesn’t need a leash.