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Today was day 23 of my 30-day challenge to walk my dog every day. The weather here is finally nice, and Ace and I walked for an hour and a half today, which is a long walk for us. With the weather finally warm, there were tons of distractions, from dogs and kids everywhere, to skateboards, motorcycles, bikes and people out running and walking.
Ace has not improved much on his response to heeling with one command. He needs several reminders and usually starts to creep forward unless he is tired. I am also really picky though, and prefer his head to be even with my side. I don’t like it when half his body is in front of me. This probably doesn’t bother most people.
As for the the type of collar Ace wears, it really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference unless there is another dog or person around. He heels no better or worse with the pinch collar, regular collar, Gentle Leader or even off leash. The only difference is when there is another dog approaching us head-on. This is when the pinch collar or Gentle Leader come in handy. So obviously, I still need to work on Ace with distractions.
One way to find distractions is to bring Ace to new areas. Not only that, but he always seems to be more tired after visiting somewhere new. I am thinking about starting another challenge to do that every day.
Because of treats and practicing, Ace now always looks up at me when I say his name on a walk. I’m curious if anyone has used a “watch” or “watch me” command and if it’s worked well or not.
Anyway, Ace is sound asleep at my feet as I write this. He has a tough life.
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April 8th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I don’t like using a watch me command. My command for the dog to pay attention is ‘Come on’ when I start the walk. Once we are walking it is implied that he needs to pay attention throughout the walk.
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:51 am
You go girl..your more than half way through the challenge…u and Ace inspire me…x
Abbey’s last blog post..Walking Challenge, Day 7-11