Archive for July, 2008

by Lindsay Stordahl on July 31st, 2008
7 Comments »
Yesterday was the last day of my 30-day challenge to teach my dog five new commands: bang, roll over, crawl, go long and bucket. Let me stress that although my dog is grasping these new commands, he is still learning. The biggest mistake I made with this challenge was to set a deadline. Dogs can’t always learn something new in a short amount of time, and one of the worst things to do is rush them. A better chal ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 29th, 2008
12 Comments »
My mutt has a fixation Note: This is part one of a three-part series on my dog’s tennis ball obsession. Click these links to read part two, 10 signs your dog has a fixation and part three, Breaking Ace’s fixation. You’ve heard me joke about it, complain about it and then half-heartily try to fix it. My mutt has an addiction to tennis balls. But not just tennis balls – any kind of ball, any dog ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 28th, 2008
8 Comments »
My dog running business is officially launched with a new web site, Run That Mutt. If you are looking into starting a similar business, check out my post on how to start a dog walking business. I can’t stress enough the importance of exercising your dog. From the day I adopted Ace, I began taking him on daily long runs. His behavior quickly improved because he had less pent-up energy. In a short amount of time, ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 27th, 2008
12 Comments »
………………………………………………………………………………….. My mutt has gone on several road trips, but I have never flown with him. I have never been in a situation that required me to fly Ace, and so far when I’ve traveled long distances, I have eith ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 27th, 2008
9 Comments »
With three more days left in our challenge, I better get going. Ace will now do all five commands. The problem is he only does them … sometimes. And he won’t do them all in a row. He needs a lot more work (probably another month), but at least we are off to a good start. The hardest part of this challenge is just sticking with it. I want to give up if Ace doesn’t pick up on something right away. Bu ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 26th, 2008
6 Comments »
Dogs have it easy. They adapt well to whatever environment they’re in. The first year of my mutt’s life was not ideal. He lived with a family that kept him in a kennel nine hours a day, never walked him (not once) and never trained him. Even so, when I met Ace for the first time, he seemed happy. He didn’t know what he was missing, so he was doing OK anyway. I took him home, began running with him, ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 24th, 2008
4 Comments »
While training my dog, I have learned to set up situations where he is likely to be successful. Ace has been working on “roll over” for the past week or two, with little success. The only time he rolled over on command before today was outside in the grass. So I took Ace out for a run today and stopped three times to tell him to roll over in the grass. He did it all three times. This is a huge step for Ac ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 24th, 2008
3 Comments »
I am working with my dog to perfect his heeling. Our trainer suggested this tip last week that allows me to look straight ahead instead of at my dog all the time. It is a simple trick that works. 1. Start with your dog on the left. Hold the leash in both hands with a little slack. A choke collar works best for Ace. 2. Hold your left hand at your side touching the seam of your pants. I actually pinch a piece of my pa ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 23rd, 2008
2 Comments »
For the past week or so, I have practiced “roll over” with Ace three or four times a day for very short periods. This is the hardest of the five commands for him to pick up on. I don’t think he understands it yet because he usually just stares at me, like, huh? The only times he has done it right on his own were while we were out in the grass. This is probably because he likes to roll in the grass a ...
by Lindsay Stordahl on July 22nd, 2008
5 Comments »
1. Start out by walking with your dog and bike. To introduce Ace to my bike, I started by walking him on my left with my bike on my right. I was in the middle. This was an easy way to get Ace used to the bike, and to teach him that he still has to heel when the bike is involved. I didn’t want my dog to be scared of the bike or too excited by it. 2. Start out embarrassingly slow. The first time I biked with Ace, ...