Week 3 Newsletter
“Life off-leash begins on-leash”
Week 2’s in the books!! To be honest, this week was challenging for me. Motivation waned, productivity decreased… I’ve got lots of excuses but I’ll spare you.
I did manage to stay on track with Biggie for the most part. We continued to get out every day, no distractions, praise exercise before and after every walk, practiced circle out on our adventures, and Kongs are still going strong. I fell off my journalling. After a good start, I didn’t make a single entry last week.
How’s it going for you? If you’ve had a tough time staying on track this week, again, I’ll just reiterate that I get it, me too. I hope you’ll hang in there and keep pushing with us. We can do it!!
This week, continue praise and circles
The tools learned throughout this challenge are intended to be continually practiced and refined. The easier and more natural they become, the more powerful they will be when you need to communicate with your dog. The great thing about them is that they can all be incorporated right into your daily walks.
For Biggie and I, the praise exercise has shortened greatly at the start of our walks, just enough to get into the groove, but expanded at the end. Giving praise after our walks has become my favorite part of the challenge and I’m noticing a difference in Biggie. He seems sweeter and more connected, or maybe I’m more connected from all the attention and focus I’m paying him, maybe both. (here’s the praise video link if you need it)
This week I’ve got 2 videos for you, both are less than 5 minutes. The first is to help clarify what guiding your dog with the leash looks like/means. It’s a fundamental skill intended to be used with all the other exercises.
The second video introduces another exercise/tool to implement on your walks, the crossover.
Getting feather-light, on-leash responsiveness from your dog
All the exercises in the challenge are about communicating and moving your dog, moving with your dog, working them, and guiding them. This video demonstrates how to get your communication crystal clear and so light that your dog will understand you as you whisper through the leash.
**If you take only 2 things away from this entire challenge, I’d suggest praise and this:
Keep in mind:
Allow time and space for your dog to process the learning, don’t rush.
Start with less pressure than you think you’ll need, increase gradually, be steadfast.
Praise, praise, praise!!
The Crossover
Like in basketball, a wicked crossover adds serious potential to you game. You’re simply moving the dog from one side of your body to the other, but if done right, it can be an incredibly effective move. I’ve been using this maneuver ever since I started walking client dogs. It’s a very natural way to reset over-reactive, pulling, or forging issues so that we can continue on our walk, harmoniously.
If you’re paying attention to your dog on a walk, you’ll notice that they’re either behind you, right there with you, or out front of you(your dog may be all of these at different times - maybe they’re behind but when they see a dog/squirrel/person/etc. they take on a forward posture). Sometimes a dog may appear as though they’re right there with you but if you look closely at them, their attention is very intently focused on the world out front, they’re charged like a loaded spring, and even when they’re by your side, they’re most definitely out front of you in their mind.
I’d prefer that my dogs have a happy-go-lucky, low stress experience on our walks. I’m not trying to tell you that you shouldn’t let your dog walk in front of you, but are they capable of walking behind you or with you? Have you noticed this forward posture in your dog? Have you had problems on your walks?
This tool can help to defuse those moments with your dog. When it fails, I switch to circles.
Thank you so much for participating and following along. If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or ideas, or would like to learn more/practice with us, let us know at minneapolisdogclub@gmail.com
Have a great week with your fur balls 😀 and if you find these interesting/useful, please share with the dog lovers in your life. Thanks!