These Paws Were Made for Walking...Fast

Cabana is a high energy dog. I think she really WANTS to walk nicely without pulling--but she just can't contain herself in the beginning of our walks. Midway through, after some energy has been expended, she's much better about walking in the right position, next to my left leg.

Because Cabana is over a year old, she's allowed to run a bit (Guide Dogs doesn't want dogs under 12 months running alongside you on leash because it can be hard on their joints). I usually jog the first few blocks with her, so she can release some energy. Well, I might be jogging, but for her, it's barely a trot (I'm a shorty at 5'1").

The new snap collar worked great at first, but a big drawback with the snap collar is that it stretches out. Proper fit is crucial with the snap collar; if it's even a half inch too loose, it just slides down, instead of staying high on the neck where it's most effective.

If you have the same problem with your snap collar, try soaking it, then putting it in the dryer for about 5-10 minutes. If you put the collar in a sock before putting it in the dryer, it will minimize banging and protect it as well. But MAKE SURE you only put it in the dryer for a short time. If you forget and dry it too long, the collar may not even fit on a chihuahua--so proceed at your own risk. Our collar shrank about 1/2" in 10 minutes, perfecto!

I have found that alternating between the snap collar and the head collar helps Cabana walk with less pulling. Maybe it keeps her from getting too used to the same kind of pressure.

Even after a brisk 45-minute walk (between 2-3 miles), sometimes, Cabana will still do her labby loops through our living room right afterwards! Like I said, she's high energy!

We usually walk Cabana fairly early, starting out between 7:00-7:30, to minimize the number of dogs we pass (since she's on food protocol, we go through a lot of kibble on our walks, and I need to save SOME for her meals!). This morning, though, there was a frost on the ground--chilly! I waited until closer to 8:00 to go on our walk, hoping it would warm up a bit--but even at that "late" hour, we didn't pass a single other dog. I guess Northern California dog owners are pretty thin-skinned! (I know the Utah folks are sniggering at us, too cold to walk with a mere light frost!)

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Great Puppy Meeting

Last night, Cabana and I got to have a bit of individualized time with our CFR (Community Field Representative) Celeste and another CFR from Oregon, Pat. We wanted to work on Cabana's walking and dog distraction. This is our biggest challenge because Cabana still pulls quite a bit on leash, ESPECIALLY when other dogs are around.

We worked on a better way for me to hold the leash (way down on the braided section, just a few inches from the clasp) and where exactly Cabana should be positioned in relation to me (right next to my knee). We worked on having Cabana sit straight when on leash (she was tending to angle her bottom outward), as well as how I should turn left into Cabana and make us go in the opposite direction if she's pulling forward to meet an oncoming dog.

This morning on our walk, I put all those strategies into play. And there was such marked improvement. Now I feel like I have a whole new bag of tricks to help us be more successful. During our time with the CFRs, they determined that there should be no treats given during walks (too confusing for Cabana at this point) and no training collar. Cabana will be strictly on the head collar and eventually transition to just the flat collar.

Also at our meeting last night, we worked on prolonged sit-stays and down-stays, with lots of distractions thrown in. Kids walked in and around the pups with toys and squeakers and treats. Cabana is very good at staying. And considering how much she LOVES other dogs, I was amazed and proud of Cabana for staying put in such distracting circumstances.

And here is the requested photo of Persia (I didn't forget, Taelor!). She wasn't at the meeting last week when I took photos of the other pups. Persia is a cutie, although her raiser says she's a bit of a "slug" (low energy). (Hello, I wouldn't mind getting a slug for our puppy swap in a couple weeks.)



And a few of the career change dogs that sometimes come to our meetings. Here's Truman, who lives with Hamlin and family. Seven-year-old Truman is like a big cuddly teddy bear--so sweet and gentle.


And funny little Berlin, who is staying with Poppy this week.

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Naughty or Nice

This Saturday morning was foggy and a bit chilly, but it was one of those days where you can tell it's going to be gorgeous and warm later on. Because it was early and foggy, meaning that not many other people would be out with their dogs (majorly distracting to Cabana), I decided to try walking her without her head collar. It turned out to be a good idea because she did very well. With her head collar, she tends to sit down a lot, but when she's not wearing it, although she does pull a bit more, she's more willing to keep moving.

I snapped a couple photos of Cabana on our walk today. My camera is big, so I don't like to take it along, even though I often wish I had it with me.


Yesterday, we walked with the head collar on, and midway in our walk, Cabana got tired of being good. (Don't we all!) She started jumping and biting her leash, running in circles around me. All very naughty behaviors, which she knows she isn't supposed to do. It's her way of saying, "I'm gonna do what I want, and you can't stop me!" (She used to do this a lot more, but it had been quite a while since she had done this.) I grabbed her collar and scruff firmly and said, "That's enough!" (This is the GDB preferred way of saying "no".) Well, Cabana stopped and calmed down, but then, as I took a couple steps to start walking again, she came up behind me and BIT me on the TUSHIE!!! Not hard, but I definitely felt it. I was SHOCKED at her very deliberate gesture of disobedience. Of course, I gave her a firm correction, and we proceeded on our walk. Later, when I recounted the story to my husband, he asked if Cabana was repentant after that. I said she behaved herself, but she didn't seem all that "hangdog" about what she'd done.

One out of three dogs don't make it through the program to become a Guide Dog. Even the smallest undesirable behavior can cause the dog to be "career changed." I think tushie biting might possibly put the dog in the "career change" category--so it's definitely something we need to "nip in the bud" (ha ha).

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Muzzle or Collar?

Last night, we had a puppy training meeting. We haven't had many since getting Cabana, due to the holidays. About a dozen of us gathered outside Costco with our Guide Dog puppies, to catch up and to practice walking through the aisles. Cabana was extremely excited to see all the other dogs, as well as the numerous humans. Even on our walks, she will pull and strain to get over to a passing person, with or without a dog walking alongside--she just loves people and wants to get everyone's attention.

Well, our puppy group leader found Cabana's excitement a bit overboard, as she pulled on her leash, tried to jump on everyone, and barked loudly. We pulled Cabana away from the group so that she could get calmed down, and our puppy group leader said that we should try a head collar on Cabana, to help keep her under control.

A head collar is a collar that goes over the dog's muzzle. It isn't an actual muzzle, which keeps the dog from being able to open its mouth. The head collar just goes around the "nose" and up over the head, with a ring at the bottom to clip on the leash.

Although the head collar is a handy tool and does give the human more control, it's got to be the most pathetic piece of equipment you can put on a dog. It's almost embarrassing!

Poor little Cabana. At the meeting, other raisers called her "feisty", "strong willed", "overly active", "headstrong", and other such adjectives. They don't see this peace-loving, obedient little creature when she's in our house--how sweetly she licks Olive's face (the boxer at my office), how she almost never has an accident, how she ignores our shoes and other off-limit items.

But on our walk today, the head collar did do the trick. Cabana pulled a lot less on her leash, wasn't as excited about passersby (although it was a little rainy so there weren't many passersby), and actually wasn't as excited about anything at all. It's hard to be excited with that weird thing on your face. She sat down a lot and needed to be coaxed to continue walking, maybe her way of rebelling. But I gave her some treats and praised her when she walked well, and there's always room for improvement tomorrow.

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