After last week’s fiasco where Delilah took off on me I vowed to find another way and I promised to share that with you. Well here goes!
Many of you, so very many of you rallied to my support and offered suggestions and ideas for working with her. There were so many awesome suggestions that I couldn’t pick just one….or two…or three. Here’s what I came up with.
I really think Delilah is a very smart girl and as such I need to keep her interested. I need to vary her walks and keep them interesting to her, so interesting that she can’t possibly leave me, because she might miss something.
In other words, our walks are going to be like going to Disney World….for dogs.
I put her on a 15 foot leash so she isn’t too far away from me.
I’m sure all of you positive dog trainers know the name for this game, but I’m calling it, “Oh you caught me.”
I play it this way, I wait until I have a loose leash (this can be a while because she is almost always at the end of her leash) and I place a few pieces of whatever is in my treat bag on a flat rock. Most times she turns around and catches me in the act and I say, “Oh you caught me,” or “My you are quicker than I am.”
Sometimes I have to wait a minute and pretend that I’m just placing it, because she isn’t really paying attention. 🙂
Currently I have some ‘diet’ Blackwood chicken kibble and some beef jerky from Trader Joe’s in my treat bag. I have to be sure and place the treats on a flat rock that doesn’t have moss, sticks, or rocks on it or for sure that crazy girl would inhale it all.
Sometimes I can’t get her to leave my side. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.
I’ve been playing the “You caught me game” since last Saturday and decided yesterday to incorporate some other ideas into our walk.
First I had her sit while Sampson and I walked away from her. My goal was to recall her to me, but as I walked out of her sight she came running to me. I was actually excited by this, but since she didn’t ‘stay’ I brought her back and re-sat her and then walked away again and this time she did awesome.
I also played a little game of Kibble Catch with her.
I think the best thing would be for Delilah to have a job, and will be looking for some kind of training or class that she and I can participate in together, to help cement our bond. I also intend on Thursday obedience class to be our thing, Hubby and Sampson will need to find something else to do.
I intend to get a harness for her and a doggie backpack, one day she can wear a harness, one day she can walk on long leash, one day she will wear a pack. The key for Delilah is to not get too comfortable with any given thing.
When I first put her on the 30 foot leash, she became a model walker. She rarely left the trails and stayed very close to me. Once she became comfortable, she started exploring farther and farther away, and eventually started running off.
Oh and Dr. McConnell’s dvd came the other day, I hope to check that out this weekend. 🙂
Changing the topic really quickly, Mel Freer of No Dog About It Blog is a strong warrior fighting a battle against puppy mills. Mel lives in Minnesota and you may or may not be aware but a bill is prepping for a house vote and Mel needs your support. If you live in Minnesota, please visit Mel’s blog and follow the link to sign the petition.
If you don’t live in Minnesota, please visit Mel’s blog and re-post it on facebook, tweet it, stumble it, or consider adding a link to your blog.
Together we really can make a difference!!
Book update: My book has 19,083 words.
I really like the idea of variety. Good luck
Thanks I’m hoping it works. That along with everything else!
The approach sounds good Jodi. I hope Delilah continues to respond positively to the stimulation.
Thanks Bassa, how is it that some dogs (like you and Sampson) ‘get it’ but some dogs don’t?
Sounds like a great plan 🙂 I’ve heard a lot about giving dogs a job to make them happier and feel more involved, and a backpack is definitely a way to do that. Not to mention, as you add small weights to it, you can tire her out a bit easier.
That’s what I was thinking too Lexy. Of course, we will keep trying different things to spice it up for her. 🙂
This is awesome, Jodi! It sounds like you’ve discovered some fun games that keep Delilah interested! Your idea of keeping things varied for her is very smart. It’s so great you’ve already had so much sucess! *happy dance*
We don’t have problems with Shiva running off (anymore) but her biggest recall issue is still food distraction. And what she considers food is mud. 😛 Often if she gets sucked in to a mud hole, I just keep walking. It’s her job to pay attention and catch up. If I get far ahead and she still hasn’t come after me, I will hide behind a tree and wait. When she does finally come looking for me, it usually freaks her out when she can’t find me right away. I hope this will help teach her that I am more important than dirt. 😛
Delilah is so cute in that video! She is definitely a character, eh? But how can you be mad at a dog with such adorable ears?
Kristine, you have done such amazing work with Shiva. Truthfully if she wasn’t going onto someone else’s property I would do the same thing you are doing. I do it with Sampson, just walk away.
I really can’t risk someone getting peeved enough to call and complain. Plus is she is on their property they can say anything they want and I would hate for something to happen to her because of something I did.
I can’t believe she likes to eat mud. I just can’t. 🙂
As our walks progress and her leash gets longer, I will hide behind trees too. Sometimes I run a little and let her trot beside me too. Just to keep it interesting. What is mom going to do next type of thing. 🙂
She is a character that’s for sure, but she does have some very sweet ears. 🙂
I’m so glad you’ve found a few tricks and ideas to work on. The “Oh, you caught me” game looks like it’s a real winner, she certainly came trotting right back for the food. Good luck, and can’t wait to see how this all progresses!
I will keep trying Donna, no matter what!! If you can think of any other games, please please share them!!
I think it is grrrreat that you are going to Vary the thingys. Keeps everybuddy on their paws and stuffs. Good Idea.Pee S…. I still can’t make your blog small enough to be able to see everythingy… Do you know what I can do to fix it???
Hi Frankie and Ernie, I’m sorry that you are having such trouble seeing the blog. Hawk a.k.a Brown Dog says “Try hitting control zero.”
Does your mom vary your training/walks or are you training her? 😉
Hi Jodi,
Love the new games, going to have to give them a try….hey, we can put their treats in the doggie backpack!! LOL
Val I swear if I put those treats in there she would be walking around in a circle trying to figure out how to get them out! LOL
Let me know if they help you at all with Molly!
Sounds like a great plan. Good luck.
Unfortunately, I think the Minnesota bill is overly broad. This is in both the Senate and House bills:
” Subd. 10. Hobby breeder. “Hobby breeder” means a person who possesses or has
2.7an ownership interest in animals and is engaged in the business of breeding animals for sale
2.8or for exchange in return for consideration, and who possesses fewer than ten adult intact
2.9animals or whose animals produce five or fewer total litters of puppies or kittens per year.”
Why do they always have to write them that way? It may surprise you to know that Storm’s breeder has an ownership interest in way more than 10 breeding animals. (Thunder’s breeder may as well.) Not all of them will be bred, but they have the option and as you know, the decision with Storm was not made until just this year. It is one way to let the dogs mature so the breeder can use the best animals for breeding stock. I would consider both Thunder and Storm’s breeders, “hobby breeders”, but not in Minnesota if this passes. Makes no sense to me. It will hurt purebred dogs.
It is really a problem the way they write these bills. They really need to be more defined. In the instance of Storm and Thunder’s breeder, not all of those dogs live with them. That would be what would need to be defined.
Someone with 10 dogs at their property, continuosly breeding would be the issue for me. Not with a person like Storm and Thunder’s breeder.
You are right, but I think as with most laws you need to get something in place and then tweak it to perfection.
Well what worried me was that it sounded like that was close to passage and with parallel language, I don’t think they would even conference it. But you are right, they need to narrow the scope.
Nice post, I’m a huge dog lover myself.