Well, its not new and its not magical. But I hope it makes things better. Miley has a problem coming to me to put her leash on if its not something she wants to do. Like if we are going to the park and I get the leash. To get to the park we have to go in the car. Miley doesn't like getting in the car. So she wont come to me. Sometime at the agility field, when we are done, she wont come to me. I'm not sure if its the car thing or she just isn't done having fun. Then the last trial when she wouldn't come to me. No car thing there, she just didn't want to stop doing agility I guess. So I brought out Guiness's old tug leash. I had put it away because it made me sad to see it. But sometimes you have to move on. Ive been working with Miley on playing tug with it and making it fun. Because she doesn't run with a collar on, I ordered a new martingale collar. The collar fits easily over Mileys head, which is important in the ring. It has my phone number stitched on it,but I had Stephanie color it out with photoshop. So it looks plan here, but its cute. I'm hoping to make it more fun to put the leash on so Miley doesn't see it as a punishment. If anyone has any other suggestion, please send them my way. Ive tried food, that doesn't work. I could be covered in peanut butter and she wont come.
8 comments:
Been there done that with Whisper running away because she didn't want to go in the car. Oi. Luckily she's over that. I don't normally put a leash on until we're outside. Maybe that helped. I did a lot of desensitizing to collar touching which helped. Yet I had a big problem in trials with leash/collar, not to collar, slip leashes getting wound with hair and pulling on her that she would freak out before a run.
This is what I found to remedy the in the ring problem. I can't say enough about this leash. It's light weight, looks fantastic, even after the velcro from my rain jacket got stuck to it. You can make it really big. It moves like a dream and doesn't get caught in sheltie hair. Do I sound like an info-mercial? It's Genuine Dog Gear's Humane slip lead http://www.genuinedoggear.com/dog_leashes_premium.html
Also teaching body targets has helped Whisper learn to lean into me. It's totally helped her a lot - thanks to Sassie.
That looks like an awesome leash - where did you get it? Does it get tangled in Miley's fur at all? My slip lead (a rope one) gets tangled in my fur sometimes and I hate that! Plus mom has trouble getting it back on me at the end of a run.
Maybe you could try working on recalls with Miley - lots and lots of them for really good treats - and try that away from agility and other stuff first. Then when she gets better at coming to you, start trying them at agility practice, etc. Just some thoughts......
Could you teach her to jump into your arms? If it's just another trick to offer, then it won't be like coming to you ends the fun, but rather she comes to you and she shows off a cool trick. Treat it like another agility obstacle to learn, one that's always at the end of every course. Do teach it correctly though. The original way I taught Marron to do it, it pinched her around her middle and she grew to dislike that too, but she's very touch sensitive and only likes to be picked up certain ways to begin with.
I hope the tug leash works for you!It is cute!
Must be hard to get her to come - if she won't come for food. Maybe sometimes you could try and trick her - make her think you are going home and getting in the car, put the leash on, but then go back out in the field and do more agility. However, I know shelties are hard to fool. Too smart.
What about working on the recall totally away from the leash, some type of recall games-I like the totally reliable recall games if you have access to that, I think that is excellent. Then you could also try putting on the leash giving a treat, or tugging and then taking it off, maybe putting on the leash and giving her her dinner and then taking it off when she is finished eating. I would just shake up the picture a lot so it does not mean what ever it does to her right now. She is a smart little cookie so it would be easy to see her getting some weird idea about the leash into her mind. good luck. That is a very nice leash you got though, I really like that.
What you are describing sounds just so "sheltie"! :-) One thing that I have done in the past is teach my dogs to jump into my arms. For some reason that worked better than having to reach for them to put something over their heads.
Nice leash! you could teach her how to put her head inside her leash, like you hold open the loop of the martingale and she puts her head inside it to put her leash on herself.
~Nat
I did something similar (that Kathy posted) with my young BC. When he was in Novice he would not want to leave the ring after a run and would circle me while I held his leash (very embarrasing). So we came up with a game. I bought a tug leash and played tug games with it until the value of the leash was pretty high. Then backchained until he knew that he had to come, sit, and the leash would go around his neck, and then we would play tug. I would take the leash off, then put it back on, tug, take it off... now when he finishes a run, he will immediately sit and wait while I put it over his head, then we leave the ring (I'll start tugging with him as soon as we exit).
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