Dogarazzi: Week 5
Today marks a whole month since we brought Ted home! I can’t believe it’s only been that long. Not that having Ted has been an ordeal, but it’s certainly been a learning experience.
This past weekend, we instituted a new regime of puppy training. That is, we have seen the light that is Cesar Millan, also known as the Dog Whisperer. As part of our dog owner education, JG picked up several dog training books and one of them was Cesar’s Way. He approached the whole behaviorism idea skeptically, wrinkling his nose at mentions of positive energy and asserting oneself as the pack leader. However, before he reached the end of the book, JG began to preach the gospel of Cesar and we started Ted on the path to enlightenment, or daily walks, whichever came first.
See, when JG or I would take Ted out for a walk, Ted would strain against his leash, whining pitifully. JG warned me not to drag him; I was supposed to put tension on the leash and he would ultimately give up. Well, apparently, Ted didn’t get that memo because he never gave up. We couldn’t even get him out of the driveway. The curious thing was that Ted would only come with us if both JG and I came on the walk. I guess it was sort of sweet that he wanted us all to be together or something, but it was highly inconvenient for our schedules. If JG and I were going to be any sort of alpha dogs in our house, it was time to break that habit, but we didn’t know how to get around Ted’s reticence.
Enter the Dog Whisperer. JG saw an episode about dogs that had trouble taking walks and – lo and behold – Cesar dragged them until they figured out that it was easier to walk quietly along with him. It was a revelation. Over the weekend, we went for three walks a day, separately, tugging Ted along and keeping up a brisk pace. “It’s all business,” I murmured to myself, “No coddling. He has to learn his place in the pack.” Oh, it was hard. I worried about how my neighbors would view me as I pulled along our adorable white puppy despite the fact that he clearly strained against me. JG told me to just smile and call out, “We’re still training him!” as I dragged Ted out of sight as quickly as possible. Needless to say, I was not so much reassured by the escape plan.
Eventually, much to my relief, Ted caught on. He still hops and bites a little, but as soon as I tug at the leash and start up my quick walking pace, he jumps on for the ride. Ted has come so far that he withstood our recent run of wet weather, which provided us with plenty of pathetic wet-puppy faces and a couple of funny towel-drying episodes that were cute but made for blurry pictures. As if taking walks weren’t enough, Ted has even learned to sit for his treats. Amazing! I’m really impressed with what has transpired over the past month, mostly because I’ve managed to avoid being an enormous obstacle to his progress.
Where’s my treat?
Tune in to Roosday-Tuesday and Wednesday-Bensday for the other two-thirds of the doggie cuteness trifecta!
5 Comments
Comments are closed.
I think training makes all the difference. AS’s mom is a horse trainer, and their dogs do tricks and generally behave better than the dogs I had as a kid.
Luckily, AS knows the secrets!
I know that training is really key, but I feel like such a tough cop in the process. Ah, well.
Training is so important — I’m glad you guys are finding some successful methods!
When we first got Ben, he would kinda-sorta walk on a leash, but he refused to change the surface he was walking on. As in, he would walk on grass but if we got to a sidewalk or parking lot he would firmly plant himself at the edge of the grass and not take another step. It was like he was playing that “the ground is lava!” game. We eventually took him to a park and ran around with him in a big field to the point where he was doing really well at the leash-walking and then just casually, no big deal, walked onto a sidewalk as if nothing unusual was going on. And it worked! He overcame his fear of surface-crossing just like that. (And thank goodness, too, because we were getting sick of carrying him across our apartment parking lot to the grass every single time he had to pee.)
Oh, wow. I couldn’t handle all of the carrying! Ben must have felt like royalty, though.
I love this post. I can just imagine the frustration and embarrassment! I love Cesar though – he is a cool dude. I loved the Oprah episode he was on a few yrs ago. I’m glad both you and Ted are making so much progress!
Thanks! The whole experience has been surprisingly gratifying.
Yep, you’ve gotta be strict with ‘em young – we did an awesome job with Max as a puppy, he’s the sweetest dog EVER. But then Rusty? Was completely spoiled as a puppy and is now horrid. Cute, but horrid.
Ted is adorable, and you guys sound like you’re doing a fantastic job with him! Am sure Cesar would be proud!
We can only hope for Cesar’s approval.
I don’t know if Ben felt like royalty so much as he felt like a scardey wussy pants. Thank goodness that phase only lasted for a few days (especially because we got him when he was 6 months old, so he was already very close to being the 20-pound dog he is today.)
Whoa, that is rather hefty to be hauling around. Thank goodness he got over it.