Collars and Leashes and this and that!

[pattymac]

You know the more I read about different training methods, this way is right, this way is wrong, the more I want to say the heck with it all!!

You get a puppy and it seems the first thing people want to do is throw a collar and leash on it. (yes it's important) Most puppies will naturally follow a person around, especially if they are being exciting. Wouldn't this be a better way, get the puppy engaged with you without forcing it to follow. Let's face it, if the pup is on a line and starts to wander off, the first thing you're gonna do is grab the leash and pull it back. I know with me that would be a natural reaction. Of course you're not going to start doing this in a wide open field with no boundaries. If and when I get another dog, which will be a pup, I'm going to see if this will work for me. Of course, I will teach the dog to wear a collar and leash, as it's the law in 99.9% of places where there are also people.

Our current trainer, gonna miss him, starts his puppies in this method. He raises Springer Spaniels. His biggest complaint I remember him saying is that people are way too dependent on the leash. He really got on people who keep a death grip on the leash. I'm starting to think that it causes more problems than it's solves.

I also wonder about the bond people say they have with their dogs, especially ones that run off and don't come when called. I must admit I was paranoid with Bayley...ooohhh she's 1/2 Husky, she can't be trusted off leash, she'll take off and never come back to you. It was a good month before I finally let her go. If I step out of sight, it takes her no time to come looking for me, I don't even call her, just hide. One time at the dog park, I left her inside for about 2 minutes to go get a coat out of the car, of course there were her people friends there to watch her. She sat by the fence and watched me the whole time and she was just so overjoyed when I came back, you'd think I'd been gone for hours.

I don't know if there is any real point to this post, but it's just something I was thinking about...maybe brain cells are getting cooked, it's over 30 C here with the humidity!! Ok now I'm back to work!! Gotta pack up books to take to the 2nd hand book store.