Obedience Lessons

Ok, so we started obedience training for our dog on tuesday.

I realized that he definitely needed some training, when he started pulling my wife around at the end of his leash. I don't have a problem walking him, as i out weigh him by over 100lbs, and am still much stronger than him, so i hadn't noticed so much that he has a tendency to pull on his leash. But after my wife telling me, that he dragged her around, sirens started going off in my head.

So Tuesday night he trek out to the middle of nowhere ( thats half between here and somewhere, for the lay person, St-Jacques-le-mineur), to see this woman, who we got a great recommendation for, especially for large breed dogs ( or small horses, however you choose to describe my dog ). So we get there, and i half expect to see the the female equivalent of an ogre, and there stands this little woman. I say ok, lets give this a try anyways, what can we lose, a couple of kilometers of driving through the middle of nowhere. So we start the "lesson" and she is asking us what she will teach us (because at some point she is teaching the owners how to behave around the dog so he listens to you). Then she starts the demonstration, she starts yanking on his leash ( not hard, just quick and sharp ) and low an behold, after a couple of minutes he is actually not pulling on the leash. Halleluhiah. So we each give it a try, and we start yanking as soon as he is not walking where he should be, and he starts listening ( walking next to us, and not pulling ).

She then throws the explanation at us, you shouldn't have to use force to train your dog, simple quick movements to bring him back to what you want him doing, and he will learn. It seems the more strengh you use to train your dog the stronger he becomes, and the more he will be able to fight you.

They should really have had a booklet of what not to do when you own a BIG dog. These aren't problems most owners face, as i can't really see a mop dog ( thats what i call a dog that could pass for a mop if only you shoved a broom handle up their backside ) yanking around a person weighing in over 100lbs. But for a big dog, these little tricks can really make the difference.

I can't wait to see whats in store for the next lesson.