Yesterday we learned the hard way that a now 90-pound ‘puppy’ on a leash HAS to mind. She almost pulled my husband down three times between the car and the vet’s yesterday. It really scared us that we basically lucked out, not being injured by our happy-go-lucky puppy. We came home, dug out the no-pull collar, put it on Amber, attached her to the leash, and headed outside for a walk.
The no-pull collar is designed for the DOG to control whether he or she gets shocked or not. If the dog is obedient and doesn’t pull hard on the leash, there are no shocks. If he or she pulls on the leash, a shock is produced, continuing for a couple of seconds if he or she continues to pull. The dog quickly learns not to pull.
At first Amber was rambunctious and got shocked a lot. I decided that we had the shock value up too high, so my husband lowered it, and we continued our walk. We were all tense, since Amber got really upset at the beginning (this, after she paid NO attention to the regular shock collar at the vet’s). She got shocked once more when she tried to chase one of our cats; but otherwise, we felt the first training walk was a success.
When we came home from errands and Lunch Bunch today, we put the no-pull collar on and attached her to the leash. She hunched down and didn’t want to go out. I felt awful, but determined that we get this under control. We HAVE to be able to control her even when she’s excited, meeting people, other animals,being treated at the vet, etc. We don’t want to be pulled down and dragged by our dog. So I grimly insisted she come with me, my husband following along behind.
She walked as if she were on eggs, clearly associating the no-pull collar with the shocks yesterday. Her tail was between her legs. I was tearing up, gritting my teeth, hoping she would be successful. We walked out to the shop, and she did really well. We gave her a treat and then started back toward the house. She wanted to go back inside, but I told her we were going to walk around the house. When we got to the far side of the house, I continued to walk with Amber and my husband hung back, so she would have to decide whether to continue with me or risk getting shocked by insisting she go to him. Happily, she continued with me. I kept the lead short, so we basically walked side by side. I stopped a couple of times, waited, and then continued to walk. As we walked her attitude improved dramatically. It’s as if she had to re-learn that SHE was in control of whether she was shocked or not. Her tail came up and her step became happier.
We finished the walk, brought her inside. took the collar off, and gave her a big hug, words of praise, and another small treat. I’m hopeful that, as the days of daily walks with no shocks pile up, she’ll adapt to the collar without any more problem. We’ll give this a couple of weeks and then try going to the vet’s again…
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