8 Day Progression to Heel Video

This is last spring with Boy. It shows an example of what can be done with what an owner thinks is an "unlikely" dog to be walked on leash calmly. Boy never wore a collar before, so he is a bit panicked the first day. More than six months later now, Boy has enjoyed many more life experiences than he was able to before, including a plane trip in first class!

http://www.mannerlymutts.com/
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com/
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Boy Longe Line Day 1 of 3

This is Boy who started with us last week on 7/11/11.   This is the first day of training, which starts with "sit on the dog" and ends with "longe line".  The first week is all about quiet, peacefulness, and having the dog pay attention to you.  We are not getting the dog to pay attention by flashing treats at them, as this is more about calm and confidence with these exercises.   This happens to be especially good for Boy, who has never learned to  walk on leash with a collar attached   He belongs to a lady that is somewhat physically disabled, and she just can't chance the sudden lunging and fleeing for freedom.

Many things are slowly being changed up for him.   The very first thing was putting a training collar on that is designed to not allow for slippage over his head.  He has slipped other collars.  The next thing is calm confidence from his handler as we start the exercises.   This will begin to transfer to Boy as we get further into the week.   In fact, I plan on posting Day 5 tomorrow, which is the second set of days in the longe line exercises.

He is a short video of his first day.   While the video is only a little over a minute long, the first day included 1/2 hour sit on the dog, 1/2 hour walking between two points, then ending with dropped leash for 20 minutes.



Days 4-7 will deal with more distractions and movement on my part.  We have completed day four today (7/14/2011), and hope to post day five tomorrow.   Boy is already much improved.   He does have fear issues like going up stairs, going through small spaces, having dogs come right into his face or coming towards him in an enclosed area that he feels trapped in, e.t.

He is improving at a decent rate though, and so it's really important for him that the training is not rushed or short cut at all.

http://www.mannerlymutts.com
http://mannerlymutts.blogspot.com

Protocol for Longe Line Exercise

PROPERTY OF MANNERLY MUTTS DOG TRAINING AND ROBIN RUBIN. WE ONLY ALLOW PAYING CLIENTS TO COPY THIS MATERIAL FOR THEIR USE ALONE. THIS MATERIAL MUST NOT BE DISTRIBUTED TO OTHER NON-CLIENT PARTIES OF MANNERLY MUTTS WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION.  THIS MATERIAL IS MEANT FOR USE UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF A TRAINER, EXPRESSLY MANNERLY MUTTS DOG TRAINING.

Longe Line Work Follows Sit on The Dog Work:

Equipment Needed for This Exercise:· 15’ cotton canvas web longe line. (See the “Before You Begin” page for the proper way to hold your longe line)
· Training Collar with 2 Metal Rings, Preferably Herm Sprenger. If not a Herm Sprenger collar, check that the action on the collar selected is easy and fluid. It should not stick or be halting along the links. (See the “Before You Begin” page for the proper way to fit and put on a training collar.)
· Three planned points no more than 50’ apart, which we will refer to as points A, B, and C.
· Silence-The handler must be prepared not to give praise, direction, or command during this exercise other than to walk from one area to another.
· Quality shoes, preferably sneakers. No sandals, clogs, shoes with heels, or shoes that becomes slippery on surfaces. I prefer form fitting non-laced sport shoes.
· Practice areas. For days 1 to 3, you might want to identify a large enclosed area, just in case.
· Single handler(I do not mean your marital status) only!! Don’t confuse your dog by subjecting them to inconsistent handling during training.


Explanation and Goal of Exercise: This exercise begins to teach the dog to pay attention to the handler. It also begins to teach the handler how to allow this to happen without nagging the dog by the use of silence and movement.


Steps for Days 1 thru 3:

• Start with confining your dog to a small area (preferably their crate) for two hours prior to beginning.
• Put the training collar on correctly when you let your dog out. Hold the collar by the top and bottom ring. Drop the chain through the bottom ring. Place the collar over your left hand. If you have done this correctly, when you tug on the ring that is not holding the chain (live ring), pulling the live ring will allow it to release. Otherwise, it will just tighten on your arm, and that is not what you want. Once the collar is in the correct conformation, position your dog at your left hand side, facing in the same direction that you are. Put your left hand on top of his/her head, then slip the collar off of your wrist and over his/her head instead.
• Clip the leash to the collar.
• If you are not outside already, you may want to walk your dog outside on the six-foot leash. Then clip the longe line to the collar, step on it, and take off the six-foot leash.
  Slip your left hand thumb through the leash handle. Hold this hand at belly button level with elbow bent.
• From this point on, you are to walk directly to points, and not acknowledge or look back at your dog whatsoever. Leave the length of the leash out, and walk directly to point A without command, praise or any verbal comment whatsoever.
• Now walk straight from point A to point B. Walk briskly and with purpose to not meander or try in anyway to follow your dog.
• At reaching the destination area, stop for a few minutes. Do not praise or talk to your dog. Look at your surroundings and relax.
• At the end of the break, walk purposefully and briskly to point C.
• As before you will rest for a few minutes. Repeat this pattern for either two short sessions totaling 30 minutes, or one long session of 30 minutes.
• Do not walk your dog back to his place directly after the session. Instead, drop the line and end every training session by hanging out for the next 20 minutes. No playing whatsoever or over the top praise should occur. If your dog attempts to bolt or leave the fifteen-foot area, simply grab the handle of the leash, and brace yourself if necessary.
  Once the long break is done, return your dog to their area of confinement for the next hour. Be sure that he is not disturbed, and allowed to rest and absorb the information that he/she has learned.--

NOTE: Handler/owner should start making a list for the next days of things that have successfully distracted their dog. Also be aware at other times of things that distract your dog easily.
Steps for days 4-7 (Italic is different than first few days):
Objective of days 4-7, your dog must watch you in order to be attentive and accomplish the exercise correctly. We are teaching the dog to be attentive to the whereabouts of his/her handler, not the other way around. Since we are not giving a command or signal, the dog has no choice but to watch us intently in order to predict what we are about to do.

• Start with confining your dog to a small area (preferably their crate) for two hours prior to beginning.
• Put the training collar on correctly when you let your dog out. Hold the collar by the top and bottom ring. Drop the chain through the bottom ring. Place the collar over your left hand. If you have done this correctly, when you tug on the ring that is not holding the chain (live ring), pulling the live ring will allow it to release. Otherwise, it will just tighten on your arm, and that is not what you want. Once the collar is in the correct conformation, position your dog at your left hand side, facing in the same direction that you are. Put your left hand on top of his/her head, then slip the collar off of your wrist and over his/her head instead.
• Clip the leash to the collar.
• If you are not outside already, you may want to walk your dog outside on the six-foot leash. Then clip the longe line to the collar, step on it, and take off the six-foot leash.Slip your left hand thumb through the leash handle. Hold this hand at belly button level with elbow bent.
• Have your memorized internal list of temptations and distractions handy. (opening doors, going to house, going towards car, opening car door, children planted, trained dogs planted strategically, )
• First, walk the dog purposely towards the identified distraction. You want your dog to fully see the distraction, and to go for it if he wants to. If he/she fails to see, stop 20' away and wait until he/she notices the distraction.
• When the dog notices their distraction, be sure you have locked your left hand through the loop with your thumb through the handle and the rest of the fingers locked around. The right hand should lock below left hand for added support.
• The whole length of the line should be dropped (IN OTHER WORDS NO SLACK SHOULD BE TAKEN UP).
• As the dog moves towards the distraction (start moving-RUN NO MORE THAN FIVE STEPS), drive hard in the opposite direction with your hands centered at your belly. You want your momentum to carry the dog with you, so don't hesitate or slow down (DON'T STOP, GO NORMAL PACE AND JUDGE WHETHER YOUR DOG IS NOW PAYING ATTENTION).
• Move back towards the dog with a slack line.
• The moment he moves towards the distraction, repeat and move in the opposite direction from him.
• After about the fourth time, you will see your dog watching you and not the distraction. This is what you want. At first the dog won't be absolutely sure what is required and may hesitate or stand there.
• Once your dog is regarding you and not the temptation, map out a route that you will follow. When your dog starts off in another direction, turn opposite and jog forward about five steps. If your dog immediately follows once you leave the area, that is good and he/she is learning what is required when on and off leash. We are setting the dog up not only for the immediate exercises, but building him/her to learn what is required on the last lessons of the Basic Obedience Training Plan.
• At this point, as in the first three days, provide a couple minute break for the dog of quiet to contemplate these changes and perhaps make a mistake because of the quiet.
• At the end of the session, again drop the line for twenty minutes and hang out with your dog. Be sure to keep the handle in sight in case you have a dog that will bolt. Normally the first three days have taken care of this.
• Finally, put your dog up for an hour to relax and take in the lesson.

NOTE: Increase the draw of the distractions and temptations during the next four days. Still no praise or commands for the dog during this lesson.

The following video has edited out some time.   This is a sample and representation of what you need to do the early days of 4-7 to get the result in day 8.   This is broken into two parts.





Day eight: Do as days 4-7, but keep your dog five feet from you (ie the moment your dog even starts to list away from you, jog the five steps in the opposite direction) Last 10 minutes of this day, move your dog to a six foot leash and practice the same pattern. Still end the session the same way.

Example of what Day 8 would look like:



Maine and New Hamsphire Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog

What Longe Line Days 4-8 Looks Like

First Clip Lola Part 1 of Longe Line from Prev Week:



Clip Part 2 of Longe Line with Lola, which includes the dropping of the leash.   (5 of the 20 minutes of dropped leash captured):



Magoo demonstrating what Day 8 of Longe Line should look like:



Maine and New Hampshire Dog Trainer
Mannerly Mutts Blog

LEON THE BOXER

Leon started his lessons the other day. Still seems like a very nice, sweet, and possibly the mellowest boxer that I have ever met. He seems to love everybody and everything, which is a bit of a problem because he likes to pull his owner over to potential canine playmates!!

The first lesson (basically longe line and sit on the dog) done correctly should begin to cut down on this quite a bit, and then heeling around distractions will further it for Leon. He is not adverse to doing what you want him to do:) He just needs to be taught exactly what that is.

Every new client has access to a blog with the training plans. Also, they can feel free to call me should they have any problems during the week. Each session when coaching a client takes an hour or more. If I feel a client needs additional help during the session, I don't charge them more for the additional time.

It's hard to imagine that someone left him in a shelter, but it seems that it may have been very lucky on Leon's part. No one was home with him very much according to the shelter, and so he took care of his needs for activity and elimination himself. Then a family found him, and immediately looked after his needs including training. It is such a pleasure when this happens!! Hopefully the transition into his new family keeps going smoothly.

And of course, I freaking forgot to take a picture of him, yet again, while I was enjoying him. Sigh next time, and if it should not be raining out, perhaps a video.


Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Hoobie Day Five (obedience-Day 9 Here) Longe Line

So this is day 5 of Longe Line work. You can compare this to the start of Day Nine with Magoo starting heel, where I briefly show what day 8 longe line would have looked like.

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com

Magoo Longe Line to Heel and Hoobie's Reward

NOTE: Magoo is going into conformation first, so the auto sit is not being done right now:)

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training
Mannerly Mutts Blog
mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com