The Dumb Friends League Furry Scurry is Saturday May 1st at Washington Park in Denver, Co. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors with your canine pal while raising money for a great cause.

Tanner is a Katrina rescue dog adopted from the Buddy Center

Schedule already booked for May 1st or live outside of Denver? Sponsor a team like Aura Leigh and side-kick Tanner, members of the Online Dog Coach community. Aura Leigh runs Paws Ma Pet Care Services, a Littleton-based pet sitting and dog walking service. In addition to walking in the Furry Scurry, she is generously donating a portion of March’s proceeds to the event.

Kelvin and Kalee, two of the Online Dog Coach stars, were adopted from the Dumb Friends League 8 and 10 years ago.

Live outside the Denver Area but still inspired by the Furry Scurry? Donate time or resources to a local shelter in your home town.

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Pulling on the leash is a common behavior problem many dog owners experience. Let’s face it, to the dog, pulling is rewarded because he gets to the destination faster!

Read my library article outlining positive training techniques and tools to teach your dog to stop pulling – rewarding for proper positioning, changing your direction, or using an Easy Walk harness or Gentle Leader head collar. For each of these methods, use a 6 foot flat leash, not a retractable leash.

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For the past three years I have been recommending the Easy Walk™ harness, a product of Gentle Leader, manufactured by Premier to all my puppy and obedience classes. I started using the harness when I got my youngest Australian Shepherd three years ago. Walking both my Aussies was challenging, but with the harnesses they are both under control. Those of my students who have purchased it have been very pleased and now enjoy walking their dog.

The Easy Walk™ harness is different from other harnesses in that the clip to the leash is on the chest area instead of on the shoulder area. Think of this, the dog’s power and strength is in the shoulders. With the clip on the chest when the dog pulls it puts pressure on the chest which stops the pulling. So when they pull out in front of the handler and they reach the end of the leash the tension on the leash turns the dog back to be face to face with the handler. At that moment the handler acknowledges the dog and shows the dog the correct place to walk is next to his leg.

As associate of mine is a professional dog walker and recently sent me this testimonial – (more…)

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Did your dog promise to quit pulling for his New Year’s resolution? Here’s a solution for those of you walking the baby and the dog together.

Before our son was born we did stroller training with our dogs to desensitize them to the stroller and have a fighting chance to take a walk without risking the baby’s safety. Our Cocker Spaniel, TJ, picked up walking with the stroller no problem, but it took a little more work with our Golden Retriever, Rankine. This is a recent video of me walking with Rankine. You will notice that I keep treats in the adult drink cup and I reward very frequently when he is by my side. For most of this walk, the leash was simply draped over the handle bar.

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We have continued with our walking adventures as the cooler months have progressed. We do not get to go as often as we did in the warmer weather, we are working around the cold, the flu, school projects and the holiday season. But, we are still at it and have not had any wild aggressive incidents in many months. For Christmas, Ryder got a saddle back pack, he now carries the water on the walks. He is very proud of this new responsibility, and prances in the beginning of each walk. He has a job!!!

I believe the statement “a tried dog is a happy dog” is true, and a long walk is key. Our walks have really progressed and many of the behavior issues have become less of a problem thanks to training, consistency, and persistence!

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