Loose Leash Walking

Before we start:

This blog is outlining loose-leash walking, not heeling. The goal of this exercise is to teach your dog to walk politely by your side without pulling. This is not about competition heeling where your dog's entire focus is on you. In this form of loose-leash walking, your dog is welcome to look around and take in the sights as you walk.

Equipment:

• whatever collar or harness your dog usually wears on walks
• a leash comfortable to handle that is NOT a retractable or bungee leash
• yummy treats (not your dog's normal food)
• a treat pouch is handy for holding those treats!
• A clicker to mark correct behavior (or a marker word)

The Basics

Before you get started, you need to decide what loose leash walking means to you. What side do you want your dog to walk on? Traditionally dogs are trained to walk on the left side of their handler, but nothing is wrong with them walking on the right side. Do you want your dog beside you in 'heel' position? Do you want your dog slightly behind you?Or do you just want your dog to stop pulling? All of those are valid answers! Ideally, your dog should always be able to see you so they can follow you and your directions. My rule of thumb is – if I can't see their eye, they're too far in front. One of the keys to success is to choose an appropriate leash. A retractable leash teaches your dog that pulling is okay – they have to pull the leash to get it to extend out. A leash that is the appropriate length will also help. A 7 foot leash can mean that you dog will be able to get so far ahead of you they can't see you before they start to tighten the leash. Choosing a leash that is 5 feet long is a good start for most dogs and sets you and your dog up for success. Don't forget you'll need lots of patience!

If you have a high energy dog, you should exercise your dog before starting a training session. A game of fetch or tug of war are great ways to burn off some energy and take off the edge! If you are new to clicker training (or using a verbal marker) be sure to practice your timing before getting started. There are lots of great resources online to help you perfect your technique. Timing is key. You should begin your training in a quiet, distraction free environment. This may mean in your living room (if you have enough space) or just in the backyard. If you are training outside, give your dog a chance to potty before getting started. As your dog learns and improves, you can slowly move on to different environments. Just remember, every time you interact with your dog you are training them, whether you mean to or not.

The Technique

There are many ways to teach a dog to walk on a loose leash, but the following is my favorite way!

1. After you have gathered all your equipment and have your dog leashed up, begin standing in front of your dog, head on (START position). Choose a noise you can make to get their attention (such as a smooching noise). Make your attention sound, and once your dog looks at you click, give them a treat, and begin walking backwards. You may need to move back quickly to keep their attention, but don't move so fast that they become overly excited.
2. Continue walking backwards in random patterns, circling, turning, slowing down, speeding up, and randomly stopping. Before any change in pace or pattern, make your attention noise to warn your dog. As long as they are following you and paying attention, click and treat them. It's best to start with a click/treat (C/T) every 2 or 3 steps at first, then slowly work up to more steps before each C/T.
3. Once you feel that your dog is catching on and is having a great time playing this new game, you're ready for the next step. Begin again from START position. Begin walking backwards. Give your dog 10 – 15 steps to engage – once they are engaged with you and following your lead, quickly turn your body as you walk so that you and your dog are now both facing and walking forward. C/T as soon as you and your dog are lined up. Continue moving at the same speed.
4. Once you and your dog are both facing forward, begin by only walking in straight lines. C/T your dog for being in position beside you every 2 or 3 steps. Keep those treats coming – this is the hard part! Many dogs need a little extra time to get used to paying attention to you by their side as opposed to in front of them. When your dog gets ahead of you, and BEFORE your dog starts pulling on the leash, make your attention noise and begin walking backwards in the opposite direction. As soon as your dog is facing you again, C/T. Move backwards 5 to 10 steps before again turning to face forward. Rinse and repeat! You can expect to spend the most time in this step. You will once again slowly build up the number of steps between each C/T.
5. Begin to add in turns once your dog can follow for 10 steps or more. Just remember to make your attention noise before any turn or change in pace. When you begin making turns, you should C/T as they successfully make the turn. If you lose them in the turn, start walking backwards making you attention noise and try again!
6. The last phase is to add pace changes. Slowly add these in. Begin by making your attention noise and slowing down. As soon as your dog slows down, C/T. Then make your attention noise and speed up, C/T when they speed up with you. Each time you add a new element to loose leash walking, you will need to return to C/T every 2 or 3 steps, and slowly build back up to more distance.
7. Lastly, don't forget to reward your dog for being beside you, but not necessarily looking directly at you. I like to C/T for position when they are looking forward or to the side, and sometimes if they're sniffing and still moving with me. This will help your dog to learn they are getting rewarded for their position beside you, not exactly for having their eyes glued to you.

The Next Step

After you and your pup have a good handle on loose-leash walking, you can begin taking your sessions to new locations with more distractions. Once again, any time you add a new element (this time an environment change or distractions), you should return to C/T every 2 or 3 steps and slowly work your way up. You may even have to start from scratch in each new phase, but generally your dog will progress quickly back to walking by your side. Dogs have a hard time generalizing training to new locations, so you have to help them along and remind them of the basics as you go.

Parting Words

Don't expect your pup to get it on the first try. It can take several sessions before your dog catches on, but if you keep it fun and light, this will become their new favorite game! Try to keep your sessions short and sweet – usually 10 to 15 minutes is more than enough. If you have the time, do 2 or 3 sessions every day, spread out over the day.

I like to make every walk a game by changing my pace randomly (with warning, of course!) and by making random stops and asking for different behaviors like 'sit', 'shake', or 'down'. Keeping your dog engaged will go a long way to make walks more enjoyable for both of you. One of the joys of loose leash walking is getting the chance to connect with you dog and walk TOGETHER. Leave the headphones at home and enjoy the moment ;)

Once you and your dog are loose-leash masters, you can begin to fade out the C/T. I try to always have my treats with me on walks (because you never know!) and give my dog random treats. I will randomly give a treat or two when they are walking in position, and occasionally give them a whole handful (jackpot!). This can keep them interested and engaged – and wanting more!

Foreman is a loose-leash pro! He's only 10 months old and learned to

walk on a loose leash using this method. He's also currently (1/20/15)

up for adoption at the Watauga Humane Society in Boone, NC!

2013 recap and 2014 goals

Well, 2014 is here whether I'm ready or not! The past year has been amazing. I celebrated two years at Apple Hill Farm, began obedience training with Knox, passed the Canine Good Citizen test and Therapy Dogs, Inc. test, began volunteering at Alliance Bible Fellowship and so much more.

I don't know that I've ever had such a wonderful year. I've had many great moments throughout my life, but I'm pretty sure 2013 takes the cake for best year over all. I feel like it was the first year I got to truly explore myself. It was my first full year without school and that opened so many new doors for me. One would think that being in school with summer, fall, and winter vacations off and classes that take an average of 15 to 18 hours  a week that you would find ample time to explore yourself. However, I have found that being out of school and in the workforce has opened so many more doors than being a student ever did. I may not have long vacations (which I usually wasted on a couch anyway) but I do have my evenings and weekends all to myself! While I was a student, even when I wasn't in class or working, I still had papers, readings, and studying all vying for my time and attention. It was hard to find time to hang our with friends, let alone explore new hobbies or discover new passions. It has been so amazing this past year to have had my evenings and weekends to do whatever I want to with. When I clock out at 5, the only obligations I have are ones I have set for myself. I feel that I know myself and my desires better today than I did a year ago, and certainly better than I did when I graduated college. I am so grateful for the year I had in 2013, and I truly look forward to 2014. I have a few goals for the year, nothing major, but I still thought I would share them!

1. Finish saving up my emergency fund (so close!)
2. Finalize my Therapy Dogs, INC registration.
3. Make more time for yoga in my daily life, at least a few days a week.
4. Eat less wheat - I haven't been doing very good about that lately.
5. Start volunteering at the Humane Society
6. Explore dog training more
7. Set up monthly therapy visits with Knox with at least one facility in the area
8. Make it to as many Respite Nights as possible at ABF with Knox
9. Set up a study break with the ASU library where I can bring Knox during finals week.
10. Work towards becoming a Tester/Observer for Therpay Dogs, INC - the closest one is 75 miles away!
11. Spread the word about Therapy Dogs and find some in the area to work with.
12. Step out and make new friends


Like I said, nothing major! But as of now, those are my goals for 2014. Here goes nothing!

Zeus

It's now been a few weeks since we had to put Beau down, and everyone's hearts have been healing. We sent him to Heaven and told him when he got there to let Lee's mom know that we did not need anymore dogs and that we weren't ready for another of her rescue treasures. Lee's mother was well known for bringing home the ugliest, most flea bitten, mangy skinny dogs you've ever seen. Even though Lee's mother has long since passed, anytime a stray shows up on Lee's doorstep, she says her mother has sent it her way. We made it a few weeks before Lee's mother sent us Zeus and we fell in love and offered our help without even seeing him first. Beau and Lee's mom surely used all their persuasive powers!

Today we welcomed Zeus into the Apple Hill Farm family. We plan on him being a foster as we rehabilitate him, but if you've met any of us, you know that may not end up being the case! Of course, we can't keep all the wonderful dogs for ourselves, and Zeus certainly is wonderful. Zeus is a Great Pyrenees that has previously been used as a cattle guardian, and that's about all we know about him. We're unsure of his age, but hopefully as his condition improves we can at least guess it. He currently weighs 75 pounds, and our best guess is that he should be around 130. He's actually about 2 inches taller than Knox, who is between 110 and 120.

Great Pyrenees dogs have been bred since the 1600's as a livestock guardian dog.Their quiet and steadfast nature makes them excellent watch-keepers over any livestock, from goats to horses and everything in between. They are excellent with all baby animals and always laid back. However, many people assume that since they have been bred to be in the field 24/7, that they are able to forage for themselves. I feel this may have been what Zeus's original owners believed. As with any domesticated dog, these majestic guardians are not able to hunt and feed themselves, and certainly not within the confines of your pasture. They must still be fed and watered, have their coats and nails maintained, and have human counterparts. This was not what Zeus's history seems to be.

As far as we can tell, Zeus was originally a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) for cattle. The original owners sold the herd, sold the farm (or possibly rented it out) and left Zeus behind when they moved. The next tenant fed Zeus while living there, but probably did little else to maintain his health. We're unsure how much time passed before the next tenant came along. Fortunately for Zeus, they were a volunteer at Horse Helpers of the High Country. They immediately saw he was in dire need of help and rounded up the team. Despite the fact that Horse Helpers has never rescued a dog, Amy (the director) was ready and willing. After a stay in the emergency vet that included cutting all of his hair off, IV's, and a thorough check up and blood panels, Zeus came to us at Apple Hill Farm.

We were forewarned that Zeus was not a pretty sight and that he was barely mobile. We had a stall and bed ready for him, sure that he would not be leaving the stall any time soon. As soon as Amy and her daughter got Zeus out of the car, he was up and walking, much to their delighted surprise. It didn't take him long to settle into his stall for a nap after he had lunch and was outfitted with a coat we use for our baby alpacas to keep him warm. We also set up a space heater to keep the stall warm. His second walk around the barn was amazing- he even took a few trotting steps. This is most likely the most he's moved in days, even weeks. He was eager to explore, but we took him back to the stall where he immediately settled down for another nap. Each walk and each meal seem to bring more and more life into him.

Most of the time, you look at Zeus and see a shell of a dog. But there are those moments where he suddenly looks right into your soul. Or his nose twitches at a scent on the wind.Or his ears perk at some far away sound. And you know he's in there, somewhere. Inside this shell of a dog is an amazing creature waiting to be brought back out. You can already feel the love inside of him. And we are promising to find him, deep in there, and bring him back out. And to never let Zeus disappear again.

Here are some pictures of his first day on the farm. Be warned, they are not easy to look at.

Legacies

We're working our way through Colossians at Alliance Bible Fellowship and I am loving it. Today's message centered around Colossians 1:29 to 2:5 - it's amazing what you can understand from the Bible by actually reading it! Here is what I took away from the message.

In these verses Paul speaks of how he has continuously labored with all the energy Christ has given him. And he's not laboring and striving just for people he knows, but for people he has never met. He willingly accepts his burdens, imprisonments, and torture "so that they might be encouraged in the heart and united in love" and so that they might also understand the mystery of Christ - we have all we need  in Him. Paul also suffers as he does so that no one would be deceived by false teachers. Paul surely has achieved his goals; he is still encouraging fellow believers he could never have imagined meeting hundreds of years after his death. Paul spent every ounce of himself in service to God and His people, even to the point of death by sword. How many of us can say we've left a legacy like that?

What stories and lessons do you hope to pass down to others? A story of finding true love, failed adventures, or college mishaps you hope your children don't repeat? What is the greatest moment of your life, and does it have any spiritual value?

Many of us spend hours practicing, training, reaching for and training for different goals of ours. As we're pouring ourselves into these tasks we need to ask 'Can I point to the supreme importance of Christ in this? Would others?' How much of what I'm doing and spending my energy on is for myself, and how much is for others?

It's very popular today to 'leave it all on the mat' and work til you drop - but only for yourself. If I poured myself out completely for a sporting competition, graduate school any other activity for myself, that's perfectly acceptable. But if I pour out every single ounce of myself into something for the sole purpose of others, people would tell me to take time for myself. I'm guilty of telling myself this! In the last weeks I've often wished for more time for myself. I want my personal time to relax and refresh myself. I don't want to burn myself out on something. But, if I follow Paul's example, that's just what I should do. I should give all I have for the cause of Christ. So that others may come to know Him, be unified in love and encouraged.

I should follow the example of many Christian missionaries and martyrs over the past hundred years such as David Brainerd. His life goal was 'to burn out in one continual flame for God.' And he did just that. He served faithfully as a missionary to the Native Americans until he burned himself out and succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of  28. Many would think this a waste of a very promising young missionary's life. I believe Brainerd achieved his life goal and literally left it all on the mission field.

Will I ever be able to say the same of myself?

Resurrection

Yesterday at Elevation App State we were honored to listen live to the third week of Greater from Pastor Steven Furtick. What a message. I think this third week was the most powerful for me, it really spoke to the condition of my dreams and hopes at this point in my life.

The main take-away was that you cannot experience the miracle of resurrection without death first. Sometimes God has to let our dreams die so we can experience the miracle of it being resurrected. Sometimes God births our dreams in our life and lets them live on. But sometimes He want us to know Him as more than the bringer of dreams. He wants us to know Him as the one who can resurrect a dream we thought would never live again. And sometimes He chooses one we have tucked away so deep, we've forgotten about it entirely because it's too disappointing.

I can SERIOUSLY relate to this. Over the past year, I have come so close to a few dreams being realized, only to have them fade away or even be crushed. I was so excited about continuing on into grad school at App for counseling. I had competitive GRE scores and such a desire to go. I had prayed and felt lead to apply to grad school. I kept reminding myself that just because God wanted me to apply didn't mean that I would get it, but I didn't fully take into account that He might actually lead me to apply and then I wouldn't get in. I mean, God so clearly said "Yes, take the GRE, apply to App." that I couldn't help but think that must mean I was meant to get in. Why spend $200 on taking the GRE and applying, why get me all excited if that's not what I'm meant to do? Because sometimes dreams have to die. Sometimes you have to say goodbye to something good for something greater. Needless to say if you know me, I did not get accepted into grad school. And I was crushed. I mourned for about three days. It was just such a shock - I'd never had such a big "NO" in my life.

At this point in the story, I can't give you a resurrection story about my dream. I still want to pursue a graduate degree in counseling. Sometimes it still hurts that I'm not. My landlord got into both degree programs I applied to. I have a really great friend who is few semesters ahead of me - he gets his first clients this week. I'm excited for the both of them, but I still wish I was in their shoes. Grad school would put me one step closer to my ultimate dream. And like I said, it hurts that I'm not on that path right now.

I'm still not sure what path I'm heading down. I trust that the Lord has me going in the direction I need to go. I honestly do. I have no clue where I'm going, or even the next step. But I'm trusting in Him. He may resurrect my graduate degree dream - I do get to reapply for free for fall 2013. But He may take me down a GREATER path than I can imagine.

I strongly encourage you to watch the third week of Greater - Upon Further Review - when you get the oppurtunity. As of this morning (9/24 - 8:30am) it's not up, but should be by this afternoon.

http://www.elevationchurch.org/sermons

Oh, home made cookies!

Today I went to camp after work and that was such a blessing. I still find it hard to believe that my time at camp has come to an end. I sat in on Ashley's small group with her kitchen staff and the snack shack staff. I found myself envious of her ministry. She gets to spend 9 weeks pouring into the lives of the staff and campers. My heart went out to a few of the staff tonight and I felt like I had so much advice to offer, but no time to do it. I miss being able to invest in the staff! I always felt my place at camp was more to minister to the younger girls (usually 4 or more years younger than me) than it was to give trail rides to campers. I miss it. A lot. I've been through a lot and learned a lot of lessons and feel like I have some insights to offer. And I love to help people out and give advice!

Last week when I went, I was sorely tempted by the chocolate chip cookies. This week I barely batted my eye at them. It's crazy! I LOVE...loved(?) chocolate chip cookies! And Ashley made them from scratch tonight to boot. But I think since I'm now on week three without wheat, it makes it easier to resist. Plus, last week I was experimenting with eating some wheat here and there. The more I resist, the easier it is!

I'm feeling really good being wheat free. I also find it's much easier to stay within a lower calorie range to lose weight. Where it used to be a struggle to keep my calories down and eat well, it's now super easy. My meals are all meat and veggies. Lots and lots of veggies! Gosh, I feel so much better! And I feel like I don't have to watch what I eat! The last few days of tracking meals, I haven't made a goal to keep it under a certain number of calories. I've just been eating to make myself feel satiated and having snacks at work. And again, I FEEL SO GOOD!

Experimenting

Last time I was at the store, I decided to experiment with corn tortillas. I was pretty excited that they might be a good alternative to normal wheat wraps. What a let down! They were thick, stiff, and tasted like cardboard. Ugh. I even heated them up per the instructions on the package! Hopefully I can bake them into some good chips or something. Hopefully next week or so I'll make it to Earthfare and get some almond and coconut flour! I have two recipes I really want to try - one for a biscuit and one for rolls.

I did make one oopsie today. I had corn muffin mix and used it to coat my okra before reading the ingredients. To my dismay, it included wheat flour. That being said, it was very yummy! I'll remember to check better next time!