Showing posts with label pulling dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pulling dog. Show all posts

Friday, December 30, 2016

Hot dog! It worked

QUALITY TIME WITH DIXIE
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I've had walking Dixie has been her pulling. I didn't walk her as much as she tried to drag me along.

 Dixie wasn't the strongest puller I've ever encountered. She's a beagle, for one thing, and she's missing her left-rear leg, for another.

 And she's not even in the same universe of pulling as our late mutt Lady. Lady was a sled-dog type (one-eighth chow). She looked like a sled dog, ran like a sled dog, and, most importantly, pulled like a sled dog.

 If Dixie pulled like the young Lady, I wouldn't have been able to handle her. Still, walking her was a struggle. Until today.

 My wife Holly sent me the link to an online story about training your dog to walk without pulling. I read it and immediately put the info into practice. I got a sandwich bag and put a hot dog in it. Every once in a while, I'd pull out a bit of hot dog and call Dixie to me. She'd eat it, and we'd go on.

 After a few bits of hot dog, I began to notice that Dixie wasn't pulling as much, and she was spending more time at my side. She did pull a few times, but it was easily the easiest walk we've ever had.

 By the time we got home, she was right beside me. She wanted to stay at my side even when I left home to go to the library.

 I'd call the hot dog caper a success, and we'll go that route next time, too.

 UPDATE: I've since learned that dogs can't eat a lot of fat like you'd find in a hot dog; so I'll have to give Dixie bits of hot dog, not the whole thing.

NOTE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016.

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BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Pulling like a sled dog

LADY DURING ONE OF HER LONG-HAIR PERIODS

My dog Lady looks like a sled dog, and she's always liked to pull like one.

 She's gotten a little slower and weaker as her age (13 next month) is catching up with her. But she still loves to pull.

 I often get her to "help" me pull the trash barrel to the curb. I'll grab her leash in my left hand and hold the barrel handle with the same hand. Sometimes she'll lose concentration and wander off to the side; then I'll have to get her on-track again.

Sometimes, she's no help at all. Other times, she'll pull mightily.

 One time in the last year, I had a full and heavy barrel, and it was beginning to slide back to an upright position. Lady looked back, then turned to the front and suddenly surged forward. Without her help, I would have had to start again.

 The year we got her (2002), she was a 33-pound youngster. We were walking up our inclined front yard in the snow, and I was struggling. She pulled so mightily that it felt like there was a little tractor in front of me.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE


BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)
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