Training at the Dog Park

If you really want to see how far you’re coming along with your training, you need to get out of your nice safe training place and see how you fare against real life. We chose the dog park. Your dog may be an angel at your usual training spot but once you get them to a high distraction area (one that has dogs playing, balls rolling, water splashing, and bunnies hopping) you really don’t know just how trained they are. Will she remember anything, or just be so focused on everything else going on around her that it feels like we’re back at step one? I don’t know if I could take that. Reverting back to the beginning. On second thought, I know I can't take it.

We would bring her long line so we could throw the ball for her a short distance and give her a bit of freedom. There were usually dogs around the field but we were able to keep her attention most of the time. In the beginning, she did make a couple of escape attempts when she saw other dogs. Have you ever had a nylon leash rush through your hands as you desperately grip it? It doesn’t feel good, at all. Quick lesson. If you’re using a long line and you don’t want to end up with major rope burns, knot your line ever few feet so your hands have something to grip. Oh, and another lesson. Have you ever been told to stand on the dogs leash so they can’t get away? Well, that might work when you have a mini dog or if you have a big dog but you weigh a lot more than they do. However, if you have a strong and fast dog, and you weigh less than double their weight, I wouldn’t recommend it. Yes, I was quickly sent straight to the ground and directly into the mud. Of course people saw it. This type of thing never happens when there’s no audience.

Although there were a few glitches, training at the dog park was a great experience. Chili would constantly surprise me with her obedience. She made some dog friends and they became part of the training as well. We would let her play with her friends for a bit, then do a bit of obedience. She didn't like stopping to train but it wasn't her choice. One of her friends was a Mastiff/Great Dane cross. A beautiful dog with a great personality. Picture this. Chili and I walking side by side as she pranced and looked up at me with her happy face. Then, a big Mastiff/Great Dane cross bounds up to us and starts bouncing around me trying desperately to get a treat. Chili barely flinched. She just kept up her focus the whole time. It was beautiful. This is the best kind of training, real world.

Even though Chili was showing me that she was progressing I still couldn’t let her loose. I just would not let go of the end of that leash or long line. Even when she was playing. Actually, I did try trusting her a couple of times but she ignored me if she was with her friends and I would tell her to come. So there I was, trailing behind her holding onto the leash as she ran around playing. As I think back, I must’ve looked like a complete nut job. Just another crazy dog lady. What was I thinking? I was thinking that I didn’t want to lose her and the only way to prevent that was to be attached. I also knew that she didn’t have the best greeting manners and was afraid that she would end up disrespecting the wrong dog and end up in a fight. I had to protect her. It was and always will be my job. I take my role seriously. Sometimes too seriously and I let my fears take control. All that does is slow down the progress. It’s great to be aware but letting fear rule will get you nowhere. That's a lesson that took me a long time to learn.

More Training & Getting to know the Chill



Chili steals Mouses's bed



After what I thought was a disastrous training class due to crazy Chili I felt that we needed a little extra boost to help us along our way. The day after our first class I called Mary, the trainer, and suggested that maybe we needed some one-on-one training. The owner of the company that Mary works for specializes in difficult dogs so I was looking forward to a personalized session. Unfortunately, the owner, Debbie (not her real name), wasn’t available until after the next class so we would have to wait.



Chili & Mouse



In the meantime, I’d been taking Chili to work with me. It didn’t seem right to leave a dog with so much energy at home in a crate all day. This is where she met her first friend, Mouse, a Chihuahua/Terrier cross. Mouse has a big personality so she didn’t even notice that Chili was bigger than her. Chili didn’t seem to notice that Mouse was smaller than her and wanted to play as if they were the same size. To avoid any crushing situations, I would make Chili lay down to play with her. They had fun together and I learned something new about Chili. She didn’t care if Mouse stole her toys, even if she was playing with them, and she didn’t even mind when Mouse tried to steal her bone right out from under her. Sometimes Mouse would just start chewing on one end while Chili was chewing on the other. She can’t be that bad if she’s so good at sharing. I don’t think an aggressive dog would be so into sharing.



The second class was a little better but it was still a wash. At least I didn’t cry the whole way home. A couple of days later we were at our personal session. Debbie was late and when she arrived Chili immediately jumped on her. Rude, I know, Debbie thought so too. She told me that when Chili jumps up, to grab her paws and walk her backwards ten paces. I know that this works with some dogs but it never did really work with Chili. She thought it was a game. Chili thinks lots of training techniques are games. It’s one of the things that I love about her but that also makes me crazy. Like Mary, Debbie also felt that Chili was aggressive. She could just tell. She told me that I had to take charge of Chili and be the boss, she was right about that. She also showed me how to put Chili in a side hold and said that I had to do this for 30 minutes every night. And, when Chili goes to lunge, I should let her get to the end of the leash and self correct. And, I was shown how to wrap the leash down her back and around her belly for more control when she lunged. This also let me use the leash to pick her up from the back end or to pick her up completely. Hmmm. I don’t know about this.

So, here I go with some new techniques. I walked Chili with the lead wrapped around her belly and used it to carry her away from incidents. How did I feel about this? Like a complete and total idiot. This wasn’t what I wanted out of training. I didn’t want a band-aid, I wanted to learn to walk her and stop her lunging. I don’t plan to walk her with the leash wrapped around her belly forever. Besides, I was worried about her getting hurt from having it wrapped around her belly. I was not comfortable with this at all. The self correction wasn’t providing results either. She didn’t care that she wrenched herself when she got to the end of the leash. She’s a tough girl and didn’t feel a thing.

We made a few other observations about Chili during that time. She’s a very gentle girl and there’s not a whole lot that bugs her. When we would play with her, she learned very quickly not to bite down. The moment she felt our hands in her mouth, she would back off. You can also poke and prod at her and she just puts up with it. Even at the vet’s office, and even when she gets her temperature taken at her back end. She really is a good natured girl. From the first day we got her, neither one of us has ever been afraid of her. She may be bratty sometimes, but there’s not a mean bone in her.



By now, the voices in my head are starting to scream. I need to look at this training in a whole new way. I really do need to trust myself and have a voice. I may not be a trainer but I’m not stupid either. From now on, I’m going to open my mouth and question things. Chili may lunge on leash at dogs but there are so many other things about her that tell me that she’s not aggressive. Things are going to be different.