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Progress Report from Breakfast

1/26/2015

Breakfast checked out of Andrew Warner Dog Training a little more than a week ago and his owners are doing a fantastic job keeping up the work he started with AWDT. When he first came to us, he was extremely leash reactive, needed some socialization skills, and needed some general direction in basic obedience.

After a few weeks here with us, and one week of continued support and work from his owners, Breakfast is still on the pathway to perfection:

Here is Breakfast with me the day before he left:

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Breakfast update: The difference a day or two with AWDT can make

1/12/2015

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When we first met Breakfast, he was uncontrollable on leash. He pulled and lunged at anything while dragging his handler in whatever direction he felt like going. This is some relatively mild, owner-shot footage of Breakfast walking on a leash:

This is how he looks 2 days into his board and train here at AWDT:

That is the best thing about dogs - they are ready to change if you are ready to show them how.

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Meet Breakfast - the most important dog of the day

1/9/2015

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Breakfast checked in as our new resident board & train last weekend, and he is already making incredible strides.

Breakfast suffers from the relatively common behavior problem of “leash reactivity” or “leash aggression” – which for the most part means that when he is on a leash and he sees something like a dog or a person, he goes crazy for it – pulling, lunging, etc.

He is also high energy pit bull that hasn’t had a bunch of opportunity to be around other dogs, because he isn’t quite sure how to act around other dogs.

He was adopted a few months ago from the Mega adoption event, and before that he was tied to a house and abandoned there by a family who moved away.

In spite of all that he is in a loving home now and he is here learning how to be around other dogs and how to be a little more manageable for his new, loving owner.

The first few days of a board and train, especially one that hasn’t been socializing with dogs, is to learn how to fit in with the fun personalities that live at AWDT. Check out the super excited Breakfast meeting the pack:

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Common issues that keep you from the perfect dog walk

1/6/2015

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Nothing frustrates a client more than when their out of control dog walks like a perfect angel the second I take the leash.

It looks like magic, but it’s really simple. I walk dogs every day for hours at a time - and usually 5 or more at once. Walking a dog is like breathing to me, because I practice all the time.

Dogs converse with you every time you are holding their leash. People who are trying to train their dogs (and are unsuccessful) tend to tense up the moment they take the leash. They think about every step they are taking, what the dog is doing, if they are holding the leash right – in essence, they are thinking too much and it shows.

When you lack control of the walk, this will cause a dog to become out of control on the walk.

When I work with clients on the walk, almost one hundred percent of the time, after listening to my instructions, the client appears to not know how to walk in a straight line. And that makes sense. I give a lot of instructions and it is a lot to think about. If you had never held a golf club before and Tiger Woods came up and told you how to drive a ball down the fairway, you would look clumsy the first few times you tried. You would stumble through your first thousand attempts probably.

But the magic happens the more you swing your club. You stop thinking about it and you just start doing it.

Walking a dog might even be more difficult, because ultimately you’re participating in a dance with your dog – playing off of each other’s subtle movements as you move through an environment.

When people struggle to walk “naturally,” I will tell them to pick a point on the road – a trash can or a sign –  and just walk over and touch it. Often times this is easier than thinking about whether or not they are walking at the right speed, if they are putting too much tension on the leash, or if they are staring at the dog too much. Imagine how effortlessly you would move if I told you to stand up and go pick up a particular book off the bookshelf on the other side of your room – that type of movement and decisiveness is exactly what your dog responds to and follows.

Walk with purpose and your dog is more likely to follow you. Practice more and it will become easier for you to develop a “feel” for walking a dog – the same way you would develop a feel for swinging a golf club, a baseball, or a tennis racket. Imagine how you drove a car when you first got your learner’s permit at 15 1/2 years-old, and contrast that to how effortlessly you drive a car now. If you walk your dog a lot (in an organized fashion), walking your dog will become that effortless for you.

If your walk is REALLY broken, e-mail andrew@awdt.net – the Walk Fix is our cheapest offering and sets a new tone for your entire relationship with your dog.

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Progress Report from Breakfast

Breakfast update: The difference a day or two with AWDT can make

Meet Breakfast - the most important dog of the day

Common issues that keep you from the perfect dog walk

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