Loose Leash Walking

Loose Leash Walking ... loose leash walking ... loosh lease walking

Say that five times fast! Betcha can't. I also bet you'll find getting a puppy to learn how to actually do it is no easier.

Last week was all about loose leash walking. Two or three times a day we would take Zuzu out to practice. By the end of the week, she was doing fairly well, as long as we let her set the pace. (Anything between stopping and jogging is okay.) The only problem with that is she really only has two speeds - meander and trot!

The only really bad day was Wednesday. I'm starting to notice that I never blog when I'm super frustrated. I always wait a few days until I have gotten over it.  Next time I vow to write on the bad day itself, so that when I look back in five or ten years, I'll remember there were actual challenges, not just funny times.

Anyway, Wednesday's walk was going perfectly! Well, as perfectly as any walk with a three month old puppy can go.  Then we started to head home. There is only one street that I cross that has any real traffic and a light, right next to the big park that I love.  We have a great routine. I push the button, ask Zuzu to sit, and I get the walk signal and we cross. Easy peasy.

Only this time, Zuzu wouldn't sit. It was lunchtime and she was 'finished' with the walk and finished with listening. She danced around and managed to get tangled in the leash. As I leaned down to untangle her, she jumped up and grabbed my hair. Now I've had that happen before, so I was ready and got her down, no problem. But, what I didn't realize, was that somehow in this brief mayhem, her leash had actually come uncoupled from her collar. I still have no idea how! As soon as we began to cross, I realized that I had a leash and no dog, with four lanes of traffic stopped around me. Luckily Zuzu had no idea she was free, but when I bent down to reattach her, she started to play again.

At this point I only had 10 more seconds to cross the street. Though I was pretty sure none of the drivers would run us over if we were still in the road, I didn't want to chance it. So, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her across the street, ignoring the little teeth in my hair and ear and neck. When we got to the other side, I put her down, reattaching the leash, and finally got her to sit for a treat and calm down for a second.

That was the last calm moment I had! She spent the rest of the walk trying to eat me, and would not even take a treat!  Aargh!

But, patience and consistency, right?  Right!

We went out again that evening, and the next morning, etc, and each time got a little better.

She is now recognizing a quick soft tug or 'ah ah' or 'let's go' and she 'gets nowhere without me (or Jim)'. That's only hard when she sees another dog and wants to run and pull towards it to say hi. But, when she pulls, we stop and she gets nowhere. She has missed meeting several dogs as she is still trying to figure that out. It's very hard when the world is so exciting!

One day, every time she saw another dog, she would start to do a little low crawl, like the cat, then she would try to pounce! It never worked and it kind of freaked out a couple other dog owners as they saw the fluffy crouching tiger-dog approach them, so she hasn't done it since that day, but I'll admit that it made me laugh out loud - much to the dismay of the other doggy parents in the park. Really people? My dog isn't touching your dog, and she's not barking or growling, her ears are happy and her tail is wagging, and she's being raised with a cat. I promise, she is not going to eat your dog!  I've never seen little old ladies with their Doodles and Cavaliers walk so quickly. Again, I giggle!

So we will continue with the loosh lease walking. Maybe some day I'll even learn to say it!