Walking with Gal

Today I decided to teach Gal that the best place to be is on the left side of my wheelchair. How did I do that?

I cut up some hot dogs and dried them in the oven for a bit. I then put them in my treat bag, lots of them! We went for a walk around the 2.5 acres. All the dogs were with me. I am caring for my daughter's dog Latte' so there were four adults along with Gal. I started out by showing Gal that I had some really juicy treats. She kept running around my wheelchair in a counter clockwise motion. This is not uncommon for herding breeds. Every time she got to the left side of my chair I said 'yes!' and gave her a treat. Then I would continue on for the walk and wait for her to get back into that position again for another treat. I didn't worry about the fact that she would go off and sniff around at times or play with the other dogs, I just rewarded her when she did what I liked. The other dogs know this game so of course they stayed mostly by my left side in the heel position with their eyes glued on me. I kept a handful of treats in my hand so that I could deliver them quickly. By the time we made on circle of the property she was staying on my left side almost continuously watching for me to give her another treat. All this with no leash! What a fun game and we both enjoyed it immensely!

More to come later, this is just the first part of teaching a puppy to walk on your left side, which for us right handed people is the most convenient side. If you are a horse person it is essential because a horse is walked on the right side. That way you can walk your horse and your dog a the same time! That reminds me, I should do some research on why dog trainers started to use the left side for dog training. It is the only side used in dog obedience competitions.

Happy Dog Training!!
Mary