leash training for Dottie

John woke up at 4:30 this morning and took Shiloh downstairs. I thought the shih tzus would come prancing up the stairs, but he was very quiet and they didn’t rustle. However, the shih tzu sisters did come up to get me at their usual time of 5:30. I tried to ignore them, but it’s difficult to ignore so much cute, even that early in the morning. I finally got up and took them outside. Then, I had mercy on them and fed them early too.

When we came inside, I sat Candy on the couch with me, and Flower jumped up too. As is the usual case lately, Candy didn’t fight me, but as soon I let her, she jumped down. Flower, however, sat in the corner of the couch and let me pet her. She didn’t leave until I stopped giving her all my attention.

Shiloh chose to sit in Dottie’s chosen spot, on the right side of me, so I had to help Dottie up to the other side of me, where John usually sits. She tried to sit on my lap, but I think it’s uncomfortable for her when I am stretching my arms out to type (my laptop sits on a TV dinner stand) so I moved her back to where I had set her down earlier.

I decided it was time to do a little leash training and I chose Dottie as the guinea pig.

I got her in the Comfy Control harness and we took her outside into the exercise area for our leash training session. I asked John if I needed to give her a treat, but he thought we were just teaching her typical behavior and that she didn’t need one. I’m not sure I agree with that.

Maybe the treat would have been in order if we had succeeded in our leash training session, but that didn’t happen. She didn’t shake, but she didn’t walk either. She sat down, stiffened up and wouldn’t move. John tried to encourage her by tugging on the leash while calling her name, but he ended up dragging her a few inches. He tried to lift her up on all fours, but her back legs froze. Flower and Candy came outside to see what was happening and started barking, believing that John was trying to hurt her.

We decided to take Dottie out to the front yard to continue the leash training where her sisters couldn’t try to defend her, but we didn’t have results there either. It’s obvious that I have to do a little research on how to get a fearful dog to walk while on a leash, so I will be doing Google searches and viewing YouTube videos on the subject before we try any leash training again.

Dottie seemed remarkably calm 30 minutes later. I gave her one of her favorite treats, Canyon Creek Ranch apple and chicken wraps, for her troubles. The other girls calmed down too, but it was a step back in their relationship with John. It’s possible that I need to do the leash training, with him coaching, since they trust me more. I have just always looked at him as the dog trainer, but these girls obviously aren’t Joey, or the other dogs John has had.