# Advice needed for next training steps...



## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

I'd do the agility/confidence class and continue to work on the loose leash walking. I get why you want to get that certificate, but it doesn't matter if you get it at 8 months or 8 years old. Loose leash walking takes time. The agility/confidence class sounds like fun. Life is to short to work on CGC stuff all the time!


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

Penny is 2 and acts the same way on her head harness (we have a halti). We have even let her choose between the harness and the halti and she picks halti. 
We too are trying to get her off of it and it hasn’t been easy. 
One thing that has been helping is putting it on but attaching the leash to her collar.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

FosterGolden that is such good advice! Maybe I've mellowed in my old age or maybe I've just got a really great dog that is a joy to be around... but I realized at the obedience class last week that I'm just not as competitive as I used to be. When they begin discussing forced retrieves (forced dumbbell) training I just realized I don't care if we get a 200 score or not. I want to do an activity with my dog to enjoy the time together  
I used to be so driven, the ear/paw pinch... the yelping in pain, never phased me. My last obedience run with my last golden was almost perfect. The very last exercise she went to heel position vs. front and we lost 3 points. Funny, when she died a year later, all I remember is how much fun she had that day and not the score. Enjoy the time you spend with your pup... you just never know how much time you will have.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Obedience is my choice. As for the pinch collar I would bet it is not fitted properly. It always works.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

I would also go with the confidence/agility class. She's only 8 months old, you have so much time to get that CGC. Rocket is 2.5 and he is still not ready for a CGC test. Also, depending on her personality, you are about to be in the thick of when they become rebellious little turds, so you are going to need lots of patience. Rocket is/was a puller too and he just started to settle down with it over the last few months.


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## Wicky (Aug 27, 2015)

I would go the confidence route, sounds like fun and it’s good to have a bit of variety. Sounds like it will involve some off leash activity so it will still teach daisy focus in distracting environments. A confident (and optimistic) dog is much more likely to focus better in distracting environments anyway
The most important thing is to decide which you think will be FUN. If you and Daisy are enjoying the class, then you will both get more out of it and your partnership will grow. I have removed or changed up classes when Sona was not having fun. 
I could not imagine using any kind of force based training on Sona for better competitive results - and don’t get me wrong I’m still competitive ? but like puddles said I just want to enjoy the time and activities I do with my dog - we will go as far as our lack of combined skill takes us ?. Maybe it’s just that I’m competitive with myself rather than with others. Mind you that won’t get us far here as you only win out of a class by beating everyone else lol. 
Anyway hope Daisy and You enjoy whatever route you take.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Rukie, 11 months old, has one more Canine Good Citizen class and then the test and I will be very surprised if he passes the test. I wanted to do a beginning Agility class that focuses on working as a team but it was full so we did CGC for something to do. It was good practice. He barks when he is bored so the part where he stays with someone for 3 minutes when I leave will probably be his downfall. He's not anxious, just bored. Most of the other parts he can do but I don't know if he will do it without treats. The trainer said only 1 out of 5 from the last class passed. She is also the tester as well as the trainer. If I was you, I would do the agility for now.


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

It definitely can take some time. Piper just turned two, and we haven't taken the test yet because she wouldn't have been ready. She's really mellowed out in the last 3-4 months though. 

To get my last dog off a gentle leader, I actually switched her over to a prong collar because it was easier to get her off that. I got some not-so-nice comments about it, but honestly, I felt like it was more comfortable for her. The collar should work if its the right size. I would take her out with two leashes -- one attached to her flat-buckle collar and one attached to the prong collar, and weaned her off that way. Have you talked to your son about how you would like corrections to be issued? It can be helpful to make sure everyone's on the same page. 

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong either way. I would take the class that you think you and your dog will get the most fun, and/or what you think will be the most helpful for what your needs are as well. Confidence sounds like a lot of fun, and any venue is a good time to practice your skills! I'm trying to decide whether to take a class like that vs. nose work with Piper at the moment. I don't think there's any rush to take the CGC class, but at the same time, if you feel like some of the CGC skills are more important to work on for your health concerns/lifestyle implications, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either. 

Let us know what you end up doing, I'm excited to hear more updates on Daisy!


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

I'd go with obedience. I've always waited for agility until we've done at least the CGC class.

For the leash walking thing, have you tried a harness instead of a collar? It works well for many people. I've just had a total knee replacement (8 weeks ago), and while my dog doesn't pull, I'm currently walking him with a harness to eliminate any risk that he might, because he's still young and I'm not yet 100% stable on my feet. He's taken to it very well.

To teach loose leash walking, this is the method that has worked for me in the past: I fill my pockets with kibble and a few high-value treats, then set out on a walk. It's important to keep a brisk pace. The first time, I feed pieces of kibble every few seconds. If the dog pulls away from me, I do a quick u-turn, keep walking and reward with kibble when he catches up to me. I'll stop frequently and do a quick obedience practice (sit-stand-down or whatever) and reward generously with a high-value treat (cheese, chicken). This keeps his attention on me, because he doesn't know what's going to happen next. When I meet other people with leashed dogs, I keep his attention on me with the high-value treats. If he gets distracted, I do a u-turn and reward him when he follows. I'll occasionally break into a jog, or walk backwards, or do a 360 degree turn, so as not to be predictable. And I keep it upbeat - talking to him, encouraging him, praising, etc. After the first few sessions, you can spread out the kibble dispensing, and eventually, after a few weeks, you can phase it out, so that you're just using verbal praise and the occasional high-value treat.

It's not a quick and easy fix: it can take a while, with lots of regular practice, to achieve a reliable loose-leash walk. When my dog was young (4 to 5 months old), I fed him his evening meal like this, almost every day, for a month or two. However, the end result was a dog who walks really nicely on leash. It's a matter of developing the habit. The key is to walk briskly and change things up often, to maintain the dog's interest. If you just sort of amble along and don't engage with the dog, he'll end up pulling just because he doesn't have anything better to do.

I've told the story before about a friend of mine whose young dog abandoned him during an agility run in a ring that had been set up in an area normally used by horses, to go and sniff in the corner. When he came out of the ring, my friend was philosophical. Well, he said, I guess I know what I have to do now: I have to make myself more interesting than horse poop.

That, to me, kind of sums up the whole human-dog relationship. Engage with the dog, be unpredictable, make it fun, and the dog will give you the behaviour you want.


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

To clarify, one recommended training path is puppy obedience, obedience, agility? What about rally training? What ages are puppies/dogs typically exposed to the agility equipment or concentrated training? Once they are mostly physically mature? We’re not looking to compete, just enjoy training & activities with our almost 18 week old puppy. We’ve had a child’s tunnel inside and out since before we brought Casey home - he loves racing through it! We also built pup sized teeter, dog walk, 6 inch “jump”, etc. should we concentrate on one sport, for lack of a better word, or continue to incorporate training from all disciplines at this point. We’re also exploring nose and scent work but have less than zero experience with that. 

We want to explore as many opportunities as possible and focus on the ones he enjoys. My husband is retired and we don’t have kids at home, he has time and motivation to work with Casey. (And the patience of Job, in my opinion) 

Thanks.


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## NothingbutGold (Apr 2, 2017)

I have an almost 11 month golden. He is my fifth golden and by far the biggest puller. It may have something to do with me getting older and not having the strength I once had. I would suggest you take a break. She may settle and then you can see if you can transition her off the gentle leader. 

Because my dog is very social, when I am at obedience class, I have him on a halti and a collar with a dual leash. The trainer suggested this because he was such a puller. Halfway through the class, once he settles, I am now able to take the halti off and just using the collar. Although my dog successfully completed basic obedience, rather than move on to advance, I switch trainers and am taking another basic obedience class to fine tune some of his behaviors. As he matures, he is really settling. 

I am also a teacher and may take the summer off from training to just work on strengthening what he has learned.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

sdain31y said:


> To clarify, one recommended training path is puppy obedience, obedience, agility? What about rally training? What ages are puppies/dogs typically exposed to the agility equipment or concentrated training? Once they are mostly physically mature? We’re not looking to compete, just enjoy training & activities with our almost 18 week old puppy. We’ve had a child’s tunnel inside and out since before we brought Casey home - he loves racing through it! We also built pup sized teeter, dog walk, 6 inch “jump”, etc. should we concentrate on one sport, for lack of a better word, or continue to incorporate training from all disciplines at this point. We’re also exploring nose and scent work but have less than zero experience with that. .


For pups, rally training is similar to obedience training: walking on leash, sitting, lying down, standing, figure-eights, etc. I did both with my dog when he was younger.

For agility, it's fun to expose your pup to the equipment, but I wouldn't recommend systematic jumping, even 6", at his age. Instead, put the bar on the ground and teach him to run through the jump wings, over the bar. Make sure your tunnels are fixed, so he doesn't hurt himself. You can start him over very small jumps in a few months' time. I usually start mine over 4" jumps when they're about 8 or 9 months old, and increase the height very gradually. Put verbal commands on all the obstacles.

Best of luck and have fun!


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks for the advice.


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

Neciebugs said:


> Daisy is almost 8 months old. She is has completed STAR Puppy and Obedience 1. She could pass the canine CGC test with a gentle leader, as she has all tasks down, but gentle leader is not allowed. But the easy walk is... I have been through ALL collars except an e-collar and a prong collar. I bought a prong collar on clearance today, and it has plastic on the tips. she still pulled. I also got the Thunder Leash... we had some success with it. When she is on the gentle leader, she is docile most of the time, and I rarely get pulling. She takes my cues well, and heels and walks at my left hand side.
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Beautiful dog!!![emoji177][emoji177][emoji177][emoji177]


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