The guy on the treadmill next to me this morning was singing “I believe I can fly” with quite a bit of passion. Clearly it was on his iPod, which, I won’t lie, made me little happy. It could easily be argued that that song is worse than Mambo No. 5. I think I may have found a friend. Perhaps we can even make each other mix tapes.
Anyway. After the gym, I took Jack on a walk. He pulls on his leash constantly, and the other night my dad said that we should pull back, but say a command at the same time. Yesterday, without consulting Chris, I decided that that command would be “side.” Why, I have no idea. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, except I want him to walk by my side. Get it? Except now I have to say “side” every, oh, 30 seconds during the entire 20 – 30 minute walk.
I do this walk three times a day. This is Brooklyn. The streets are crowded. I sound like a total idiot screaming “side!” at my dog. And, by the way, it doesn’t do a damn thing. I’m lucky if he even acknowledges that I’m on the other end of the leash.
After all of this, I needed some coffee:
Have you checked out any of Cesar Milan’s books or tapes? He has some pretty good insight on dog training, it’s a little bit “out there” but, my parents used some of his techniques on their dog, and now she doesn’t leave my dad’s side during a walk, unless she is given permission. Which is a VAST improvement on when she was younger and would pull like crazy, as well as tug on her leash with her teeth.
Just a thought…..
Good Luck! Puppies can be exhausting!
Funny! People singing to their ipods always crack me up! And it helps the time to go a bit faster.
my dogs do the same thing but i have not found a solution. when you do let me know
LOL
I found your blog through Kath’s, and just wanted to recommend a product called a Gentle Leader (you too, Cara) for dogs that pull on lead. Jack is adorable, BTW.
I have a 50 lb dog (also named Jack) and the GL is a god send, promise! It’s made by a company called Premier, you can get it at Petsmart or online.
The gentle leader really is WONDERFUL. We use it on both our 75 lb dogs and I can walk both of them at the same time without being worried that I’m going to die. They work like a horse halter- by controlling the head. Here’s a link: http://www.petguys.com/-759023-medium.html or you can find them at petsmart, but they are way more expensive there. Seriously, this thing will be a miracle for you- especially in the crowded city.
Oh- and I have been caught singing to Aqua while on the treadmill- barbie girl to be exact. Yikes.
BAHAHA! too funny
good title!
you crack me up lol..
there is this one guy at my gym who runs while flailing his arms about like he’s dancing and singing LOUDLY. he is not my friend.
HAHA!! Oh man, I HATE when people are singing out loud (and off-key) in public places; and ESPECIALLY in gyms!!
Sounds like you DO need some coffee, haha – long day you’ve had so far!
Allison – I love Cesar Milan! Well I’ve only seen his show once, but I learned a valuable lesson: I am the pack leader. Except I’m not, that’s the problem. But I’m working on it. I think maybe I do need to buy his book, thanks for the suggestion.
Karen – I am SURE that I sing to my iPod without knowing it. I just hope it’s not to Lou Bega. Or 98 Degrees.
Cara – I’m thinking this Gentle Leader sounds like a good idea. I am going to buy one and I’ll report back our results.
PS + Robin – We are buying this. ASAP. Thank you, it sounds great. Chris is worried that Jack is going to be embarrassed to wear it (he said that, I swear) but I know I’ve seen other dogs with them on in our neighborhood so it’s all good. But do we want the collar or the harness? The collar, right?
Thank you, Julz, Linds and Lindz.
Betsy – I could write about 5,000 posts on all of the weirdos that go to my gym. Like the guy who wears gold plastic framed sunglasses with bedazzles while he works out.
VeggieGirl – It seems like people sing out loud here all the time. They’re also not afraid to bring their boom boxes onto the train or bus. iPods are totally overrated.
…what’s wrong with 98 Degrees? Oh those Lachey brothers! LOL!
I use the collar. The thing that goes around their head. Be sure to let us know how it goes!
[...] be back later, shouting from the rooftops about a walk that didn’t involve me screaming “Side!” every thirty seconds….cross your fingers! And also, go [...]