[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by matese

I totally agree with all that you have said, I need to re-train myself. 40 years of having dogs, walking them a certain way all now needs to be changed by ME. I know dogs feed off you, I know I need to be relaxed, I know all of this affects the dogs reaction, I admit, I need the training more then him lol. I am sure Cody now knows about the spray bottle. Yes my trainer makes me walk as close as if safe near the other dog, when the trainer took the leash, yes she walked close to the minipin, the other dog was focused on the owner, he didn't even look at Cody, it was Cody that did the lunging, I am not happy about the spray bottle, I was quite upset when she used it, but it did work. I don't walk Cody at my side, yes, all my dogs walked in front of me, with them there was never any issue, that's why I say, I HAVE to change my ways, I have to re-train myself. Thing is, Cody is not leash walked a lot, I have a big yard where he runs and hunts. I do take him out on leash but not very often, too many big dogs get out of their yards or dash out of front door. I take Cody out for one reason only. I live in a heavily wooded area, god forbid he ever gets out of the house he will know his way back home, that is if he stays on the road he will know what his driveway and area smells like, if he gets into the woods he will be gone forever. So when I do walk him he is out front, if I am out of town and on city side walks I agree, he should walk by my side, I have to train him on that. Thank you for your input. I will work on keeping his focus on me, that is one of the things my trainer told me last week. This is all new to Cody and I see he gets very distracted easily, I think in time as he gets use to going for these sessions he will be less distracted. He works fine at home on commands, but there are no distractions here.

I commend you for giving Cody a loving home. And I think in time as he settles in he'll feel more secure too. I know every trainer has different methods. Some I like, some I don't. You'll figure out what you can use and what you need to leave behind, but at least you're there, trying and that is great for him. I do allow my dogs to walk in front of me too. But if I see danger, like another dog, or person walking, or bicycle, etc., I ask them to check up. By that, I mean that I ask them to come back and walk by me until the situation passes. If it's all clear, I do give them the lead though. I didn't want you to think I am totally against a dog walking in front, rather if there is a situation, your dog learns to retreat rather than lunge and pull.