Private Pull Training Lessons

Gabe pulls two small wheelbarrow tires.

Now up hill!

Pat repositions Gabe on the "tighten up" exercise.

Good "tighten up", Gabe!

Practicing the "Command" training.

And back up hill.

Lexy, Gabe's companion gets a turn pulling the tires.

Pat, Gabriel and Lexy drove from St. Paul, MN over the weekend for an individual pull training lesson. Pat and Gabe were the main students and Lexy, being very much like our Tuloon, was the princess that got to sit in the car and bark orders out the window at her big male companion, Gabe.

For the first lesson, we like to keep it simple and only introduced three new exercises for Pat and Gabe to take home and work on. The first step is to get Gabe used to pulling something light behind him then move up in weight so that he actually begins to work. The second step is to introduce the "tighten up" command which is very much like the obedience command "stay" except that the dog not only stays but maintains constant resistance with the harness. The third and very awkward but necessary step is the Command Leash training where you, as the handler, build a foundation for how you will eventually direct your dog also reinforce the "pull" command. No directional commands are introduced this early. It is best to just go straight ahead.

As with all training, each segment was kept to a maximum of 10 minutes with lots and lots of praise. Not too much talking, however, otherwise the dogs soon learns to tune you out. No corrections at this time, just all happy positive tones and praise for what your dogs does "right", ignoring any behavior that isn't desired unless it is a major offense(mouthing handler or gear).

Pat and the crew join us again next week for phase two!

If this sounds like training you and your dog would enjoy, please let us know. We would be happy to customize training to meet your needs.