Dixie's Doodles Alumni

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Comment by Dixie Moore on May 2, 2010 at 9:52am

Here's a great video about that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Earnrc30jZ8.

Comment by Jacquelyn Huffman on May 2, 2010 at 9:43am

Beth do you have any suggestions...Jett tries to get things off the counter top, it doesn't matter if it is food or clothes? We have had a trainer come to the house a couple times but we haven't addresses that "trick" yet. How much time a day do you spend training Alfie? I admire you:)

Comment by Beth Lord on May 1, 2010 at 6:18pm

I loved that show. Chloe is fabulous, and those pictures are great...I'm thinking someone worked hard to teach her not to eat those socks! ;-)
As for Alfie -- he is not 100% on that skill but he's doing well for his age. We start off with a verbal cue, then phase it out gradually as the dog "gets it." Do you know what is actually MUCH harder to teach? -- walking in a straight line! And so far that skill hasn't impressed a single sighted person, haha! ;-) Keeps me humble!

Comment by Dixie Moore on May 1, 2010 at 12:44pm

Beth, it amazes me that you can teach a puppy like Alfie to watch out for branches at the level of a human's head!

All this talk about him has reminded me of Chloe, a service dog that was raised at Texas A&M and later sent to Canine Assistants in Georgia. She now lives with a retired federal judge in Florida who has mobility issues. I am uploading the photos I have of her emptying the dryer, turning lights on/off, and opening a door. She also accompanies her owner on commercial flights and visits children at school. A couple of weeks ago there was a special on PBS on Canine Assistants in Georgia.

Comment by Beth Lord on May 1, 2010 at 12:18pm

Hi Susan, Glad you like Alfie's blog. :-) Your Alfie's so beautiful. "My" Alfie is named in honor of an attorney by the name of Alphini...I have not met him but I understand he has done much work on accessibility issues for the visually impaired & their guide dogs...pretty neat. But "Alfie" is a much easier (& cuter) call name! :-)
As for heeling vs. loose leash -- we actually do use the command "heel," but what it means for us is that the dog "walks out" slightly ahead, on a loose leash, his hip even with my leg. (I think to most people, "heel" means the dog walks on a loose leash with his head even with your leg, or perhaps even slightly behind?) Anyway -- Alfie is always a bit ahead. We call that "guide position." That's so that the dog will reach any obstacles first. So when Alfie gets to a curb, for example, he sits, and that would give his blind person a chance to slow down and stop before tripping over the curb. He also stops and sits for other obstacles, like if there's a branch overhanging the path where I could hit my head. Pretty important if you can't see! :-) He loves to work and is doing really well for being just almost 7 months old... Of course, as you'll read on the blog, he has a normal amount of puppy mischief also! ;-) But I'm proud of him and he's definitely my buddy.

Comment by Merrill Kirkpatrick on May 1, 2010 at 11:39am

Thanks for all your comments on the gentle leader! I will keep trying that since you feel that is safe and will move over to the Sense-ible if he keeps fighting it. I appreciate your input!

Comment by susan toalson on May 1, 2010 at 8:55am

I really enjoyed Alfie's Website, Beth. Many thanks for sharing! I have an Alfie, too. He and I wonder what the difference is between "heeling" and "loose-leash walking." Can you enlighten us?

Comment by Beth Lord on April 30, 2010 at 8:01pm

Several years ago, we had a pet corgi with a tendency to pull and the gentle leader was very helpful with him. I don't use it now, as our guide dog school stipulates that we teach loose leash walking without any aids. However, some guide dog schools use the gentle leader routinely so yes, it's a good product for sure! I think the Sense-ible & the GL are great tools for you to get to the goal of a pleasant walk sooner -- which is what we all want, right? :-) Best of luck with whatever you choose...Alfie would like to add that TREATS are always welcome while training, haha!

Comment by Christine & Shelby on April 30, 2010 at 3:13pm

I use the Sense-ible harness with Shelby. I remember Dixie recommended it and then so did the trainer for our Puppy Kindergarten class. Shelby isn't full enough in the chest yet to make it effective so the trainer suggested connecting the chest loop and her colar to the leash. This helped dramatically, but she still occasionally pulls. My approach has been everytime she pulls (tight lead), I stop in my tracks and she eventually sits and I give her the command wait. Then I walk up next to her, stand there while she is still sitting and she does not get to continue until I say "let's go". It is sometimes a very frustrating walk, but more often than not - it's quite enjoyable. Blowing leaves and low flying birds make for a crazy doodle!!!

Comment by Jacquelyn Huffman on April 30, 2010 at 9:34am

I just got home from a walk with Jett using the Sense-ible harness. Jett still pulls until he settles into the walk. I was expecting it would be easier and it is not that easy:) I don't give Jett much lead because I want him to walk next to me. He is getting better but it does make my work out more energy consuming. (that's good.)

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