All I wanted to do was have a nice time with Toby...

[Sandy]

Our church holds a "Turkey Bowl" on Thanksgiving Monday, which is today. Basically people come, make up teams and play football. Last year I went and watched with Toby, who was 9 weeks at the time. This year I went and took him, and it was a disaster. Our walk over (we live very close), was brutal. Pull, pull, pull. So many corrections, sits, etc., on the way there. And then.....hyper excited because of people and other dogs. He just would not settle down! Pulling, getting up out of a sit, jerking away suddenly....just not good. He's 14 months old now, and quite strong. Probably 70 pounds or more. We took him home, and came back to the event without him. I want to start sharing all this fun stuff with him, but at this point, I don't know when that will happen. We did hike yesterday, and he did quite well, but I had high hopes for today. "sigh". Come on adult calm-down!

[Sandy]

Thanks Adina - you're right, I just needed to vent. I have tried the martingale collar on Toby, but didn't have any success. It was demonstrated to me at the time. Possibly I should try it again - he's older now, and may respond better to it.

[Adina P]

I know you want to vent...I've had days like that too when Rosco was younger. It's a pain. What I learned is he was NOT ready for those kinds of things. He wasn't ready until he was further along in training. Now that my focus is more Thule (and it's a weak focus as I don't have that much time for her training at the moment) I ONLY take her to places like that IF the whole time I can focus on training and only training. NOTHING else. If people start talking to me...my main point is Thule and I will still remain concentrated on how she is doing FIRST trying to be as polite as possible to the others but not letting anyone mess things up. For example. This summer our hospital had a picnic behind the hospital in a lovely grassy area. I brought Thule to use that time for training. I heeled her on the outskirts...did short sit stays with her at my side...as she gained her composure I heeled her closer to the action/people. But only a little at a time...if she wasn't good at heel I would NOT have even brought her. As she demonstrated more control I chanced it and went to talk to some coworkers letting them know as efficiently as possible they could NOT touch her or try to. I chatted with them knowing FULL well at any moment I would have to be ready to reward or correct Thule...my peripheral vision was ON HER. When people wanted to touch her I knew should could not handle it and body blocked her. When I knew her patience sit-staying was wearing thin -- before she broke -- I would heel her away to reward her with something easier and give her a short mental break. Then I'd return. But if I'd have gone there expecting to enjoy myself and relax with this calm dog next to me...I would have been sorely disappointed.

So you have to be realistic about what Toby is ready for and not expect him to be a calm little brand new puppy who is happy to stay near. You can't expect him to not pull in such a situation unless you've challenged him in a similar situation for training and he's demonstrated competence over and over.

Also if my memory serves me well...you're making corrections with a flat collar, right? It's just NOT gonna be effective. He's a big dog who won't be deterred by some nagging pulls on his collar. He needs more practice in lower distractions and a gradual increase in distractions and either doing the positive training thing with your pockets full of amazing treats to keep his focus on something else OR you will need to use more effective corrections (prong or choke chain---both of which are best fitted and demonstrated by a live trainer).

I KNOW you can do this...you just have to find a more competent trainer to guide you.