Matisse will be doing an obedience test involving a number of different obedience and general good behaviour exercises this Thursday night, so that maybe he can achieve his Bronze, good citizen award! woohoo!
But really i'm nervous... [Matisse is 10 months old now, and i think the youngest member doing the test, and not totally reliable.]
Anyways, one on the tasks is to be able to walk amongst other owners and thier dogs in a small area without your dog pulling to get to the other dogs. It's really to get your dog to focus on you rather than all the distractions... but this is the task I'm most worried about.
Matisse gets very excited when he sees another dog and pulls a lot to see them. How can i keep him focused on me?
I've been advised to keep talking to him, and i reckon this will work in the loose leash walking (no distractions) exercise, but when theres a whole bunch of dogs and people walking about in a cramped space, i just don't know if i can be more exciting to him than them.
Another task is to have a 1 minute conversation with someone and their dog, standing infront of them, with Matisse calmly waiting, not jumping up on the other person or pulling to reach the other dog. Does anyone have any tips on keeping him calm?
Note- no treats are allowed, but you can talk to the dogs.
If anyone has any tips i'd really appreciate them
But really i'm nervous... [Matisse is 10 months old now, and i think the youngest member doing the test, and not totally reliable.]
Anyways, one on the tasks is to be able to walk amongst other owners and thier dogs in a small area without your dog pulling to get to the other dogs. It's really to get your dog to focus on you rather than all the distractions... but this is the task I'm most worried about.
Matisse gets very excited when he sees another dog and pulls a lot to see them. How can i keep him focused on me?
I've been advised to keep talking to him, and i reckon this will work in the loose leash walking (no distractions) exercise, but when theres a whole bunch of dogs and people walking about in a cramped space, i just don't know if i can be more exciting to him than them.
Another task is to have a 1 minute conversation with someone and their dog, standing infront of them, with Matisse calmly waiting, not jumping up on the other person or pulling to reach the other dog. Does anyone have any tips on keeping him calm?
Note- no treats are allowed, but you can talk to the dogs.
If anyone has any tips i'd really appreciate them