Post by tracilg on Jul 14, 2008 8:31:36 GMT -5
We had dog obedience class on Saturday. I was a little apprehensive before the class because our son took her last week in our absence, but then couldn't remember much of what they went over in class. So we never worked with Babe on any of the homework because we didn't know what it was.
Turns out, my fears on that point were unfounded. Aside from the loose-leash walking, it was all stuff we've worked on with her from day one and she's pretty much mastered.
But..... (you knew there was a but, right?)
It was the loose-leash walking that proved to be our downfall on Saturday.
If you've been anywhere close to us while we try to take Babe for a walk, you know that in the beginning of any walk, the dog has about as much brains as a slug. She pulls. She tugs. She chokes herself by straining out to the end of the leash. She routinely yanks our arms out of socket with her 47 pounds of solid muscle.
In summary, she does NOT loose-leash walk. At least not for the first 5 or 10 minutes and not before we have to correct her, oh, eleventy-hundred times.
Anyway, we're in Petsmart at class on Saturday and now we have to demonstrate the dreaded loose-leash walking. Or, in our case, the lack of it. But the trainers tell us how to correct her when she pulls - change directions quick so she always has to be following behind us to catch up. (Oy, did I just give away a patented Petsmart training secret?)
So, off Babe and I go down one of the aisles. We start out great. But, oops, we get closer to the end of the aisle and eager to see what's ahead, Babe darts ahead. I turn around and head the other way. She follows. Great! She's actually walking with a loose leash! Woo hoo. Oh crap! We're at the other end now and she's pulling ahead. I turn, and off we go again with a loose leash. Now it's loose even at the end of the aisle and with a "Babe, this way" I signal her that we are going to turn. And we do! Success! The leash is loose and we are walking baby! The trainer is full of praise and .... wait.
The leash is getting taut.
But Babe is behind me.
What is she doing?
Oh no! She's squatting. My dog is about to pee in Petsmart.
Wait! That's not a squat. That's a hunch!
My hunched over dog is dropping a log in the middle of the aisle at Petsmart.
It's ok, I tell myself. Dogs do this all the time. That's why there are clean up stations here.
She's done, but wait. She's still trying to hunch over.
And then I see it. The Klingon. Circling Uranus. Yup, because my stupid dog can't ever stop eating grass, there's a grassy wad of poop, complete with about a six-inch long streamer of grass, hanging out of her ass.
Babe, confronted with this situation, did what she always does. She sat down and scooted her butt across the floor. Note to Babe: This works MUCH better when you are OUTSIDE. Not so much on smooth tile flooring.
Great! Now my dog has not only crapped at Petsmart, but she's also ass-painted poop streaks on the floor. AND the wad of grassy poop is STILL stuck in her butt.
Mark comes to the rescue with a paper towel and pulls it out. Yeah, I've been there too. It's gross. Even when you aren't the one who has to do it. So, I figure we are free of the grassy wad of poop and are good to go.
And we were. Or at least Babe was. And I'm not talking about walking. I'm taking about pee. Which she did next. A HUUUUUGE puddle's worth.
By this point, people are not just avoiding the aisle we are in. They are running for cover. People with those tiny little dust-mop dogs are picking them up and cradling them lest they are befouled by my dog.
Babe looked at me with a combination of "oh crap, I know I wasn't supposed to do that" with a healthy side of "I couldn't help it" so it was hard to be mad at her. She looked embarrassed enough for the both of us. For the three of us actually.
Class broke for 10 minutes while we cleaned up the fiasco in aisle 32. Then we walked Babe back to the training ring to finish class.
And damned if the leash wasn't loose!
We bought her ice cream on the way home.
Turns out, my fears on that point were unfounded. Aside from the loose-leash walking, it was all stuff we've worked on with her from day one and she's pretty much mastered.
But..... (you knew there was a but, right?)
It was the loose-leash walking that proved to be our downfall on Saturday.
If you've been anywhere close to us while we try to take Babe for a walk, you know that in the beginning of any walk, the dog has about as much brains as a slug. She pulls. She tugs. She chokes herself by straining out to the end of the leash. She routinely yanks our arms out of socket with her 47 pounds of solid muscle.
In summary, she does NOT loose-leash walk. At least not for the first 5 or 10 minutes and not before we have to correct her, oh, eleventy-hundred times.
Anyway, we're in Petsmart at class on Saturday and now we have to demonstrate the dreaded loose-leash walking. Or, in our case, the lack of it. But the trainers tell us how to correct her when she pulls - change directions quick so she always has to be following behind us to catch up. (Oy, did I just give away a patented Petsmart training secret?)
So, off Babe and I go down one of the aisles. We start out great. But, oops, we get closer to the end of the aisle and eager to see what's ahead, Babe darts ahead. I turn around and head the other way. She follows. Great! She's actually walking with a loose leash! Woo hoo. Oh crap! We're at the other end now and she's pulling ahead. I turn, and off we go again with a loose leash. Now it's loose even at the end of the aisle and with a "Babe, this way" I signal her that we are going to turn. And we do! Success! The leash is loose and we are walking baby! The trainer is full of praise and .... wait.
The leash is getting taut.
But Babe is behind me.
What is she doing?
Oh no! She's squatting. My dog is about to pee in Petsmart.
Wait! That's not a squat. That's a hunch!
My hunched over dog is dropping a log in the middle of the aisle at Petsmart.
It's ok, I tell myself. Dogs do this all the time. That's why there are clean up stations here.
She's done, but wait. She's still trying to hunch over.
And then I see it. The Klingon. Circling Uranus. Yup, because my stupid dog can't ever stop eating grass, there's a grassy wad of poop, complete with about a six-inch long streamer of grass, hanging out of her ass.
Babe, confronted with this situation, did what she always does. She sat down and scooted her butt across the floor. Note to Babe: This works MUCH better when you are OUTSIDE. Not so much on smooth tile flooring.
Great! Now my dog has not only crapped at Petsmart, but she's also ass-painted poop streaks on the floor. AND the wad of grassy poop is STILL stuck in her butt.
Mark comes to the rescue with a paper towel and pulls it out. Yeah, I've been there too. It's gross. Even when you aren't the one who has to do it. So, I figure we are free of the grassy wad of poop and are good to go.
And we were. Or at least Babe was. And I'm not talking about walking. I'm taking about pee. Which she did next. A HUUUUUGE puddle's worth.
By this point, people are not just avoiding the aisle we are in. They are running for cover. People with those tiny little dust-mop dogs are picking them up and cradling them lest they are befouled by my dog.
Babe looked at me with a combination of "oh crap, I know I wasn't supposed to do that" with a healthy side of "I couldn't help it" so it was hard to be mad at her. She looked embarrassed enough for the both of us. For the three of us actually.
Class broke for 10 minutes while we cleaned up the fiasco in aisle 32. Then we walked Babe back to the training ring to finish class.
And damned if the leash wasn't loose!
We bought her ice cream on the way home.