[nagdu] Tips For Slowing Down

[Suzy Wilson]

I also had a lot of trouble with Dodie walking too fast in the beginning. I am only 4 ft 7 tall and she could really pull me. I will share what my trainer has taught me and what we have done that has really helped.
When I was in guide dog school, we were taught first of all when the dog was walking too fast, we were supposed to give a leash correction with the command "Easy!". If that didn't help, then we were taught to do something that they called the "shotgun" which some of you are already familiar with, where you quickly push down on the harness and pull back. After I got home with Dodie I was still having "speed walking" issues so one of the trainers came to my home for a training session and brought a pinch collar. Apparently either Dodie has a really thick neck or the choke chain she had been wearing all this time was slightly too small for the corrections to be effective. So my trainer put this metal pinch collar on Dodie, it has spikes on it but is not meant to be cruel or painful -on the contrary between her thick neck and my stature with lack of upper body strength, it made the corrections much easier to give and less noticeable by the average bystander and more effective with Dodie's behavior. After only a couple of corrections with the pinch collar, it made such a huge difference with Dodie's walking speed that by the end of the route I had tears in my eyes because it was the first "leisurely" walk I had ever been able to take with Dodie. Sorry for the long story, but I hope something that I mentioned helps.
Suzy Wilson & Dodie