[NAGDU] Question about walking the [other] dog

[Danielle Sykora]

I walk both my guide and my pet together, and here are some suggestions. Work with the puppy on her own first to teach how to walk on a loose leash. Whenever she pulls, stop walking and do not move again until the leash is loose. If she is particularly insistant on going forward, turn around and start walking in the other direction. If she is food motivated, you can treat or click and treat when she is walking by your side. She doesn't get the reward of going forward unless she is not pulling. 
You can also try using a headcollar with her to help with training and management. Just putting the headcollar on won't magically stop her from pulling, but it will limit how hard she can pull and act as a reminder to control her pull once she starts to get the idea. Remember to desensitize her to the headcollar before putting it on her for a long walk. You can start her loose leash training in your house or backyard, if you would find it easier at first to have both hands free. 
When I walk my two dogs together, my guide is on my left and my pet is on the right. My pet dog walks with a light pull with her shoulders next to my leg, rather than on a completely loose leash with her head aligned with my leg like in a traditional heel. She's a released guide dog candidate, so this is how she was originally trained to walk. She sometimes needs to wear a prong because she has always struggled with pulling too hard, but I would definitely recommend trying a headcollar first before a prong.
If possible, walk the dogs together in an area that isn't highly distracting for either one of them, and isn't really challenging for your guide to work. 
Good luck,
Danielle and Thai   

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 17, 2018, at 12:24 PM, Matt Hackert via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good morning, fellow dog guide users,
> I have a question, not pertaining so much to guide dogs as it pertains to non-visual work with pets. I have my Seeing Eye dog Igloo, and his performance is great. But our family adopted an additional member over the summer, a rescue dog, most likely a Dane-Mastiff mix, but we don't know for sure. Anyway, she's definitely high energy, and is experiencing cabin fever, evidenced by the fact that she is frequently finding her way out of the fence.
> 
> Here's my question: does anybody have suggestions for a safe way to walk the dog, which is not a guide? I have no sight or light perception, so it would either have to be both dogs, or the puppy and a cane. She's strong though, and not totally accustomed to loose leash walking yet, and I could easily imagine a situation where I could lose my grip on her and/or my cane.
> 
> Thoughts/suggestions?
> 
> Much appreciated,
> Matt
> 
> E-mail me @ matt.hackert at gmail.com
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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