[NAGDU] collars and getting a dog's attention

[Lisa Belville]

Hi, Dan.


There is a kind of collar with stainless steel links that are large and 
loosely woven together.  I want to say this is called a fur saver 
collar, but I could be wrong.  I know you and I got our dogs at GDA a 
few years apart, but we may have the same type of collar.  the collar 
Paige has is one of the stainless steel ones with small, tightly woven 
links.  Paige's neck fur isn't thinning, but it does get mashed down and 
even after a good zoom groom and Furminator session her fur is still not 
as smooth or fluffy as the rest of her body.  I'm not sure if these 
collars can be used with or adapted to be martingale collars, but I am 
just throwing the idea out there.  She could try a search for Fur Saver 
Collar on Amazon. . . They have numerous sites for just about every 
country out there.


As far as dealing with distractions, I think knowing when your dog is 
getting distracted as early as possible helps keep things from 
escalating.  I rarely need to use a leash correction with Paige except 
when she decides to vaperlock her nose to a particularly interesting 
phone poll or that particularly fascinating spot of grass in front of 
her groomer.


Being proactive also helps, assuming your friend knows her dog and what 
really distracts it.  I know Paige gets sidetracked by people at her 
level.  She's a tall dog with that long Golden neck, so navigating tight 
crowded places like busy restaurants is a sure distraction for her.  I 
try to hold her collar as close to her neck as possible while using the 
harness as normal in my left hand.  Paige is very person-motivated and 
can't seem to understand that not everyone is in love with her Golden 
Lab cross awesomeness.  Oh, who am I kidding. . . They are, and that's 
the problem.  <sigh>  Working a dog with two hands isn't always my first 
choice, but I figure that keeping her on task is worth the inconvenience.


I also use the phrases Leave it or Hop up if I can sense she's not 
focused or seems to veer off of the straight line.  This is usually a 
subtle movement, so even if I'm not positive she's zoning out, I'll use 
those phrases to keep her from completely losing touch with reality.


Lisa Belville

missktlab1217 at frontier.com

On 1/9/2019 11:48 AM, Dan Weiner via NAGDU wrote:
> Hello and happy new year to all.
>
> Dan here with the Parker nut, I mean dog--smile.
>
> Well I'm asking for a friend who lives in Europe, she has a guide dog 
> and uses a martingale collar.  Her dog's fur seems to be thinning 
> under the collar or changing color, so she's wondering if there are 
> any other collars  that might be recommendable and what people use here.
>
> Also she's curious, what command  word, or method  we use to get our 
> dog's attention back on the handler,  when   there is a distraction.  
> . I know what I answered her on both accounts but I'll not influence 
> anyone with my answers--smile I'll just collect the data and tell her 
> and hopefully I can get her to write herself at some point...
>
>  I'm just the messenger--smile
>
>
> Cordially,
>
> Dan from Florida
>
>
>
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