[NAGDU] pace and pull

[Jean Menzies]

Hello all. 

I have been home with a new guide for three months now. This dog has some wonderful traits, but so far we have had to have a home visit to work on inconsistency. I won’t go into those details, except to say that I am now taking him back to kindergarden and using food reward and praise at every curb and whenever he responds positively to what I ask. After things appear solid, I will be slowly decreasing food reward and hoping that consistency stays. 

I mention that only to say that I am working on that first and foremost. However, once that is fixed, and I hope it will be fixable, then I need to work on pull at slower speeds. 

My normal pace when things are clear is fast. I like a nice solid pull, and this dog does well at both pace and pull at faster speeds. When streets are busier, though, with pedestrians, shop doors possibly opening, etc., his pace is much slower. I accept that the slower pace is appropriate for those situations, but the problem I have is that when he walks slow, there is absolutely no pull in harness. I feel like a ship without a sail, and it takes a great deal of concentration to feel his movements and even sometimes trust that he is working. The lack of pull at such slow pace makes me feel vulnerable. 

For those who have trained their own dogs or worked with this kind of issue before, how can I increase his pull at slower speeds? I understand pull can be taut to some degree. Note that he also has some body sensativity, and when I add a slight back pressure either on purpose or accidentally at slow paces, he might just stop or maybe side-step left. He has no problem with pull at faster speeds or when he decides to pull. 

Ultimately, if the bigger inconsistency problem resolves and I am able to back off on food rewards, I then need to work on pull at slower paces if I can. Does anyone have ideas on how to do this? One thing at a time, but I’m wanting to have a bit of a plan going forward. 

Jean and Boomer