On the leash

Maya has advanced from puppy class to obedience train. She was six month old on Saturday, the same day we began training. As usual, though, the training was more about training the owners than the dogs. Our first class was about holding the leash. Yeah, the leash.

Okay, it makes sense and I find I was intuitively holding the leash similarly to what the trainer said, the thumb through the loop and create another loop by gripping the leash higher up and for extra control holding the leash midway toward the dog with the other hand. And we learned how to lock up the leash by wrapping it once again around the same thumb. It sound complicated but isn’t really.

Anyway, the idea is always have control of the dog and lead it without having to be rough with her or jerking her. The training’s golden rule is timing, patience and consistency. This is consistency, getting the dog used to the leash and the guidance of it. As long as she is walking in the direction you want her to, basically with you, the leash is loose without pressure on her, but when she deviates from the direction she’s suppose to go, the pressure of the leash locking up should guide her to move in the direction of least resistance.

Patience and consistency. I’ve never been that great at that with my daughters. Now I have to get it right with Maya? I was thinking as I walked her tonight now my treatment of Maya sometime reflects my parenting skills: well intentioned but often overbearing.