Please, try it out ... please, please

After getting "rope burn" several times when Marley's leash was slipping through my hand as he tried desperately to get to a new person or new dog ... we bought a new one.  This one is a nicer material, less likely to slip and with clips and rings at various places on its length so you can do a number of things with it.

As I was reading the packaging, and checking out the clips and rings, Marley sat in front of me and practically begged to try it out!  I can j-u-s-t buckle one of the clips to one of the rings to go around my waist.  As soon as we were both buckled in it was clear he wanted to do some "loose leash walking" practice.  With no food rewards we walked around the living room, hall & kitchen for a few minutes with him performing almost flawlessly.

In this exercise he is to stay close enough the leash has no tension, preferably just behind my left knee.  If I stop he is to stop and sit just behind my left knee.  This is the position we want when greeting people (long ways to go on that one), to be ready for the next command, or to finish our session.

We're working on getting him to perform like that outside the house (which, this time of year, means outside the fenced yard), and public places.  It's going to take lots and lots of practice.  We also need lots of "volunteers" who can help him learn that he gets "loving" if he sits and nothing if he's too excited.  We can't really do too much of that between the two of us.  Luckily, many people are more than willing to pet him.  Unluckily, most of them are also more than willing to forgive his rowdiness because he's still a puppy.

I'll leave you with a photo taken last night ...