One of the first things I learned at puppy training was a good 'sit/stay' or 'wait' as it could save your dogs life and it's something I have never forgotten and always worked hard on and today it came in very useful. Hattie and I were on our walk when we come to a bank leading down to a track, this track is rarely used only by the odd tractor, in the 8 years I have been walking there I have hardly encountered any vehicles, today however was different. I always ask Hattie to sit/stay on the bank whilst I walk up the track to make sure all is clear, I turned round to call Hattie in when heading up the track was a Land Rover about 20 meters away from her. Hattie didn't break her focus on me and didn't move a muscle until I called her in. Things could have been very different if this had not been trained and Hattie had ran down the bank straight infront of the Land Rover. I just wanted to share as I think it's so important to train. Thanks xx
Good girl, Hattie. Not as dramatic as your encounter, but there's a bank I walk down most days towards the end of a dead-end road. I can see whether there's any traffic coming from a way away, and it's always going slowly, anyhow, because it's a narrow dead-end, but because the bank can be very slippery, I always put the dogs in a sit/stay at the top before I walk/slide down it. However quiet, I wouldn't be happy sending the dogs in front of me, and I don't want them walking with me in case I fall on them (it's very steep, uneven and slippy!), so the sit/stay is very useful for that. They have to stay, regardless of me waving my arms around as I try to keep my balance, or even if I fall on my bum. It's a good training exercise
Good girl Hattie. My application is a bit different. There are a couple of small hills I cross country ski down and it's safer if I go down first. The trail is narrow and there is no room for me to move sideways. I don't want a dog to trip me and hurt us both if I fall on them.
There are, despite appearances, just a few things that Pongo does do quite well. One is a "wait" when the car door opens. For the first year of his young life, he would leave the car like a rocket at a cruising altitude of three feet as soon as the door was open a crack. Really dangerous even where we live - there aren't many cars but there are a few, and I could just see him disappearing under the wheels. So we worked on "wait" and I'm pleased to say that 99 times out of 100 he behaves really well. (Of course, the other members of the Severnside Walkies pack might not back me up on this....his behaviour when surrounded by his ultra-exciting-surrogate-pack always leaves a lot to be desired.... )
