You can walk your dog on whichever side works best for you. I walk facing traffic (as I'm supposed to) and I want me between cars and my dog. If you want to compete in obedience, maybe Rally too, usually heeling is done on the left in N. America. But if a handler has a reason for heeling on the right then that is usually accommodated. It might be harder to train as courses, especially in Rally, are set up for the majority who heel left. And if you go on to higher levels in CARO Rally you need to heel on both sides. My dog does actually HEEL (left) and SIDE (right). I use SIDE when I ride my bike as then I am supposed to be on the same side as car traffic. Oh, forgot, we only did field work for a short while but had to heel both sides for it as well.
So excited for you!! When we started we didn't bother what side Harley was on, keeping her attention in class was more of a challenge. Now I have started consistently walking her on the left, it is the easier side for me. But we were told in training that if we want to compete then we should teach walk on the left. I don't want to compete but it is just a good side for me. In a very high pitched voice I say "quickly peepee, quickly quickly". Harley is very good about weeing on command, and will squeeze out a few drops just to please if she doesn't need to wee. Recall was my biggest worry as I was panicking that Harley would run away and come to harm. So I agree with everyone on off lead and recall. I bought the Total Recall book and it is awesome. Harley isn't highly food motivated so finding the high value treat was a challenge. Turns out madam really likes braised ostrich and peices of cheese. So finding that treat that will beat almost anything they have became very valuable for me. Also for class. But, she only started really paying attention to her treats once she was about 6 months old. Before that she was all other puppies, people and play focussed. Good luck and enjoy Rosie?
I recommend being prepared by booking sessions of psychotherapy, full body massages, good friends dropping in, chocolate, your favourite tipple, a flippin good sense of humour, endless reserves of patience and an acceptance that whatever happens, it will all get better.
We got our pup when he was older, but bite inhibition and "wait" were really important right away. As were name recognition and recall. Personally, I think a good way to engage children or unfocused spouses (I have one of those!) is to encourage them to train "fun" tricks such as "play dead" (which is also great for tick checks) or "shake". Training these tricks allows them to learn how to train/practice clicking and connect with the puppy, but can feel more fun. We have 3 adults in our home, but I'm the only person who actually teaches commands, so we have a cheat sheet on the fridge with the commands and what they mean to encourage consistency. Some stuff is much harder to push - particularly ignoring jumping or nipping. I use "go potty" for peeing and, in theory, "make a pile" for pooing... But haven't really followed through with properly training "make a pile".
Thank you Snowshoe. We won't be competing, well, maybe an occasional dog costume competition. Competing seemed like a great idea when we began talking about getting a lab, but now that we're days away from getting our pup, i'm concerned she may never learn to potty train correctly. So, baby steps for now. :0) I think we will teach her to walk on both sides.
I'm dying with the "make a pile" command! I just read a chapter on training that suggested the same thing with involving the kids. A first game they suggest is Puppy Ping-Pong - 2 people take turns with calling/rewarding and ignoring. Kids can learn to recall puppy at short distances and pup eventually graduates to come with sit on arrival. I will definitely be posting a list of commands! love that idea. I struggle with wanting a well mannered dog who never jumps on people, walks without pulling, knows 20 tricks and having a dog who cant control her joy when we walk in the door, pulls to meet other dogs/strangers, and never grows out of some puppy behaviors. Does that make sense? I must be nuts!
Whilst this is true for obedience-type competition, it doesn't mean you shouldn't teach walking on the other side, too. And, if you're competing for agility, it actually helps if your dog know how to work both sides. When we had our first taste of agility, it was difficult to get the dogs to do anything off our right sides, because they had such a long history of rewards coming from the left
