I finally took Kody and Mya on their walk TOGETHER on the trail near the MetroRail train last night and guess what? He was fine with the train passing! Looked up a little scared (I ignored that and kept going like nothing), but he didn't sit and refuse to walk at any point. I think Mya being there makes him feel more comfortable or something

Still had the craziness prior to leaving the house though and got semi dragged down the street for the first few minutes..lol. Oh, and saw a group of cats right before getting home. That was NOT EASY!!! Geez I think Kody pulls more than Mya now when he sees small animals! Trying holding those 2 after running 3 1/2 miles and doing lunges. HA! Think I'm sore today!!?! LOL!

Way to go guys!

arooroomom wrote:

Way to go guys!

Just a little progess, but it's something! Ivan came with me to walk them today and it took 15min of us telling them to "sit & wait" before they calmed down and we could leave the house. Well before Kody calmed down I should say. Mya after a few minutes sat by me and only complained a few times, but Kody...geez...going bonkers!

Baby steps, Melissa. As you guys practice the waiting for calm more and more, the wait for Kody to settle should get shorter and shorter. Can't expect instant results but with time, patience and practice you'll get there.

I know, I just get frustrated =\ I must say that Mya has shown improvement. Didn't attack him while he was going nuts...even when he jumped on her complaining. I think she's getting it and he'll learn from her...I hope! LOL!

Aww, he will get it eventually. Just gotta give him time, he'll learn.

Finally, I was able to leave the house with them without hubby's help!!! YAYY!!! Given that I walked them alone around the block once, came home, let them hang out for a few, and then headed out with both of them! Little drama, but not even close to the usual!

Awesome guys!

Kody looks SO MUCH like Cheyenne from the back!

You would think walking 2 together wouldn't be such a hassle compared to your FOUR! LOL! I saw the video of you walking them and I was like OMG, they are so good and controlled

Kody's everything looks like Cheyenne...LOL! They're too cute!!!

Yay! I got home from work and started leashing them up and it went pretty smooth. No walking each one individually before the "together walk" and no help from hubby either! Was a bit of a process to lock the door, but after a minute they sat and waited for me to do so.

WOOOHOOO!!

Go melissa!!!

The door locking get better in time

That is so GREAT!

And it took 4 years to get these 4 walking nice! One at a time!

Woohoo! Excellent progress so far!

This morning didn't go so smooth! I mean it wasn't horrible, but Kody did throw a crying like they're killing him tantrum while leashing them up. Didn't last too long and we were able to leave, but I could NOT lock the door behind me. Hubby was home so it's ok, but when he's not i need to lock the door!

Another obstacle that I ran into....picking up their poop! That was a process because I can't hold them both with one hand. I had to bend down and do it with the hand that I was holding Mya with and that was not easy! LOL

Other than that...yes...definitely making progress...woohooo!!!

Are you still using the prong collar to walk them on? You may want to get a walking belt Melissa, you can still hold the leashes with your hands... but for those times you need a free hand, it's there! We're getting ours soon.

Yep, still have the prong collar. Unfortunately I can't walk them without them I should look into walking belt for times that I do need a free hand, but I don't know about actually walking them on it. I'm afraid that they'll pull and take me down! LOL

Yeah, that's why I said you can still hold onto them by their leashes while walking but if you need a hand, the walking belt can at least hold one (or both!) while you scoop LOL or lock the door.

How are they wearing the prongs Melissa? They really shouldn't be able to pull at all really if they're on right.

http://leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

And totally OT but that leerburg kennel breeds GSD's and a year or 2 ago on craigslist someone was rehoming a GSD from that kennel. I wanted it sooooo bad. lol K back on topic!

arooroomom wrote:

They really shouldn't be able to pull at all really if they're on right.

thats a good link and confirms that i have jacks in the right place but man if he sees something he wants he pulls hard still even with the prongs engaged. wonder if it has to do with the think fur and skin the huskies have....

Melissa do you have a lock on the inside of the door on the handle you can pre lock and not need the key for? thats what we do for walks i don't lock the dead bolt and i can turn the lock from the inside so when i close the door the handle lock is locked and no key needed till we get back.

Hmmm, it's high up, but not that high because it's not too tight on Kody and won't stay. I've tried taking off one of the prongs, but then I think it's too tight Regardless, it does help with the pulling though. On a harness or regular collar he pulls 80% more!

Jenn, Mya will pull hard also when she sees something (even with it in place) like if nothing is happening. It must be that though husky coat!

Oh, and nope I don't have a lock on the inside door handle

Have you considered getting a trainer to help with some tips? I know usually people looking in from the outside and providing help is really helpful. We had a lot of owners at my work who had the worst time with walking their dogs! And even with just the staff correcting their walking and everything, they got so much better.. and at home training with our trainer usually was a huge improvement as long as the parents kept up with it!

Oops Heather, I didn't see your reply until now. I've really wanted to get a trainer, but unfortunately we can't afford it right now. We're in the process (hopefully) of getting a new SUV and saving as much money as we can to eventually buy a house (not anytime soon, but we need to start somewhere). RIGHT NOW i REALLY NEED ONE THOUGH!

I don't know what's happened the past 2 days, but wow Kody has been back to crazy before leaving the house again. It's not too bad in the mornings, but the evenings he goes bonkers. Mya is better as far as not attacking him and she sits by the door. Still jumps, but eventually she gets that she needs to sit before leaving.

Took me 15min to leave the house this evening! To then get soaking wet in a major thunderstorm that appeared outta nowhere! We were 15min away from the house and had to walk home in the pouring rain! I don't care about me, but they were soaked!

First let me say that after Mya COMPLETELY stops jumping we ummm...MUST replace that door! No point in trying now when she's just going to continue messing it up

Well here is video of us before our walk today. Please don't mind my very stylish attire I got home from work, put on sneakers, and was ready to go.

They are STILL crazy, but I'd like to think that it's a tiny bit "better" what do you guys think? After we left the house ...they were kinda dragging me so I had to make them "sit and wait" for a minute and then we were fine. I keep reminding myself that patience and consistency will work!!!! It's just real hard to remain calm!

Mel... THAT IS SO MUCH BETTER! You are crazy if you think it's not a SIGNIFICANT improvement!

My advice would be to use your body to block the door. We have a lot of dogs at work who go flat out nuts when they see their parents at the end of the day. Sometimes we can't even collar them. So i'll stand in front of them and block the view so they can't see their owners. It makes a huge difference. I think blocking the view and access to the door would really help with Mya and her jumping. She is in a trance looking at that door, you've gotta break it so you can get through to her brain. Claim that door girl!

Yeah, you're right. I just watched the first video and yep definitely better! I do the body blocking with Mya, but sometimes it doesn't work because I have to leash up Kody also, but she does listen and sit down when I'm doing it so I think that's helped a bit even when I'm not blocking it. Sometimes it's a little worse than yesterday because they had just been playing in the yard so were a little tired.

Taking them again now for a short walk before I go run some errands so let's see how this goes!