Some of you may remember me writing in about my poorly behaved dog. Well, we have been doing some real consistent training that is really paying off. However, my dog has one really bad habit left I cannot figure out how to train out of him - when I let him in the house or call him to "come" he runs really fast. Being a large dog, he tends to knock over everyone and everything in the process. Anyone out there have any suggestions for training a dog to walk slowly?

-- Tiffani (cappello@alltel.net), December 17, 2001

Answers

Tie a 30 ft rope to your dogs collar,run the rope thru a stationary object, then you take the other end of it.. Have your dog sit by the stationary object. Go about 15 ft out, call your dog while holding the rope, if your pulling on the rope from behind, he can run forward to you. All the time tell him easy or walk... If this doesnt work, then walk him on a lead, as your walking tell him to WALK...as your walking by him... HOpe this helps

-- Ginny D (yehagirl@rockinredranch.com), December 17, 2001.

I would want my come to have a fast response, so I would pick a different word that meant to walk (such as slow, careful, etc). I would have him on a leash, as like out for a walk, and run with him (make it real fun) then tell him slow and proceed to start walking. You can make it like a game if you want to. He is probably just real excited and with large dogs most are not real aware of anything that extends behind his nose. You can also do things to make him more aware of his body, such as they do with horses. Putting boards on the ground in straight lines, or a ladder to walk through the rungs, slowly while on leash, putting the boards in a circle like a wagon wheel and walking through them, etc. Good luck. Glad to hear you are making progress.

-- Leslie in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), December 17, 2001.

The best way to do it is to give a second command "sit" .My dogs are trained to come running and sit {almost on my feet} .It will take a little time but will be worth it .Make a big fuss whenever he listens and comes even if he knocks you down .When he almost reaches you give the command sit .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), December 18, 2001.

I've trained my dog to "drop" (lay down) on command, no matter where she is or what she's doing. This can save a dog's life if it is about to dash across a street in front of a car. When training her, I let her get some distance out, then call her. She comes running. I say, "Drop!" and she does within a step or two. Then I call again, and repeat. Pretty soon, when I call her again, she's moving pretty slowly, anticipating the next "drop" command.

I'd bet that if your dog appears to be about to bowl someone over, and you can tell it to "drop," the dog WILL slow down. In fact, you could train it by initially calling it, saying "Come slowly" or some such command, and when it gets going too fast, telling it to drop, then calling it again with the slow command, and repeating until the dog gets the idea that the fastest way to get to you when you give it that particular command is by moving slowly. Hope this helps.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), December 18, 2001.

Hiya,

The very best book of all dog training books (In my not quite humble opinion) is probobly available at your local library. The Monks of New Skeet, HOW TO BE YOUR DOG'S BEST FRIEND. Covers all aspects of traing and dog psycology. Tought my chow/lab mix to sit at the door, and wait until I come inside, then release her. In she comes, and sits again until I release her again. AAaaghhhhh, way better than picking up bags of groceries and crying toddlers. They really understand dogs, and can really really help.

-- Marty in KS (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), December 18, 2001.