Holidays. Research time

[Shamas mom]

We've got a weekend off soon, and plan to go to Niagara Falls. My teen has only seen it as a small chiild and I've not been since Air Cadets, when I was their age.

So I'm trying to find a pet friendly hotel, preferably a large room with two beds, so we can all bunk together and play games at nights.

I'm a little afraid of bedbugs....I know that hotels are a common place you can pick those up.....but some of my research indicates that any hotel worth their salt has a company on hand, and a management plan in place to avoid infestations if they get a guest bring them in. Plus, we don't have luggage, so we'll keep pretty much anything we don't need in the room...in the car. (infestation survivor here, so paranoid of future events...it's VERY expensive to clear them)

WE plan to take Trixie's pen....though I might invest in an actual crate. I notice the pen seems...narrow. I usually have the KONG crate inside the pen....so she's used to sleeping in that now. If I had room in the car, I would bring that...but I'm not sure I'd fit it in the trunk. It's an airline crate. The wire crate I have is only a 32', and while both dogs can get in it, and shamas often takes a bone in there...I'm not sure I'd want to lock Trixie in it and walk out. It's a tad cramped. It's just enough room to walk in and turn around. If Trixie tries to sit, she's all hunched over. Standing, it's only 2" higher than her whithers.

I THINK Trixie's old enough to go on holiday. I mean...I wouldn't leave her unsupervised in a hotel room...but she shouldn't cause issues past that.


So now I'm searching for a hotel, and dog friendly destinations. We plan on 1-2 days...depending on what we find to do that we can include the dogs in

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Have a look at holiday rentals too (Airbnb, VBRO, any local-specific sites) because speaking from long experience, it's much easier to manage a dog in a place with a little more space and proper clean up facilities (kitchen, washer, etc.) Usually a lot cheaper too as hotels can charge a ton for a dog and often have breed/weight/number of dogs limits. If you're only staying two nights it may not be worth it - you'd spend nearly as much time cleaning before you left as actually being there, but for 3+ nights, it's definitely worth looking in to.

Hope you have fun and try not to worry too much about the bed bug thing!

 

[Shamas mom]

It went really well.

We didn't do as much as we'd have liked, because much of what's up there is either not dog friendly or is closed for the season.


The 2-3 hour drive took four, due to frequent stopping to let dogs out to stretch legs and pee. We also ate in a plaza that looked like one we left in our town. Loving that corporate spread.

At the falls, Trixie went in full gear, and was VERY good. Someone asked to pet, and we told them they could pet Shamas, but Trixie was working.

i'm trying to teach her on the Martingale, but as I refuse to use it tight enough to be aversive, she's having a little trouble catching on...I think it's all the fluffy fur on her neck....she's not sensitive on her neck. So I've been resorting to Halti so she can "hear" me before she reaches the end of her leash and doesn't get that "correction" when I stop walking.

I'm using terms in quotations, because I'm a little unsure if they apply. But I feel like collar walking a dog who seems deaf to communication through the leash is more brute strength than I like. I'd prefer to find a tool that lets me use a light touch, and reward the listening. Halti does that, but I don't want to rely on it. I don't want a repeat of Angel, who can't be walked without her nose-piece...or heaven forbid, a dog, who is incapable of walking on a flat collar :/

 

[Shamas mom]

(continued, as I had to run mid-post)

At the falls, Trixie and Shamas behaved beautifully. I was unable to get photos, as I was on dog-duty but the others did so I'm relying on them to put those on my Pc for me. Trixie for the most part stayed close, and didn't solicit attention. Nor did she do much aside from sniff. She mostly looked around in awe. I let her do that...she's only a puppy



I'm VERY impressed with both dogs, and I think this was an amazing socilisation experience for them. We're talking about what we should do for our next road trip.

 

[Beanwood]

i'm trying to teach her on the Martingale, but as I refuse to use it tight enough to be aversive, she's having a little trouble catching on...I think it's all the fluffy fur on her neck....she's not sensitive on her neck. So I've been resorting to Halti so she can "hear" me before she reaches the end of her leash and doesn't get that "correction" when I stop walking.

To teach loose lead walking, you need to help Trixie understand the position you want her to be in.. by your side. If you are using any form of pressure, via corrections, then please be mindful that this is not a recommended training technique for the forum.

 

[Shamas mom]

To teach loose lead walking, you need to help Trixie understand the position you want her to be in.. by your side. If you are using any form of pressure, via corrections, then please be mindful that this is not a recommended training technique for the forum.

Pressure, and correction are what I'm trying to avoid. That's why I'm looking for a tool that lets her feel the lead. That's why I put "correction" into quotations. Because I'm not issuing them(though I'd assume that if she's throwing 53lbs at her neck, and I'm not moving...it's bound to be corrective/aversive). I merely stop walking when she gets ahead of me, saying "ah" and wait for her attention. Once I have it, we reset back to position and start again.

I'm looking for a tool that lets her feel me as I move, like Shamas does. I barely twitch Shamas lead and he knows what I'm telling him. leash lowered towards his back is "sit" left and right to give directions. up and loose, "I'm turning into you" I hang the chain links on his left side under his ear, right under where I am holding the lead.

Trixie is learning well, but gets excited. Unfortunately, she sees harnesses as aversive. Clipping a lead on her harness stresses her out. You can see that in how she stops to shake-off frequently. So I'm looking ideally for a collar she can feel through the thick fur on her neck. Slip is out of the question, as she's too young and unpredictable. So in my mind, loose-fitted Martingale for training and Halti for short-term control seemed to make sense.

I use the Martingale backwards. Rather than fitting it tight, and having it uncomfortable on the dog if they pull, I fit it the same as a normal collar at the tightest. Then, as the dog walks loose, the collar sits loose, like a necklace. Walking like this, any movement of the leash can be heard as a sound on the chain links swaying, and the dog can pick up on my movements without me moving more than a twitch at the wrist. I can guide my dogs without pulling, or choking.If they pull, I play tree until they return to my side(Trixie's a pro at returning to side lol). If they get stubborn at a sniffing point, I can jiggle the lead, and they move along without applying leash pressure to move. I trained Shamas this way, and he walked beautifully(dogs notwithstanding) beside me.

I like the wide collar over the Halti...so I'm really working to teach Trixie to walk nicely on her collar. We never leave the house without a full treat bag, so I can reward checking in. And we're starting to do "focus" any time we see other dogs.

I need to look in clicker training again...I tried it with Shamas but was bad at it. I thought it might help Trixie's training along if I could snapshot her good behavior