I'm Alive, I Promise!

Sorry I have been M.I.A. the last few days! Getting settled in and working on getting re-certified to substitute in Michigan has taken up a great deal of my time. (Also, I was VERY behind on my TV shows so thanks to finally getting Wi-Fi along with Hulu Plus I was able to get caught up this weekend.)  Now that I'm all up to speed pop culturally, it's about time for a blog update.

Jesse and I (but mostly Jesse) were able to get Jack's runner set up in the backyard over the weekend. He is still struggling (Jack, that is) with how to occasionally untangle himself, but we're working on it.

The major problem that led to the runner was having to use the leash every time he needed to go out.  Jack, at over 80 lbs. by now, is very strong.  That being said, he is still only 9 months old and still as "SQUIRREL!" as ever when it comes to pedestrians, birds, runaway trash, etc. Don't get me wrong, Jack is really well-trained, about 95% of the time off leash he is completely obedient, but it only takes that 5% to make me nervous. SO when out on the leash, if he has a "SQUIRREL!" moment, he will nearly dislocate the shoulder of whomever is unlucky enough to be on the other end of the leash. Runner = shoulder saver.

On the other hand, we knew we really needed to leash train Jack.  In Orrington, we were able to walk him off leash which made him a great listener in that regard, but the minute you put a leash on him it's an immediate game of tug-of-war.  We had talked about getting a leader for him when he was a lot younger, but we never came around to it.  A leader is a collar that has a rope (for lack of a better term) around it that lays across the top of his snout.  The other side of the rope has a loop that attaches to the leash.  When the dog pulls, the rope mechanism will gently pull their head down.

This weekend we picked one up at the local pet store and tried it on him.  At first, he went completely nuts.  He was rolling around rubbing his face in the dirt trying to get it off of him.

Since the weather was so nice on Sunday, we decided to try the leader again and take Jack for a walk around the neighborhood.  Once he found out that exercise and treats were involved, he stopped focusing on trying to get the strap off his snout and just starting trotting at a good pace right between us.

It seriously worked like magic! I would recommend this to anyone that is struggling to get their dog to walk well on a leash.  It's not a muzzle, the strap just goes over the top part of his snout and is lined with a suede-like material where it lays against his snout.  As you can see in the pictures, he even let me put it on him and take pictures without freaking out. :)

That's all for now! If anyone has any questions about the U.P. or requests for blog topics, email me at alyssaouellette@gmail.com :)