Hi, We have a Terrier that will chase anything ,cars in particular, she
is so strong willed that letting her off the lead is impossible, she is
3 years old and has had countless training regimes,treats ,clickers etc
,but we now know she is from a working strain and this is her nature.
She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along ! in an enclosed space she will chase balls and retrieve, which
is great but we feel that if we had her on a long lead ie:
30 meters or more then we could take her to the park and really give
her a good workout retrieving.
The question is, are there commercial retractable leads at this length,
or any other method of giving the dog the workout she craves,albeit
restricted by a lead. We have had Terriers in the past, and training
has benefitted them but this girl is a "one off" she is great around
the house, real good company, but like a sheepdog is looking to work.
All we want is to be safe, and give her what she deserves. Any help
appreciated. Mike, Peterborough, England.

On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 14:01:54 -0800, BoroBoy wrote:

Hi, We have a Terrier that will chase anything ,cars in particular, she
is so strong willed that letting her off the lead is impossible, she is
3 years old and has had countless training regimes,treats ,clickers etc
,but we now know she is from a working strain and this is her nature.
She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along ! in an enclosed space she will chase balls and retrieve, which
is great but we feel that if we had her on a long lead ie:
30 meters or more then we could take her to the park and really give
her a good workout retrieving.

If you're alone, a long lead works great. But think about it a bit - if
it's going to be light and long, it's going to be thin. Thin enough to
cut, tangle, and trip, if say, a ten-year-old comes into the park with her
dog, and the two dogs start running around in circles.

The question is, are there commercial retractable leads at this length,
or any other method of giving the dog the workout she craves,albeit
restricted by a lead.

I've never heard of a retractable in that length. And I have grave doubts
over whether one would be safe. The line would have to be very thin -
hence very sharp, and the spring on the coil quite strong. Forget the
retraction, and just use a long line.

I had my Bear on 50 meters of parachute cord, for the longest time.
(Until I finally figured out how to teach him to recall.

Parachute cord is strong, and light. It tangles easily, so you have to be
careful with coiling it or braiding it after use, but it worked well for
us.

We have had Terriers in the past, and training
has benefitted them but this girl is a "one off" she is great around
the house, real good company, but like a sheepdog is looking to work.
All we want is to be safe, and give her what she deserves. Any help
appreciated. Mike, Peterborough, England.

My own little JRT was terribly frustrating. Learned anything faster than
any dog I'd ever known, happy, eager to work, and now and again blowing me
off entirely when he thought something more interesting was going on
somewhere else.

After a couple of near-misses with traffic, I put him on a remote training
collar, and it worked wonders. Though I do _not_ recommend them for
others, unless they are willing to 1: pay for a quality collar, 2: pay for
an experienced handler to walk you and the dog both through your first
session with the collar. The collars work well, and aren't really all
that touchy to use, except the first time. Once the dog has learned to
associated the stimulation from the collar as an indication that he's
doing something wrong, and that he can make it go away by doing what he's
being told to do, they're pretty much safe. But for that first session,
the dog will not have learned that association, and if you don't do it
right, you can seriously screw up the dog.

--
We must remember that law is force, and that, consequently, the proper
functions of the law cannot morally extend beyond the proper functions
of force.
- Frederic Bastiat

On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 16:59:04 -0600, diddy wrote:


Great advice Jeff, the only issue is this person is posting from the UK.
Many people there claim a remote trainer is illegal or unattainable there.
More's the pity.

They're not illegal, and they're not unattainable. But finding an
experienced handler may be.

When Tuck was a little guy, all of a sudden he started blowing me off on
recall. Yes, Yes i did, put him on a remote collar. It took one time
(he hadn't established a pattern yet) and it fixed the problem. When I
call, he doesn't even think about it. he turns and is on the run.

I think a dog should have a sound recall base before doing the remote
trainer. As he ran the other direction, I upped the stim a level, it
took twice in one training session and NOT coming has never been a
thought since.

You want to do everything possible to ensure that the dog succeeds, when
you introduce the remote collar. That means a behavior that the dog has
already learned, in an environment without distractions, and with the
circumstances controlled so that the dog can't get it wrong.

My Bear and I started the collar off with heeling. We'd been working on
that for a couple of weeks before I started the recall. But when I did,
it was in my backyard, where Bear had a 95% reliable recall, and on a long
line, so that I could ensure that he responded correctly.

A dog off-lead can respond to a stim by running away. And to a higher
stim he can run faster. And if he runs far enough, he'll be out of range,
and learn that if he runs far and fast enough, he can get away from this
terrible thing.

And that's exactly what you don't want to happen.

--
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
discoveries, is not "Eureka!" ("I found it!") but rather "hmm....that's
funny..."
-- Isaac Asimov

On 31 Dec 2006 14:01:54 -0800, "BoroBoy" wrote:

Hi, We have a Terrier that will chase anything ,cars in particular, she
is so strong willed that letting her off the lead is impossible, she is
3 years old and has had countless training regimes,treats ,clickers etc
,but we now know she is from a working strain and this is her nature.
She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along ! in an enclosed space she will chase balls and retrieve, which
is great but we feel that if we had her on a long lead ie:
30 meters or more then we could take her to the park and really give
her a good workout retrieving.
The question is, are there commercial retractable leads at this length,
or any other method of giving the dog the workout she craves,albeit
restricted by a lead.

If she is pulling you along, do NOT use a retractable lead for her.
She can pull it out of your hands, break it or get it tangled in
things too easily. There are long leashes that are not retractable
that you could use, but she really needs more structure than that if
she is not only chasing cars but pulling you along when you walk her
after countless training regimes. Working strains does not explain
that kind of behavior despite good training. It may be that the
training wasn't good or that she didn't have enough follow-up, but
whatever the reason, she doesn't belong at the park on a long lead
when she is that difficult to control. Dogs can get lot of exercise
retrieving in an enclosed space. I'd stick to that and regular leash
length walks until you get him under better control because the
control issues are more important than more space issues at this
point.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

"BoroBoy" wrote in message
ups.com...

She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along !

There's your answer! 'Pulling you along' means the dog's not trained!



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

"BoroBoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi, We have a Terrier that will chase anything ,cars in particular, she
is so strong willed that letting her off the lead is impossible, she is
3 years old and has had countless training regimes,treats ,clickers etc
,but we now know she is from a working strain and this is her nature.
She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along ! in an enclosed space she will chase balls and retrieve, which
is great but we feel that if we had her on a long lead ie:
30 meters or more then we could take her to the park and really give
her a good workout retrieving.
The question is, are there commercial retractable leads at this length,
or any other method of giving the dog the workout she craves,albeit
restricted by a lead. We have had Terriers in the past, and training
has benefitted them but this girl is a "one off" she is great around
the house, real good company, but like a sheepdog is looking to work.
All we want is to be safe, and give her what she deserves. Any help
appreciated. Mike, Peterborough, England.

There's information and a forum at
http://www.takingthelead.co.uk/index.htm

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 21:21:09 +0000, Alison wrote:

"BoroBoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi, We have a Terrier that will chase anything ,cars in particular, she
is so strong willed that letting her off the lead is impossible, she is
3 years old and has had countless training regimes,treats ,clickers etc
,but we now know she is from a working strain and this is her nature.
She gets walks all the time, or rather she takes us for walk,pulling us
along ! in an enclosed space she will chase balls and retrieve, which
is great but we feel that if we had her on a long lead ie:
30 meters or more then we could take her to the park and really give
her a good workout retrieving.
The question is, are there commercial retractable leads at this length,
or any other method of giving the dog the workout she craves,albeit
restricted by a lead. We have had Terriers in the past, and training
has benefitted them but this girl is a "one off" she is great around
the house, real good company, but like a sheepdog is looking to work.
All we want is to be safe, and give her what she deserves. Any help
appreciated. Mike, Peterborough, England.

There's information and a forum at
http://www.takingthelead.co.uk/index.htm

"Website and Forum for advice, help and understanding of dog behaviour and
problems. It is a positive site that does not advocate the use of harsh
training methods."

In other words, it's a Website and Forum for those for whom maintaining
their own ideological purity is of more importance than actually helping
the dog.

--
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.