How is your Corgi on a leash?
Ok, someone asked for tips on getting a new puppy used to a leash, and that got me thinking.
Jack is the funniest dog on a leash that I have ever seen. He loves going out. He loves walks. He can go for miles and not get tired.
He knows heel, and he heels pretty well. Not well enough to win an obedience class, but he sits when I stop and turns when I turn, as long as there are not picnic leftovers on the ground to distract him.
But if he's not on heel.... well, that's an entirely different matter. Since I don't have a fenced yard, our walk time is time for my dog to go exploring. I always spend at least part of the walk on heel, but I also spend part of the walk on a relaxed leash, letting him sniff and wander. When he's on a relaxed leash, I don't care if he's a little ahead or a little behind, as long as he's not dragging me (he's not a real dominant dog, so I don't worry about the whole "pack leader always goes in front" thing). He'll lag a little, then lope to get ahead, then trot next to me.
Most of the time.
Ah, but if he's not on heel, he seems to think that every decision on direction is negotiable. He'll get to areas he likes (say where he sometimes meets his doggy friends, or an area with a group of kids playing) and he won't want to leave. He'll plant his little legs, and his collar will start to pull over his ears, and he'll get a look on his face like a two-year-old kid ready to pitch a fit.
Sometimes he lays down and rolls over on his back. This is usually if he just had a good visit with one of his many adoring fan clubs that we meet out walking, and he's not ready to leave. They laugh and say "Oh look, he's tired!" and I sorta grit my teeth and smile because he's not tired at all, he's just arguing.
BUT, if I say "Jack, heel" he hops right up all bright-eyed and cheerful, and off we march.
I think the lying on the back thing is a patented Corgi move, personally. I think their mothers teach it to them while they are still puppies. :-)
Jack is the funniest dog on a leash that I have ever seen. He loves going out. He loves walks. He can go for miles and not get tired.
He knows heel, and he heels pretty well. Not well enough to win an obedience class, but he sits when I stop and turns when I turn, as long as there are not picnic leftovers on the ground to distract him.
But if he's not on heel.... well, that's an entirely different matter. Since I don't have a fenced yard, our walk time is time for my dog to go exploring. I always spend at least part of the walk on heel, but I also spend part of the walk on a relaxed leash, letting him sniff and wander. When he's on a relaxed leash, I don't care if he's a little ahead or a little behind, as long as he's not dragging me (he's not a real dominant dog, so I don't worry about the whole "pack leader always goes in front" thing). He'll lag a little, then lope to get ahead, then trot next to me.
Most of the time.
Ah, but if he's not on heel, he seems to think that every decision on direction is negotiable. He'll get to areas he likes (say where he sometimes meets his doggy friends, or an area with a group of kids playing) and he won't want to leave. He'll plant his little legs, and his collar will start to pull over his ears, and he'll get a look on his face like a two-year-old kid ready to pitch a fit.
Sometimes he lays down and rolls over on his back. This is usually if he just had a good visit with one of his many adoring fan clubs that we meet out walking, and he's not ready to leave. They laugh and say "Oh look, he's tired!" and I sorta grit my teeth and smile because he's not tired at all, he's just arguing.
BUT, if I say "Jack, heel" he hops right up all bright-eyed and cheerful, and off we march.
I think the lying on the back thing is a patented Corgi move, personally. I think their mothers teach it to them while they are still puppies. :-)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lisa LaMothe on
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I just had an experience with my Corgi, Ben this afternoon that was what I'm figuring out to be the Corgi style of walking. If we're going where he wants to go - in the grass along the sidewalk, near a much visited tree or hydrant, near people who are passing by - he's got quite a little swagger in his 13 year old step. BUT, if he's bored during the walk, he has what I call the Corgi shuffle. You can hear his nails dragging on the pavement! I was determined that I wasn't going to carry him back to the car but, it was looking like a possible option. We made it back to the car but, only after I made the remainder of the walk exciting for him!
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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on
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Shiro dragged his nail on the pavemen from the first day we got him. I don't mind since they're always nicely filed and don't need trim :)
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Permalink Reply by Laura Jones on
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KC has to be walked with a harness, she will choke herself to death trying to see everything. This is our fault as we do not take our dogs for a lot of walks, they play in the backyard a lot and we take them with us when we go to friends or family's places and they get to run around and play alot. The two boys are good about being on a leash and just needing an occasional reminder, well Taz likes to look at you like "why are we walking when we have a perfectly good car to ride in? Or better yet let's stay home". KC is terrible about pulling though.
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Permalink Reply by Jeny (and Wrigley) on
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Wrigley loves walks and loves to pull for about the first 10 minutes. After that, he just kind of walks alongside me, but I'm finding it harder to walk with him next to me. He likes to zig zag and I'm afraid I am going to step on his little paws. I like him just in front of me, but on a relaxed leash. He is still learning his commands, but he will stop when I say, "Stop".
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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on
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Loki at 7 months will heel occasionally on command but never stays there long. I have never really enforced it strictly however as I also lack a yard for him living in an apartment. When I was trying to train him to heal young it just lead to him being overly sad about walks and just not walking so I gave him the freedoms of your 'relaxed' leash. Sometimes he also digs in as you speak however. Usually a little coercion, or the promise of breakfast will geth im to move however. the hotter the day the more he does this but he is black and heats up quite a bit. The spots are then usually shade.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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With Jack, it's the look that is priceless. One day I'll have to bring a camera. He plants those front feet, and of course the collar coming up over his head makes his ears go all wonky, and he gives me the eye like "I don't wanna, I don't WANNA!" I swear if he could stamp his feet he would. And then there's the flipping on his back thing.
He does this almost exclusively in areas along our regular walks, when he would rather go a different way or wait around to see if his friends will show up. When we take him different places he never does it.
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We walk Loki on a harness, so when we try to uproot him he reaches back and tries to grab the lead in his mouth. Somehow, this will stop the pulling.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty (my King of the World) has a ground eating trot that he goes into when we are walking. It looks like he is on a mission and he seems so surprised when we change direction! He also loves to walk on curbs.
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Jack trots like he's on a mission, too. When we first head out I usually let him go a little ahead. he doesn't normally pull, so I don't mind, but sometimes he gets jogging a little fast (especially if we're headed somewhere good) and I have to tell him to "wait." And then he'll keep peeking back over his shoulder to make sure my husband and I are both still there. When we are places where he can be off-leash, he stops at every cross-path to make sure which way we are going before continuing.
He did the feet-planting thing the other evening. We went for a walk along the stream bank. There are a few spots where we can scramble down to the edge, and Jack loves to play in the water. However we didn't want to get him all muddy, so we didn't go down to the water. Well, when we were on our way back and it was plain that we were not going down to the stream, he started lagging behind and giving me the temper tantrum look. I practically had to haul him the entire rest of the way home.
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Yes, it is their patented move! Shiro does it all the time. He'll lay on the grass onlt though, I'll drag him a bit, towards paved road and he'll get up. Probably looks rough when I do it, but I think he truly enjoys it!
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Yep, I've dragged Jack along a few times too.
I am seriously impressed with anyone who does competitive obedience with a Corgi. Not only does Jack do the flipping on the back thing, but sometimes if I am trying to prevent him from going somewhere he wants to go, he starts frapping around making mad dog noises.
Our breeder said a Corgi will break your heart in the obedience ring; they'll do a perfect run one day, then DQ out the next. LOL I sure believe it.
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Ha ha! We watched a pretty little corgi one year in agility that decided she only wanted to do tunnels. Over and over until her handler came and picked her up. The crowd loved it!
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