[rex123]

I had Rex since he was 4 weeks old. And one of the big things that I couldn't wait to do was take him for walks. I was always to young when we had other dogs that I was not permitted to take them for walks. So when he got old enough I was so excited to take him. Unfortunately I soon realized that dogs didn't automatically walk at your side. He pulled and pulled, it turned out that he was taking me for a walk. And so I tried everything, collars, harnesses, no-pull harnesses, halti's you name it, I tried it. Not only did I learn that these tools didn't work, I also learned that he could slip out of just about everything. And I begin to lose hope, I had people telling me that he was bred to pull so that was something I couldn't get him to stop doing. But then I watched an episode of Dog Whisperer(which I never watched before cause I thought it was some guy who thought he could communicate with animals, but boy I was wrong!) After watching it was like I regained all hope and I was ready to try again because by golly my dog was worth it(sorry that was really cheesyLOL). And for about a month we've been working on heeling, and its going awesome. There are still a few things we got to fix but were getting there.

Here's my problem like I've mentioned a few time in my other posts my mom's been sick for a few years now with what the doctors think is MS. To keep up her strength we go for 2 walks a day. And its been helping because she used to walk with two sticks, one on each side, and now she usually just uses one. And I love going for walks, cause I get to take rex but when school starts back up I won't be able to go with her in the morning. And I don't like it when she goes alone(in case anything ever happens). So I've been getting her to walk Rex when I'm there so I can help her correct him when he does start to pull. She loves walking with him and she said she doesn't feel like tipping when he's by her side.

But before she could walk rex without me being there I need to know that she can handle him and that he will listen. Please if anyone has some tips on heeling, meeting other dogs, or people while on a walk it would be greatly appreciated. Because if I knew that Rex could walk beside her safely without dragging her then I wouldn't have to worry about her going for a walk alone.:)

[froggy7]

The only real advice I can give you is to see how your mother handles Rex. Does Rex generally obey her as well as he does you? If so, then it may not be a problem. But really, the only way you will be able to tell is to let her try it and see what happens. So I would ease into this... continue to go on walks with your mom and Rex, but let her be in control on some of them for longer times. Eventually you will want to have her start the walk, and you just tag along. (Basic idea... right now I get the feeling that you are taking Rex for a walk, and your mom is going along. You want to switch that psychologically, so that she feels in charge. That's the best preparation for being in charge when you aren't around.)

[gctts]

Before you let your mother walk the dog alone, you must show her how to handle the dog on the leash. And you must accompany them while she walks him and teach her how to handle each situation. A dog can mind one person perfectly and totally ignore another. For instance, my dogs always walk at a perfect heal with me, but act like wild idiots when my husband walks them. So you teach your mother by accompanying them on walks and then you can trust the dogs with her.