Puppy Torture

                                                     This is the face of puppy torture.

Hmm, yeah, no, not really. This is the face of a little dog who needs to learn that when he's on walkies, he shouldn't tug so hard that he knocks his mama on her ass in the mud. Not that he's actually done that, but there have been a couple of close calls. He also needs to learn that it's not good if he's tugging so hard that his breathing becomes audible. Tracheal compression by collar is so not the way to go.  

A friend recommended I get a Gentle Leader, which is basically a harness like a horse would wear. There's a strap that goes over his nose, and another around his neck. Apparently dogs don't like things touching their noses, so they won't tug in this contraption. Actually, it took about fifteen minutes to convince him to MOVE in this contraption, and then it took almost a whole pocketful of kibble to get him down the four blocks from our house to 15th NE. After that, he sorted things out, more-or-less, and we had a pretty decent walk. And my shoulder stayed in its socket.


We've had a second walk with the Gentle Leader, and that one went better than the first. Except that he started to poop in the middle of the road because he was too intimidated to let me know he needed to go to the sidelines.  We'll work those details out. He's about ten months old, which I'm learning is comparable to a teenager in human years. I figure it's good practice for managing the young teens that live in my house. Not sure they make anything comparable to the Gentle Leader for kids, but I'd totally buy one if they did.


And I hope that those of you reading this have a peaceful Thanksgiving.  It makes my heart full to think about all the amazing people and gifts and blessings that I have to be thankful for.
Peace, 
Liv