Teaching a dog to Heel & not jump up on me

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I am walking my neighbors dog for exercise (for both of us).  Its a 2 year old Beagle.  Obviously the dog has had no training because she (spade) tugs and pulls off to the side when we are walking and has to sniff everything.  It's a tug of war to walk with her.  If I could just get her to walk next to me without all the distractions it would make it alot more pleasant for both of us.  She also jumps up on me and anyone that gets close.  Any tricks to get her to stop it.  Very annoying.
Answer -
Hi Sherry;
No tricks, hust basic obedience training.
A basic obedience course teaches the handler how to give the commands, and the dog how to perform them. I like classes where a trainer teaches a group, and people handle their own dogs.
That is REALLY good exercise!
Petsmart and Petco stores have weekend training classes.most Humane Society chapters have them, and sometimes other organizations sponsor them. The first class I took, many, many years ago was sponsored by the YMCA.
Once you take one of these courses and learn to teach that one dog, you know how to do basic obedience training. You can train other dogs you get, yourself.
There are advanced classes for those who want to go further. I liked it so much, and my german shepherd I had then liked it so much, we went into all the advanced clases, and I trained until I could become a trainer and teach the classes.
The hardest to teach student I ever had was a precious little Beagle we got for our kids. Prissy wanted to stop and sniff, and she resented me making her heel, so she would play along for awhile, catch me off guard and jerk back on the leash, and darned near send my flying. Beagles are cute, smart, full of personality, and HARD HEADED!
Their origin is rabbit hunters, so they are rangers, and can cover a good bit ot territory fast. they put their little nose to the ground, get the scent, let out a beautiful bugle, and take off.
There are some books on training, but unfortunately not all of them know anything about training.
There is no criteria for people knowing what they are talking about, in order to get a book published. so you really have to be careful what you buy and use.
there is really no way to effectively teach someone with no experience in training, how to train an animal with a book. you really jhave to be shown how to enforce the commands. Train one the wrong way, and it is many times the work trying to untrain them and train them right.
There are so many advantahes to going through the course and properly training a dog. They don't bolt out a door when it is opened and run away, and you have to chase and coax. they may bolt, but a firm "stay"! will stop them.
Basic obedience trains you how to handle the dog on leash and off, and they dog learns whgat the commands are, and how to obey them. After that, it is fairly easy to teach them other things, like fetching a ball,and bringing it back, rather than playing keep-away.
MUCH easier to teach them not to bark excessively, jump up on people, tear up things they are not supposed to have, a lot of things, and a well trained dog is a joy to have.
You would be surprised how much the dogs love these classes. they get to show off. you can see their litle chest stick out, almost, when they perform well and get the praise.
I would suggest you talk with the dog's owner about paying for these clases. You might want to split the costs so the dog will learn, you will get good exercise and have a lot of fun in the classes, and your walking excercises will be more enkoyable, and better for you. the dog pulling against you can actually do your muscles more harm that good.
Also, go to this site and read about this method of animal massage. Massage can be used to calm an overactive dog, calm and cure them of fear of thrunderstors. I have used the massage for this, and for pain relief. My english Setter now has really bad asthritie, and I can keep her much more mobile with less medications, with this form of massage.
I know it sounds unreal, but you can actually correct aggression with massage. I have turned biters into well bahaved dogs with just the massage.
You can also order videos to learn to do the massage. they have massage methods for all kinds of animals. these professional massage therapists for animals make big bucks, massaging show animals, race horses, high dollar breeding stock.
There may also be videos on obedience training on that site. I have not looked for obedience videos, because i know how to do that. go to
  www.lindatellington-jones.com

Good luck
Charlotte



I'm not asking for a dog obedience class...just a few things I can do to get the dog to walk beside me.  The owner just put a choke chain on her...seems to help a bit but seems to me I see people like jerking on the leash and saying "heel"....then a reward.  Can you give me something simple like that?  I do not have time nor $$ to go to an obedience class.....could maybe squeeze out a little time on a Sat for a free class.  Just a quick tip is all I am asking for

Answer
I never use a food treat as a reward, only praise. when you train with food rewards, the dog gets into the habit of getting a treat, so they will perform and perform, until they drive you nuts, just to get the treat.
The obedience class is necessary, because it is not only important to learn what command to give, but how to give it and follow up, or you can physically harm a dog. that is why I advise against learning from a book.
I never allow my grandchildren to walk my dogs on a leash until they have been taught HOW to handle a leash. Even the 3 year olds can do it after just a few classes, taught by me.
Pulling on a leash improperly can strangle the dog. It can also permanently damage the vocal chords, and everything else in their throat, and can be life threatening.
I know it is not what you want to hear, but you should not be using a leash on a dog unril you have been shown how to do it properly.
The classes last for about 1 hour on a weekend day, and you practice what you have learned in class on your daily walks. the dog's owner should be glad to pay for the classes, to get their dog trained and have a well behaved pet that will be a joy to them, and not a pain in the neck to their guests.
How to walk on a leash is the first class in the course, and the most important.
I would never try to explain in a letter how to handle the leash training. It is something you have to be shown.
If you contact the Humane society, possibly they would allow you to bring the dog there, and one of them would show you how to do it. It is not hard to,learn, but done improperkly can seriously harm the dog.
Charlotte