Inara WP Training

[pitbullmamaliz]

This is only day 2 of the tire, so I think she's doing really well! I know she needs to slow down - normally I walk right in front holding a treat so her head is down in the proper position and she walks instead of runs. Right now she's still pretty dependent on treats, but I'll be able to wean her off of them eventually.

The first 3 pics are on one of her breaks. It's tough to take pics of her while she's pulling.







This is a video - for some reason I couldn't post it here...
http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/ ... 090001.flv

I've been having her pull for 15-20 minutes, with a couple breaks during. Does that sound alright? Should I be doing more? Less?

[madremissy]

Awwh I have no advice other than she looks fabulous

[mnp13]

Leslie competes with Soleil at the national level now, so this is definatley her arena!!!

OOOHHHHHH LLLLLLEEEEEEESSSSSSSLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leslie H]

Soleil's not national level yet, next month we try our hand though (UKC and ADBA nationals).
OK, I'm going to sound like a jerk but....Put the treats in your pocket, and NO RUNNING. Sorry.
Keep your leash on Inara's collar, and walk alongside her. Try to avoid tugging on her collar, and use verbal cues. Walk evenly, praising her when she drops her head, but doesn't sniff. Use a command to start, and one to stop. Treat her after you've stopped. So, say you walk forward forty feet. Using verbal praise and correction, she does fairly well. Give your command to stop, then treat her.
Personally, I wouldn't use a tire, they tend to drag and bump, rather than give even resistance. I use a length of chain. I started very light, maybe 5 pounds. You're not building strength yet, you're building a foundation that pulling means walking in a calm fashion in a straight line. Gradually you'll add more weight. At these early stages, it's more of a mental workout than a physical one. You can work her daily, 15 minutes sounds great. As you increase weight, she'll need days off in between workouts. Soleil works about 1/2 an hour, 3x a week, but we take breaks, as I work her pretty hard.

[pitbullmamaliz]

Trust me, you're not being a jerk! I welcome all input.

I'm definitely not working her every day - I haven't gotten her hips/elbows x-rayed yet (calling this week to schedule it) so I don't want to do anything too strenuous. I'll hit Home Depot and get some chain instead of the tire.

I'm teaching that "pull" means, well, pull, and "relax" is what I use when she's done.

So I should aim for about 40' per pull? I've been varying between 15' and probably about 40'.

Thanks for the advice! I'll probably be hitting you up for more as we go.

[pitbullmamaliz]

One more thing - should I keep pulling on grass, I'm assuming? As opposed to concrete? I'm figuring it's definitely easier on her paw pads.

[Leslie H]

Yes, grass for sure. Also, you want to pull at least 20-39 feet, because competition pulls are 16 feet, and you don't want your dog deciding it's time to stop. I went to Home Depot and got 5 foot lengths of varying thicknesses. I got clips so I could attach them to each other. We started w/10 feet of light chain. Now we pull 25 feet and window weights.

[pitbullmamaliz]

Oh that's a good idea to get smaller sections so you can easily add. I hadn't thought of that.

Thanks again!

[pitbullmamaliz]

Alright. Went to Home Depot and got 2 5' lengths of 5/16" chain. I weighed them, and each section weighs 4 lbs. For tonight's workout I just hooked one of the chains to her harness and we traipsed back and forth, working on our commands and walking steadily. She did really well. She was almost doing an attention heel though, because she knew I had treats in my pocket. So every time she put her head down I praised in a big way.

Questions:
1. As she's pulling, I keep saying, "pull, good pull, pull, good pull," etc. Should I keep saying it like that, or just say "Inara, pull" once and then tell her to "relax" when she's done?
2. Should I keep doing just the 4 lbs, or should I add the 2nd chain on? She's 50 lbs, so she's not pulling even a tenth of her body weight with one chain. Is that alright? And how long before we up the weight?
3. Should we just do the 40', turn around and do it again, over and over? Or are there other exercises we can do?
4. How often should she be pulling (daily, every other day?) and for how long?

Thanks! And expect lots more questions!

[Leslie H]

Right now, you're teaching a behavior, rather than building strength. Once she pulls consistently (and I would give 1 command that means start pulling, then praise appropriate pulling behavior), you can start adding weight, I'd go a week at the new weight increment. Soleil, at 28 pounds, pulls about 35-40 pounds, 25 feet of chain, and 5 window weights. But the surface you're pulling on greatly effects the resistance, taller grass, thicker grass, wet grass, dry grass, so what may be easy 1 day can be tough the next.
I pull about 100 feet, 6 times. As I increase weight, I might have her pull 30-40 feet, pause, then continue, unhooking her at the end of the 100 feet. I only pull her in a straight line.

[madremissy]

I just have to say I am loving this thread. Liz, I love the questions and Leslie your answers are very easy to understand. This might be something Miss Kinzyl could do. Not to compete just to do for excercise. I know someone with a harness that they are not using anymore. Just wanted to tell you both thanks for the detailed information.

[pitbullmamaliz]

Leslie, thanks so much! When you google "weight pull training" you'll look at 50 articles and see 50 different ways of doing things. I appreciate you helping me out.

And Missy, glad you're enjoying it! Just make sure the harness fits lovely Miss Kinzyl well - you don't want chafing.

[madremissy]

And Missy, glad you're enjoying it! Just make sure the harness fits lovely Miss Kinzyl well - you don't want chafing.

Dumb question, how is it supposed to fit. Loose, tight, snug. I remember that it has the fuzzy stuff like Inara's and the dog who wore it was a little bigger in the shoulders than Kinzyl. So what should I look for?

[Leslie H]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8oVEJApPwg&feature=related
Here's a video of a young dog (KO)w/a very good fitting harness. I love this dog. You can see me yapping to Ellie at the end of the film.
Note his harness is well fitted to his body, rides above his shoulders, and doesn't obstruct his throat.

[madremissy]

Thanks Leslie. Bad news though. The harness was given away to someone else. Oh well. We will enjoy watching Inara learn how to do it.

[DemoDick]

Leslie definitley knows her stuff when it comes to WP. The only thing I would add to what Leslie has offered (and only because I have seen Inara first-hand) is that you should work very consistently to reinforce CALM and controlled pulling. Inara is a very excitable girl and that can work against you when you're trying to get her to pull consistently and calmly.

Demo Dick

[BritneyP]

I find this utterly fascinating and informative.



Does this mean I have to get a bully to do WP with?

[pitbullmamaliz]

Inara is a very excitable girl

Whew, understatement of the year!

you should work very consistently to reinforce CALM and controlled pulling.

I've begun walking right beside her and doing a gentle correction (as in "uh-uh," not a collar correction) when she starts walking too fast. I walk very slowly and praise a lot when she drops her head even a slight bit and calms down. I'm glad Leslie told me to stop pulling the tire - the chains are lighter and they're getting her used to pulling something behind her without her having to actually work hard. She's able to focus on form now, not power.

Does this mean I have to get a bully to do WP with?

All signs point to yes.

[Patch O' Pits]

I think she is a bit confused about what she is supposed to be doing LOL

CUTE