On Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:59:45 GMT, "Don White"
wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .
It's amazing what three hours of rest and keeping some food down wil
do for the soul.

Once again, I must apologise to you and the rest of the group for the
snark and commentary.

Perhaps I should stay away from the computer on days like this - much
easier on the psyche. :)

My bad - sorry.

Tom

I had a bit of a rough afternoon also.
Went down to the biggest of only two parks in the area where a dog can run
off leash.
As the wife, pup & I are walking along playing ball. a guy comes up quickly
behind us doing some kind of hiking thing with the long aluminum ski type
pole.
Of course the pup sees him and runs over to show him the ball and say hello.
The guy mumles something and uses the pole to fend the pup off.
I try to get ahold of the pup but the #$%$ hiker starts telling me to
control my dog while walking quickly away swinging the pole. Now I'm trying
to catch them and grab the dog at the same time. I told the guy to slow down
so I could collar Bronson but he was a bit nasty at this time. I lost it
then, telling him just what I thought of him. He stopped to face me and I
was ready to rumble before he decided to keep moving.
The thing is...these joggers and hikers can do their thing anywhere but the
dog walkers only have two choices.
..and yes...we will work on the dogs obedience again. If it had come back
to us right away when called, all could have been avoided.

If I might offer a suggestion?

Keep a tennis ball with you. It's better if it's one that he/she
plays with a lot - like a favorite.

Use that in the play time when you toss the ball and the dog retrieves
it. Use the command "Come here" when he/she retrieves the ball and
returns.

Then when you are in the park, take the ball with you and when he gets
like this, use the ball as a lure using the "Come Here" command.

That particular trick has been one I've used for years and it's never
failed.

Another useful trick is to use the command "down". This can be done
at home every time the puppy lays down - just say the word. Then
start working on the hand and voice command for down. When he runs
off, use the command "down" and he/she will just plop on the belly
when it happens.