This weekend, I started another phase of Zinnia’s training. I need to work with her alone. Otherwise, she’s too distracted by the other dogs, and by wanting to follow them and play with them.

Once she gets it, I’ll bring the other dogs along so that I can work with her in a distracted state. That will be harder. Around 16 weeks, a dog’s view of the world is largely formed. It becomes more and more difficult to change behaviors as the dog grows older, and most people have precious little time to train a dog at any age.

So this time is very important for Zinnia and me.

Maria came with us, I took her out on a quiet country road near the farmhouse.

This phase is what I call “Walk, Lie Down And Stay,” a critical chapter in the work to win a dog’s respect, show real leadership, and control the dog while she’s a puppy and before she gets too much bigger and more willful.

I always am conscious of the fact that this cute little puppy with be a big energetic dog in just a few months, and if I can’t control her now, it will be a lot harder, if not impossible, then. I consider it a dignity issue. Just as I won’t stand for a puppy eating up my home, or biting me on the hands or face, I won’t consent to being yanked or pulled by a dog on a leash.

It’s obnoxious for one thing, but for another, I’m getting older, and getting pulled down can be dangerous.

This phase involves leash training – how to walk alongside me without pulling me – an instant lie down, and a stay that lasts at least three minutes, if not longer.

If you can’t get a dog to walk alongside you without pulling or to lie down and stay, you don’t have complete control, and that means in Zinnia’s case, she can’t do therapy work or pass a therapy dog certification. It is also vital for the grounding and calming training of an active puppy like Zin.

You’ve seen the “lie down” training, which has gone well. Every day now, I ‘ll take Zinnia alone on a walk, and train her to “heel,” that is to walk alongside my left knee slowing when I slow, speeding up when I speed up but never pulling ahead or behind me.

For the first few minutes, I use a wire-thin chain that pulls on her lightly if she pulls ahead.  It’s a puppy version of a choke chain, not strong enough to choke but strong enough to pinch.

My command is “no pull” or “heel.” Then I take the chain off and use holding the leash firmly and giving verbal commands. Every few minutes, I take the leash off and let her walk freely and sniff what she wants.

I am also beginning giving her some treats when she walks alongside me in the right position. That will get her attention and give me a change to positively reward the correct behavior rather than wrestle with her. Whenever possible, I want to give her the chance to succeed, not fail.

Rewarding a dog for the right behavior is a lot more effective than bullying or punishing a dog for the wrong response. It isn’t just more humane, it works better and much more quickly. A dog who obeys out of fear and intimidation is not trustworthy in my experience.

The “heel” position, if successful, is rewarded by free movement. Like most well-bred working dogs, Zinnia is bred to stay with people and work with them, so I keep walking, and if she dawdles or sniffs too long, I walk faster. This makes her anxious, and she comes running up to me, and I can reward her with a treat or praise.

In a few weeks, walking ahead of her will not make her as anxious, so I needed to establish this behavior now, before she really feels her oats.

More and more, I’m using verbal praise and fewer treats, time to wean her off treats a bit.

She did beautifully today. I put her in a “lie down” and backed up 20 or 30 feet. When she got up, I said “no,” then returned her to the original position, had her lie down again, and repeated this (I held my hand up in the “stay” position) until she stayed.

She got it right and stayed for more than two minutes. I want to get to three minutes next week, if possible. By the end of the walk, Zinnia was walking alongside me, lying down instantly, and staying for longer and longer periods.

She is a pleasure to train, and I am working to be patient and clear with her. So far, so good. We’ve done very well for 13 weeks; we’re ahead of schedule.