Lucas/Dogs

Part 5 of 5

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Let us pause for a moment. I imagine some of you, probably all the dog people and probably all the parents too, have a handle on the shape of this thing already. If you have not formed a picture in your mind of those brief moments yet, I invite you to do so now. Sure, I have not described the area, the lady, the dogs, the car, or me – but you have enough detail for this purpose:
One man, with two dogs, obviously in the middle of training them (whether or not this guy is a “dog trainer” or just a guy training dogs, there can be no question about the activity), in fact, actively engaged in an exercise at that moment and one that involves taking the dogs off leash in a parking lot and getting them into the car. Picture the moment. I hear her voice one beat after I get the boys off leash and at the moment I am turning to Mickey to invite him into the car. This is the moment she chooses to yell across the parking lot at a stranger.

If you just can’t relate to dogs, let me give you an analogy. Imagine you are teaching your child how to ride a bike the first time after taking off the training wheels. There you are in the driveway or the street in front of your house, your kid is on the bike, you have your hand on the seat to steady everything, the kid starts to peddle as you jog behind, hand on seat. The instant you let go, your arm still outstretched, your hand ready to react and provide support if needed. The minute your child is free and riding on their own – someone calls to you, “Excuse me, are you a biking instructor?” This is not a moment in time where you want to be distracted. And, you would not want to hire someone to teach kids about bike riding who would be so easily distracted at such an important moment in time.

Suffice it to say that without hearing anything else at all I can guarantee you at least three things: She has a dog. She believes there is a problem with her dog’s behavior. She is the real problem.
I admit to you. I was not in the best of spirits. I am covered I sweat. It has been a frustrating afternoon: 20 minutes of driving and looking for a place to go, facing the challenges of this new and less than ideal environment way ahead of my training schedule (this is really an advanced scenario that I would not have attempted “on purpose” for at least a month if not more), my failure to purchase a new straight 8’ or 12’ leash for Mickey. I have managed (with difficulty) to keep the frustration internal and not feed that to the dogs and we did have some very nice times. Their performance at the end of the walk with the sitting absolutely still while this woman accosted us really was raising my mood. That was just fantastic work on their part. They were watching me and smiling.

But I did not want to talk to this rude woman. One or two very minuscule amounts of courtesy or situational awareness would have changed this whole encounter for me, but if she possessed any of those traits, the conversation would probably have been unnecessary.
If this is how you behave towards a stranger from whom you are seeking (free) advice, I can only imagine what you are inadvertently teaching your dog(s). I cannot imagine what a “walk” or other exercise time might be like with you as the pack master. And while I am thinking these thoughts and feeling this frustration mixed with pride and admiration for the boys, there is also a layer of sadness.

I love dogs. I love talking about dogs. Without dogs, I would not only be naturally more lonely on the day to day, I would have very little motivation to ever meet a total stranger and become fantastic life long friends (and one day live together in their house). I love training dogs and talking about training dogs. I am not sayin’ I was in any kind of zone to sit down and chat for an hour, but with just a little care taken, I would have been super pleased to meet and talk with this lady, and to help her.

She started speaking rapidly but in a broken fashion something about ‘how do you control your dogs’ without really managing to provide any useful details.
Me: You know in most cases, whatever else is going on, getting enough exercise will fix it.
Lady: Really? Exercise? Well mine gets plenty of that, it is the barking. She barks at everything constantly.
Me: See the thing about the exercise is th-
Lady: (interrupting) The wind, things outside, noises inside, the phone, the radio, the tv, the dishwasher …
(and on and on – the only new info in this string of words – we could have guessed – it is a small dog. One of those really tiny ones. Not freak show tiny. Just one of those little puff ball kinds that I always want to punt!)
Me: (I don’t remember now exactly. I had been getting ready and moving towards the driver’s door preparing to flee.) Ya you are right, those guys do bark a lot, almost all of them. Sorry I can’t help with that. Have a good day.
End scene.

Even in my state of mind in the moment, I was still willing to stay for a few minutes, probably no more than 5 and hopefully much less, but I was willing. I was going to explain to her about regular exercise and the way you can use a walk to teach a dog things and they start to like it and then it is easier to teach them how to do things at home because now they care about you in a different way and you have become the pack master and they are willing to and excited to engage with you.
But most folks with tiny dogs never do anything like this and that is why their animals are little tyrannical terrors in their homes. Noisy, all over everything, and usually impossible to talk to. Owners think – “you know, I want a dog but I want something cute and tiny so it can’t pull me down and I don’t even have to walk it. It can get all its exercise at home! Guess what? That has consequences.

I would not have put it quite like that in talking with this woman, but I am fairly certain that her description of a day-in-the-life of her dog would be some recognizable form of the scenario I described above. It is sad. I generally do not like and actively avoid small dogs, but it is really not their fault. There are several exceptions – little dogs I know that have good people who interact with them and teach them stuff. All dogs are similar and want similar stuff. The only badly behaved dogs I have ever met (regardless of size) did not have good pack masters.

As I drive away, there are many thoughts flying through my mind quickly. Why even bother chasing me down across a parking lot to ask me about dog training if you are completely uninterested in letting me say any words? That one recurs. But more than anything else, what impulse was it that made her take an action? What motivated her?
Did she just want to complain to someone who has dogs that hers are a bit out of control? Did she just want to talk? Did she think I may have some secret knowledge? Did she really want to know, but has one of those kinds of brains where she may not even realize that I was trying to help her until next week, or never?

Now sure, there are many things I could have done differently and done much better, done with more compassion and empathy. I can see that. I could see it then too. I could have done more listening. I could have opened it up more sympathetic shrink/bartender style with a “why don’t you just start at the beginning and tell me all about it?” But recall, she was on my nerves a bit and my suspicion was that the scenario was going to play out in this pattern no matter what. I was not trying to lay the foundations of a lasting true friendship here. I wanted to get back home to Lucas who was all alone for over an hour now (something he is not generally asked to endure). I wanted to get away from the crazy lady who was running me down in the parking lot.

So that is my story. You have glanced through a window and seen some of my dog training methods and philosophy. You learn a little bit about two of my newest packmates. And you got to meet the crazy lady. A few final thoughts next time.

Part 4 of 5 (Baby Birthing Blogtastic Extra Release! Go Karen Go!)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Here we get to some of the nitty gritty. I shall attempt to answer your question, “So Mr Dog Man. What’s so bad about my beloved retracto leash thingy?” Yesterday (August 26th) I took the afternoon shift for all the dogs while my friends were out doing some things. I took Lucas to a “new” place (call it the Shark Walk) we found that he likes. He will walk about a mile at the Shark Walk instead of the 50-200 yards he clocks at Holmes Run. We had a good time and after I got Lucas settled back at the house, I loaded M+M into the car and took them to their spot. But there is some construction happening and we could not get there.

I went to a very nearby alternate and got turned around and could not find the entrance. (I had only been there once before.) I ended up going to Lucas’s new place with them. This was not ideal. We had now been in the car for about 20 minutes. Shark Walk has a parking lot by a large pool and rec complex with basketball courts and tennis courts. The path goes right by the pool house and pool on one side and the backyards of people’s homes on the other. So right out of the car there is no fun time or play time or run time (which is what they are used to). Dogs used to a 3 minute drive to freedom have now been in the car for 20, and they have to get on leash and stay in very good control through the parking lot (safety) and down about 200 yards of path under observation by homeowners and pool members and employees. AND – they have never been here before. It is a NEW PLACE!

Mickey was so excited, he fell getting out of the car. (He is fine.) I got them leashed and it was a bit of a struggle to keep them under control. They did not do too terrible all things considered, but it was harder than it needed to be and part of that is simple equipment. In keeping with our existing training efforts, I established an “inside” and kept them both together on that side. Mickey really wanted to go. He was not in the mood for heeling or group slow walk. I have always found it easier to teach dogs to heel off leash than on. It is not an easy on-leash skill. Off leash it is simple and fun. They do what they want and simply stay behind you. I think (after doing this with lots of dogs over the years) that to ask this of them when they are on leash seems both insulting and arbitrary. They are already on the leash. You have called them in close and they are staying close. I imagine the conversation goes something like this:
Mickey: Why are we arguing over 4 inches?
Me: Because you begin with your nose 4 inches in front of me, then it quickly becomes 14 and soon you are past me and I am forgotten.
Mickey: sheepishly looks away as if to track the progress of a butterfly.
Me: Also, we are walking with your brother. He is heeling. Then you quit heeling (or never quite start heeling). And he sees you are in front of me. That may not be permitted! So he pulls up ahead of me and tries to get his nose ahead of your nose. You guys play that game and you might as well be in your own world for all you focus on what I have to say at that time.
Mickey: Were you saying something?

To teach dogs to heel on leash with two at the same time is hard. It is harder when their collars are very loose. You need to hold the leash as close to the collar as you can with your arm mostly straight and slightly behind you. It is not the most comfortable position. But if you let your arm hang straight, that would put the dog’s neck/collar near your leg, leaving their whole head in front of you.

Especially in the beginning, you cannot allow this. (Recall from a previous entry – the key element of “heel” is the dogs actively giving the “point” position to me. In dog world if you don’t stay out front, you are not point. The key to me is not that I be first, but that they follow me without testing the line and trying to take back the point. (For most this is not actually “bad” behavior, but a fun game.))

Once they get it, you can relax a little about exactly where a good comfortable heel is for you and your pals, but you can’t get there until they learn the basics. Mickey has a long head and a long nose. To keep his nose behind me, I have to hold my arm back pretty far, which is awkward.

Now, I have that damn retracto leash thingy. This is an incredibly bulky block of plastic around the size of your basic mass market paperback book. And it is kinda long. Instead of the simplicity of holding the proper point on a straight leash, I have to figure out how to hold this blocky clunk of crap and maintain the proper distance for Mickey. These things seem to me to be designed to work on dogs (like Mickey) that like to stay out front. They do not seem to have been designed to remotely deal with the possibility that the dog may sometimes be behind you. This is always a weird and uncomfortable position for them. Now it is for me too.

*From my early days of dog training, i have generally trained two dogs at one time. I have experimented with many methods. While you do have to adapt to new dogs, i have a basic set of programs and practices that work well. Even with two dogs, i prefer to keep both leashes in one hand. This has a few advantages. It is naturally easier to keep both dogs on the same side (inside) if both leashes are in one hand on that side. You do lose some of the physical advantage of one leash one dog one hand, but time has shown me that these are not battles won with strength. And to that extent that strength is required, you probably don’t have enough to overpower your dog anyway (i never have).

Luckily I do have Max on Luc’s leash, but it is surprisingly hard to use both leashes at the same time. Normally, during an on leash heel exercise, I hold the leash near the collar and sort of ball the excess in my hand. The excess in my hand keeps slipping out against the plastic of the retracto thingy. I try just holding the retracto leash instead of its handle, but it is definitely not designed for that. It is nearly impossible to get a grip on those and I am in week two of healing a very deep cut on my right hand from the friction burn I got when one of these went through my hand.
I simply am unable to keep them in a proper heel. I end up in an even more awkward and uncomfortable position (for all of us) holding Max back with Luc’s leash and holding Mickey’s collar and sort of holding the blocky end of the retracto thingy under my arm.
We get past the main “action” zone of pool people and resume a more normal walk. I keep Mickey on leash, but give him the release command that he may go ahead now. I get Max off leash and release him as well. Because this is a new place and they just did a hard thing, I give them freedom to explore and switch sides and have fun. Soon we are past everyone and just in the woods. I let Mickey go free as well. They run and have a great time and once we turn around,  after a mile or so, they are easier to corral on the way back.

Then we get back to the leash area, and soon enough to the “Heel” zone and it is just as hard as it was on the way out. Max was doing fine, but I simply cold not find a way to keep Mickey behind me. I went back to holding him by the collar. We got to the car and both boys did a perfect sit and stay. I got the leashes off, the car unlocked, and the back door open when a lady calls out “Excuse me” – pretty loud and insistent. A quick scan of the area makes it clear that she is talking to me. I turn back to the dogs, still in a perfect sit and stay even with this lady approaching and the car door open. I get Mickey in and Max waits patiently. “Excuse me. Are you a dog trainer?” She yells and keeps coming. She is still across the lot maybe about 5 car lengths away. I raise my hand in a palm up “hold” symbol and look at her and hold her gaze with mine, and say to her “Wait.” She does. I get Max in the car and she begins to approach again. “Excuse me. Are you a dog trainer?”
I continue to ignore her as I open the passenger door and insert the keys to lower the windows for the guys. Once I have them set, I turn to deal with her.

Stay Tuned for the thrilling conclusion! Part 5

Part 3 of 5

Part 1

Part 2

Now that Lucas walks differently it is very difficult to walk all three dogs together as one solo biped. Mickey and Lucas are the tortoise and the hare. Right now I would have to leash Mickey on a retracto, leash Lucas on his straight leash (just to ensure that he actually comes along instead of laying down in the middle of the path) and let Max be free. And that is not good enough. If I took them to a new place, I could leave Lucas off leash, but Mickey and Max would both have to go on leash and they are extra difficult to control in new places. The excitement of new smells and their natural games and vying to be first can short circuit the work we do. I can usually calm Max down quickly and get him to heel. But if Mickey starts to pull ahead, then Max will want to at least catch up if not pass him and I am forgotten.

As an intermediary step I established a new training pattern for M+M on our evening walks. Because their normal walk, Holmes Run, is associated with fun and play, I try to limit the amount of training we do down there. I want that place to stay fun for them. The walks around the neighborhood are perfect for training though. They know that these are shorter walks. Until I began this program, they knew they would stay on the leashes the whole time and have limited freedom. They know the area so it is not filled with the excitement of NEW PLACE.

I start the session inside the house making them sit and stay to get leashed up and making them wait there together until the official release command “OK”. I keep them contained as we go out the door. I bring them in close as we get to the end of the driveway and then make them stay together and stand there a moment – doing nothin’ – just waiting. I keep them still as I move around them to keep me on the “outside” – closer to the cars on the road, and them on the “inside” – between me and the houses. I keep them close for a few feet then release them with an “OK”. If they behave well (as they are doing most nights), I call them back in before the second driveway, make them sit and stay, remove Max’s leash (I am using Luc’s straight leash on Max for this), make them stay another moment, then give the release command.

They get better every night. The past two nights I have been able to keep Max off leash for the whole walk and with very minimal instruction, he stays “inside”. Mickey is doing well, I think he would actually get all this quicker than Max, but he is harder to train because he takes constant vigilance and he prefers a greater distance between himself and the pack (and I am doing this after 8:30pm and it is dark (though of course I have my headlamp on! Best tool for so many things, but I believe indispensable for dog walking at night. I use this model and it has totally paid for itself. )). There are lots of things you can teach multiple dogs simultaneously, but the details of off leash work require an almost one-on-one level of attention in the beginning. Once Max has it, I will begin with Mickey.

One more random piece of the training program. We change sides of the street together. There is no willy nilly street crossing. The first night they were a bit shocked at this news, but they got used to it and it is fine now. If they just wander towards the other side, I call them back. If they leave it alone, then we move on. If they both try it or if one tries often (and nicely) I get everyone together, make them stay still as I move around them to reposition myself between the cars on the road and the dogs and we re-establish order. There is a new “inside” but the rules are the same.

This was a little complex for them at first, but they got it quickly through repetition and consistency. Last night (August 26th) no one even asked to switch sides. This probably sounds rather anal, and it probably is. (I do try and use my crazy for the forces of Good.) But, like all my dog training tactics, there is a reason and a point to it. Some of it comes back to numbers. The more dogs you have to walk at one time, the more control you need.

Some of it is safety. (Two six month old hound dog pups I raised have pulled me down and dragged me across parking lots (and I mean fully layed out on the ground busted chin being pulled on my stomach/side/back by the leashes I still hold), through gardens, almost out into the street.) Another practical application is simply about “will” and leadership. I (anyone in charge of a dog) need the animal to have faith in me and in my decisions and requests/commands. It really is about helping them get more freedom not about me gaining control. I need the confidence in them and our bond to be able to let them run free – which is what we all want in the end.

But they are getting it and they like it. The plan worked out. Max quickly figured out that learning a few rules and following them and staying off leash is much better than walking on leash and being pulled and fussed at the whole time. Now the walk is almost all pure fun. The better Max gets, the more attention I can pay to Mickey and he has a better time too. There is a nice grassy area and a sandy beach and a lake near the end of this circuit and on “good nights” everybody gets to party. Those two guys run and chase and smash each other. When Max gets tired, I chase Mickey. Even here in the play, I am teaching Mickey. I use my voice to help set-up the perimeter of our “play area” and he abides by this quickly.

Stay Tuned…Part 4

Part 2 of 5 (Part 1 of 5 here)

Part of my desire to further train the boys is selfish. I hate leashes. I hate walking dogs with leashes on. I am not making some grand statement that leashes are bad and wrong and should be abolished. They have their place and can be great tools. But in a way, I compare it to potty training a kid. It sucks to do, but life is a lot better once they get it. (And I have never met a dog who walks off leash, who poops on pavement of any kind, or anywhere near the paths people (and animals) use. Off leash dogs go poop alone in the woods, or tall weeds, or in the middle of some bushes, somewhere out of the way, behind some cover.)

The first general objective in training and specifically leash training, is to get to the point as rapidly as possible where you no longer need the leash to control your dog. This is one of the most frustrating and misunderstood parts of modern life with dogs. Putting a leash on a dog does not mean that the dog is under control. For the vast majority of non-city situations, dogs (even or especially untrained dogs) are better to deal with and less likely to cause damage and chaos off leash than on it. A well trained dog needs a leash like butter needs margarine.

This is what kills me about leash laws and the method of enforcement. Like so many of our laws, the letter of the leash laws does not at all match the spirit of the leash laws. But people do not understand leashes, or dogs. The point of having a leash law is to capture the idea that you (human) are responsible (morally and more important to this discussion, legally) for the actions of your dog. Your dog should be under control. Well – that probably should be the intent of the leash law, but in practice that is not the case. In practice (and in enforcement) the law is simple – keep your dog on a physical leash at all times. This my friends is completely counter productive.

A poorly behaved dog is a poorly behaved dog. On leash, off leash – it makes no difference. If you can’t keep your dog from coming to eat my sandwich at the park (or whatever) when it is off leash, what makes you think you can manage it with him on leash? I am in decent shape now, but still had actual muscles (small ones) and stuff back in the mid 90s when I really began dog training. One 65 pound hound dog could pull me down off my feet and drag me around if I was not careful.

And he grew to be closer to a one hundred pound dog. Now, working with a dog to get them prepared to walk off leash (and on leash) is not automatic, and there are many steps between getting your dog home from the shelter and happily walking through the woods (or the city) leash free. It is going to take longer for some teams (dog/s and biped/s) to get there and some may not. But the end goal is just that – an END goal. The pursuit is life long and enjoyable. You and your dog will teach each other stuff. You will both get and stay healthier (inside and out). There will be less and less need for you to say anything negative or even commanding to your companion.

So – it burns my biscuits that there are still people that we see regularly that at a minimum frown and scowl and refuse to say “hi” every time we see them because Lucas is walking beside or behind me passively while I stroll along with his leash tucked in my belt. Some of these folks have seen us doing this for over 10 years. And some of these people still actually say to us, out loud, every time, “You need to put that dog on the leash right now!” I try to stay polite, but I always retort. I cannot let it go. To the folks with excessively bad attitudes who refer to the fact that “It is the law!” I usually end up with some form of, “hey, want me to follow you around and see which laws you decide to break today?”

Maybe this comes from folks who have been seriously hurt. Maybe these are weird ass law sticklers. (I don’t think so. I have watched some of them and they don’t use their turn signals which is also illegal and way more dangerous than Lucas walking beside me.) Or maybe these are just deeply unhappy people who need stuff to yell about and get mad at. I am sure they find no shortage. But what kills me is the misunderstanding of the law (or the purpose of the law). I have talked with cops, park employees, and animal control workers in several states (at least 5) about this and they all say the same thing. They do understand and agree that control is the objective not some piece of fabric. And they generally only issue citations to people whose dogs are out of control. But they almost never give any citation or even a verbal warning to the folks whose dogs are on leash, but out of control. And when the old lady complains (or whatever) they crack down on everyone who is off leash regardless of the level of control.
Like I said. Burns. My. Biscuits.

Once you get to that state, that well-behaved-off-leash state, you can begin to do some really fun stuff together and you can take your dog everywhere and people will be amazed (most people).

Link to video of Mickey

Stay Tuned…Part 3

If you have not already done so, you must now mentally prepare yourself and unleash the falsetto metal god within. (I am lookin’ at you MBIH!)

Here i am…
That’s all for the topical weather related commentary, but i think a fairly good intro to something new here at the bone. In the tradition of great writers and hacks alike, this marks the beginning of the first serialized set of stories at Bone of Contention. I can tell you that it is all about dogs, dog training, a wide-ranging though not exhaustive discussion on leashes, and a weird lady. It is currently 10 single spaced pages without pictures, and I have it broken into 5 semi-equal sections. It isn’t going to change the world, or make your cry, but it does give me a chance to share a few things and more importantly, work on the writing. I did largely start this blog to get me to keep writing and working on storytelling, and this story was very good practice. (And you thought i just wanted to complain to the universe about web browsers!)

And one more bit of pre-post business. I don’t know what is happening with the formatting here. The text fields and where i have made paragraph breaks look different in the wordpress post creation screen, full screen mode, and preview mode. Why this would be, i don’t know. Sorry about that.
I had an oddly fascinating/annoying/just-plain-weird encounter yesterday (August 26th) and decided to share it here with you all.
You will be shocked to learn that, first, there is some back story. I believe anyone who reads here is familiar with this fella…

Only three of my pals have met Mickey and Max (and I think only one of them reads this).

Right now, Lucas and i are living with Mickey and Max and their two bipeds. We used to go on our walks together – at least two bipeds and the three dogs, but as Lucas gets older, this has become more and more difficult. Lucas does not like to walk quite as far as he used to. He often walks just long enough to do his thing then he stops in the middle of the path and turns to face the car and stands there until you recognize your error and go with him back to the car. (The guy is 15 so it is hard to blame him.) Lucas also gets bored quickly. He likes to go to new places and take new walks.
Mickey is about 3 and Max is about 5 and they have different needs. We can’t do what we used to do. I get up about 6 every day and take Lucas out. I used to take everyone. At first, the other boys were frustrated that we did not all go together, but Lucas and I solo are always back inside before 20 minutes passes and that includes the round trip drive in the car. My friend takes his guys out later and they do about an hour. I take Lucas to a different park in the afternoon and my friend takes his guys out a bit later. I walk Lucas alone a bit in the evening, and then I walk Mickey and Max around the neighborhood.

Everyone is adjusting to the routine pretty well. Mickey and Max do like the routine of going on the same walk twice-a-day every day. They understand what is expected of them. There are no cars. There is plenty of water for cooling, playing, drinking.

There are lots of smells and animals and other dogs. It was fairly common that we would end up in a pack of 15 or so dogs as we walked this mile and half (one way) stretch of path through the woods.
Several months ago (maybe March?), i started working with Mickey and Max. They are pretty well behaved and have been trained to do certain things, but they are young still and they need to improve their skill set to be able to easily go to more places. They were both raised on those extendy retracty leash things. I don’t know what they are called because i have never bought one or looked at it in the store. While i concede and can envision that it is possible that there may be some very small market in which these are useful, i do maintain that these are evil.

For most everyone out there (dog and person) these are a terrible idea and can seriously limit your ability to actually train (much less control) your dog. I am not coming down on my buds who have used these on M+M, or you if you have one and like it. The physical tools are the least important aspect of training. Your interaction with the animals, that bond and that love and that joy in being together. That is what gets it done. That and consistency. Build a schedule and stick to it. Same rules and expectations. Same rewards and punishments. But good tools can help and inferior tools make things harder. The retracty leash thingys may be fine for most dogs and people out there if you are only dealing with one dog. Once you have two dogs (or meet other dogs or runners or babies or whatever) it is much harder.
M+M know “sit”, “come” or “to me”, “off the road”, and they are around 80-90% compliant with their male biped and when we started, 60-90% compliant for me. I started out simple with them. Mickey actually listens to me a little more than Max at this stage, but Max stays closer to me and is less likely to bolt after something. I kept Max off leash from the start and left Mickey on his retracto device for the first quarter mile or so just to get him settled a bit, to keep him close until the path gets to an area with decent sight lines, and to get him used to listening to me early on in the walk. Then I let Mickey free as well and pretty much leave them alone to play and enjoy the rest of the way out.

On the way back, I start to impose a little more order – shortening the distance that I let them roam, talking to them more often, having them sit every so often just to get them used to it. Once we get back to the area where the sight lines get worse, near where I let Mickey off leash on the way out, I corral the guys and teach them “heel”.
My “heel” is different from many other people’s “heel”. All I am looking for in a “heel” command is that the pack actively gives over the “point” position to me. I go first and the dogs stay behind me (relatively close, but they don’t have to stay in a geostationary position). They can play and sniff and switch sides or whatever, as long as they stay behind me. It does not take them very long to get this. After they have it down, I show my buddy and he likes it. After we quit walking together, he keeps this up and finds it very useful…

Stayed tuned for the next chapter, Part 2.