Marlin and I started delivering papers again. We are just doing it one day a week. Why you ask? Well it definitely isn't for the money (we earn $11 a week which we promptly spend at Starbucks on our way home). My main reason was to get the girls out walking on a leash again.
I hate leash walks. When we first got Coulee, a leash walk was useless. She was so energetic that walking around the neighborhood wouldn't put a dent in her energy levels so we quickly moved on to off leash walks. We didn't have time to do both, and burning energy was our #1 priority. But that meant she didn't get a lot of on-leash training. And it shows. She can be quite horrible on leash - pulling, lunging, barking at people and lawn ornaments, etc.
Delivering the paper once a week makes sure that I can take her out. I know, I could just tell myself we are going to go on a leashed walk at least once a week but I always come up with an excuse to avoid it. This way I can't.
We've done the route about 4 times and I was finally ready to bring her with us. So I went out fully loaded with varies tools.
- Her gentle leader (which I haven't used in years) so that she doesn't pull,
- My Wacky Walkr leash so that when she does pull, she will have more resistance,
- Her bark collar so she wouldn't bark at people or lawn ornaments and last but not least,
- A pocket full of treats
She was AWESOME! She didn't bark once and she had plenty of things to bark at - people, dogs, wildlife and scary halloween ornaments. The only time she pulled was when she saw a bunny and that was short lived. I am in awe of how well she did and am so proud of her.
Next week will be Lacey's turn. I hope it goes half as well.
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