A slip lead is not for beginners. Nor is it for everyday use unless the dog is completely trained. It is a training tool. Be careful, you don't want to choke your dog.

For daily use I really like the Easy Walk by Gentle Leader. It straps around the body and the chest and hooks to a leash at the chest. I have 2 border collies and they both walk well with this setup, and when the do get too excited and pull it just turns their whole body. This plus training helps a lot.

Here are a couple of pics, first one is with the easy walk on.







My puppy is a bit older now, but if anything she is more muddy than ever. She is usually a bit afraid of going on a walk until she is out of the house, then it is the best thing ever.

I also live with a cat, but he has to give permission for his image to appear online...

The slip lead has been great for training my dog. I can walk him on it without any problem. My 5 year old can walk him on it with out trouble.

I have a gentle leader too and have used both but prefer the slip lead with my new puppy. It all depends on how the dog responds.

So i guess the 'dogs look like their owners' thing isn't true after all...

It's true, Oscar is very cute.

I will attest to the cuteness similarities.

Puppy update...

Energy and Chewing - Dogs sure do change fast. The puppy has now transitioned from being an adorable sweetie pie (jumping and prancing like a little lamb), to being a total rambunctious terror. No matter what toy I offer him to chew on, he'd rather chew on human flesh instead. He has more energy than I know what to do with and he's wearing me out! There are just so many hours in the day that I can play with a dog

Feeding - I found a great website that had a calorie counter on it. You put in the nutritional information of your dog food and the weight of your dog and it tells you how many cups of food per day you should be feeding it. I am now feeding him closer to 3 cups a day because he acts like he's starving to death. He attacks his food bowl like a wolf, practically inhaling his food!

Water - I've cut down on his water and it has helped a lot. Instead of peeing every 30 minutes, he is now peeing about every 1-2 hours. (I'm not taking that dog out into the snow every 30 minutes people.)

Biting - This dog is out of control. He wants me to play with him like I'm another dog. I had him on my lap this morning and he bit my chin, darn him

I learned that I need to give him a certain type of rawhide chewy since he is practically devouring the original kind I bought him. I didn't know there was so much to know about rawhide.

Clueless friends - I'm learning that so-called "dog people" don't have a clue when it comes to puppies. A lot of dog-people have never even raised a puppy but think they know how. They tell me all kinds of stuff that conflicts with what I've read. One of my friends who acts like she's a dog expert told me that by 6 wks of age a puppy should be old enough to pee outside in the snow and hold his pee for 2 hours. yeah okay i think you've never raised a puppy before, girl.

Leash Walking -

My dog wants nothing to do with the leash. Taking him outside with it on is a disaster. He jumps and writhes all over the place. He acts like he is being tortured. The closest I've come to having him walk on a leahs was by holding out a paper cup full of water and letting him run after me and the cup. Man does he love water!


Thanks for your cautionary warning. I will not use the slip lead until he is older and has gotten use to the traditional leash. I was so excited when I ordered the slip lead because Crashjr has had great success with it. I've come to think that Crashjr has a really smart obedient puppy while I have somehow acquired myself a little stubborn donkey

heh sounds like for all the frustration you have a lovable little dog on your hands, katy. Hang in there. I've heard pets tend to take on the temperaments of their owners. Perhaps your dog is just strong-willed like its momma

What breed is your pup, katy? I must have missed that in an earlier post.

We were told that he's part giant schnauzer.

There is a lot to be said about attitude. mrscrashjr has been loading up on Dog Whisperer episodes, which she seems to enjoy and give her a better understanding of what a dog sees as its place in the world.

Can you tell why is he biting? Is it play? Is it to establish dominance?

My pup has a very soft mouth, encouraged by retriever training toys and absolutely no tug of war type games, but he would still nip at my 2 year old as part of his effort to establish dominance over her. I broke him of it by escalation of efforts culminating in flipping him over on his back and having her bite his ear, just like a dominant pack dog would do to him. It worked.

Puppy teeth sure are sharp.

You must react immediately to the bite. Give a quick, sharp “No”, not yelling but be authoritative. Grab the scruff of his neck and give a quick shake; this is how mother dogs handle their pups. Then stop the activity and withhold it for a short while, maybe a few minutes. The pup will soon learn that bites result in the end of play and the “big dog” being upset.

That's how the moms handle their pups. You are not the mom. He knows you're not the mom. This is only going to make him feel uncomfortable with you and may even provoke aggression.

All positive reinforcement imo. Never ever hit your dog. If you never inflict pain or restrain your dog (unless it's for his own protection and is necessary) then you'll never have to.

Who said anything about hitting your dog? Perhaps I was too brief. By quick shake what I meant was a just moving the skin around a little, not anything like shaking the whole dog around. Probably less physical than normal play would be. And the puppy will look to you as the leader of the pack and act accordingly and not aggressively.

I don't want to get into an internet argument so the this is the last I'll say on the subject of using only positive reinforcement. While very important, it should not be the only tool in your box. Negative punishment is not smacking around a dog that is misbehaving. It can be as simple as stopping a fun activity if the dog is acting inappropriately. The dog learns that "if I do this, I don't get to do that. And that is much more fun."

I agree there is never any reason to inflict actual pain. Ever. But please tell me how you can never "restrain your dog".

Hey Katy,

My pups are about 7 and 9 months old, so just really starting to come out of that "8 week old stage" you are getting frustrated by. First, I'll say keep your chin up (so your pup doesn't bite it! ba-doom). It does get easier eventually, but will be tough for a few months.

The nipping was a problem with 1 of our pups. She would get playing and just constantly want to bite. You have to consistently either "yelp" in a loud high pitched squeal, like a dog in pain, or, you can just say "no" in a loud voice. Either way, turn your back, ignore the dog, and stop playing immediately. Seeing you stop playing because the pup is biting will give hit home for the dog. Also, make sure you don't use your hands/feet/other body parts as "toys." For instance, I always like to use my hands and play like tag or whatever little game with the puppy, but that was ALWAYS initiating biting, so I had to really try hard not to do it. Also inform friends of this rule to stay as consistent as possible.

The peeing will get better, but taking them out constantly is pretty much something that can't be avoided. FWIW, our dogs aren't really housebroken, but accidents when they have access outside are pretty much gone. It's teaching them to hold it when the door is closed that is the last part for us. But, we also have 2 breeds that are notoriously difficult to housebreak.

Are you crate training your dog?

Both of our dogs were not good on leashes the first few times either. One just layed down and refused to walk. The other sat down and refused to walk. Neither sounds as bad as just going berserk. Our front neighbor trains service dogs and used to train puppy classes. She gave me this advice:

Just walk on the leash. If you have to pull the dog you pull the dog. Obviously don't go overboard and cause damage, but the idea is that it will be uncomfortable for the dog. He/she will quickly learn that they can just walk alongside you and not be uncomfortable. It seems cruel, but it worked fairly quickly for our dogs. I usually paired a "let's go" voice command with pulling on the dogs leash. Now, if they stop to smell something, I can just say "let's go" and they know to keep up.

Once you get that down, your dog will probably start pulling, which is another whole new ballgame I haven't really solved

Yes, I agree with this. I'm trying to teach my puppy that "big dog" gets upset when little puppy is too rough. I'm trying the yelping thing (I feel pretty ridiculous but I'm just that desperate) and immediately stop whatever activity we were doing. He either looks sad or he starts to attack me again. If he comes back biting again, I get up and go searching for his dog chewy. He really really wants me to play with him.

Like just now, I was outside in the yard with him for 20 minutes, literally running all over the yard and woods as he chased me. Then he started eating leaves so I began chasing him trying to get them out of his mouth. Round and round the yard we went with him playing "keep away". He's pretty damn fast. I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid. Now I'm exhausted and he STILL wants me to play with him. This dog's going to kill me.

Believe me, DosXX, I learned my lesson! I am definitely keeping my chin up around this guy.

Interesting that you mention this. This is definitely a problem with all our friends and family who come over and want to play with him. They use their hands like toys. grrr. I try to tell them not to but they don't respect my opinion so they just do as they please. annoying to say the least.

As I mentioned in my post to didace, the high pitch yelping actually works to a degree but this pup is pretty tenacious. You should see him in action!


Not crate training him at the moment as I have a HUGE crate and he is a smallish creature. But I am seriously thinking of throwing his ass into a crate and locking him up in it if he doesn't stop pooping in my kitchen.

Yesterday he did great and I was patting myself on the back for being the greatest puppy trainer in the world. I thought we had made great strides! He didn't have an accident in the house for over 13 hours yesterday. Not one. But today, omg we have regressed. Don't even ask me how many "accidents" he's had in the past 8 hours. I will start to cry.


On your encouragement, I decided to try the leash thing again. First I took him out to the back yard and walked him around on the leash. He did MUCH better today. However, he seemed a bit distracted by the leash and tried to bite it several times. Then, later, I took him to the front sidewalk and he looked very confused and scared. The sidewalk is not part of our daily routine and he viewed it as scary. With a lot of coaxing and "come on sweetie" he walked with me to the house next door and back. I think he did great! VEry encouraged by this. Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement because I was not going to try it again today until I read your post.

You guys have been great and I can't tell you how much I value your input and all the suggestions offered.

If the crate is too big he'll just poop/pee in the back corner and then sit in the front.

seems like a better place for this than a new thread, so here goes.

I want a dog. Always have since the dog I grew up with died(I was around 14, parents got him about a month after I was born).

I'm single, 26 years old. Seriously looking into getting a dog in the next year, but having doubts about the feasibility of owning one. My job has me really busy 6-8 months out of the year, working 50-60 hours a week in that span with some travel involved about 10 weekends or so. The other 4-6 months contain a lot of down time where I would be working fewer hours (30-40 max), very little travel, and with a good chunk off(as much as a month depending on circumstances) for vacation.

Is it feasible to raise/care for a dog in this situation or am I **** out of luck?

I really wouldn't think about it in your situation, especially if you're thinking about getting a puppy. My pup just turned 5 months old and I gotta say caring for him is a full time job in itself. Fortunately(or unfortunately) I've been out of work for wayyyyyyyyyyy too long and have been able to give him all the attention he needs. I'm also lucky enough that my mother lives in an apartment downstairs and can help me out once and a while. I can't imagine having a puppy while working 50-60 hours and being single. Pups need to eat 3 times a day and need to piss every 1hr pretty much.

yeah I knew I would definitely need some help, either a roomate who was cool with it or, i don't know, a dog sitter?(for some reason i don't like that idea). I thought/hoped maybe that down season would give me time to try and raise the dog right, but it always seemed like I was really reaching.

I think this is probably sometimes true and sometimes not. For instance, my mini dachshund is in a crate (and has been since she was 3 months old) that is made for lab size dogs. Conventional wisdom says she would just use a corner as a bathroom, but this hasn't happened. Her accidents only happened when she couldn't physically hold pee anymore and she never pooped in it once. Of course dogs vary widely, but this is my experience.

FWIW, the crate has helped maintain our (my wife and I) sanity while house breaking. You never want to use the crate as a discipline measure. But, sometimes we got so frustrated picking up pee every 20 minutes for hours that we would "happily" put them in the crates for a few hours, just so we could have a break!

Also, the crate training let us leave the house and not worry about the dogs getting into anything. I would strongly recommend it.

One of our dogs came practically crate trained already. The other hated being in them at first. What we did was put the dog in for the first time right in the middle of the living room (or wherever is a normal play area) and just opened the door, let the dog sniff it, etc. After a few minutes we threw some treats in and encouraged her to go in. Next day repeat and maybe close the door (continuing to treat her) and see how she reacts. If it's positive, keep her in for a few minutes, praising all the time. Then let her out and maybe have some play time. Continue putting her in for longer and longer. It's very advantageous to just put them in the crate even when you normally wouldn't and have them get used to it.

Never take them out when they are barking. You must wait until they stop, otherwise you are encouraging them to bark when they want out. It took about a month, but the dog who hated it now never, ever complains about being in the crate, except early in the morning when she has to pee.

Probably TL;DR but I had some downtime at work at decided to do short biographies on my cats.

Name: Lyla
Acquired: Private Local Pet Shelter 07/08
Nickname: Lyla Loo and Growlzilla
Age: Around 5
Weight: 11 pounds
Color: Black
She earned the nickname of Growlzilla due to her persistent growling at Apollo. For whatever reason, if he comes within 5 feet of her… Grrrrrrrowwlll.
Favorite Toy: skunk with rattle
Endearing characteristics: When I come home from work, she will be sitting on the top of the scratching post, waiting for a pet. She also enjoys riding on my shoulder. Also,
While being petted she will at times look at you and give a silent meow.
Irritating characteristics: Her growling at Apollo. Sometimes I feel like saying STFU already.

Name: Apollo
Acquired: Private Local Pet Shelter 09/08
Nickname: Apollo baby cat
Age: Around 4
Weight: 14 pounds
Color: Orange Tabby
Nicknamed for his kitten like qualities while he plays
Favorite Toy: black twist ties. Yes, black twist ties. The type that comes from electronics like cables, power cords, etc. He will not play with any other color.
Endearing characteristics: His caring for the other cats in the group. Examples include his relationship with Dozer which was written previously. Simon had a sneezing fit the other day. Apollo was there with a concerned look on his face. If he were human, I am convinced he would be a nurse or a doctor. His little squeak of a meow.
Irritating characteristics: Hates being picked up. Makes nail trimming somewhat difficult.. He will buck like a bronco.

Name: Minnie
Acquired: County animal shelter 06/09. Story: We went to an outdoor pet adoption at a park near us to look around: no intention of buying anything. Wife saw a greyhound adoption booth and bee lined there. She was chatting with the people and I got bored and went to the next booth. I started playing with the kittens that were in a cage. Out of the three, one really seemed to enjoy what was going on. That was Minnie.
After a while, she was tired. She grabbed my finger, put it in her mouth, flipped over and fell right to sleep. Had to take her home after that.
Nickname: Minnie min pin.
Age: Close to 3
Weight: 6 pounds
Color: Brownish. Interesting is that she looks like a Tabby on one side and a Calico on the other.
Nicknamed this because she is tenacious. She is the smallest cat, 6 pounds, will not under any circumstance yield to any of the other cats. Makes for some interesting skirmishes.
Favorite Toy: Something we call a feather bomb, which is essentially a round ball with feathers sticking out of one side. She loves running up and down the steps chasing it.
Endearing characteristics: She walks like a bulldog. Her growl is so low pitched it is funny coming from such a small cat. Before she goes to sleep in her bed, she will knead the bed and suckle on her little blanket. Pretty sad when you see it actually. Left her mom too soon I imagine.
Irritating characteristics: She isn’t nearly as bad now, but she used to hide under furniture and wait for another cat to walk by. She would then jump out, attack them, and go back hiding. But, that is what kittens do.

Name: Abner
Acquired: Estate sale 11/09. Yes, an estate sale, along with his brother Midnight. We are friends with a guy who runs estate sales and one day we were at one of his sales. He mentioned that there were two cats upstairs that the family did not want. They seemed nice, so we took them.
Nickname: Buddha Belly, Raccoon, armadillo and any fat name you can think of.
Age: 8 or 9
Weight: 16 pounds
Color: Brown Tabby
Nicknamed because well he is fat. He has lost a pound since we have had him.
Favorite Toy: He really doesn’t play much. His idea of play is to take a toy, lay there and hug it.
Endearing characteristics: To numerous to mention all. He will come up to you and poke you when he wants something. Really enjoys waking us up on the weekend to let us know its time to eat. Poke, poke. Probably the sweetest cat we have.
Irritating characteristics: The biggest cat is also the most easily bullied. He will just walk away from conflict, although he and his brother have gotten in the most fur flying fights.

Name: Midnight
Acquired: Estate sale 11/09.
Nickname: Constable Midnight.
Age: 8 or 9
Color: Black
Weight: 11 pounds. He weighed 14 when we got him
Nicknamed because when there is a skirmish, he will come by and just start slapping the most aggressive cat, which really conflicts with his demeanor. He is our police cat.
Favorite Toy: Again, no toy. He plays less than Abner. Although, I have seen him at 3 in the morning batting a toy around.
Endearing characteristics: Great sense when the wife doesn’t feel well. He will not leave her side when she is ill.
Irritating characteristics: His shyness. It took 6 months for him to come down into the basement and eat with the other cats. It took 3 months after that to eat the same room as the other cats. Even today, if there is a lot of noise, he will not eat. He will go in the downstairs bathroom and sit.

Name: Simon
Acquired: Private Local Pet Shelter 07/10
Nickname: None, yet
Age: Around 2
Weight: 11 pounds
Color: White Angora
Favorite Toy: A bird toy that chirps when it is touched. He loves to slap it around and chase it.
Endearing characteristics: He is at 100% or 0 percent which means he is either running around aggressively, or sleeping. He will sleep anywhere, at anytime. Watching him chase Apollo down the hall, then two seconds later watching Apollo chase him down the hall.
Irritating characteristics: He can be a little too aggressive when playing with the other cats.

All in all a pretty good group of beasts.

My dog is a staff/labrador although i often compare his speed to a greyhound's he is a tough guy in front of the others in the park but he really has the biggest heart. Also he can get over my six foot back garden wall when he tries his great escapes.