Blue trail out and back, Turkey Mountain

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
3/16/2019	2.6 miles		504'		35

Map: Turkey Mountain Map
Parking: Parking lot off of Route 118
Directions: Blue trail to summit, and blue trail back down

Today we started our next family manners class. The teacher asked each of us what we wanted to get out of the class. I told her - just one thing - loose leash walking. This skill eludes me. Krummholz's off leash hiking is one million times better than his loose leash walking, and we only started off leash hiking this week! We've been training loose leash walking in our house - which is easy for him. I also train it in our driveway. In general this is also easy - except for cars. He does try to lunge at cars - so at this point I am no longer trying to walk him on my street. I take him out most mornings and work on having him calm when cars go by. I do this by dropping treats on the ground as a car approaches, drives by, and passes our driveway. I have also worked on loose leash walking in shopping areas and on a bike path. Those went pretty well. I've started trying to do some training while hiking - that is not going well. I need help!

Right after our class, Glen and I headed out to Turkey Mountain with Krummholz. We left Trek at home, so I could focus on training Krummholz. I think Trek is also too big a distraction for Krummholz. I brought kibble (his lunch) mixed with cheese. That was not a high enough reward. It works fine for off leash hiking, but today, he had no interest in taking my food. Pulling was much more fun. Our loose leash walking training went out the door. This environment was way too difficult for him to think about walking nicely. So he pulled. Since he wasn't interested in food rewards, I worked on switching directions every time he pulled. That didn't go well. I saw him yawning and licking his lips - he was obviously stressed. I was frustrated. There was no improvement using this method - he had no clue what I was trying to help him do. He's a smart, willing dog, so something about how I'm trying to train this just isn't right. I decided to try something else - when he pulled, I stopped. I waited until he turned his head and made a step towards me. Then I'd give him a verbal marker and reward. This went slightly better. Over time, he would look back and head towards me faster than before. My shoulder ended up aching, and my knees were sore by the end of the hike. I think I need to try a head halter or a no pull harness while hiking.