I really think there’s something to this Dog Whisperer stuff. His number one thing is exercise. I’ve been exercising the dogs ever since we brought Alice home and I can’t believe how well things are working out. Instead of Lizzy running around the house like she always does, she sleeps all day and doesn’t get excited until walk time. I’ve only watched his television show twice and already you can see a difference in Lizzy. If only he’d been around 10 years ago… I’ve read countless “how to train your dog” books and this is the first method that has worked at all for me. I’m reading his book right now and while I’m still in the autobiographical parts, I’ve picked up a few good tips already.
In an effort to cut back on my exercise, I’ve walked both dogs at once on a few occasions. I stick pretty close to the house when I do this because I’m still not confident in my abilities. Plus, the other route we take has a ton of dogs (and not to mention, rabbits) on it and Lizzy always gets excited. I’d hate to be a few blocks from the house and have some sort of incident. But, as time goes on, I think I’ll be able to do the secondary route on my own, too.
Already, my thoughts have turned to winter. I’m not looking forward to doing our daily walks then. Maybe we’ll have to move to a warmer climate to accommodate my dog-walking.