Hi,

Im looking to take my puppy to obedience training in the next week or so but cant seem to find any in my immediate area. I live in Surrey and am looking for a class in redhill, reigate, dorking, leigh, or salfords.
Can anyone help?

Also, ive just an ingenious thing on the internet which i actually saw on tv the other day aswell. Its called a 'walky belt' and is a belt you wear around your waist and your dogs lead attaches to it leaving you with 2 free hands! Which is perfect for me as i need 2 hands to push my sons buggy with! Has anybody had any experience with these and think that theyre worth while having? You can even get them with a poo-bag holder (for empty poo bags of corse, ha ha!)

Sharon

Hi Sharon,
Have a look at this list of APDT trainers - there must be something in your area. Good luck.
:)

Walking belts can be bought from Culpeppers

HTH

Melody :)

Walky belts can also be bought from Chillidog
http://freespace.virgin.net/chilli.dog/
They also do leads and harnesses to match. I use the belt with my 2 Sibes and it is great, plenty of padding to stop it digging in, and adjustable so you can use it over a thick winter coat, or just a t-shirt.

Genuine question not trying to argue. What happens if the dogs take off, would you not get pulled over? Or what about another dog starting a fight?
Anne

I walk 2 strong Sibes, and although overweight and only 5'2" I have only ever been pulled over when walking one dog on a standard lead. When using the Walky Belt you can "lean back" and take the strain around your hips, rather than pull your arms out at the shoulder. It also comes in handy when you have to clean up after your dog, as you have both hands free! My leads have more than one D-ring on them, so I can hook them up shorter in town, and let them out longer on the field, and of course, you can still hold the lead in you hand , if you realy wanted to! I have seen people walk more than 2 Sibes in this way, though to try that I'd have to borrow someone elses dogs too!
Lynn

Would your dog need to be trained before using a walky belt, ie walking to heel, I was thinking it may be easier for me so i could take my puppy out on my own because I use crutches sometimes. (obviously in a safe area)

I personally would never use one of these belts until my pooch is trained to heel. He would have me over in seconds (at least i would have two hands to save myself):p

mmm thats what I thought actually thanks. maybe a thought for the future though.

Back to being `escorted` on our walks!! :)

Oh yes, definatly wouldnt use one untill my pup had finished obedience classes!!! god, imagine the public scenes if i didnt! ha ha!
Ive also asked my breeder what he thinks will be best, lead/harness/walky belt. Im awaiting his relpy.
Does anybody else have a big dog and find a harness better than a lead? I imagine a harness would make it easier to control the dog and ease the pulling on the lead? I could be wrong............cant wait for the grazed kneecaps whilst experimenting! LOL
Sharon

Now im starting to think walky belt and a skate board. I could sit and read (hold on for cornering) whilst Bradley had his exercise.

I could also invent a little poopy scoop for the front of the skateboard so it picks up the offending article whilst we zoom along.
Oh and on my delux version i could have a bottle holder and tary for my chilled wine whilst im rapped in sheepskin.. :p

:D :D :D :D

Emma, you've been reading "The Call of the Wild" again, haven't you? We'll have to rename you Nanook of the North ....
:D

Or roller skates when the off licence is about to shut. That way you have two hands free to carry the heavey bags

I've got two Mals. One (the biggest) will walk along quite happily and my Husband holds him on a lead. However, I attach a Halti if I take him as I don't have the strength to hold back 8 stone of dog! The other Mal is walked by me usually and usually on a walky belt. Unfortunately, he was born to pull ( a great worker :)) Mal and Husky owners only tend to use harnesses if the dogs are working as the dogs can pull easier in a harness. I don't see why that shouldn't be different to other breeds - harnesses take the strain on the chest and the dog is able to pull against it.

The dog training class I go to uses these in puppy classes as an exercise to make the dog look at you and not anticipate where you are going but have to keep looking at you because you walk all around the room and not just in circles.
Seems to work fine as an exercise, might be worth giving it a try for a period of time and see if your dog pays you more attention when out walking.

Lynne