What is a Dragline and Why Does it Help New Puppies?
There are many factors that go into dog training, including consistency, knowledge, and experience. But every once in a while, we can integrate a fun little trick or two that helps dogs do a better job adapting to the needs of the household.
One example is a drag line, and it is an essential dog training tool that is especially effective for new, young puppies.
The term “drag line” refers to a simple leash that you or your dog trainer places on the puppy. Yet instead of holding the leash and walking the dog, the puppy is allowed to run around your home with the leash on the ground. Your puppy runs around dragging the “line” behind it.
Meant to only be used indoors and with owner supervision, drag lines are an important puppy training tool, and one that has long term benefits for both you and your dog.
Do dogs feel more comfortable without collars?In our opinion, the dog should always wear a collar if they are outside. However, unless you need them to train to use a collar, they may not have to wear it inside the home. In fact, they will probably be a whole lot more comfortable like that.
Little dogs can also pack a lot of muscle
The JAMA study didnt break down whether it was large or small dogs implicated in the owners injuries. While common sense might say big dogs are the culprits, people might be surprised, Ohlmann said, at what size dog can exert enough force to cause injury. “There are 30-40 pound dogs that could absolutely knock me down,” he said.
My own pup was stronger than I was from the time he was quite young. His power piqued my curiosity, so I researched canine strength for AKC Family Dog magazine, where I spoke with Dr. Joe Wakshlag, Diplomate, for the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. He confirmed that dogs are definitely stronger than the average person.
Theyve got all this power in their hips, legs, shoulder and back, he explained, and can generate incredible force because their center of gravity is lower and forward — and theyve got four legs. Theyre at their strongest pulling in a straight line, so you attach a collar and leash and suddenly from the dogs perspective, “Ive got this thing pulling me from up top” so they just dig in with their hind limbs.
Why does my dog drag its bum on the floor?
Youve probably seen it a thousand times: a dog at the end of its leash, dragging its hapless owner down the street. Its not just annoying to dog and owner, but dangerous, according to a new study.
The study in “JAMA Surgery” is raising awareness of the risks of dog-walking. Researchers on this first study of its kind found an uptick in the number of fractures associated with walking leashed dogs for older Americans, the studys co-author, Kevin Pirruccio, MD candidate at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told NBC News BETTER. Most of the injuries are to the hip and upper extremities and are happening most often among women. Thirty percent require hospitalization.
How much of an increase are we talking? Between 2004 and 2017 the number of patients 65 years or older presenting to U.S. emergency departments with dog-walking related fractures grew from 1,671 to 4,396, the study said.
Does the potential for injury mean you should hang up your leash? Not at all, said Pirruccio. “Our study is not meant to discourage seniors from walking their dogs. … I would absolutely encourage a [senior] looking to bring a canine companion into their home to do so, recognizing the joys that dogs bring.”
He had some precautions in light of these results, however, starting with teaching dogs better leash manners. “I would stress the importance of obedience training and making sure that the dog is taught not to lunge while on a leash,” Pirruccio said. “I would also encourage a [senior] to add resistance training and balance exercises to their daily life, in order to improve their overall durability and minimize the chances or consequences of a fall. Lastly, if they had not yet decided on a particular dog breed, I may suggest a smaller or more easily trainable dog as a pet.”
Where do you even start with teaching a dog not to pull? I used to be the person being pulled down the street by a dog and didnt think there was any other option. But when we brought home Cassius Thunderpaws, a nine-pound half-Great Pyrenees puppy whod grow up to be 10 times that size, I knew I needed to learn how to handle him, stat. We enlisted the help of Louisville dog trainer Tyler Ohlmann, who blew our minds with teachings like: the leash should be loose when you walk.
Ohlmann (who has three dogs at home in the 130-150+ pound range) shared his best advice for anyone struggling with a dog who pulls. For starters, he said, recognize that the pup is probably just doing what theyve been taught.
“Most people walk a dog wrong,” Ohlmann said. “People think you need to hold the dog in place [so they] pull on the leash to hold the dog. That triggers opposition reflex, and the dog pushes forward. … [and] they walk. As long as the dog is pushing they get to do stuff, they get to explore, and dogs do what works … so [pulling] becomes the price they pay to go somewhere. Youre literally teaching a dog to pull, which is probably a number one reason a dog is walking poorly to begin with.”
Making matters worse, Ohlmann said, are retractable leashes. From a training standpoint the flexi leads are “awful because they teach a dog to pull,” he said, since as the dog pulls, theyre rewarded with more leash. Injuries (to person and dog) occur when the dog runs to the end and breaks the flywheel in the handle — most people are using a lead not appropriate for their dogs size, he said — or pulls the lead out of the persons hand and then runs away. Even bystanders can be hurt if they get between a person and their lunging dog thirty feet of line away.
One of Ohlmanns clients learned the hard way about retractable leashes. Prior to training, Renee Beckum Abell had her 46-pound pit mix Pearl outside on a retractable leash when the dog spotted a squirrel. “All of a sudden I hear the leash spin out and before I can catch her she hits the end at a dead run,” Abell said. “She is solid muscle … it snapped my head back like I had whiplash.” Abells first rib was dislocated and it took months of physical therapy to recover, she said. Afterwards? She enrolled Pearl in training. The former squirrel chaser “is now a completely different dog,” Abell said. “Shes not perfect but as far as trying to remove body parts, it is night and day.”