our new tactic

The trainer this summer suggested a 'house lead' to help curb bad habits inside and Mama finally decided to try it.

It's a loooong cotton lead which attaches to his collar and when he's being a pain or jumping on us when we eat at the table you just step on it. If you're foot is close enough to him then he doesn't have enough lead to be able to jump up. He tries but the lead keeps him in a stand or sit position.

Normally, when his leash/collar are on him inside he mopes- head and shoulders hunched and eyes glued to the ground. This is just that bad but it works. He's not a happy camper since he doesn't usually wear a collar inside and he definitely feels like he's being punished.

Now, we do understand that jumping and being hyper are normal Terrier traits so we're not trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. We just want him to remember he has to behave when it's not playtime. He usually gets the idea and backs off for a few days and then his nature gets the best of him and it's beast time again. So, this will be an ongoing thing throughout his life. We just hope this house lead (worn only in the house) will help him remember faster and therefore be needed for a shorter length of time. Normally, it takes a few crate 'time outs' a day when he's being a Terrier and we hope this will only require once or twice a day to settle him down. We hate seeing our sweet little boy unhappy but when he's hurting us he gets even unhappier about the crate. Cross your fingers!