Lorrie [00:00:09]:
Welcome to the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help both halves of your agility team build your relationship, communication, confidence, and fun in training so that you can joyfully succeed on any course. In this episode, we'll talk about the dog training game that could save your dog's life. I'm often touched by messages I receive from students, but this one brought me to actual tears because of the happy ending. My online tricks class has a lesson titled Lifesaving Tricks. It includes teaching dogs things like leave it and the leash game. While taking that class, one of the students sent me a message.
Lorrie [00:00:57]:
The dog's name has been changed for privacy. Here's what she wrote. "My dog can be a brat when it comes to leashing up. One of the many reasons she's never ever off leash. Normally, it's a 5 minute game to get her leash collar harness on her unless I leash her out of her crate. Well, I wanted to see what would happen, so I started playing the leash up game with my other dog, not my problem child. He caught on extremely quickly, but he always does when food is involved. But then 'Trouble' saw him getting treats and wanted to play too.
Lorrie [00:01:34]:
Now keep in mind, I only did this in one training session early this week. Well, last night, we took the pups to our local Cabela's for a doggy photo with Santa. The pups did great, but in the parking lot, 'Trouble' shook, and her leash came off. Here we are standing in the middle of the parking lot, 500 yards from Interstate 70. I immediately started to panic! I said, 'Trouble, leash up'. She walked right up to the leash and stood there!!!" There were lots of exclamation marks with that statement, by the way.
Lorrie [00:02:10]:
She continued on. "Let me give you context by saying this is the same dog who 3 years ago had the same thing happen in the same parking lot, and she bolted. She was only stopped because a bird in a bush caught her attention, and her harness got caught on a branch. Last night, she didn't have her harness on. This was a lifesaving game. I will continue to play it even just a couple of times a week for a minute. Thank you!" I continued the conversation with her and learned that she has always been frustrated by not being able to put a leash on that dog, and it caused her a lot of stress.
Lorrie [00:02:50]:
She was overjoyed that she had found something that worked and eternally grateful that this simple game may have saved her dog's life. If you've ever had difficulty leashing your dog after an agility run, when getting ready for a walk, or in any other situation, this game is a super fun and rewarding way to solve the problem. This week, take a look at The Leash Game videos and play the game with your dog. Teaching your dog to voluntarily leash up will save you frustration and heartache and may even save his life. The link to the videos on YouTube is in the show notes. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. If you are ready to fix your leash issues, there are extended lessons for The Leash Game inside The Agility Playground. It is one of the many critical lessons in the membership.
Lorrie [00:03:46]:
The Agility Playground is a low cost membership that meets you where you are on your dog agility journey and helps you propel your team to new heights. You can check out The Agility Playground and join our community at www.maximumfundogs.com. See you next time.
