More boring questions!

I've just read an article on "claiming back my children" from a boisterous dog.
This article explains about letting your child stand calmly "like a tree" while you become a block between the dog and the child until the dog gives up.
Anyone heard of this before? Could it work?

Chases food ...
Chase is now chomping down his food in one go instead of grazing like he used to.
I think this is a combination of food change (better quality food) and him actually getting the exercise he needs to burn off energy and in turn needing to properly eat.
I'm guessing I'll need to adjust how much he eats so he doesn't gain/lose weight as he's perfect right now?

Frozen shoulder ...
I now have a frozen shoulder from all his pulling!
If Matt is working then I have to walk him beside the pushchair which makes it hard to correct him. I put him on a choke chain the day after we got him (used only to correct him and not strangle him) and he was walking to heel lovely with me ... Until The lady at the RSPCA took it off him and chucked it in the bin!
A friend suggested using a Halti or a half choke flat collar just to help with training. Anyone got any experience with these?
This will be used combined with the clicker!

Retractable lead ...
A friend brought over a retractable lead (meant for a 60 kilo dog) she'd picked up for £1 at a carboot sale thinking it could help with his recall.
I'm thinking it could come in handy at the beach or when we walk over Exmoor just to give him a bit of free roam time. It wouldn't be used anywhere near a road or when training.
Good idea or not?

I'm not sure about the child thing - what exactly does it achieve?

If you think he's eating too quickly you can either get him a 'puzzle' bowl which will make him have to chase his food around the bowl, thereby slowing him down. Or simply put a tennis ball in his bowl so he has to eat around it.

I don't much like extendable leads, you have no real control - an accident waiting to happen. You'd be better off with a long line (about 20 feet or so) to give him some freedom but still give you control. I've seen some nasty accidents with extendables.

The 'standing like a tree' think makes sense to me. When a dog is bouncing and jumping and hurling himself about like a loon, it's often to get attention. Trees don't give you that attention. Trees also have neutral energy, and one of the most helpful things you can develop for yourself and your family when you have a very high energy dog is a way to 'shock absorb' that energy. It's a very hard concept to explain to anyone, let alone a child, so having a sort of game the kids can play - standing like a tree - is a brilliant idea. And you stand between so he can't play at lumberjacks with them. I'd definitely give it a go. What I would add, though, is that as soon as he calms down you need to praise him and give him a quiet cuddle, so that he can understand that being quiet gets him what he's seeking.

This sort of thing is good for guzzly dogs:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slow-Eating-Fun-Foraging-Bowl/dp/B01NAH1G3K/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1504513126&sr=1-1

Yes, you may need to adjust his feed. However, do bear in mind that better quality food often means you need less as they get more from it, and if (if!) Chase does calm down a bit he'll also be expending less throughout the day. Stress can consume a lot of energy. Keep an eye on his body condition and feed according to that.

I don't like any sort of choke collars, even half chokes. The way they work is to make pulling so uncomfortable that they don't want to do it. However, to make a seasoned puller want to stop you have to make it pretty uncomfortable, which for me is ethically wrong.

Have you looked at the 'loose lead walking' info sheet? I can't remember if I gave you the link before

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t66712-teaching-loose-lead-walking#1022186

There are two harnesses there that I've used, but both are training harnesses. I don't like haltis unless you have trained the dog to accept it first, and I also have concerns about what a big pull from a headcollar type leader can do to the neck. I know walking is great for dogs and I completely agree that dogs need walks. However, in your position I would say don't stress if you can't walk him every day. Spend that time with him training in the house/garden instead. Training is equally (if not more) stimulating and if Chase doesn't get a walk a couple of days a week it's not the end of the world.

Retractable leads - as said before, no. Just no. Lovely thought from your friend but go for the long line instead.

LizP wrote:The 'standing like a tree' think makes sense to me. When a dog is bouncing and jumping and hurling himself about like a loon, it's often to get attention. Trees don't give you that attention. Trees also have neutral energy, and one of the most helpful things you can develop for yourself and your family when you have a very high energy dog is a way to 'shock absorb' that energy. It's a very hard concept to explain to anyone, let alone a child, so having a sort of game the kids can play - standing like a tree - is a brilliant idea. And you stand between so he can't play at lumberjacks with them. I'd definitely give it a go. What I would add, though, is that as soon as he calms down you need to praise him and give him a quiet cuddle, so that he can understand that being quiet gets him what he's seeking.
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ah, right - I get it!