Way back in June 2006 I posted a list of “mind games” from M. Shirley Chong which can be used to help train your dog. These “games” are basically a way for you to remind your dog that you are in control and that he/she needs to remember that.

Game #7 is called Follow the Leader. In this game, you attach your dog’s leash to your belt or around your waist for an hour. The dog is forced to pay attention to you and follow you everywhere you go. We refer to this as umbilical cord doggy or umbi-doggy 🙂

Perhaps Ayla is going through another growth spurt or maybe she’s just feeling the need to spread her wings and push limits but she has now “playing” this game with us twice in two days. And we basically haven’t done this with her for a while since she’s generally very good.

Lately it seems that when she is tired, hungry, thirsty or otherwise cranky she wants to body check us and jump all over the place. She also goes into a F.R.A.P. which we’re used to although she doesn’t usually have many of them these days. Yesterday she was going totally nuts so I decided to put her in time out in the entry way. Almost immediately she was snoozing on the floor. It did happen to be her usual napping time which I noticed so I’m guessing this was just her being tired but not wanting to lay down and potentially miss any action (whatever that would be while I’m working at the computer all day).

Last night after our walk Ayla had two FRAPs in less than 5 minutes. So Stefan got out the leash and turned her into umbi-doggy. It took her a minute to settle down and then she was perfectly fine, laying and relaxing near us.

This morning I’ve got her attached to me again because she was jumping all over me in the kitchen. She’s not extremely pleased about the situation and is making a few noises but until she just settles down and is quiet, she’s not going to be leaving my side. It’s not really convenient but it does seem to make an impact on her and that is all that really matters in the end.