Teaching Your Pup to Be Courteous & Well-Mannered - Part 4
We've been discussing several ways to teach "puppy politeness", and some of them mentioned a tether.
This is not as well known as some other training tools like the leash and collar, so it deserves a bit of further explanation.
The following information is for your convenience.
Tether Time A tether is a nylon coated cable approximately four feet long with swivel snap hooks on both ends.
Most of cables commercially available are intended for outdoor use and therefore usually a minimum of 10 feet.
This length is too much to be useful for training purposes.
Fortunately you can make your own training tether.
Go to the hardware store and ask if they will attach the snap hooks to the ends of a 4-foot cable for you with the necessary ferrules (ferrules are the metal hardware used to hold the cable) and cramping tool.
The Basic Tether Now take a 4-foot length of 1/8 inch nylon-coated cable and thread one end through the end of an appropriately sized ferrule, and then through the ring of a small but sturdy metal snap hook.
At this point you should fold the cable back onto itself, run it through the other channel of the ferrule, and crimp both cables to hold them in place.
Now do this to the other end, and..
..
Ta Da!...
you're now the proud owner of a basic tether.
Tethering To Furniture Since you're going to be using the tether indoors you're going to need a heavy piece of furniture to attach it to.
Wrap one end of it around a leg of the furniture and hook the other end to the dog's collar.
Make sure the furniture is sufficiently heavy that your dog won't try and move it.
Now make a comfy place for your dog to lie down, and perhaps give him something to chew on as well.
The only real caveat we have at this phase is for you to be sure you dog isn't in the habit of chewing on furniture legs.
Tethering To an Eye Bolt If you're worried that your dog will use the tether as an excuse to ruin the piece of furniture then there are other options.
You can use simple eye bolts and screw them into wooden studs or somewhere else that can withstand your dog pulling at full strength.
Now attach one end of the tether to the eye bolt and the other to your pup's collar.
This method involves slightly more preparation, but it's a better option if your dog likes to chew.
Again, be sure to provide a comfy bed, along with chews or doggie toys to keep your pup happy.
This is not as well known as some other training tools like the leash and collar, so it deserves a bit of further explanation.
The following information is for your convenience.
Tether Time A tether is a nylon coated cable approximately four feet long with swivel snap hooks on both ends.
Most of cables commercially available are intended for outdoor use and therefore usually a minimum of 10 feet.
This length is too much to be useful for training purposes.
Fortunately you can make your own training tether.
Go to the hardware store and ask if they will attach the snap hooks to the ends of a 4-foot cable for you with the necessary ferrules (ferrules are the metal hardware used to hold the cable) and cramping tool.
The Basic Tether Now take a 4-foot length of 1/8 inch nylon-coated cable and thread one end through the end of an appropriately sized ferrule, and then through the ring of a small but sturdy metal snap hook.
At this point you should fold the cable back onto itself, run it through the other channel of the ferrule, and crimp both cables to hold them in place.
Now do this to the other end, and..
..
Ta Da!...
you're now the proud owner of a basic tether.
Tethering To Furniture Since you're going to be using the tether indoors you're going to need a heavy piece of furniture to attach it to.
Wrap one end of it around a leg of the furniture and hook the other end to the dog's collar.
Make sure the furniture is sufficiently heavy that your dog won't try and move it.
Now make a comfy place for your dog to lie down, and perhaps give him something to chew on as well.
The only real caveat we have at this phase is for you to be sure you dog isn't in the habit of chewing on furniture legs.
Tethering To an Eye Bolt If you're worried that your dog will use the tether as an excuse to ruin the piece of furniture then there are other options.
You can use simple eye bolts and screw them into wooden studs or somewhere else that can withstand your dog pulling at full strength.
Now attach one end of the tether to the eye bolt and the other to your pup's collar.
This method involves slightly more preparation, but it's a better option if your dog likes to chew.
Again, be sure to provide a comfy bed, along with chews or doggie toys to keep your pup happy.
