Should We Be Walked or Not?
There are several
types of harnesses that are comfortable and pretty or best suited for us to wear??? I do not personally like them, but mommy insists I wear one occasionally. So the question remains should you or should you not walk us? Meow...
Well .....there are mixed views on that question. Some say of course you should and they take the time and patience to train us. Others say no never, because we are wild in nature and there is no point to try and capture us. But if you do you are just kidding yourselves as we are really walking you? meow.... And then there are those that think we may need the exersize and insist on making us learn. And I must agree that some of us could lose a pound or two...puurrrr...but most mommy's or daddy's want us to learn how to walk so if your one of those who must try then these tips might help you...meow....
There are many reasons why taking the time to leash train us can be of immense value: if we tend to scratch our nails on your furniture, and like to climb your drapes or otherwise cause harm to your belongings; maybe we hang out at every window, fascinated with the great outdoors; or maybe yer mommy needs the exercise??? meow, I sure don't...puurrrr for the fun and exercise for yourself; for the enjoyment and exercise for your kitty.
To be successful in
leash training us, it is of the utmost importance that you use the correct type of harness. We are notorious for being able to squirm out of many types of harness restraints, and this will obviously not work for successful leash training. You will need a comfortable, safe type of harness, designed for the special needs of us. Look for a harness that is more of a jacket and soft and limber, but really strong. This is especially important as we tend to be more skittish than our furry friends, dogs, and we may need lots of emotional and physical reassurance. If the we don't feel safe in our harness/walking jacket, we may continue to squirm and ultimately wriggle free and run off. Meow
The first thing to do is to get your us used to the Walking Jacket. Be very patient and persistent, and reward us lovingly. meow meow......Yelling, hitting or rough treatment will only make us mad and we will fear you. Remember, too, that we are all unique meow...., and will react differently. The optimum age to start leash/harness training is six to seven months of age. If you .
Place the harness and leash where we can sniff, paw and play and maybe we might lay down beside it, and jump, squirm, roll and paw for awhile.meow..... Don't encourage the bad behavior by laughing or trying to soothe us. Do not reprimand us either. It's best to just ignore us and let us get used to the items in our own time and way.
After several days, gently, but firmly, put the jacket on us, slowly-- allow two fingers width at the neck and stomach (do not attach the leash yet). Often, the best results come when this is attempted just before feeding. At this point, we may exhibit abnormal behavior, such as running around the room or lying on our side and acting as though we can no longer stand. As long as we are in safe surroundings, leave the jacket on for five minutes. Repeat this several times a day for a week to ten days. It is very important that we learn immediately to associate the jacket with going outdoors, Miz Allie also recommends that you hold your baby and speak very calmly but with excitement to us, and carry us out the back door, or even just hold us up to a window, etc. You can also provide some distraction such as playing with us or offering food to get our minds off the harness. Meow...maybe???? Consistency and patience are the keys here to success. We are creatures of habit, and you are establishing the important foundation that we will come to expect whenever you bring out our Walking Jacket in the future.
Once we feel comfortable with the jacket and accept it, we won't even know it's there, and you can attach the leash. Let us drag the leash around the house for several minutes at a time, I likes that part...meow.....maybe several times a day, for another few days, and continue to hold us reassuringly and take us outside each time we wears the jacket, even if it's just on your front patio. Be sure to supervise us to avoid us from becoming tangled and frightened. Once we have accepted our part, pick up the leash and just hold onto it. Miz Alllie says that we will now realize that we cannot run and have some restraints placed upon us. meow....While gently pulling on the leash, offer food (Gerber's baby food on your finger is a wonderful and special treat for training times like this) and say the word 'come'. Once again, be patient, persistent and loving. Remember, we usually will not walk on a leash like a dog. Of course not....not like those big furry guys...meow....we tend to like to run a bit, stop, roll, sniff an area, eat grass and then carry on. meow,,,,gracefully of course....
For our first walks, try starting in the late evening or early in the morning in a quiet area. Most of us take a few days to adjust to the idea of leash walking. Most leash pulling behavior begins as soon as we sees the leash and knows we are about to go for a walk. If the walk begins out of control, the precedent is set for the entire walk. Before expecting us to calmly walk beside you on leash, we must be calm when you are putting our jackets and leashes on, so it is well worth it to you to spend as much time as you and us need with the initial training and having us just getting used to the jacket and firmly associating the jacket with the pleasure of the outdoors, your attention, and the fact that this is a treat worth looking forward to!!
Simply hold onto the leash, stand still and let your us dance, ricochet and bounce around at the end of the leash. It may take 5 minutes or more, but we will soon realize that you are not going anywhere and we will begin to calm down. When this happens, praise us, meow..... for being good. After another minute or so, take your first step, but NOT toward the door. Instead, walk us around our house, garage or yard to give us a chance to practice our 'not-pulling' skills. Every time we lunge or strain on the leash, simply stand still again. Always talk to us and praise us calmly and quietly, and give us a dab of baby food on your finger.
It is a tremendous effort in patience at first but it will pay off if you persevere. You may only get to the end of the block or even your driveway on your first outing, but if you give in to our demands, then we will continue to pull on the leash. But, please remember that we are very different from a dog, meow meow.....and you will be learning together what behavior of your baby is acceptable behavior for you, yet allows for you and your baby....to have an enjoyable outdoor adventure together.
When we are comfortable indoors, try going outdoors again. Again, begin in an area with few distractions such as your front or back yard, and at a quiet time of day. When the two of you have mastered this, you are ready for places where there are more distractions. This exercise won't be difficult, since you've both had lots of practice beforehand at getting it right.
If we start biting and chewing the leash, try applying a product like Bitter Apple or Tabasco sauce or some other unpleasant tasting (but non-harmful) substance to the leash. yukky...meow....Reapply before every outing until we have lost interest in chewing on the leash.
Teaching us to go on walks with you is also a wonderful means of providing stimulus, a safe outdoor environment for limited time, and positive reinforcement with plenty of time and attention from you. meow..me likes that.....
Always remember that any change in our environment or habit can be extremely stressful to us, so be sure to be patient with us. And remember too that we could now be exposed to some dangerous parasites or fleas? Oh no...meow....So be sure and check us over and keep us protected against these nasty critters. Also do not let us eat lawn grass as there could be pesticides in there and always be sure we are properly geared with our ID tags just in case...Meow.......meow.....
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