A Story: My Puppy

In fact, two puppies arrived together some time ago and they are Parson Russell Terriers. We called them Harris and Tweed and they are mostly white with black and tan eye and ear patches. Puppies all look very sweet but soon turn into little monsters unless they learn some lessons very young and terriers can be very stubborn. So we started with the usual sit and that worked. They both loved to chase toys and ball that were thrown and brought them back over and over and over again but that meant they learned to come back when called for. So far, so good but then came walking on a leash.

I started with a simple cord slip leash but it tightened dangerously around the dog’s throat when he rebelled against the direction I wanted him to go and I thought that maybe a short, fine choke chain would be a better bet. How wrong I was because a choke chain does what it says on the tin and pulls very tightly and a by-product of that constant pulling is that the coat is damaged on the side closest to the owner.

In the end a traditional collar and leash made from leather and with an old fashioned fastener that slots through and has a series of holes worked the best. I took the dogs one at a time and shook a little bag of treats as we went along to gain their interest. There was very little pulling and no fright when the loop tightened around the neck. The pup was happy and soon learned to walk without any problems. I had to go through the process twice but both dogs walked beautifully. Putting them together was a worry but I need not have been concerned. They walked like two little angels, side by side and looking rather smart.

The leather leashes suit terriers. It looks business-like and appropriate. The fasteners can be moved to extend the collar as the dog grows. It was trial and error but my conclusion was that traditional was best and that included a tan shade for both pups because it matched their ear and eye patches. They are older now and have grown out of the puppy sizes. Their white body coat means that almost any shade will look well but I fell for a blue tartan design on a soft leather collar and am so proud of my boys when they walk side by side with matching blue for boys designs.