# Walk down an aisle



## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

My dog is being a ring bearer at our wedding, and I need to teach him to walk at a slow speed down the aisle by himself.

Let me say that Chrono is very, very, very, very friendly. This will probably be the hardest thing to train him to do because fighting the urge to greet lots of new people on both sides of him will be extremely difficult for him, especially since he'll be wearing a suit jacket, shirt, and tie, so he'll be extra cute and gush-worthy. A stranger giving him positive attention is like the ultimate reward. I'm guessing the best I can expect out of him in a situation like this is to not give people kisses as he goes down the aisle.

I'm kind of stumped how to teach him to walk forward slowly in a straight line. I'm not even sure where to begin. I thought about doing it as though he is tracking, but I don't want his nose on the floor all the way down the aisle. Has anyone done something like this before, or does anyone have any ideas? I think the hardest part would be teaching him to do it slowly, because up to this point the general theme of training has been the faster he does something the faster he gets rewarded.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

Syaoransbear said:


> My dog is being a ring bearer at our wedding, and I need to teach him to walk at a slow speed down the aisle by himself.
> 
> Let me say that Chrono is very, very, very, very friendly. This will probably be the hardest thing to train him to do because fighting the urge to greet lots of new people on both sides of him will be extremely difficult for him, especially since he'll be wearing a suit jacket, shirt, and tie, so he'll be extra cute and gush-worthy. A stranger giving him positive attention is like the ultimate reward. I'm guessing the best I can expect out of him in a situation like this is to not give people kisses as he goes down the aisle.
> 
> I'm kind of stumped how to teach him to walk forward slowly in a straight line. I'm not even sure where to begin. I thought about doing it as though he is tracking, but I don't want his nose on the floor all the way down the aisle. Has anyone done something like this before, or does anyone have any ideas? I think the hardest part would be teaching him to do it slowly, because up to this point the general theme of training has been the faster he does something the faster he gets rewarded.


Well, most wedding parties have people coming down in pairs. So if you are worried that he won't walk down the aisle on his own without being distracted, why don't you arrange for someone to walk down with him? That, to me, would be the most save option!!

It sounds as though he's gonna look super cute. I think the idea of him coming down the aisle in his wee "tux" is lovely. But to be sure it goes smoothly, I recommend he is not going down the aisle alone.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

Rua said:


> Well, most wedding parties have people coming down in pairs. So if you are worried that he won't walk down the aisle on his own without being distracted, why don't you arrange for someone to walk down with him? That, to me, would be the most save option!!
> 
> It sounds as though he's gonna look super cute. I think the idea of him coming down the aisle in his wee "tux" is lovely. But to be sure it goes smoothly, I recommend he is not going down the aisle alone.


The flower girl is scared of Chrono , so I'd have to get someone not in the wedding party to do it which might be weird. That's kind of my last resort if I can't get him trained and proofed by august.


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## jdh520 (Jun 4, 2011)

I plan on doing this in the future as well. Keep us updated as how it goes and what you did. I'm interested.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

great idea. if your dog has good recall, a long
down/stay or sit/stay you have it made.
i think it will be easier if you let your dog
run to you. have someone hold him in the
back of the isle. when the part comes
"where da rings be at" have the person
holding him unleash him and you call him to you.
once he reaches you down/stay
or sit/stay. i would practice with my dog.
i would invite a few people to sit on both sides
of the isle. i would have the person that's
going to hold him stand at the back of the isle
and hold him. set the practice up as if were
the ceremony. maybe have a few people snapping shots
so he can get use to the flash. practice a lot. when you
know you're going to call him to you have someone
pick the flower girl up and stand off to the side. when
you practice make sure the flower girl is there and have
someone pick her up and stand off to the side.
i say you can do it. what a great idea. good luck.


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## Touch of Gray (Dec 14, 2011)

Seriously? You aren't stressed out enough? Good luck!


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## lorihd (Nov 30, 2011)

make sure you post pictures of him in the suit


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

doggiedad said:


> great idea. if your dog has good recall, a long
> down/stay or sit/stay you have it made.
> i think it will be easier if you let your dog
> run to you. have someone hold him in the
> ...


I probably can't have him running up the aisle, just because he might rip up the aisle runner or tip over the decorations. The ceremony is going to hopefully look similar to this: http://dilshil.com/wedding/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Stylish-Blue-Weddings-Ideas1.jpg

I'm hoping that since the aisle will be blocked off from the sides like in the picture, that he'll be less inclined to go greet people since he can't really reach them. Or he'll just smash through the decorations to reach people and all of the pedestals beside the pews will tip over one by one and the whole thing will be one giant disaster.

Hmm, I bet my wedding is going to end up on youtube .



Touch of Gray said:


> Seriously? You aren't stressed out enough? Good luck!


I know right?! Actually, dressing up Chrono in a suit and making him come down the aisle is one of the few things I'm actually excited about. Between trying to please everyone and not being able to afford some things, this is one of the only things that was actually my decision and my idea.



[email protected] said:


> make sure you post pictures of him in the suit


I will for sure!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I had to teach how to slow his pace in herding, so I got him on a long lead and when he started moving too fast I said 'slow' and 'easy' in a low long tone and treated him when he did it so he got the idea. He can change from a trot to a walk now. You can do it while he's on a short lead too, just slow your pace and barely move along while you give him the command. You could always make a trainer one of the wedding party and have him/her walk him down the aisle!


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

Stosh said:


> I had to teach how to slow his pace in herding, so I got him on a long lead and when he started moving too fast I said 'slow' and 'easy' in a low long tone and treated him when he did it so he got the idea. He can change from a trot to a walk now. You can do it while he's on a short lead too, just slow your pace and barely move along while you give him the command. You could always make a trainer one of the wedding party and have him/her walk him down the aisle!


That's a good idea! I think I could pull that off.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

We make it a game now, where I run with him then he has to slow as much as I do, then speed up again. And when he's simply running around I take the opportunity to get him to slow just for practice.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> make sure you post pictures of him in the suit


Second this! We are all expecting at least dozens of pictures


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