Failed basic obedience class:(

brandy76

I feel so bad having to yank her

 

 

Umm... please don't yank your dog. That is not training, it's yanking. You can teach a beautiful heel, without a leash. 

When I mean yank I mean giving a leash correction (quick snap), but when I'm doing it over & over I feel bad.

brandy76

When I mean yank I mean giving a leash correction (quick snap), but when I'm doing it over & over I feel bad.

Yea, if you have to do it over and over, then it isn't working and it isn't training.

the obedience teacher thought  I should get a choke collar but my dog is so small only 15lbs.  But she saw how my dog was on LLW in a group circle.

Your thoughts?  And when my dog is pulling on our walks for no reason how do I stop her.  Do I have to correct each tug she does.

brandy76

the obedience teacher thought  I should get a choke collar but my dog is so small only 15lbs.  But she saw how my dog was on LLW in a group circle.

Your thoughts?  And when my dog is pulling on our walks for no reason how do I stop her.  Do I have to correct each tug she does.

I don't like choke collars. How did you get her to LLW in a group circle? When you take her for a walk, do you just walk around the block with her? Do you go somewhere specific? How long is the walk? Is it just a potty walk or is it for exercise? Without seeing it, my best guess is that she's not very interested in you when you take her for a walk. I would do things that get her attention and keep her interest, like changes of direction, changes of speed, carry treats and when she is in the position you want, reward her, carry a toy and occasionally surprise her with a play session, talk to her. Also, I use a "with me" command for LLW, which is different from my "heel" command. "With me" simply means don't pull, "heel" is a very defined position at my side. I then release the dog from a "with me" with a release command (I use "free";) when I want to allow my dog to sniff for a place to potty or allow him to run around and play. At that time, I do allow him to be at the end of the leash, as long as he doesn't yank my arm. Without commands differentiating between heeling, llw, and being free, it's more difficult for the dog to learn what is expected.

If you're correcting over and over and over, your dog does NOT understand what you want from her. Correcting a dog for something it doesn't understand is not teaching, it's cruel. My dog is also small (at 19 lbs). I do allow her to pull, on a harness. On a collar, she isn't allowed. She knows this, and she knows that the flexi lead means she can go as far as the lead allows. She's four years old, though, and has lots of practice.

 

To teach your dog to loose leash walk, teach her that pulling gets her nowhere. If she's pulling, you don't walk, period. The lead must be slack, or you're not going to budge. It won't take her long to figure out.