Dog Community

Leash walking techniques?

Posted : 2/18/2008 10:26:28 AM

Hi guys, I need some ideas. I was wondering if you have tips on the best way to begin to train the loose leash walk and "heel" in my situation? Bailey is very obedient and has learned all of the tricks I've taught her, but I'm stuck on this one.

I walk her 3-4x per day and the first part of every walk is a potty break. For this part of the walk, I use a Flexi-Leash (which I swore up and down I would never buy, but Bailey likes her privacy). So after she has her potty break, I call her, then she sits in front of me while I shorten the leash so she will walk closer to me. I've tried a few different methods to get her not to pull and walk ahead of me, and here they are.

1.) Using one of those gentle chain collars (it's a chain with a shoelace through it) and a regular nylon lead. Position the collar at the top of her neck and hold the leash upright, without tension, look ahead and walk straight, giving small leash corrections when she moves out in front of me. This doesn't really work and honestly, I don't enjoy it.

2.) Flat collar, nylon leash. Every time she pulls, I turn around and she follows me. This worked for about 2 seconds she is by my side but the effect doesn't last long and we get dizzy whirling around in the street.

3.) The most recent... Flat collar, nylon leash, holding a treat by my side. This creates much motivation and excitement as long as the treat is there. It also creates jumping and nipping at my fingers to get at the treat. I've been rewarding her just for being in the right place, but as soon as she gets the treat she charges ahead. We haven't gotten a nice calm result from this method. I'm worried also because she usually takes treats very carefully and I'm worried that this method is going to make her nippy.

Any suggestions? We're going to enroll in obedience but I thought I would ask here until the class starts.

mrv

Posted : 2/18/2008 10:53:41 AM

Play the name game. Get 10 tiny treats and stash in pocket. Any time she is NOT looking at you or oriented to you, say her name ONE time. If she looks, whoop it up and give her a cookie as soon as she reaches you. You want to repeat this multiple times during the day in multiple situations..... Once you have practiced enough that she readily turns and starts moving to you, phase two. TAG Touch, Attention, Go.

Put the leash and collar one (practice in LOTS of places). Load up on your 10 tiny treats. Start wandering around. As soon as she pays attention to anything and the leash begins to tighten, (Touch) touch her on the back just above the tail (or as close as you can to that spot) saying her name (Attention) at the SAME time. As soon as you have said her name, (Go)start moving backward in a straight line AWAY from the direction she had been heading. The cue of her name, the slight tightening of the lead when you start moving and your body motion away from her, will (should) draw her to you. KEEP moving until she is essentially touching you and has moved at least three steps with you. Praise, pet, and treat. Let her start moving again.

This is a great way to make you unpredictable (she never really knows when you will call) and makes coming to you and keeping a loose lead a big pay off behavior for the dog. I learned this strategy from a Leslie Nelson seminar.

The second strategy is be a tree. She pulls you stop.... Use that strategy and she will stop pulling. Dont expect to exercise her on walks. Get exercise in play periods etc. Use walks for training at this time.

denise m

Posted : 2/18/2008 12:00:52 PM

I would simply add that excerising your dog prior to leash training will help curb some of the energy. Give your dog a good run or game of fetch - then go for your walk.

spiritdogs

Posted : 2/19/2008 1:13:45 AM

The download costs $4.99, but it's of Karen Pryor teaching a puppy to walk on lead using clicker training, and might be useful if you learn visually:
http://www.clickertraining.tv/product.html?item=KPDLVD114R-02

This free lesson is basically the same idea, and very easy:
http://www.clickerlessons.com/looseleash.htm

My latest puppy class just started tonight, and by the end of class, all the handlers had their pups walking on a loose lead using similar methods. Granted, you need to practice to make it fluent, but they got the hang of it right away!

AgileGSD

Posted : 2/20/2008 2:25:55 PM

For me after trying everything, I find that for walking, leash corrections along with positive feedback (praise and random treats) seems to work the best. WhenI have a dog who is a major puller, I use a prong collar to start with.I

have found

AgileGSD

Posted : 2/20/2008 2:26:02 PM

For me after trying everything, I find that for walking, leash corrections along with positive feedback (praise and random treats) seems to work the best. WhenI have a dog who is a major puller, I use a prong collar to start with. I find the positive/clicker methods to be a bit difficult for most people to do in real life and many of the methods don't work well for dedicated pullers (such as "be a tree";). I don't care for GLs for pulling, although may use them on aggressive dogs if they can help. I also find the no-pull harnesses ackward and not all that effective.

mudpuppy

Posted : 2/20/2008 5:11:34 PM

it's perfectly ok and very natural for a dog to walk in front of you. Most dogs and owners prefer it. Pulling, however, is not ok. Have you tried the "be a tree" method? you simply refuse to move forward if the dog is pulling on the leash. It works for most dogs if you are consistent. You don't need special equipment, and please avoid yanking on your dog's neck (AKA leash correction) it's very bad for your dog's health and not a very effective training method. If all else fails you can try a prong collar, but again, do not yank on the leash, the prong is a self-correcting device.

sophiebean

Posted : 2/21/2008 9:21:39 AM

I've been using the "be a tree" method and it seems to be working. When the leash tightens, I stop, she turns around and comes to me, then we continue. Sometimes she tries to stop on a tight leash, so I wait until she gives in. I keep the first part of our walks dedicated to letting her run on the flexi and go potty and the second part we work on loose leash walking with the regular leash.

I do prefer her to be a couple of feet in front of me and she's not a "puller", she just hasn't learned the correct way to walk. So I'm going to keep with this strategy and with time I think she'll get it.