How to Stop Your Dog From Pulling on Leash!
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2019
- Does your dog pull like crazy when you go for a walk? Would you love to just take a nice stroll without feeling like you're holding back a racehorse?
Loose leash walking can be taught just like sit or down. We simply need to teach our dogs where to walk (beside us) and make sure the motivation is more powerful than the 5,000 distractions around them. In other words, we need to teach them what the "good zone" is and that it's way more beneficial to walk there.
Like with anything, the more we practice, the better they will be!
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Hey just wondering how what the kind of time progression should be between practicing inside to going outside and building up distractions and weaning the treats away? My dog gets crazy excited to go for walks and is pulling us all over the show!
Hello!
Progression all depends on your dog and your ability to work with him/her. There's no set timeline, but I usually do about a week in between for my classes. That being said, you'll want to up the treat value each time you up the difficulty. Example: freeze-dried something in house hallway and canned chicken on the sidewalk.
Good luck!
I've been working with my adopted 4-y.o. "rescue" kelpie for several weeks now, and I'm sure I must be doing something wrong with walking. I usually take her out twice a day, for a mile, or two... Sometimes we just work on off-leash recall. We've made a lot of progress, but our progress has stalled. IN GENERAL, she walks nicely next to me, and NEVER pulls hard at the leash. Most of the time, the leash is slack, or I have it doubled up loosely.
The problem is that she never seems to give up trying to sneak ahead of me when we're walking... just an inch at a time, until she's a couple feet ahead. She seems not to realize she's doing it and distracted by her surroundings... Her attention is elsewhere and NOT on me. This doesn't bother me so much by itself. I just want her to QUIT sneaking ahead.
When I do something to get her attention (I have several ways to do this... You'd probably disapprove of all of them.), she'll suddenly realize where she is, and will look back seemingly alarmed and surprised, and then will either quickly try to get back into place, like a kid whose been caught with his hands in the cookie jar, or else will immediately sit down and not move, even if I stop as well.
If I try stopping and starting, alternately speeding up and slowing my pace, turning around and changing direction, she does great... Once she's focused on these exercises, she succeeds all the time, and is always rewarded with a click and a treat, but then, when we resume walking forward, she seems to forget everything once again, and starts sneaking ahead, step by step, until I have to get her attention. She's never rewarded if she's sneaking ahead, but rather is corrected. How can I reward her if she won't stay where she should be?
This dog is SUPER smart, and I feel she understands what she's supposed to do, but that somehow it's just contrary to her nature. As a shepherd, she's always "on the lookout", and forgets what she's doing. She's hyper-vigilant, and is easily "spooked" by any unexpected sounds, but It's the same thing over and over and over, and I'm really frustrated with it. Some days are better than others, and It's usually worse when we're just starting out. After 3/4 mile or so, she'll settle in to walking next to me, although never really where I'd prefer her to be... still "cheating" by 6" or so. Compared to 95% of other dogs we pass, she's an angel, of the FIRST DEGREE. Maybe my expectations are too high?
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm afraid I'm already inadvertently reinforcing undesired behaviors.
Hey, there! Congrats on having a great dog! Many people would pray for a dog of that caliber!
I think some of your answers are already in your comment :) Let's break it down.
1) You say you think she forgets or gets distracted, gradually moving out in front. I think you're probably right. Kelpies have those brains that are go go go. So, let's not call it sneaking. Let's just call it forgetting. It makes it sound nicer and changes the perspective.
Now, let's think about how we can nicely get her back. I like to do a check-in. I call it a "check-in for chicken." Just try a simple nose target back to you, click and treat, then maybe add in a couple of those drills if you like, click and treat, and proceed with the walk.
2) You say her position changes, even if it's just six inches. So, let me ask - where exactly do you want her? It needs to be clear to here where the good zone is and when the rewards happen. Are there different zones that are acceptable? If so, you'll have to teach them separately and probably should put them on their own cues or use something to help her tell the difference.
If you want her position directly at your side, you can teach nose targeting to binder clips on the side of your pants.
Does this answer your questions? (I'm on the mobile app, and it won't let me easily look back at your comment.)
I love this but why don't you feed with the hand at your leg. feeding across your body will teach the dog to anticipate the food and cross in front of you, especially if you are to slow with the treat delivery
?
Great question! I have two parts to the answer.
1) Students who feed with the hand at their leg often begin luring the dog along without realizing it. They unintentionally keep that treat somewhat visible. Rather than making the conscious decision to walk at your side, the dog is then just following the treat. He/she won't learn that way. If students want to use that hand and can remember to hide their treats, then I wouldn't mind.
2) As far as the dog crossing in front, I prevent that by treating at the side of my leg in the "good zone." If I were to treat in front of my legs (where I'm walking) then yes, the dog will cross in front of me. I get a lot of students making that mistake in the beginning, as well.
If treat delivery is slow, then I'd suggest getting a bunch of treats in your hand and just practice a few steps at once. That way, you can be quick and successful, even if it's just a short distance. Make sure that's happening in an easy, low distraction zone, too, such as your hallway. We want to have the best possible chance for success, so we need the pet parents to be well-versed in the exercise, also.
Does that answer your question?
the dog is always so well behaved so this is a bit misleading!