Pulling On Lead

[daccydog]

Morning Dol's

I take my two dogs for a walk every morning and evening

i have a 3yr old and a 11month old, 3yr old is perfect will walk next to me and obeys any commands

BUT the 11 month old pulls and pulls on her lead, which makes it very hard to walk the two of them

i have taken her to obedeince school, but she broke her leg during this time and have started back this week

i might say she is a hand full at the best of times

do you have a suggestion on how to overcome the lead situation

thanks daccydog

[Sarah L]

To make it easier on you I would teach your 11 month old separately from your 3 year old, when walking. This does mean for a short time your walks may be double eg.... one then the other, but it should only be for a short time then you can go back to walking them together.

You can try the lure method when teaching heel. Get a bum bag and some yummy treats, try using some chicken or left over meat table scraps. Hold the lead in the opposite hand to the side your dog is on, put some treats in your hand nearest the dog, The idea is getting the dog to focus on the treats in your hand which you keep it close to the dogs nose and your hand by your side, as you are walking let the dog gentle nibble out some of the treats from your hand, do not withhold the treats till you stop and then reward, you are only rewarding the dog for stopping not walking. When you have run out of treats in your hand stop ask the dog to sit refill your hand, give the dog one bit for sitting and carry on with the luring. When you are doing this keep the distance short. In other words 3 or 4 houses down from yours and back, so that the dog does not have time to lose focus on what you are doing. Its better to practise this a couple of times a day than try and teach it all in a large distance. I also do this around the house but do not use any words so it makes it less formal. There is other steps to this method, but if you try this first and see how the dog responds, then the next steps can be given. the further steps lead to the dog only being rewarded every so often. It should only take a week and you will be able to walk both your dogs together again. This method also teaches the dog it is nicer to walk without being strangled on the end of the collar which they do when they pull.

Hope this is of help to you

[Rom]

I think we sometimes set our dogs up for failure in the loose lead walking stakes from the time we actually introduce them to the lead and by not understanding why a dog pulls on lead.

I know that this was certainly the case with me and my dog

If you think about many materials that you read on introducing a pup to a lead they often suggest that you put the lead on the pup and let it drag it around while it goes through other activities to teach it that the lead is a not a scary thing.....or some variation on that theme. But what I believe is happening here is that we are setting a pattern up that lets the dog know that it gets to go where it wants by dragging on the lead....or it gets what it wants by dragging on the lead....in other words, it gets to self reward....on a continuous schedule of reinforcement.

Later on, we often give the dog mixed messages without realising it. While we think we're actively working to try and train the dog to not pull on lead, we might sometimes allow the dog to gain a reward by pulling on lead. Some examples:

-After class, or during a break in class, we let our dog play on lead or meet another dog. During this activity there is tension on the lead....the dog is getting rewarded for pulling on the lead.

-We're out on a walk, the dog pulls towards a tree, we think 'perhaps he might need to pee' so we go with him to the tree....we've just rewarded the dog for the tension on the lead...and sent him the message that if he pulls, we might go where he wants to go.

-We are walking down the street and we see someone that we know and that the dog really likes. The dog pulls on the lead as the person is coming closer and they give the dog a hearty greeting and a pat....the dog has just been rewarded for pulling on the lead.

-We're in a hurry to get somewhere, and the dog is pulling, but we just keep going.....

So now we've put leash pulling on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement and we've gone through a similar pattern as we would have if we were teaching the behaviours that we want. At the same time, we might be also rewarding the dog for not pulling on lead to try and get the message across.....no wonder so many dogs have issues with leash pulling. I believe this is where my girls leash pulling problems originated. There was another off topic event that helped cement her leash pulling problems, but the foundation was laid with the above.

So I guess that part of fixing the problem is ensuring that reinforcement of any form is never delivered while there is tension on the lead. So when your dog is pulling on the lead, ask yourself 'what does he want?', and 'is he getting it?'

[Sarah L]

Rom, the above method I described in my first post does take the emphasis off the lead from the word go, irrespective of the weight the lead is. Also I have never seen a dogs lead that does weigh a great deal anyway, I suppose you could tie a couple of bricks to it, then take the bricks off and hope the dog understands the difference. But I would not recommend this. Also if the owner keeps the distance short as I explained for the first couple of days then this method instantly puts a new thought into the dogs head about how to walk.

There are other steps to this method but I wanted to see how the dog responded first and also not to over whelm the owner with too much information, not to mention rushing through the steps. The lure method when done properly has no emphasis on equipment and everything on communication by the owner.

[Rom]

Pinnacle, not doubting anything you say.....but I think you replied in the wrong thread

[Baby Dragon]

Have you tried using a halti? It has helped me control my dog.

Edited August 4, 2007 by Blossom

[Sarah L]

oops may have done Rom. The two were right next to each other, never mind. I do agree with you that the wrong association to the lead is done more often than not. Your other thread totally confused me

Blossom, haltie's can be used with some dogs, but it is another piece of equipment that emphasies's restrainment, but if other methods don't work then it is a good alternative to have.