More Questions On Mini Schnauzer

[Badbee]

Hi I have some more questions for those of you with knowledge and experience. Abby has settled into our house really well now , she is 10 months old and it's like she had always been here. We began older dog obedience classes last week and she worked quite well on the lead and heeling.....but that is the only place she does this, when we take her for a walk she pulls so hard by the end of the walk I have a sore shoulder. No matter hat I do, stop make her sit, say heel start off with my left foot she pulls and strains to get ahead of me. Puts her head down, sniffs, I pull on the lead to distract her, make her sit start again. And the whole routine starts again. I thought I will let her have a run exhaust her before we start our lead work hoping she might concentrate a little more. It doesn't make an difference, we practice at home and she walks well on the lead no pulling. She is clever she sits, drops on command, I have taught her "wait" at the top of the staircase to let me go down first she does all that but outside on the lead she is a nightmare. Any suggestions from those in the know?

[Brandiandwe]

I've used a front fastening harness on my high prey girl who used to take off after everything...... It's also been good for her pulling towards potential prey or hiding places. Basically, when she pulls, she gets swung around to face me, so she learned pretty quick that to continue moving forward, she needed to not pull. Unfortunately, she isn't food motivated, but treats fed regularly or held in a hand in front of the nose has worked with my garbage guts.

[Simply Grand]

It sounds like you aren't actually rewarding her for walking nicely, you stop her, ask her to do something else like sit or heel THEN reward her. In her mind she's being rewarded for sitting or moving into heel when you ask her and has no idea you actually want her to be not pulling while she's walking along.

Get yourself a clicker or condition a REALLY strong marker word and mark and reward her every time the lead happens to be loose. It's important to use a marker rather than just treats with this otherwise she has to stop, come over to you then get the treat so she has no idea that it was actually the loose lead that earned her the reward :)

As well as marking and rewarding every time she happens to have a loose lead while you're moving, use stopping without saying or doing anything when she is pulling, just stand still until she moves herself into a position where the lead slackens then, still without saying anything, start walking. If she keeps the lead loose for another split second after you've started moving then mark and reward. If she immediately puts tension on the lead again stop without saying anything and repeat.

A good way to teach her to pay attention to where you are going (and therefore want her to go) is to do lots of sudden direction changes using a super excited voice to encourage her over to where you are now. As she changes direction and moves to catch up to you the lead will automatically be loose and you have an opportunity to mark and reward her. The key to this part is being super exciting (even if you do sound like a crazy person :D )

Edited February 16, 2014 by Simply Grand

[Dogsfevr]

Yep agree with the above ,you also need to make it more fun.

Minis are very bright & will work wonders for food & thrive in obedience .# of ours are titled in obedience with top scores by another person & i was a member of the pal superdogs team many moons ago with our Mini

You also can train what you want just walking around the house,getting them to watch & be more responsive to you isn't just part of being onlead.

You say she was better at class so why do you think that was the case??What did you do there that you don't on walks??

[Zug Zug]

I'd put money on it that the main difference in class is the availability of rewards. And the level of attention you are offering the dog. Both tend to drop off on a longer walk, so the dog loses focus

[Badbee]

Thanks for your suggestions, she is not really food motivated so while treats work sometimes they don't always work for her. I will try using a mark with her, you are right she doesn't know what I want from her when we walk.

We have tried a number of collars and harnesses it doesn't seem to make much difference what we use.

The difference at training was there were not so many distractions.

I know she can walk on lead my sister who has an older standard poodle looked after her for a easy recently. My sister took our dog for a walk and had the same trouble until she walked her beside Chilli her poodle who is an exceptional dog, then Abby walked beautifully on lead. So I know she can do it. I will keep trying because I really want yo make our walks pleasant.

[Badbee]

It sounds like you aren't actually rewarding her for walking nicely, you stop her, ask her to do something else like sit or heel THEN reward her. In her mind she's being rewarded for sitting or moving into heel when you ask her and has no idea you actually want her to be not pulling while she's walking along.

Get yourself a clicker or condition a REALLY strong marker word and mark and reward her every time the lead happens to be loose. It's important to use a marker rather than just treats with this otherwise she has to stop, come over to you then get the treat so she has no idea that it was actually the loose lead that earned her the reward :)

As well as marking and rewarding every time she happens to have a loose lead while you're moving, use stopping without saying or doing anything when she is pulling, just stand still until she moves herself into a position where the lead slackens then, still without saying anything, start walking. If she keeps the lead loose for another split second after you've started moving then mark and reward. If she immediately puts tension on the lead again stop without saying anything and repeat.

A good way to teach her to pay attention to where you are going (and therefore want her to go) is to do lots of sudden direction changes using a super excited voice to encourage her over to where you are now. As she changes direction and moves to catch up to you the lead will automatically be loose and you have an opportunity to mark and reward her. The key to this part is being super exciting (even if you do sound like a crazy person :D )

When you say a marker I am assuming you mean a word, what would you suggest? I do behave like a crazy person when she does something right I am sure done people think I am a crazy old lady with a little dog.

[Badbee]

It sounds like you aren't actually rewarding her for walking nicely, you stop her, ask her to do something else like sit or heel THEN reward her. In her mind she's being rewarded for sitting or moving into heel when you ask her and has no idea you actually want her to be not pulling while she's walking along.

Get yourself a clicker or condition a REALLY strong marker word and mark and reward her every time the lead happens to be loose. It's important to use a marker rather than just treats with this otherwise she has to stop, come over to you then get the treat so she has no idea that it was actually the loose lead that earned her the reward :)

As well as marking and rewarding every time she happens to have a loose lead while you're moving, use stopping without saying or doing anything when she is pulling, just stand still until she moves herself into a position where the lead slackens then, still without saying anything, start walking. If she keeps the lead loose for another split second after you've started moving then mark and reward. If she immediately puts tension on the lead again stop without saying anything and repeat.

A good way to teach her to pay attention to where you are going (and therefore want her to go) is to do lots of sudden direction changes using a super excited voice to encourage her over to where you are now. As she changes direction and moves to catch up to you the lead will automatically be loose and you have an opportunity to mark and reward her. The key to this part is being super exciting (even if you do sound like a crazy person :D )

When you say a marker I am assuming you mean a word, what would you suggest? I do behave like a crazy person when she does something right I am sure done people think I am a crazy old lady with a little dog.

[Dogsfevr]

Thanks for your suggestions, she is not really food motivated so while treats work sometimes they don't always work for her. I will try using a mark with her, you are right she doesn't know what I want from her when we walk.

You must own the rare Mini LOL they are pigs for food ,Also consider the treats you are using make them more value & interesting .Many people just use schmackos etc etc .

We use Fish fingers,chicken,cooked liver etc etc although ours would eat anything

We have tried a number of collars and harnesses it doesn't seem to make much difference what we use.

What did the breeder walk her own ??

When we rehome older dogs we either supply or show the people what lead the dog is use to too.We daon't use collars or harnesses on our dogs so often when new owners start changing those around it becomes confusing .Maybe check with the breeder what they used .

The difference at training was there were not so many distractions.

I would be surprised there's less distraction .I would imagine its a case of being more on the job & paying more attention to what your there for

I know she can walk on lead my sister who has an older standard poodle looked after her for a easy recently. My sister took our dog for a walk and had the same trouble until she walked her beside Chilli her poodle who is an exceptional dog, then Abby walked beautifully on lead. So I know she can do it. I will keep trying because I really want yo make our walks pleasant.

She may be use to walking in a crowd & feels more at home,you need to become her crowd when out

[Simply Grand]

It sounds like you aren't actually rewarding her for walking nicely, you stop her, ask her to do something else like sit or heel THEN reward her. In her mind she's being rewarded for sitting or moving into heel when you ask her and has no idea you actually want her to be not pulling while she's walking along.

Get yourself a clicker or condition a REALLY strong marker word and mark and reward her every time the lead happens to be loose. It's important to use a marker rather than just treats with this otherwise she has to stop, come over to you then get the treat so she has no idea that it was actually the loose lead that earned her the reward :)

As well as marking and rewarding every time she happens to have a loose lead while you're moving, use stopping without saying or doing anything when she is pulling, just stand still until she moves herself into a position where the lead slackens then, still without saying anything, start walking. If she keeps the lead loose for another split second after you've started moving then mark and reward. If she immediately puts tension on the lead again stop without saying anything and repeat.

A good way to teach her to pay attention to where you are going (and therefore want her to go) is to do lots of sudden direction changes using a super excited voice to encourage her over to where you are now. As she changes direction and moves to catch up to you the lead will automatically be loose and you have an opportunity to mark and reward her. The key to this part is being super exciting (even if you do sound like a crazy person :D )

When you say a marker I am assuming you mean a word, what would you suggest? I do behave like a crazy person when she does something right I am sure done people think I am a crazy old lady with a little dog.

"Yes" is a word people often use, including me, although I find a clicker quicker and more effective. Try and keep it short, sharp and upbeat when you say it and keep your tone consistent.

To start with you need to "charge" the marker, or make the association with the really yummy treat (I often use cheese in tiny pieces to teach a new behaviour), you just say the word, shove a treat in their mouth, repeat repeat repeat. After lots of reps say the word when she isn't looking at your face but is still there in front of you, watch for her to look at you expecting the treat then give it to her. Once she's doing that she's made the association so you can start to use the marker to teach her things :)

[hankdog]

What worked for my freight train who was 5 with no leash experience was walking slowly, very slowly and stopping whenever the leash went tight. That literally meant one step and stop for ten seconds. I would go an hour and really just get to the end of the block, you get a lot of time to chat to your neighbours!

His normal behaviour change cycle is 6 weeks and he got it in 5 so I thought that was victory. Once we had conquered walking loose leash I added in a look at me before I'd move off, no cues or commands just a lot of waiting around until he figured it out. I tend to chatter away to him and had to school myself to be focused and quiet. I'm sure a smarty pants dog would get it quicker but it has been effective and stuck where all the different leashes and collars did zip. He will still check occasionally that the rules apply but he's just that kind of dog.

Edited February 18, 2014 by hankdog

[Badbee]

What worked for my freight train who was 5 with no leash experience was walking slowly, very slowly and stopping whenever the leash went tight. That literally meant one step and stop for ten seconds. I would go an hour and really just get to the end of the block, you get a lot of time to chat to your neighbours!

His normal behaviour change cycle is 6 weeks and he got it in 5 so I thought that was victory. Once we had conquered walking loose leash I added in a look at me before I'd move off, no cues or commands just a lot of waiting around until he figured it out. I tend to chatter away to him and had to school myself to be focused and quiet. I'm sure a smarty pants dog would get it quicker but it has been effective and stuck where all the different leashes and collars did zip. He will still check occasionally that the rules apply but he's just that kind of dog.

Thanks hank dog we are seeing a slow improvement everyday, she even looks at the person who has the lead now (sometimes) to get instructions. We have been giving heaps of praise and treats and slow and steady seems to be working.