Training To Walk Well On A Lead

[jars]

Hi,

So I have a 5 month old standard schnauzer. We have been to puppy pre school and are just waiting to get started on proper obedience training when the next course starts. So far, she has been great to train. Very keen to work. She sits/drops well and waits for her food until she is given the release command. The area I am struggling with is getting her to walk well on the lead.

I have done some walking on in the lead in my backyard as a start and she seems to do ok there. But once we go out, she gets distracted, starts pulling away or sometimes just sits in one place and not move if there is something that gets her attention. It's worse when she is out with my older dog. She just tries to run alongside him and play. I have stopped taking both dogs out at the same time. Some of the things I have tried are stopping when there is tension on the lead and going in a different direction when she pulls in one direction. Not sure if I have made it worse. It is the one thing I have not been able to work on with my other dog. And with him being a large breed, I had to resort to using a head collar which has helped. I really want to be able to get walking on a loose lead right with my new pup.

Any tips and suggestions? Am I doing something wrong now?

Thanks

Edited January 7, 2016 by jars

[Roova]

I would be suggesting praise and treats for being in the right position and start small (in a non distracting environment first).

You can practice praise\treats when they're sitting at your side, then take one step forward and treat when they move to the right position. This can increase to two steps and so on.

You want to have them getting it right in the house before moving outside, then the front yard, then the front street etc.

If they do get distracted and pull when you're out there's a few options. One is to stop immediately you feel the lead go taught and give no forward movement until they're back in position. You could also change position so pup has to keep up with what you're doing.

You can also practice when pup is sitting at your side, you move forward only when they look up and focus on your face.

Another thing to practice at some point is off lead because what they do on lead may not equate to off lead! This can show you they may not understand the desire place for them to be, ie at your side.

One they're quite reliable on the streets you can practice near other dogs or interesting things (but at a distance where pup still listens to you). You can then practice moving closer but recognising when you're too close for concentration.

Disclaimer: Im not a dog trainer so please wait for more experienced replies than mine! Good luck too :D

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

You need to reward the dog for being in the right spot as much as you prevent the pulling (stopping or going in the other direction).

Any behaviours you don't want - if you don't interrupt them and substitute what you do want your dog to do instead. It's only going to get worse.

Separating the dogs is a good idea. Am I right in reading in your first post that both dogs pull on lead and neither heel nicely or keep a loose lead? The puppy will copy the older dog. So you need to train both.

What you also need to think about is "what have I been doing that allows or encourages this (undesirable) behaviour?".

Two things to search on youtube for video instruction are

"re-inforcement zone" and "loose lead walking kikopup"

It will be easier to train each dog separately and start the training from the beginning in each new place you want them to loose lead walk eg

1. hallway in house

2. backyard

3. front yard

4. street at front of house

5. round the block

6. at the local park

7. at the beach

8. at a different park

9. at your mum's place.

10. near dog club

11. in dog club

And to each of those different places you can gradually add different levels of distraction

1. other dog hanging around

2. other dog on lead with you

3. bowl of food (with a lid) just there. Needs to be able to heel past that without getting distracted.

4. balloons or balls bouncing by

5. kids running around.

6. primary school recess at the local park (where school and public share green space, keep dogs on lead for their safety).

7. other dogs running and barking (you will probably get this at the park and the beach - so try to get other easier distractions working at home or around the block before you expect quality loose lead walking at the park)

8. model cars

9. model planes (argh.) or kites

10. wildlife or stock eg roos, koalas, seagulls, pelicans, cows, sheep, chickens (argh)...

[Tassie]

Just to add to what Mrs RB has suggested ... IMHO a key but often neglected component of the stop/change direction method is marking (verbal e.g. Yes, or clicker) the moment the tension on the lead slackers .. pup should already be used rooming in for a reward from the handler. The essence of the skill is loose-leash ... so thst is what is marked .. reward coming from the handler builds value for being near the handler.

Another technique we use in puppy class is to teach the pup to hand target ... just stationary, then to target moving hand, then onto sort of food follows. Again will build up a reward history for loose leash.

[jars]

Thanks for the tips. Yesterday took her out for a walk and made it a point to mark and reward whenever she was at my side.I also stopped when she started pulling and told her to get back to heel. Made things lot better. I will keep working on that and see how she progresses.

Thanks all.

[Roova]

Good start! You have to be 100% consistent because if you give an inch they'll eventually take a mile. (Or if you give a centimetre they'll take a kilometre lol)

If she's been really good you can start introducing a random reward like a 'go sniff 'moment where you stand still while she had a good sniff around. It's a good chance to practice your recall away from a distraction too, so be ready with praise /treats for a prompt return. :)

[Salukifan]

I would suggest you make "don't pull on the lead" and heel work different exercises.

Marking and rewarding the loose lead should help you achieve that without having the dog heeling at your side.

[Tassie]

I would suggest you make "don't pull on the lead" and heel work different exercises.

Marking and rewarding the loose lead should help you achieve that without having the dog heeling at your side.

Yes! And the marker is given as the tension comes off the leash .. if the dog is used to being rewarded after she hears the marker, she will come back to you without needing to tell her to. But sounds like she's responding well.

[Willem]

you could also add some 'crazy walking' to the training. If you have a bigger dog and if it is an obsessive puller also just trying 'anchoring' yourself while the dogs is still pulling might be a little bit exhausting. The dog has some advantages here: 4 legs vs 2 legs which gives him more grip and a lower centre of gravity which gives him more balance - as long as he can pull in a straight line. But we have the advantage knowing the physics respectively technical mechanic...and we can use it. If you just stop you might still find yourself in a tug of war and the fight will be won by the party that can apply the highest force....which is hopefully you :) .

Now 'anchoring' yourself is pretty much the same as going backwards - action&reaction, so if the dog pulls with 300 newton (equals lifting a 30 kg weight from the ground) you also have to respond with 300 newton to stop him and this might become exhausting over time.

However, if you pull him sideways instead into the opposite direction you will reduce the required force dramatically, one reason is the technical mechanic behind this as you split up the force into 2 components, the other reason is that the dog is pretty bad in responding to a sideway pull and would loose its balance, so if the dog feels the force pulling sideways he reduces the pulling force to regain balance (that is why haltis and harnesses where the leash is attached to the front work). So when using these physics we might end up requiring 5 newton to control the initial 300 newton...and that is more to my liking.

You don't have to work in the opposite direction (high force required) to teach the dog to follow you: a slight change in direction is already enough to take the 'reward' (the aim the dog is pulling to) from the dog. The smaller the angle, the smaller the force required to respond to the force the dog applies...and you can refine this method by doing 'crazy walking': with the dog at your side you change the direction every few seconds...every 1 second if required. You can train this actually whether the dog is pulling or not...you walk crazy for just half a minute, but that might include already 15 changes in direction so there is a very high repetition.

The big benefit for me is that I train the dog with very little force - stopping when the dog pulls is often 'all or nothing'. I want my dog that she responds to this tiny little bit of tension in the leash so that I would be able to hold the leash just with my finger tips (not a good idea to do this in an uncontrolled environment as the dog might will catch you on surprise). I'm sure there are some 'cray walking clips' on YouTube if you are interested.

There is also a downside so: your neighbours might call the ambulance if they see you 'crazy walking' :D .

ETA: ...forgot to mention: it requires a good timing and anticipation so to make a smooth 'crazy walk' sequence.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Willem

[jars]

Thanks for the suggestions. I took the time to view the Reinforcement zone videos on the weekend and have started to train the heel position separately from loose lead walking. No walks yesterday and today due to the hot weather in Melbourne.

[Tassie]

Sounds good! For me 'heeling; is a 'trick' behaviour I require in certain circumstances .. like the competition ring. Walks are for the dogs, so for the most part, my criteria are that they keep the leash relatively tension free, and generally pay some attention to me .. as in, remembering that I'm part of the walk picture, and respond to a verbal.