Lead Walking

[Alibear]

I have seen another thread and have read all the lead walking suggestions but my question is - do you think 4 months is to young to be teaching my pup to walk along side of me?

I am at the end of my patience and I pysically am not strong enough to hold him anymore and is just pulling stronger and harder then ever before and he doesn't respond to treats. I would prefer to not use a check chain while I can avoid it.

I don't know what to do - I just turned around and came straight home last night, I know I need to be patient, but really, is he to young?

[Guest Tess32]

No he's not - lead work can be started at any time, younger the better.

There are MANY ways to teach loose lead walking.

Maybe you could tell us first what you have tried?

The worst thing you can do is to let him pull - it just rewards his behaviour and gets him where he wants to go.

Some people like the "tree" method - as soon as he pulls, STOP and refuse to move until he again focuses on you. Depending on the pup, you might have to do this MANY times until he realises it's not working, or he might get it straight away.

What I did was practice in the backyard first and have a "goal", which was another person on the other side of the yard. The dog pulls, you walk backwards to the "starting line" and start over. Every pull, you go backwards. Once the dog realises that the only way to get to where he wants to go is to have the lead loose, then you can begin to generalise this to the outside.

I did a comb of the above as well as treating him with food whenever he was in the right position. IF your pup isn't focused on food, use the environment. When you want to reward him, take him over to a tree and say "go sniff" as the reward.

There are many many methods, it depends what you are comfy with.

Nat

[KitKat]

They are never too young! I started getting my furball used to the leash within days of getting him home and it's only recently that he's started pushing the issue of actually heeling...but we are working on that with using both the clicker and with turning and walking a different direction

[wagsalot]

on the same topic is it hard to get them out of their bad pulling ways when they're older?

riley is 4 now..he's a kelpie x.

he gets overly excited everytime i put shoes on.

he pulls like mad until we get half way down the road, then he settles down.

when he settles down he still doesnt walk by the side of me, still in front, but he doesnt pull and theirs slack in the leash

the main prob is at the beginning when he's way to excited!

[espinay2]

First thing to do is not to confuse walking at 'heel' where they are concentrating on you and walking right beside you with walking on a 'loose lead' where the dog can move about to the end of the lead, sniff the ground, look around and such.

Which one do you wish to teach your pup just now?

walking at 'heel' is a more precise exercise and can take mega concentration on the dogs part. As a young pup you can expect minimal spans of this type of concentration. It is good to be starting this now, but you should not expect trhe whole of a walk or even half a walk to be this type of thing. I wouldnt even expect it from an adult dog in all reality. A four month old pup you are aiming for a few seconds of time to begin with, gradually building up to things like 'crossing the road' (where you want full attention for safety reasons) and beyond. you can start practicing this off lead in the house or yard.

Walking on a loose lead is different. A pup at four month should definitely be expected to be able to 'get' this.

The 'tree' system is the one I prefer. When the dog hits the end of the lead and it goes tight - STOP STILL LIKE A TREE. When the lead loosens, move forward again (I wouldnt even expect them to turn and look at you - just to loosen the lead even slightly at first.). The second the lead goes tight again, stop again. Keep doing this till the cow come home no matter how frustrating it is. The first few times you may be lucky to reach the end of the driveway (find other outlets for energy such as extra off-lead play in the yard or drive to the park while you are working on this)

Some important things to remember about this method. For the moment at least you need to do this EVERY time you walk on a lead. The minute you dont and decide not to bother 'just this once' you are randomly rewarding the pup. this reinforces the pulling and makes it even harder to get rid of. Be persistent. be consistent. Just remind yourself of the next 15 years of dog ownership and ask yourself if a few weeks of frustration is worth more or less than a lifetime of pulling.

Next thing to keep in mind is that when you start this, the pup is likely to start to pull even more. Don't be disheartened, this can be a GOOD sign (IF you are keeping up with the program!). Basically, there is truth in the old saying that things get worse before they get better. In behaviour terms this is called an 'extinction burst' and basically means your pup is trying one last ditch effort to get what worked before (the pulling) to work again. If you persist with acting like a tree it wont take long for the pup to come to the conclusion that the ONLY way it can move forward is with the lead loose and the pulling will taper off and (if you keep up the routine) eventually stop.

Let me reinforce to you that the pulling is not going to magically stop without some effort on your part to put ONE program in place and STICK to that program EVERY time the dog is on lead. What ever method you choose, stick with it, do it consistently (ALL the time) and be persistent.

Good luck, I am sure you will get there.

[Alibear]

I definatly am not expecting him to "heel". I just want him to walk with me, not walk me!

Well, I think i might try with the "tree" metod and see if that works, because I certainly can not continue with the pulling he is currently doing. He is almost pulling my shoulder out of its socket!

He is only 4 months and 14kg - I need to get him out of this before he is fully grown.

My only question now is at puppy school we have learn sit, drop, stand and they are teaching "heel". I have to walk with a peice of food in my hand to keep him close to my leg. Is this right? I can't expect him at puppy school to do that and then at home let him just wander around on the lead - can I?

[KitKat]

My only question now is at puppy school we have learn sit, drop, stand and they are teaching "heel". I have to walk with a peice of food in my hand to keep him close to my leg. Is this right? I can't expect him at puppy school to do that and then at home let him just wander around on the lead - can I?

Well...some say it's heel or nothing...but I don't agree...mostly because i want to get Bronx into tracking sometime in the near future and it's harder to teach the dog to lead out once they have 'heel' drummed into them...least so i have been told.

So i give our walking 'styles' a command...'Heel' means he walks at heel, 'Lead out' means he walks out front (already nose to the ground ) and 'walk on' when it's just a relaxed stay within length of lead thing. We haven't got this perfected yet but we're getting there ;)

EFS

Edited May 26, 2005 by KitKat

[Kavik]

Teach heel and loose lead walking as two different exercises.

Heel is precise and only for short periods of time. Often it is useful to teach attention first - teach them to watch you. This gets them used to the idea of paying attention.

Loose lead walking can be done for longer periods with less concentration - it is what you will probably do most of the time. The dog is allowed to sniff and go to the end of the lead but not pull.

[Alibear]

OH man! So much information for my little brain to comprehend! I don't know if I can do this.

[espinay2]

As Kavik said, they are two separate exercises.

Heeling is basically an extension of your 'watch' or 'attention' exercise (IMO). It is attention while walking beside you. loose lead walking is just that. you can do what you want mostly, just dont pull the lead.

Your class should be teach you both....

I use 'heel' for the attention type walking exercise (that is the most commonly used word) and 'lets go' for loose lead or 'free' walking (that is if I use a command for that one at all)

[KitKat]

You'll be fine Just take it all in steps and be consistant

[espinay2]

Relax alibear

Think of it this way:

When you are walking around the park, you want your dog to be able to sniff the ground, look around and move around from beside you to in front of you etc. But you dont want him to pull your arm out of the socket while he does it. This is loose lead walking.

When you get to a road you want him to keep close beside you where it is safe and pay attention to you as you cross just case you have to run fast or stop suddenly (you want him to move with you and close beside you). You want him to do this on a loose lead too. This is heeling.

Chunk it up into different exercises like this. Teach them as two different things.

[ness]

I prefer to think of it as heeling is something that you will only require of your dog if you intend to trial in obedience (so only required in a ring type situation) anything else is loose leash walking.

[Alibear]

With loose leash walking - does he still need to remain on my left hand side, or can he move from side to side?

[espinay2]

He can move from side to side or in front etc, provided he doesnt move in a way that will trip you up!

[Alibear]

Oh ok - I thougth that at all time even if it was a loose lead your dog had to be on the left hand side of you.

[goldielover]

Hey alibear,

I definitely can relate to your problem. My golden was quite a puller as well, and despite a lot of obedience training and training at home, really didn't start to settle until she was 1 1/2 years old. I tried the 'tree' method for well over 6 months, but she didn't seem to get the message. All of a sudden it all just fell into place. She is one of those dogs who walks beside you better OFF lead than on. One of our instructors was always talking about these dogs who do better off lead and i thought... yeah right!! LOL, until Jazz actually started to do it.

I agree with the others who are saying there is a difference between making them heel alongside you and walking loose lead.

Another thing you can try is to keep him focusing on you. If he's not food motivated, perhaps a squeaky toy? Anyway good luck! As you say, it's better to try and get on top of it now before he gets too big.

[goldielover]

P.S with loose lead walking i would recommend still making him stay roughly on the left as there's nothing more annoying than a dog that criss-crosses in front of you all the time, possibly tripping you up

[Alibear]

goldielover - I think I would like to keep him on the left as he corsses across the front of me, behind me, around me - I just can't keep up. I must be quite a site to any onlookers!

Looks like I have a long and hard road in front of me. I think last night was the last straw and now I have to get up the courage and patience of course to try again!

Thank you to everyone who has given there opinion and assistance.

Wish me luck - I will most definatly need it.

[KateH]

Hi Alibear,

Going through the same thing now -- we've been using the tree method for about three weeks now and it's working. Jasper, my six month old GSP, will get to the end of the leash and if it goes taut, I stop, and she turns around and comes back. Every time we go for a walk it's an improvement, she pulls less and less. It's not instantenous but it's better than having my arms wrenched off.

The first few times we did it she carried on like I was trying to murder her! I ignored the behaviour and it went away... hopefully never to return.

Good luck,

Kate,