Does your dog drag you around?
The minute you leave the house, does your dog pull like a train?
Does your dog only pull sometimes and when he does, it feels like he is pulling your arm out of its socket?
If so, then you are not alone and it isn’t yours or your dogs fault.
Let’s face it; dogs aren’t born walking on a lead!! We need to help reach them how to walk on a lead.
So, why do they pull?
It may be how your dog is feeling. If he is scared, anxious, over aroused or fearful then learning cannot take place and he will pull.
In the event that your dog walks nicely sometimes but not others, it simply means you haven’t proofed the behaviour of loose lead walking or you are pushing the criteria too high for the stage the dog is at.
So ‘proofing’ means we need to practice the loose lead walking in many contexts and environments.
And ‘criteria’ means the stage your dog is at in learning the loose lead behaviour. In criteria we use the distance we are able to walk with a loose lead, how often or how many steps between reinforcements and how high the distractions are.
For example, your dogs criteria in your back garden could be 50 steps of loose lead, reinforcing every 10 steps.
But once you are at the field or park, you get no loose lead!! This is because you changed the criteria and you have added in new distractions, such as new smells and sights.
Adding in these new distractions, you must lower your distance and be more frequent with your timing of reinforcements. This helps the dogs learning process
Now, there are many ways to train the loose lead that don't require force or any harmful equipment.
Simply have a good lead which is at least on meter in length. Why? Well, remember dogs do have four legs therefore will walk at a faster pace. By having a longer lead we will give them a chance to walk loosely. Then you will require some positive reinforcements. Food works well for loose lead training, however toys can also be good too.
Remember, every dogs motivation is different. Next you need to start practicing somewhere quiet like your garden or even your house.
Place the lead on and reinforce your dog for being next to you. By reinforce, I mean give a treat.
Take one step and reinforce.
You need to reinforce each step which is loose lead - this way the dog will learn that the loose lead = good consequences!!
Now raise your criteria. Take two steps and reinforce the loose lead. Once you increase your steps, your dog will begin to choose to walk with a looser lead. Now, raise your criteria!! Start adding more steps between reinforcements and walking for a further distance. Next, add in some simple distractions - the kids, people, etc.
Do this slowly and over time and repetitions. Once this is going smoothly, you can then proof that behaviour by starting again in as many different environments as possible!! Remember start the criteria low when you add in those distractions. Be your dogs celebrity, make them want to walk next to you!! Make YOU more valuable than the environment. There are many more tasks which you can do to help boost a loose lead.
Working on focus training can be useful alongside having a fabulous bond and relationship.
Please do get in touch if you have any questions at all.
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