Leash Training...

[MazieDog]

Mazie is starting to get the hang of walking on a leash, but she seems to want to cut in front of me, causing me to trip over her... She also likes to try and jump up while we're walking... And ideas how to break her of this habit? I've pulled her away and said "No!" a few times, but she doesn't seem to get the idea.. I've only actually tripped over her once...the other times, I was able to stop before stepping on her. She is starting to pull too, so I'm trying to correct her of that by switching directions every time she does it.. she's slowly getting that idea.. Thanks for your advice!

-J

[Kade]

I have Winston's leash knotted about two feet up from his harness, and I hang onto the knot. Basically he isn't allowed to walk in front of me -- he doesn't have room. If he is heeling nicely, I let the leash go slack while I praise him. If he's trying to run ahead or jump, I hold it firmly and he is basically "swung back" to where he should be.

Barking... hmm. He usually barks and bites my pants when he means to say, "Too much, Mom! Let's go inside!"

[Kelly]

This may sound mean, but I constantly ended up tripping on, stepping on or kicking Dante (not hard obviously) when he was learning to walk on a leash. He learned from it, if he doesn't walk in front of me, he doesn't get stepped on. May be a harsh way of training, but he walks fine now and knows the commands "right side" and "left side" when we walk.

[Carrie]

I think it sounds like you're doing great by changing directions frequently. You can also stop frequently and ask for a sit until it becomes automatic that she sits. Have you ever used a clicker? If you click when she's walking nicely and pop a treat in her mouth while you keep walking, she'll learn what gets her the good stuff. If she steps in front, just keep walking, being careful not to trip. The minute she's at your side somewhere near a heal position, (not a formal heal) click (or if you're not using a clicker, use a quick word like "yessss" in a happy voice and pop a treat. As long as she keeps in a good position, treat frequently, every few steps that she is correct. Later you can lessen the reward. But at first, really show her the difference between getting a treat for one position and NOT getting a treat for the wrong thing. The clicker or "yesss!" is a nice short sound that will mark that moment that she is doing right. Be sure and get your timing right on so she knows exactly what it was she was doing to get rewarded. Just be consistant, praising/treating when she's walking nicely and not praising or treating when she's not. She'll get onto it. It takes practice and patience. It won't happen overnight. You don't have to do anything that isn't fun, like hold her too tightly or scold, jerk....nothing. She'll work for the reward once she knows what it is that gets her the reward. Make sure the reward is better than whatever it is she is wanting to do. (ie: special treats, mozerella cheese, homemade liver treats, hotdog) Make sure they're tiny pieces.

You want your dog to stay very, very motivated when she's working with you. If there's unpleasantness, tripping, stepping on, yanking the collar...any of that, she may not love going walking as much as when it's ALL good. Also, for other training or sports...if you ever want to do any agility or anything, it's good to keep the dog's drive strong and it's not good to squelch it. Just re-direct it. Working for you should be fun and rewarding, not worrisome about what may happen to her.

[MazieDog]

Thanks for the tips! I tried using your knot idea and that seemed to work a little better. She still manages to cut in front of me and I end up tripping over her..I guess she'll have to learn from her mistakes.. But she's starting to learn the "stop", "let's go", and "wait" commands.. It's probably best to train her to not cut in front of me now when she's only 20 pounds instead of waiting until she's 80+.. hehe

-J

[MazieDog]

Carrie: Thanks for the advice! Tomorrow, I'll cut up some hot dogs and put em in a plastic bag in my coat pocket and take her for a walk.. I'm not sure I understand the clicker thing though...Do you mean when I want her to walk beside me or something, make a clicky sound and get her into position and then reward her?

[Thadaboykobe]

I used a clicker and a chain to train him to heel. When I said heel, i made sure to tug on the chain a little bit and have him walk towards my left or right side, then I'd click the clicker and give him a treat and lots of praise. It works, I still use the chock chain just in case he desides to chase a bird and wants to pull me, lol. He's done that once or twice before. He sit automatically when we're going to cross the street, I make sure he does, so he doesnt walk ahead of in-coming traffic in the neighborhood or anywhere else where there's traffic.

The chain and the clicker worked for me. Plus lots of treats and praise of course.

[Thadaboykobe]

Oh and by the way, the clicker can be baught at any pet store. They're basically a little thing, [sorry i dont know how exactly to explain it], and when pushed down, it clicks.

Very simple and cheep as well. I baught mine at PetsMart for 50 cents.

[Carrie]

http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.html

Check this out. Basically, the clicker is used to show the dog precisely what it was he did that was correct. It is a bridge between the behavior and the reward. You can't always get the reward to them quickly enough. It takes a few seconds for you to react, put your hand to them to give them the treat. Sometimes the dog is away from you and it really takes time to get them their reward. Our voices and words...."goood dog" are good, but are a little muddled and not super specific. This click sound is very distinctive and you click it exactly at the moment they're doing the behavior you want. Then they know that a treat is forthcoming. You have to prime them first. That is....show them that the click means treat. So, for about 10 or 15 minutes you repeatedly click, treat.....click, treat....click, treat. (tiny treats) It's the concept of Pavlov's bell.

You do NOT use it as a directive or a bribe. It is only when the dog performs what you want, you click and reward. It is ONLY to show the dog what he did was what you want and he's going to get a treat in a second or two.

So, when he IS walking nicely, click/treat (CT) and when he is not, don't do anything. If he happens to take several nice steps, say for about 8 or 10 feet, CT frequently....several times.....at first till he realizes what he's getting rewarded for. When he steps in front of you or doesn't walk nicely, no reward. He is going to figure it out and do what gives him the reward. If he pulls however, do not keep walking because the reward there is that he gets to go forward. That is what he is wanting to do. Remove that payoff. Stop walking, turn the other way. When he gives slack in the leash, resume walking and reward. Like I said, it won't happen overnight, but he will figure it out. Pups are exuberant. And they forget, but if you get him in the habit by being consistant and practice, he'll get to a point where he will become very reliable and very happy to work with you....cooperate, rather than be forced into the behaviors you want. He'll do the choosing and he'll choose "right" because all mammals work for food and dogs love it and praise.

[MazieDog]

Oh my! Giving her treats while we're walking when she does the right thing worked VERY well! She kept looking at me most of the time instead of looking where she's going, but I'm sure she'll break free of that. I used Kade's knot idea along with the rewarding and she caught on real quickly.. What I did was I cut up a hot dog into tiny pieces, put it in a little sandwich bag with no zip-lock type deal.. and crammed it into my pocket. I strategically held a piece in my hand and would reward her when she walked beside me.. while she's happily munching on it, I grab another piece and say "Ok, let's go." and we move again... For some reason she prefers to walk on my right side instead of left.. hehe.

-J