We’re looking at how to train your dog to stop pulling on leash. You have probably heard me talk about the importance of exercise for dogs. But, for some of you, taking your dog for a walk is not enjoyable, and you just want your dog to walk nicely. I’m covering what might have led to your dog’s lead pulling, what you can do to fix it, and how you can start to enjoy going for a walk.
In the episode you'll hear:
- About my trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and why world-renowned animal trainers Bob and Marian Bailey taught us to train chickens.
- The importance of mechanics and reinforcement in training any animal.
- How pulling ahead of you on lead can be rewarding for your dog.
- Why your dog inadvertently learns that it’s important to be in front of you.
- All the good things that are out in front that can create pulling on lead.
- How to be intentional about a reward zone and why to know your pants seam.
- The best mechanics to use for loose leash walking.
- What better behaviour to train for success with walking on leash.
- How to hold the leash, how to reward your dog, and why to circle.
- The layers of training walking on a leash and how to rehearse success
Hi, I am fairly new to Recallers and this podcast is great. My dog Buster does well with the game in the house, but still pulls like crazy outside. There are just too many distractions. I know it will take some time, but I am getting disappointed.
I loved this episode! I noticed that some of the questions were not answered. The questions were great, and I think I would benefit with an answer. Thanks for all the community does in Recallers!!!
Love your podcasts!!! Learning more here than from years of following others. I believe only in positive reinforcement training!!.
There are times when I need my dog to walk closely by my side (store, Restaurants, etc), but there are other times when I just want to take them for a walk to allow them to smell things and enjoy themselves. What do I do to help my dog distinguish between the two walks?
Are there any commands given during this training episode?
Piera and Ethel here. Per last night’s feedback: 3 positive things Ethel does:
1. Pays attention to me as we walked.
2. Stayed focused on working with me
3. Got a lot of steps.
For the first time in 4 nights, she was not cray-cray on the walk- she pulled but didn’t not go wild, uncontrolled crazy and occasionally came into RZ.
(Also practiced hand targets, sit/tug/sit, Ethel recall, HZ)
I am depending on you all a lot to make Ethel a model canine citizen (CC). Thank you.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hBVLrMyAARDtEjiw5
My dog does well with loose leash walking. The exception being when he goes to Doggie Daycare once a week. He absolutely loses his mind, and can’t contain himself. I’ve tried high value treats, tug toys you name it. He is not in the least bit interested in any of that. All he wants to do is go in there and play with his friends. Any tips? He has learned from crate games that he must sit in his kennel until he is hooked up on his leash, and he must wait till he’s released, but after that all is lost. I have been thinking about using a head halter from his crate to inside the doors of daycare. I haven’t tried that yet. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
I am pretty confident I can get this technique to work for me. I can’t wait to get to work! Thanks, Susan!
Hi everybody ! This is so interesting !
I have done HSTD with my 8 yo mixed female, and it help us a LOT !! Even for the leash walks during the winter, but now with spring and all the squirrels it is another thing… and I have trouble because she search them ALL THE TIME, and she put herself again in front of me, even if she won’t pull as much as before.
I live on a apartment, so no backyard or garden. My question is once we are at the stage of doing the circles outside, do I have to do them all the time (even just for a “pipi” or potty as Susan calls them ^^) ? The thing is that there are a lot of squirrel in my street and my dog knows that, I could even say that my street is the harder part of our walks !!
Also what can I do outside while we are building the behaviour inside ? We’ve change of harness like a month ago
Thank you for your help 🙂
Céline
Hey, really enjoyed this, much like the other podcasts we’ve watched!
Early on Susan referred to if a dog just likes to sniff everything, but then didn’t mention that in any other part of the podcast. It seems like a big leap from RZ to stopping the sniffing – scents are one of the BIGGEST distractions for our dog. How do we handle this out on a walk whilst we’re working on creating the RZ in the home? I fear that the sniffing is self-reinforcing and scents are everywhere so hard to control that environment!
We’re in the early stages of Recallers and can definitely see how everything will work, we’re just really struggling with undesirable behaviours in the meantime.
Hi Mark, Welcome to Recallers and the blog. An excellent resource to help with sniffing while going for a walk and wanting to make progress down the road is the use of a Head Halter. Here is Susan’s podcast about their use but as well you have a resource in your Recallers library to learn more as well. https://dogsthat.com/podcast/40/
This is interesting but I immediately have a question: how do I walk my dogs in the meantime?
Because this is not something I can do in one day, so what do I do on our walks until I get to the stage that I can go outside? Use the old collar and allow them to pull, while training the new game using a new collar or harness?
A harness – new / and different equipment may help you transition while working together to build better behaviour. It may be much clearer. Give it a try and record keep how you are progressing. Lynda(TeamSusan)
I smother the end of a long wooden spoon with cheese whiz (My dog doesn’t like peanut butter) and stick on little pieces of treats to it. I am then able to offer the reward, by my side to my little puppy chihuahua without having to bend down much. I need to be quick with pulling the spoon back up or the spoon will be empty in no time.😀
Brilliant! I’ve tried this a few times now. My biggest issue is that my puppy is quite small, so I need to bend way over to give her a cookie. Very awkward and hard on my 65 year old back and knees. Any suggestions?
Yay, yay, yay for Bob Bailey and Hot Springs, Arkansas!
Hi,
I walk with a crutch in my left hadn and am not able to switch up the left and right.
Do you have any tips for that?
For your safety Mary Jane (with the crutch in the left hand) maybe you work at building great behaviour that will serve you well on your right side. Switching just may not be safe for you at this time as it will create an imbalance for you and with a dog just learning it may be easier to just focus on one side. Lynda(TeamSusan)
This makes so much sense, I’ve just had a light bulb moment re how the various games are interdependent. I confess to not holding strict enough criteria with IYC re the dog moving toward the treat but by linking it to treating on loose leash the clarity is obvious. My dog currently grabs at high value treats so we need to revisit IYC with strong criteria then I am certainly going to try this loose leash method. Thank you so much for being so specific in your training of people to train dogs.