If you’d like to train your dog to walk beside you on a leash without pulling, you are in the right place. There is one mistake that most people make when they are training walking on lead, and that is overwhelming their dog. In dog training lingo, we call it “lumping”. Once you understand how to split a behaviour down, you will have success and quickly stop your dog from pulling on leash.
In the episode you'll hear:
- What it would be like to learn how to juggle while on a pushbike.
- Why new people are like seeing movie stars for a puppy.
- About birds and bunnies and all the things that are distraction on your walks.
- How to split walking on a leash down for your dog.
- The easy way to start loose leash walking with perch work and pivots.
- Why it will only take you 7 days if you commit.
- How pivots help your dog to change sides on a walk.
- The importance of building value for Reinforcement Zone (RZ) for your dog.
- How to start fading your foot target.
- Why training leash walking starts with you and your dog stationary.
- How to know if you have gone too far, too fast and lumped.
- What to do to exercise your dog while you are working on walking on a lead.
- The layers needed for our dogs to succeed with loose leash walking.
Resources:
- YouTube Video: Susan Garrett’s Perch Work Dog Tricks (Pivots and Spins)
- Podcast Episode 53: Stop Your Dog Pulling on Leash and Start Walking Together
- Podcast Episode 32: 20 Easy Ways to Exercise Your Dog at Home
- Podcast Episode 59: Why Your Treats Aren’t Working for Your Dog
- Vlog Post: How do I Stop My Dog from Pulling on the Leash?
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
For your 7 day challenge (4 or 5 daily 3 minute sessions), you cautioned “if you have a dog that goes cray cray, this might not be a challenge for you”. Indeed, this challenge did not result in loose leash walking for us.
My dog does not go “cray cray”. Instead, she is interested in sniffing nearly EVERY SINGLE THING. I’ve been working on loose leash walking for 2+ years. She’s fine staying in RZ unless something calls her to investigate—end of loose leash. Will this investigative behavior ever end? Next month she’ll be 3, and I must admit to frustration + admiration at how interested she remains in everything despite all the previous (daily) outings at multiple and varied locations. Life is just interesting, I guess.
Would love to know how it’s going? I have the same issue. Hardly walks for 2 months. Very good RZ until out on a walk.
I was all set to try this until you said no leash for seven days. I live in a high rise apartment building, so the leash is required just to get outside to the potty place (per our lease agreement), then we have a boat ramp and board walk literally 100 feet away in the front of the building, and the other three sides of the building are parking lot. So unfortunately, this particular method isn’t going to be appropriate for me. Do you have any other ideas? At the moment, I’ve been using a hand target to get her to stay close to me (off leash) inside our 1500 sq. ft. apartment. My next step forward will be trying it in our hallway while coming BACK INSIDE from morning potty (so she’s no longer in a big hurry to get somewhere, and she’s hungry, as she won’t have had her breakfast yet). Do you think I can get this method to work over time? At the moment, she walks out in front of me on leash, and as long as I’m walking faster than a toddler, her pulling is minimal. She also stops when I tell her to “wait,” so it is working for us, but I’d love for it to be better. Thank you!
Must I give the command break after every series of steps? I am in recallers and am following the lesson where Susan walks ahead then says break and then takes a few more steps and says break. Is this different or the same please?
I so appreciate the transcripts. It’s where I check and update my notes after watching the YouTube. Great tool! 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Very, very useful concept and another tool to help my dog with her dog reactivity. Thank you!