Leash manners

Laurelin · Apr 25, 2011

So sometimes Ada pulls on the leash pretty badly. Honestly I cannot remember teaching the others to walk well on a leash. It seems they just walked well from the get-go? I'm sure I DID train it at one point, I just don't remember it.

But anyways, how do you typically teach LLW to a dog? Particularly a thick headed adult terrier that likes to follow her nose.

lizzybeth727 · Apr 25, 2011

First - get a front-clip harness. I use harnesses that are this style:

But instead of clipping the leash to the D-ring on the back (like in the picture), you clip it to the O-ring on the dog's chest. Voila, a front clip harness that you can get for under $10 at Wal Mart. I also think they fit more comfortably than, say, the Easy Walk harness.

Anyway, the front clip harness will serve as a kind of crutch, so that if she pulls you can stop walking or turn around; if she pulls on the leash, she won't be able to pull hard and it will help keep your hands from hurting. You'll have more endurance for a longer training session if you need to.

I'm sure you've read all about the "be a tree" and/or "choose to heel" methods of leash training we've written about a hundred times on this forum (if not, feel free to look them up), so I'm going to skip over the basics.

But one trick I use a lot with dogs that like to sniff, is to use sniffing as a reward for walking nicely. So you're walking along and she's walking nicely for a few steps - head up, not pulling, heeling right with you - and you're clicking/treating the good position. Have her walk a few feet nicely, and then give her a cue that means she can go and sniff; "go sniff" works well enough.

Use the sniffing as the reward for walking nicely. Let her sniff in a relatively small area, but as long as she wants to. When she's done sniffing and looks to you for something else to do, then cue her to walk with you and walk on.

Start cueing her to go sniff after just a couple of good steps, but the better she gets the longer you can go between sniffing sessions. Make sure that you cue it every time, so that she understands that the reward is coming from you.

A lot of terriers like to chase small animals, too, so if she does, you can also use that as a reward for good walking. She walks nicely and ignores a pigeon, the next pigeon you come to cue her, "go get him!" and let her chase the pigeon.

In my somewhat limited experience with terriers, I've found that this method is a great way to teach dogs that they CAN go and do those things that are so hard wired for them to do, but the opportunity to do it comes from ME. It takes a lot more creativity than just giving the dog a treat or a toy, but with the right dogs in the right situations, it works BEAUTIFULLY.

Dekka · Apr 25, 2011

Well your paps may never have liked pulling. I never needed to teach Dash or Bounce not to pull. They just never liked pulling lol. The terriers LOVE to pull.

I like front clip harnesses. But for my own dogs I have found the 'we only go forward when the leash is not tight' to be my preferred method. Start off by changing direction when ever she pulls. Mark reward as she is by your side (even if she is taking off now in the new direction lol) If she is smart at all it might take 10 min to get the idea of keeping the leash loose.

Then the big trick is you NEVER (for the next while) let pulling work. Ie stop and be a tree, or back up every.single.time.she.pulls.

Laurelin · Apr 25, 2011

I know Nikki pulled quite a bit but learned not to relatively fast.

I've been trying to be a tree but I haven't seen any improvement yet. Will keep working on it and get her a harness!

She definitely loves to pull like no dog I've ever had before.

Southpaw · Apr 25, 2011

With Juno changing direction worked best. We tried be a tree but what she learned is that when she pulled, I stopped, she would (literally) jump backwards into heel position, we'd start walking, she'd pull again, etc. It didn't teach her NOT to pull in the first place, it just taught her what to do when I stopped walking.

Set your criteria: do you just want her not to pull, or do you want her walking in a certain position? I like Juno at my side and, for the sake of consistent training, decided that her shoulders could not be past my legs. If she crossed that imaginary line I'd tell her "uh oh," take off in the other direction, and would start to c/t, c/t, c/t, as soon as she started following me and I would continue rewarding her for staying with me. Repeat as often as necessary.

Once she started understanding the idea (ie, we did not have to change direction as frequently), I started going longer between treats.

You don't need food rewards, that's just what my dog works for. If she is behaving well, we have designated sniffing spots, we will run to the next corner, sometimes I bring a tug toy with, etc. Whatever floats their boat.

This may be a given but daily practice is important. Even if it's just up and down the street in front of your house.

smeagle · Apr 29, 2011

Yep I use change of direction. Consistency is the biggest part of training LLW IMO, teaching the dog that pulling will not gain success is key.

Paige · Apr 29, 2011

I taught Bandit with two different rewards for his LLW and his off leash informal heel. He got cheese for staying by me and got a ball thrown for his release. I don't know if Ada is both food/toy driven but that's how I have always done it with my dog. Don't know if it's right or would work for every dog but it really works for Bandit. Food rewards for behaviors I need to mark that are close to me and I use fetch as his release reward to show that serious time is over.

milos_mommy · Apr 30, 2011

I wanted to add if you let pulling work AT ALL the training is going to backslide. For example: You can't be a tree, be a tree, and then get into the middle of the crosswalk and have to cross whether she's pulling or not

mikky05v · May 5, 2011

lizzybeth727 said:

First - get a front-clip harness. I use harnesses that are this style:

But instead of clipping the leash to the D-ring on the back (like in the picture), you clip it to the O-ring on the dog's chest. Voila, a front clip harness that you can get for under $10 at Wal Mart. I also think they fit more comfortably than, say, the Easy Walk harness.

Anyway, the front clip harness will serve as a kind of crutch, so that if she pulls you can stop walking or turn around; if she pulls on the leash, she won't be able to pull hard and it will help keep your hands from hurting. You'll have more endurance for a longer training session if you need to.

I'm sure you've read all about the "be a tree" and/or "choose to heel" methods of leash training we've written about a hundred times on this forum (if not, feel free to look them up), so I'm going to skip over the basics.

But one trick I use a lot with dogs that like to sniff, is to use sniffing as a reward for walking nicely. So you're walking along and she's walking nicely for a few steps - head up, not pulling, heeling right with you - and you're clicking/treating the good position. Have her walk a few feet nicely, and then give her a cue that means she can go and sniff; "go sniff" works well enough.

Use the sniffing as the reward for walking nicely. Let her sniff in a relatively small area, but as long as she wants to. When she's done sniffing and looks to you for something else to do, then cue her to walk with you and walk on.

Start cueing her to go sniff after just a couple of good steps, but the better she gets the longer you can go between sniffing sessions. Make sure that you cue it every time, so that she understands that the reward is coming from you.

A lot of terriers like to chase small animals, too, so if she does, you can also use that as a reward for good walking. She walks nicely and ignores a pigeon, the next pigeon you come to cue her, "go get him!" and let her chase the pigeon.

In my somewhat limited experience with terriers, I've found that this method is a great way to teach dogs that they CAN go and do those things that are so hard wired for them to do, but the opportunity to do it comes from ME. It takes a lot more creativity than just giving the dog a treat or a toy, but with the right dogs in the right situations, it works BEAUTIFULLY.

This is GREAT advise... it may actually help with my pig headed beagle lol

Leash manners

Laurelin

I'm All Ears

lizzybeth727

Active Member

Dekka

Just try me..

Laurelin

I'm All Ears

Southpaw

orange iguanas.

smeagle

New Member

Paige

Let it be

milos_mommy

Active Member

mikky05v

New Member

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