Teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash
I do not teach a formal heeling exercise, I refer to this exercise as walking on a loose leash. It is integrated with the procedure for teaching the Automatic Sit.
After about a week of working on the automatic sit, incorporate walking on a loose leash.
Many dogs pull on their leashes. But have you ever stopped to wonder why? Viewed objectively it doesn?t seem like a very pleasant activity, but most dogs will pull on a collar until they are gasping for breath.
The answer is simple. Most dogs feel they are actually being rewarded for pulling on leash!
Think about it; when you take your dog out for a walk, he is full of energy and eager to explore. So eager, as a matter of fact, that the first thing he does is strain forward on the lead. You start forward and begin to walk him.
?Aha!? he thinks. ?Pulling on this thing gets me walked!? So he keeps pulling on the lead; and sure enough, you keep walking. In a very short period of time, the dog begins to think that pulling on the lead makes you keep going?. and he never stops to realize that you would walk him even if he didn?t pull!
So in order to teach your dog not to pull, you have to change his perceptions a little bit. And it?s not always easy!
Before the training is started, the dog thinks that ?Pressure on the leash=forward progress.?
What you need to teach him is
?No pressure on the leash=forward progress.? ?Pressure on the leash=no forward progress.?
Hold only the end of the leash, giving your dog ?free rein.? This is not heeling! You are simply teaching ?keep slack in the leash.?
In other words, if the dog is walking on a loose leash, you walk right along with him and enjoy yourself. But the moment he tightens the leash, you come to a dead stop. Then pull the dog to your side and have him sit. Don?t move until the dog is sitting beside you on a loose lead. You need to show the dog that he doesn?t get to take one step forward on a tight leash?.ever! And pulling should cause him enough inconvenience that he would just as soon avoid it.
When the dog sits, start walking forward again and praise him; click and treat if he does a good job of staying with you. Hold only the end of the leash, giving your dog ?free rein.? This is not heeling! You are simply teaching ?keep slack in the leash.?
If he immediately lunges forward again, simply repeat the procedure of pulling him back and having him sit until he calms down.
If your dog is too strong for you to do this, and pulls you forward despite your best efforts, consider using a device called a Halti. It is a very humane tool that controls the dog?s head without discomfort to the dog, and dramatically reduces the dog?s pulling power.
Once your dog is being reasonably well mannered on your normal walks, it?s time to introduce some challenges. Start with walking your dog in new areas and in busier situations then usual. The more that?s happening, the more your dog will be prone to pull.
Another good challenge is to go for a walk with a friend who can provide distractions. And don?t forget to reward your dog when he does well!
Practice walking faster and slower then usual. Reward your dog for adapting to your pace. Introduce turns by turning, then calling your dog?s name and patting your leg with your hand to catch his attention. Reward him when he turns with you. If he doesn?t turn, tug on his leash to get him to catch up with you.
Love this one! Took my weim about 5 days to learn (together with the automatic sit) and now we both get to enjoy going out for walks instead of me being dragged all the time!
October 29th, 2007 at 1:33 pmI have tried this it does not seem to work. How long might this take I have a pug almost one year old.
I love this site thank you.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:32 pmHi,
January 26th, 2008 at 3:09 ami have a two and a half year old staffy labrador cross that i have recently acquired and he is a nightmare to walk.He pulls very hard, and if he sees a cat or another dog gets upset and pulls harder. I tried a gentle leader harness which is similar to a halti, but the more he wore it the more he fought it. I gave up on it in the end as he would scratch at his face so much he would draw blood. It got to the stage that he would be pulling and scratching at it every few steps. Although he is not a large dog he is very strong.Do you think the loose leash technique could work with him. Lisa
Hi! I just read your article on loose leash training and like the ideal. I am presently training to shepherd puppies and was using the same technique to some degree. I was walking them on a loose leash and working with them on the sit when they were running loose. They came up to me when called and I would have them sit to receive petting and praise. It kept them from jumping on me as much. puppies get so overjoyed when they are being petted and praised. I will keep you updated on how they are doing as I teach them and try your methods. I trained dogs in classes, but you can always learn better methods. Thanks!
March 25th, 2008 at 2:58 pmthis is the best best best article i have ever ever read n full of information.thanks keep it up ur doing a noble work.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am