THREE EASY STEPS TO WALKING (the dog)

Installment three of Dog Training
“the MY BEST FRIEND OBEDIENCE way” 

By Karen Reardon Taylor, Owner of My Best Friend Obedience

Teaching your dog to walk nicely on a loose lead is not as difficult as it seems.  Are you in awe when you watch reruns of Lassie running ahead of Timmy and stopping to wait for Timmy to catch up?  Are you jealous when your neighbor’s dog walks right with them, instead of leaning to the end of the lead like your dog does?  Does your dog get so excited when the leash is presented that they cannot contain themselves?  Do you dutifully place the leash on your excited pup and attempt to go for the daily “drag” anyway?  Likely, the more unpleasant each walk becomes, the less you walk the dog.  Until, finally, your out of control family pet is doomed to life in the backyard chasing a ball (if you have a yard), and the only outings become visits to the vet or the groomer.   Avoiding outings with the pup may even translate into a dog that hates the car (the only outings are unpleasant), or worse yet, an unexercised pet that becomes excessively destructive and may even be sent to the shelter because he/she is “untrainable.”  All day long I get these desperate phone calls from owners declaring, “I am at my wits end,” or “this is the last phone call I am making before I take this monster to the shelter.”  Do not despair.  I am here to help.  In almost no time at all we can make a “Lassie” out of your leashed pup!  With a leash, a clicker, some dog treats and a little practicing, we can have your dog looking back waiting for you to catch up, and have him/her following you in whatever direction you want without pulling you, or ripping your arm off and without you pulling the dog!

• Step number one, put on the leash, or not

If your dog gets over excited about the leash being presented prior to walking, take the leash out of the drawer and put it on the ground, over your shoulder, or on a table for a time (5 min – 1 hour), until the dog settles down, then put it away.  Do not walk the dog yet. Please remember not to excite the dog by saying, “do you want a walk” in an excited fashion!  If you are inciting a mini doggie riot don’t ask me to come over and mediate!  Over the course of a few days the leash will lose it’s excitement value.  The third day, take out the leash and hold it in your hand and command your dog to sit (see “sit lesson” in this publication).  Clip the leash on and let the dog drag it around the house (some of you can actually skip to this part right away).  Occasionally pick up the leash and walk the dog around the house, if the dog pulls on the end just let go.  Remove the leash afterward and put it away.  Do this for a few days.  If you must walk the dog outside for potty breaks…go ahead, just 2-10 minutes and back in, don’t worry about the details.  Make sure that most of the time (7 out of 10) the leash is on the dog you are walking him inside the house or yard, not outside for potty breaks.

• Step number two, walk the dog with a treat or toy

Just because the dog has a leash on and the leash is in your hand, does not mean that you (or the dog) must pull on it.  Instead of using the leash like a pull string to steer with, use it to keep your dog from getting away from you.  Take one large soft treat, or lots of small bits of soft treats, in your hand (like an entire jerky treat stick or a whole lamb lung treat) and lure the dog around with it for a few seconds then click and treat (see previous article in this publication).  If you are using a toy, wiggle or squeak it getting the dogs interest to follow and give the pup the toy.  It is best to have two or three toys on your person.  After you reward by giving the toy or treat to your pup, have another one ready to use to get his/her attention back again to follow you around for a few seconds and click and treat again.  The yard or living room is perfect for this because your dog has already explored every inch of it and is less likely to become distracted by smells, sights, and sounds.  Make sure you let your dog have the click and treat or toy every few seconds to one minute at first, so they don’t lose interest in following you around for it.  Verbal praise and coaxing during this exercise doesn’t hurt either.  If you are having trouble coordinating all this, put your leash on your left wrist, with the treats in your left hand.  Put the clicker between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand.  This can be reversed if it is more comfortable.  If your dog pulls you indoors or in the yard, just let go of the lead and walk away for a few minutes.  Momentarily stop playing the follow the treat game until the dog seems interested in getting another treat.  Try to keep this exercise to 5 minutes or less at first.  Always leave the dog wanting more treats instead of working them until they lose interest and walk away.  Do this step (leading them by your hand and treat/toy, not the leash) until your dog will follow your hand while you fake that there is a treat in it.  When you click you will still present them with a treat from your pocket or a fanny pack even if there is no treat in your hand!

• Step three, go back to the beginning of step two but do this in the front yard!

Try to head out, walk the dog with a treat in the front yard or down the block…but what if they lose interest and walk away to the end of the lead?  Or worse yet, what if the dog begins to drag you over to a dog, person, or tree?  Simply do not let the dog lead you, lead the dog!  Clearly, as much as we love our pets the only way they can lead us on a leash is to pull.  Unless of course your dog has a few chocolates or dollar bills stashed in his pocket to temp you (we might just let them pull, or take up jogging, if they did), your dog will think it must use brute force to get where he/she wants to go.  If you are able to predict (watch for changes of pace, or lowered head walking to sniff) when your dog is just about to pull, simply stop (freeze) at the first inclination that they are going to charge out to the end of the lead.  You’re your dog looks back, astonished that his forward progress had been impeded, click and treat.  If you don’t anticipate well, and your pup hits the end of the lead, despite all your best efforts to keep him/her focused on the reward, QUICKLY walk the other way!  Simply back peddle (walk backward while looking at your dog), making it impossible for your dog to get where he/she is trying to go by pulling you.  The leash may become tightened when you back up making it difficult to back peddle.  If so, try taking a few quick steps forward before backing up fast!  Creating a little slack in the leash will aid you in backing up faster.  Keep your arm relaxed during this exercise.  Resist the temptation to pull the lead with you arm.  Use your body to force the dog in your direction instead of his.  Move the opposing direction.  Once your dog looks back in your direction or, better yet, comes back to you…click and treat!  Then try letting your dog walk back to where it was initially headed or, if it has changed its mind, in the direction he/she now wants to go.  If the dog resumes pulling again, you resume back peddling until your dog looks or comes to you and, again, click and treat!  If you have a stubborn dog try doing a few short walks with lots of direction changes.  This keeps puppy on his/her toes (paws) wondering where you will be off to next, leaving little time to contemplate where to sniff or drag you to next!  Continue this process until your dog checks in (looking back periodically in your direction), and does not hit the end of the lead on the forward motion, then squeal with delight (ok, try your best)…most dogs love this reaction and will run to you thrilled that they have pleased you so!  When the dog gets to his desired sniffing/greeting place by walking without pulling, sniffing/greeting will become the “secondary reinforcement” for “not pulling” (see “starting out” in this publication).  You may want to help that secondary reinforcer along by actually speeding up so your dog can get to his desired destination faster.  Doing this will really help your dog realize that your desire is not to stop his/her sniffing enjoyment, but simply to not be dragged to each desired locale.  If you are still having difficulty then seek the help of a professional trainer for private or group classes on loose leash walking.

So, Lassie in three easy steps!  O.K., maybe not quite yet, but you’re getting there.  For those of you who are nearly at your wits end, don’t wait until you are!  You are now headed in the right direction.  Take your dog to obedience class or employ the use of a private trainer now!  There are entire books on this subject and animal planet has a few training shows you could watch!  Of course, I would prefer you come to one of my classes for coaching, but if you are reading this article, at least you are on the right track!  Think of the inspiration you will be to the next dog owner that sees you and your dog nicely walking down the lane!  Think of all the places you can go with your dog when it is fun to walk instead of a chore!  Think of the exercise you will get!  For those of you who already own Godzilla (or mini-Zilla) on a leash, there are many types of training equipment that can help you get better control of your dog such as gentle leaders, no pull harnesses, etc.  If you own a dog that tends to bark and lunge at other dogs you should really get some help from a qualified professional… this type of problem is very solvable!  Watch for next months article on The Doggie Escape Artists.