Leash Training

[DDBOntheblock]

Hello Everyone!
This seems to be my main problem with every dog I have had and it is most likely operator error....so I need help...or it is that I have had very stubborn dogs, but I am willing to take the credit here for the issues. My DDB Cooper is wonderful. Yes he is hyper, but he has a heart of gold and is willing to please. He is roughly 10 months old and not neutered. I have to admit I have not walked him much and let it lapse the last few months because I have been busy life in general, but I admit, I should have contributed to at least 5-10 minutes a day with training. Anyway, here we are. I have begun walking our dogs every other day(we walk every day, but I am not strong enough nor are they obedient enough to walk both in a day). Cooper is too strong for me and although he did heel for about a 1/4 of the walk, the rest was pulling and being pulled. I need some direction. I do have a stubborn dogs training collar (electronic) that worked miracles for our Lab Charlie. She still does not listen if she doesn't wear the collar, but if it is on her, the problem barking stops and so does the pulling downtown stop....no amount of walking is enough for that dog, but since she is a lab, that's not what we are talking about here lol! Ok back to Cooper. He is very treat motivated and cooked bacon from last night went a long way, but I cannot seem to get him to understand that pulling is not what I want. I did the whole turn and walk the other way and he would bounce around and start pulling that direction and I found myself just going in circles, literally! What are your thoughts on a prong collar. I have been reading both books from the Monks of New Skete on the art of raising a puppy and how to be your dog's best friend, and it's looking like before I even leave this house, I need to master the art of heeling and obedience here. I am in total agreement there. And I am going to just start taking baby steps with him. He did perfect heeling in the backyard, no pulling etc., but soon as we are out the front door, that is when it starts. My sister advised to start just walking from the door to the edge of the house in a heel. And when he masters that, walk around the garage and so on, baby steps until the walk. I am taking all of this in, and I am truly going to commit to 5 to 10 minutes a day training with him. I love him so much and he deserves it. I am alone on the animal front, my hubby does not help train, and I do have two young kids...so it is just me training. I do not want to rehome him but am looking for different options to walk better and have a dog that is truly obedient in all situations, not just the backyard! I do not walk both dogs together because even she still needs help after my truly dedicating 2 years of many walks and a lot of training. But my eventual goal would be to take both dogs on a nice walk and maybe if they weren't out of control, my hubby would be encouraged to be around them and walk with them as well. The prong collar is recommended in the books but only if it is used properly. I totally agree, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be going to PetCo soon so any tips on items that might help this would be wonderful. Thank you so much!

 

[DennasMom]

Would you have time to enroll you and Cooper in a group obedience class? That way the trainer can help you find the right equipment and give you some hands-on information on how to react when Cooper starts pulling. It would also give you structured practice time, which helps, too.

The first thing I'd work on is simply focus... every time you say his name and he looks at you - TREAT/REWARD. Make sure his name is ALWAYS a good thing, and every time he looks when you say his name (and/or "look at me"), he gets a happy reward.

Another thing to work on would be his impulse control. There's a youtube video called "it's yer choice" that outlines how to teach that really well. It's basically "leave it", but makes it more fun.

He might just be overly full of energy, too... maybe try and wear him out with some play time with the lab and games of fetch BEFORE you take him on the walk? Then he might be more apt to listen while on the walk?

You might also look into clicker training - that worked great with us and our EM, Denna. When he walks in the heel position, keep clicking and treating... if he moves out of position, stop and wait until he comes back (or do the turn-around, like you've been doing).

You can also simply lure him to stay in position, hold a treat right in front of his nose as you walk, and occasionally let him have the treat (every 1 step, then every 3 steps, then at the end of each block... slowly working up in distance)... and worry about removing the lure/bribe after he understands what the word "heel" means.

If he really just doesn't listen to you... I'd probably use a prong collar, myself. But be sure you do some research and get it fit properly, and know how you're going to use it, so you make it a success. There are some good youtube videos on fitting and introducing the prong collar that might help.

Just some ideas to think about... hopefully you'll get some other ideas from more of the experts, here, too.

 

[DDBOntheblock]

Thank you so much for the tips and video examples! How wonderful. Here is the problem with the obedience class. Despite my desire to live somewhere else, I live approximately 1 hour away from a major city with obedience classes and the small town that is near (I already looked and no obedience) so this sort of isn't an option when I would have to drag the kids to all the classes as well, and although Im sure one would love to watch, the other is toddler and hard. I do know that none of this is his fault, but I am going to do my best that I can for him. I love the treat in front of his nose. As a matter of fact I did that today and had him looking at me and prancing the whole way for about 30 feet because the treat was in my hand. I should probably keep doing that! I am getting a variety of treats at the store so that he doesn't get bored. I also am going to continue 5-10 min obedience training here at home. Cooper runs around so much with Charlie that he gets tired and can barely keep up. I didn't think to do that before the walk, but that is a great idea. I will start to incorporate as much as I can. Thank you so much for the positive encouragement!

 

[2nd Chance]

I too have family that like to pat the dogs. and that's about it. Despite promises of "we'll help, please can we?" at the beginning.
Prong and electric collars are illegal in this country.
So the choice is flat collar and training, or check chain and training.
I am persevering with flat collar and training. I can tell you its slow going! Ive had this dog for 2 months. And ive walked him twice a day, every day, on leash, training him for 80 days straight. And you'd think we started yesterday.
If you find the answer, do tell!

 

[Hector]

Here are some videos that may help and like Dennasmom said try and use a clicker or just use the word "yes" as a marker. Treat often ( I would say every step and then two steps if you still have his attention and then 3 if you can push it) when you're in the beginning stages of loose leash walking. It's cheaper to feed him real meat as treats. Use chicken breasts or pork chops or whatever you want and boil it or toss and stir fry it a bit and cut it up and use that. Always start the learning stage with positive techniques and then adjust as the dog knows the command.

What I would suggest is baby steps. I would teach him the turn command. That would be easy since he does well in the house and yard. I would do walk two steps and tell him to sit, walk 2-3 steps and tell him to sit and I would change up the pace. Once he knows the turn command use that and practice walking fast and turn! and walk normal 5 paces and turn and walk fast 3 paces and turn and turn again. Whatever you want keep it at fast enough pace that he won't get the chance for his mind to wander. Dr. Sophia Yin calls it a dance and I totally agree. I've used her methods and it worked for me. Reward him quick and frequent and by your side. When you feel he's picking up the pace - do a turn on him (call his name and say command).

Some Zak George videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYXfRsHyDqM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDk61XaJMpk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBN2_YuTclU

Silky leash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZarFGdcj8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MkG0XHKzLQ

Dr. Sophia Yin loose leash walking articles with pictures
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/walk-on-loose-leash-part-1-choose-the-right-walking-pace-and-make-it-clear

turns
Teaching Dogs to Walk on Loose Leash, Part 2: Making About Turns | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/walk-on-loose-leash-part-3-u-turns

distractions
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/reactive-dog-moving-past-distractions

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/reactive-dog-foundation-exercises-for-your-leash-reactive-dog

 

[Saunders]

Since you mentioned the prong collar....I just read the thread entitled I Need Some Ideas started by Smokeycat in Training and Behavior. It has videos of the proper fitting and use of a prong collar. I was glad I watched it because I needed to place mine higher on the neck and attach it to his other collar for safety.

 

[DDBOntheblock]

Thank you for all the replies! I am going to go back to school and watch all the videos! I really appreciate all the help because I am sure you can appreciate feeling discouraged when you want to walk your dog but come back from the walk with throbbing red hands and feeling exhausted. I will continue to work with everyday but I think for now, walks are off the table and we will just have to do backyard and maybe front yard if I am feeling comfortable. I will watch the videos on the prong collar.

 

[DDBOntheblock]

I spent about half an hour working with Cooper yesterday and today. He is heeling perfectly in the backyard. He knows the commands, sit, down, stay, come, up, and we are working on look at me and leave it. The heel was perfect and I had the bacon in my hand where he could smell it. Thank you so much for all the tips. I plan to get the prong collar to begin in the backyard and then take out to the problem area which would be outside of our house and yard! I have watched I think 5 different videos on proper placement and how to use it. I hope that I can do as well as a lot of people are saying about them on here!