Heeling -
The problem is that every dog who pulls on the leash was taught to do so by his person. We don't mean to, but by not paying attention we do. Every step you take in the direction the dog is pulling teaches him it works and he thinks "I am supposed to pull my human where ever I want to go".
The first thing is to teach your dog not to cross your toe-line when you are walking. This can be done easily with the '2-step dance'. Use a flat wide collar and a regular flat, wide leash - not a choke chain, pinch collar, thin collar, rolled collar or flexible leash.
Start in the house in a carpeted area. Dog is on a short, loose leash by your side. You are going to take 2 steps in the opposite direction he is looking (you can give him a voice cue as you are giving him a slight pull on the leash) and stop abruptly with a slight foot stomp. If he blows past your toe line with even one foot then you turn directions and go in the opposite direction again - 2 steps and stop short. Your actions must be very intentional and clear. If you are too loose and slow then your dog won't get the clues that you are giving. Sometimes you are going to turn right into his neck and move through him forcing him to get out of your way. This is about him respecting your space and where YOU want to go. It's no longer about where he wants to go. Always return to a loose leash after you give him his cue and allow him to choose what happens next. Don't stop him with your leash either. Let him start to learn that it is up to him if you are zipping around the living room going in 16 different directions or if he stops beside you or behind you then you will stop and stand still for at leat 10 seconds. The movement is the pressure and the stopping is the release of pressure. It might take 6 attempts and his mind is everywhere but on you, but suddenly you will see him look up to you and stop. YEAH!!!! He's getting it. Praise SOFTLY - don't pet. Count to 10 and then you are off again. Or if he looses interest then you take off right then. This time he might respond perfectly or he might go back to his old ways. But keep it up and he will figure it out more quickly this time. Each time you do this he will respond more quickly because he is learning. When you feel successful inside then take this drill just outside your door (more distractions), then in the front yard, then on the sidewalk, then start adding steps, change of speed, etc. Do not think you have to walk him to the park or around the block. Working this exercise is tiring too and you are both learning and working on your relationship.
Now if you are doing this drill and thinking 'heck this isn't working" then you have to ask what you are doing that needs to be different. Some dogs are more challenging but there isn't a dog yet that we haven't had this work on. It's usually the person that needs to change what they are doing. Being more abrupt and defined in your actions helps a lot, sometimes changing directions walking into your dog makes a huge change faster.
When you then take him out to actually walk - you should play the 2-step dance first. Get his brain working and your skills sharpened. Try walking forward but if he passes your toe-line then either change directions or do the 'yo-yo dance'. This is when you are walking forward, he passes you and you swiftly go backwards (still facing forward) 5-10 steps and he is forced to turn around and go back with you. You guide him back to your side and then move forward again slowly. He needs to learn that pulling forward will get him further away from what it is that he wants. Walking with manners gets him going forward. Stop occasionally and have him stop beside you. Change speeds every 10-20 steps so he has to pay attention to you. Mix it up. That way neither of you get bored and lazy and he has to pay attention to what you are doing or he gets left behind.
This is all spelled out in our DVD aswell.
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Love Them & Lead Them,
~Elizabeth & Doug
www.TenderfootTraining.com
Dog Training the Way Nature Intended
Last edited by tenderfoot; January 7th, 2006 at 12:57 PM.
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