Loose lead walking dilemma.

[Peegee]

I am trying very hard to get my 4mnth Cockapoo to walk nicely on the lead. I spend a little time each day on training this behaviour and know it takes time. Am now trying my third method of keep changing direction and when on village green have been doing, fast, slow, forwards, backwards etc and this works really well. She enjoys it and concentrates on what we are doing. However when we are wanting to walk with her on lead when out, how on earth do I stop her pulling. I have read that you should never let her pull because this reinforces the behaviour but how do I get to go anywhere during the period that she is learning this behaviour. Do I not go out with her on lead until she has learnt to walk nicely? I had resorted to carrying her if I needed to get somewhere in order to not let her pull but she is getting too heavy now!

Any advice on what others have done would be much appreciated.

 

[JoanneF]

Have you tried clicker training? The click sound 'marks' a desired behaviour, and is followed immediately with a reward such as a treat(it actually can be any sound as long as it is consistently the same and is only ever used to mark a good behaviour). So when you walk, as soon as there is slack in the lead - even if she stops to sniff - click and reward. She will learn loose lead equals reward. Gradually it becomes business as usual and you can cut back on rewards. You might want also to use some of her food allowance for this so you don't end up walking a little barrel on legs!

There is some good stuff on YouTube - search for Kikopup.

You couldn't avoid walking her as it's only through walking on lead that you can train her to walk nicely!

 

[Peegee]

Thanks Joanne. I love kilopup website and have seen the video on loose lead. However when I tried this (frequently rewarding for walking by my side) I found the second I stopped treating she was off ahead of me, perhaps I gave up this method too early though. I did use the clicker at the same time and she does know that clicker = treat! when she was ahead I asked for a touch and she came back to touch me! I clicked and gave treat and continued to click and treat while she stayed put. I've also seen Ian Dunbars video and he recommends stopping every time the lead is taut - I tried this but every time I stopped Evie assumed I wanted her to sit, so.... Lead taut, I stopped, she sat, I walked and immediately lead was taut and she sat and so on. We made spectacularly slow process! I do make a point of taking her out every day on lead to do some specific loose lead training but its when I need to walk to the car or walk to the shop that I'm finding so difficult - if I don't allow her to pull at all then it can take 5 minutes just to get to the car. But maybe this is just how it is and I shouldn't try to take her places when I know she will pull and I won't be able to properly deal with this,

 

[JoanneF]

Just take your time - you'll get there, i promise!

 

[Peegee]

Thanks Joanne. Have just got back from today's session and pleased to report that she was really good. Decided to use the clicker and treat method, as you suggested, and it worked really well. Will keep plodding on.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Well done for persevering. You have inadvertently trained a sit into your stop. I would work on getting her to pause for a nano second when you stop, click it, and move on quickly before she can drop into sit. Feed the treat on the move as this double reinforces her walking beside you.

Loose lead walking is a very concentrated exercise and most dogs find it very hard to concentrate on doing it for long periods of time. As Ian Dunbar says, they need to find that pulling causes all forward progress to stop. That does not mean you have to stand still, you could walk backwards or turn around and go back the way you came.

 

[Peegee]

Thanks Gypsysmum. You're absolutely right with the 'sit'. I think in the early days she didn't know why I'd stopped so tried a 'sit' and as this made the line slack which made me walk she obviously guessed I wanted her to sit! Easy to see it now but hadn't realised how bright they can be! I also went back to kikopups website and realise I had missed several videos on leash walking - so have now watched them all. Really helpful. Had another good session today, she's pretty good in training mode but my main problem is what to do when I want to go out and get somewhere in a reasonable time and training is not always appropriate at that time. It's very frustrating when we need to get somewhere but I don't want to allow her to pull in order for us to get there! I just have to hope that she'll get it soon I guess.

 

[gypsysmum2]

You could try turning in quick circles so that she is following you and not "on a mission" to get to her destination. Straight lines are very hard for them to follow slowly. If all else fails, concentrate on the last few yards before she achieves her aim. So if she is trying to get to the park to have a run then make sure she has a slack lead for about ten seconds or so before she is let off lead. In other words there is no reward for pulling only a slack lead will get her what she wants.

You might like to train a "go sniff" command so that she can be on lead but off duty. Does not mean she can drag you along but she can have a sniff around etc. Any really tight lead is still answered with you stopping all progress but gentle pressure can be allowed.

I have a rule that no pulling is allowed on tarmac but when on grass we can allow a little more leeway.

 

[Peegee]

Thanks, that's helpful. I will definitely put in place the suggestion of the last ten yards when I'm in a situation that we need to get somewhere in a reasonable time. She doesn't just pull when she knows where she's going, it can be anywhere, even completely new areas. I did try 'changing direction' method and we spent the entire walk going backwards, forwards, sideways etc. Not sure what the neighbours thought! I have allowed her to sniff and wander a little, so long as lead is not tight but I haven't 'cued' this and perhaps I should. I am noticing an improvement with the treat for by my side method though, so will keep persevering with that one. We had been advised to use a collar (not harness) when training because of better communication between us, but I am wondering whether I should use a harness for loose lead walking as she so often is pulling her neck. What do you think?

 

[JoanneF]

I favour harnesses. Far less risk of hurting their trachea (windpipe) and always if I'm a long line or flexi when they might be running and come to a sudden stop when they reach the end.

 

[Peegee]

Thanks Joanne. I must say that our last two training trips have been much more successful. She does have a harness when in car and I may well keep this on her when we need to get somewhere and not in training mode so it's kinder on her neck.