Home › Blogs › alemon's blog

A loose leash

Posted April 5th, 2009 by alemon

Hello, I've been wondering a thing or two about loose leash walking. How does one walk a dog before it can walk loosely on a leash?

I have a 2.5 yr old dog who is not exactly trained to walk properly, but has some experience with the idea.

I have switched methods of walking the dog and am finding that she is now even more irritating than ever. Completely unmanageable.

If others experience something like this, how do they deal with it?

Thanks,

Chris.

Comments

re: loose leash walking

Aidan's picture
On April 5th, 2009 Aidan says:

Hi Chris, the simple solution is to use a head halter. Conditioned and fitted correctly they work well. I recommend the Gentle Leader because it comes with a good instructional DVD to get you started and trouble-shoot any problems that may arise.

The more difficult, but more rewarding approach is to teach it using a method known as "Penalty Yards". No-one explains it better than Sue Ailsby so I'll direct you to her Training Levels program which you can find here.

Scroll down to "Leash" and begin there. When you can pass that test (it's not as hard as it sounds), move on to Level 3.

Actually, even if you take the head halter approach, going through the instructions for loose leash in the Training Levels program is still the best way to teach some really nice leash manners. The head halter will flatten out the learning curve for both of you substantially. If you go through all the Levels of loose leash you might even find you don't need the head halter any more.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Hello again, and thanks

On April 5th, 2009 alemon says:

Hello again, and thanks again Aidan.

I should have been more specific. The penalty yards method is what I had started to use. I would much prefer to continue this method rather than something like the gentle leader. I already have one, and it just doesn't appeal to me when there are better (you said rewarding) options.

To be honest I basically skipped the beginning steps of the training levels instruction and took it outside, hoping that she could make the connection after awhile. Slightly, but not really. I did ask this question didn't I? So I suppose that would be where to look. When you are spending 30% of a walk with your dog going backwards, something needs to change.

I thought the gentle leader was the opposite of teaching the dog to walk on a loose leash, more of a forcing her to walk on a loose leash. Is that not the case? If so, how would that assist in teaching the loose leash method?

I will continue on and see what happens.

Thanks again,

Chris.

I have read most of them and

On August 13th, 2012 ohdsfsa says:

I have read most of them and got a lot from them. To me, you are doing the great work. Carry on this. work at home In the end, I would like to thank you for making such a nice website
best wishes

I have been reading out some

On August 13th, 2012 happybirthdaywi... says:

I have been reading out some of your posts and i can claim pretty good stuff. I will definitely bookmark your site.
happybirthdaywish.net

I correspond and measure the

On August 16th, 2012 happybirthdaywi... says:

I correspond and measure the communicator's blogs. It is so overnice and hirsute to qualify for everyone. This is really dread...
this sites

I have been searching for

On September 14th, 2012 basictotao says:

I have been searching for quite some time for information on this topic and no doubt your website saved my time and I got my desired information. Your post has been very helpful. Thanks.
Dr Credeur Denver

re: A loose leash

Aidan's picture
On April 6th, 2009 Aidan says:

Hi Chris, the Gentle Leader can certainly be of assistance in teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash, however it will be "on a loose leash while wearing a Gentle Leader". If you ever want to stop using the GL you have to start all over again, but the learning curve won't be as steep next time. There are even ways to transition from GL to flat collar using a double-ended leash but that is a topic for another day.

Some people prefer to use the GL forever because they are quite a safe way for a small person to walk a large dog, or because they just want to be able to walk their dog without spending a lifetime training and maintaining loose leash walking (which in reality is what you have to do if your dog is not naturally pleasant to walk on a leash with a flat collar).

Some dogs will still pull on the Gentle Leader so I still recommend using Penalty Yards (or similar) when using a Gentle Leader.

Now back to your specific question - yes, 30% of your walk going backwards means your criteria is too high and your rate of reinforcement is too low (these two are related).

The fastest result comes with patience - make haste slowly. Just figure your dog will not enjoy a "proper" walk of any distance for a month or so and start again at the beginning. Find other ways to exercise, throw a ball, play tug, nosework etc You could even use the Gentle Leader for exercise walks and the flat collar only for training walks, so you get the best of both worlds.

Make a commitment to only using the flat collar when you are going to set your dog up for success and not accept compromises.

I don't recall what Sue suggests to raise the criteria for LLW but I use the 300 Peck Method. This ensures that the criteria is set appropriately and the rate of reinforcement stays high - perhaps even too high. You can use "time" or "steps" as your criteria, I count my steps. It is strangely satisfying, kind of like a walking meditation.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

re: A loose leash

On April 16th, 2009 alemon says:

Hi Aidan. For about a week now I have taken Elsa out around 10-11 pm to avoid distractions. It's the best chance I get. I am not, however, finding the experience satisfying. I live on a crescent, and so far I've only taken her up and down one side of the street. Progress has been agonizingly slow. You mentioned the dog not getting a "proper" walk in about a month, but I get the feeling that in about a year from now we might have progressed to the point of being able to walk around the block nicely, but still at 11pm. Seems slow to me. Because I can see that there is a bit of progress, I don't understand how to magnify it. It's not like she doesn't understand at all. Do you have any thoughts?

I suppose I should mention that on these night time training treks up the street, she is not extremely interested in anything. Only about once a night do I need to actually pull her back from something, if at all. It's more of a carefree go-where-she-wants attitude. She just drifts off rather than pulls somewhere.

I've also put her on the gentle leader for a walk every other day. She reeeeeaaaalllllyyyy doesn't like it! I noticed something about the gentle leader: although the dog has become more manageable, it's not exactly a walk in the park (ha!). She feels the need to stop and paw at it, or even better rub it on the grass, and still somehow thinks it's a good idea to pull on the leash (just not very effectively). But most annoying is the very nature of the gentle leader itself. If the dog is on my left side and two or three feet in front of me, when the leash tightens (even just a little) her head turns to the right, and she moves to the right just a bit. So we get locked into a pattern of her pulling ahead slightly, the leash goes taut, her head turns to the right, she moves to the right, and repeat until she's directly in my way. I realize that I can choke up on the leash and only let her walk beside me, but I didn't think such an action was necessary. Is that the case?

Thanks Aidan,

Chris.

re: re: A loose leash

Aidan's picture
On April 16th, 2009 Aidan says:

Hi Chris, if you have a yard or access to a park then I would suggest tossing a ball or frisbee as her primary exercise. Or you can play tug inside the house.

The GL isn't always a quick solution, sometimes it needs to be introduced methodically. A certain amount of pawing or sliding the face along the lawn is acceptable, I simply keep walking when this happens and it usually stops soon enough (after a week or so). I realise this is not "purely positive", so use some care.

The GL does not stop pulling outright in every case. It takes the power out of the pulling, meaning you can walk your dog without being towed around the place, not that your dog doesn't still try to pull.

Regardless of what you are using, flat-collar or GL, it is still important to reinforce the behavior that you DO want. In particular, a dog who has that "go where she wants" attitude needs to be given guidance and that means clicking and treating when she is in position.

Define what "in position" means, get it clear in your mind and every time she is there, click and treat. If it feels like you're basically keeping your hand in her mouth and wearing your clicker to a stub - you're doing it right!

Earlier I suggested you use the 300 Peck Method to reinforce on a schedule. Hold off on that, you can start using it when she is "stuck" in position about 90% of the time.

If you keep setting her up for success, and capitalise on it, you can't go wrong. If she is not succeeding, figure out why. It may be that you have to go back to your kitchen to get things going in the right direction, but I suspect this is just a rate of reinforcement issue.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

re: A loose leash

On April 17th, 2009 alemon says:

Thanks, Aidan, for some more good advice. I know from a previous method I was using that if I c/t continuously she will spend a lot more time near me. Do I need to stop walking every time I click? Either way I run into a problem. If I stop and give her a treat, getting going again is a problem most of the time. If I give the treat while walking it still causes a pause that needs to be smoothed out (I need to lean or bend over to be able to put a treat near her mouth).

Regardless of the reason I have a terrible time getting Elsa to start moving. She's getting better on our late night training, but the slightest sound or smell (not even mentioning something interesting) and she stands still. I just started walking again and she was pulled forward, I c/t for a loose leash, and carry on. She's getting better, but sometimes that method results in the pull/stop several times. Do I continue this way?

And just to clarify, with the GL on, treat it the same as any loose leash training?

Thanks again for you help,

Chris.

re: re: A loose leash

Aidan's picture
On April 23rd, 2009 Aidan says:

Hi Chris, is she able to catch a treat that you drop? The pause won't affect the training, it will just slow your walk down.

There are a couple of reasons she may be freezing, it could be that she just hasn't learned to walk with you yet, or it could be that she is nervous. Either way, you are only walking in familiar, low-distraction environments and using a high rate of reinforcement at the moment so continue as you have been - you're on the right track.

To answer your question about training with the GL on - you have a choice, you can either just use it to give you more control and exercise her regardless of her manners, or you can use it to make it easier to teach leash manners (in which case you train accordingly).

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

re: re: re: A loose leash

Aidan's picture
On April 23rd, 2009 Aidan says:

A resource for you, my interview with Sue Ailsby which you can find here:
http://tinyurl.com/dkx34r

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

thanks

On July 12th, 2012 ba khuda says:

I'm sure my son would just love it. And ditto...we cannot out-create the Creator. dress up games for teenagers

This conent is simply

On September 12th, 2012 englishtmjk says:

This conent is simply exciting and creative. I have been deciding on a institutional move and this has helped me with one aspect. Cheers!
http://stallionmoversdenver.com/about-us/

This was an excellent

On September 13th, 2012 qwmgxfde says:

This was an excellent article. It has some valuable content on this topic. Thank you for compiling it into an easy to read and well written post.
http://www.hollandroofing.com/

it takes time

On April 17th, 2009 bluefilly says:

A professional trainer told me I had to repeat a command every day for three months before it became automatic in the dog. Even after that you need refreshers. My dog had three months of Sit, but still doesn't always sit when asked - mind you, he is a terrier :-). But it came as a surprise to me that dogs needed that long.

If you are making progress, then you are headed in the right direction, even if the progress is slow. In fact sometimes slow progress means the lesson stays stuck for longer, and is more reliable. Keeping a journal can help - write down what you expect to achieve, your plans for each lesson, and your progress. Looking back later, you may be surprised at how far you have come.

GL,5 dogs,5 personalities, learning @ own pace.....

On May 28th, 2009 msterygirl says:

I am the Caretaker of 5 Large dogs,2 females,3 males. The oldest is 5 1/2 yrs old ( given 2 my son @ 16 by me) he has been a puller all his life & an escape artist! Until I got the GL,this dog would yank so hard that I'd either loose the leash right away or be drug until my hand had no choice to open. (LOL). When my son went away for school I ended up going to the E.R. after one of these walks (I already had back & hip problems). On the way home from the E.R. I stopped @ Petsmart to try & find something to control him or I was going to have to re-home him. There was a training class in session & thats when I saw the GL for the 1st time. Indy learned quickly that there was no more pulling,he started putting his head down,digging w/both paws & screaming,rubbing his nose on the ground,jumping up on his hind legs & pawing,screaming ect. He acted as if he were dying & at 1st I was terrified & about to loose all hope!Than I found that if I said "OUT" (our command for stop any & everything)or "uh-uh" & gently lifted his head a little he would stop for a few feet. He quit the dramatics accept for once in a great while he might paw,and thats probably because he walks so well (NOW) for the men that he can use a regular collar.
My other 4 were NOT so dramatic! Three from the same litter have been taught w/flat collars when they were very small. Small did not last long & trying to walk 2 or 3 of them together became like walking the 1st one(by himself).They wanted to sniff different things &/or would get tangled,so I started using the GL or the Halti .
I have 1 that just likes to walk to fast,1 thats not sure where to walk & the female is physically strong,but,the 2 males will freeze up over sounds & sometimes whine & the female will try to run to the sounds!
Each one had their own reactions to the GL & Halti at 1st but once I learned to carry "SPECIAL TREATS",something they did not normally get at home,the training got easier.
I started by having them sit (treat)GL/Halti on (treat) & than aprox. every 25 ft at first I would command them to sit (treat). If they started getting anxious or whined I would also have them sit & give them a treat.Every time they sat I also praised & petted them. When we stopped because they were anxious,we would continue further when I knew they had calmed down.
Now, when they hear or see the GL or Halti they all rush to me jumping up & down wanting it on. 1 male actually gets the muzzle part taken off during some point in the walk,the other one is calmer w/it on.

re: GL,5 dogs,5 personalities, learning @ own pace.....

Aidan's picture
On May 29th, 2009 Aidan says:

Great story, thanks for sharing. It is situations like these where the GL becomes invaluable. There are many different ways to train a dog to walk nicely on leash, but this is safe, effective, efficient and harmless when used correctly and with thought for the dog.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

The concept of your blog is

On July 31st, 2012 jasmine says:

The concept of your blog is very fresh i definitely sure the visitors who visit your will like your content and pointers. www.discounthandbagsguide.com

Back to top