Does Your Dog Pull on the Leash? ...
Many dogs pull on the leash. Many trainers have lots of great ways of
teaching dogs not to pull on the leash. Some dogs persist in pulling on the
leash after we may have exhausted several methods of teaching the dog not to
pull.
All methods of "animal" training have some form of praise, a reprimanding
noise, a touch, etc to gain the animals attention or let the animal know what
that human's noise and/or movements means. So the basis of "animal" training is
to train the human to give the correct signal to the animal being trained.
You must remember that 'praise' or the 'reprimand' comes in hundreds of forms
and each "beast" is different as to what they react to.
Two "praise" methods which I've  had some success with are:-
- Verbally; Consist of voice and hands and is as simple as saying
"Your a good dog!" in a happy and joyful voice while giving the dog
a pat on the head or a rub on the chest.
- Food Rewards; Same as above method but include a reward
(Kibble) as well as the voice praise
Obviously there are more..........................
It should also be noted that there are many methods of training animals and it
is beyond the extent of this web site to bring them all to you.
Listed below are the a few ways (with added 'names') I've found you can use
to teach your dog to walk on a loose leash, obviously you know your dog better
than I ever will over the "net", so you can pick the method best suited to you!
Click the headings below for more details......
With your puppy dog sitting in the heel position (on your left side
with her collar next to the seam in your pants), get your dogs attention
and say clearly and forcefully enough to let the dog know you mean
business "Billie, heel."; At the same time pass your left hand (at a
slow to medium steady pace) between you and your dog , while stepping
forward on your left foot., the praise the dog for coming with you
Once walking praise the dog when ever he/she is in the "Heel
Position". The more praise, the more you'll have the dogs attention and
the more successful this method will be.
If the dog lags behind you, verbally encourage the dog to catch you
up, don't wait for the dog but encourage it to get to the hell position,
never pull or tug on the leash to get the dog to catch up to you!
If your dog surges ( walks in front of you), a
simple "check" on the leash with the command "Heel" and when the dogs in
the heel position praise, let him/her know where you want them to be!
Remember to praise when the dog does what you want.
Continue to build up distance that you walk and add turns as he/she
improves in her ability to heel next to you. Always remember to add the
praise when the dog is in the correct position.
The whole success of this method is PRAISE!
Try to keep this tip in your mind....."For every check on the chain
or reprimanding voice the should be three (3) praising voices or a pat,
cuddle or whatever".... You are taking the dog for a walk he/she
shouldn't be taking you where they want to go!
(NOTE: After many years of experimenting with loose-leash walking, it
is apparent that having the dog "to" heel is a great way to prevent
pulling on leash!)
This method is the same as the STAR method without the "check" to the
dog leash. Obviously this method can be very useful with smaller breeds
or submissive dogs
Walk your dog on a 1.8m leash in another area with minimal
distractions. Whenever your puppy dog is next to you, reach down and
give her one piece of her dry kibble and/or heaps of praise.
Iprefer the heaps of praise as it means I don't always have to have kibble's in my pocket when I go out with my dog (and I always have my
voice and hands with me)
If the leash is loose, walk. If the leash is tight, become a tree.
Its one way but not one of my favourites, basically you stand still
till the dog return to the heel position by itself and then praise it,
obviously it's a method for VERY patient people
Similar method to the STAR or SOAR methods and usually implemented
after trying them first or if you are an experienced
Clicker Trainer, try the following:
Use the STAR method, replacing the “Heel” with a click.
NOTE: Many dogs seem to respond to the unique sound of the
clicker after not responding to verbal requests and verbal
praise.
Use the SOAR method, clicking when your puppy dog is in
the heel position and rewarding with one piece of dry
kibble
There are people within The Sutherland Shire Dog Club that can help
you further with this method, just call us or ask at the club house.
Quickly find what you looking for on our site here....
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