# Loose lead walking



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Just posting this from an earlier thread as I can never find it 

This is ideal for pups as you can just do short practice sessions and whilst it sounds like a lot of work and treats you can probably use their dinner and it soon builds up - and doing it this way the dog really understands what you want.

http://www.pawsitivelydogs.co.uk/LLW.pdf

I used this over the winter to smarten my pairs lead walking up a bit as Chance was getting a bit teenagery and Molly will lapse if she thinks she can 

I started in low distraction areas and then moved to higher distraction areas and if I was somewhere I knew they would find difficult I cut the number I started at by half, so if we were up to 80 steps somewhere normal I would start at 40 steps somewhere different, or even 20 if they were really struggling in that area so they got it right.

For stuff like the ultra exciting park when treats just won't cut it we also used the "whoops you are pulling we will turn and go the other way until you are walking nicely method" our worst ever was their favourite walk where we park quite close and I had been guilty of letting them pull to get to the field. The first day it probably took us over 5 minutes to go what should have taken less than 30 seconds (and an elderly couple coming the other way were very amused) but generally now they just need the occasional reminder that yes I do still want them to walk nicely.

I was a bit hit and miss with the training so sometimes walked and counted as I should, sometimes totally forgot and just threw them rewards now and then and sometimes just walked them but made them come back if they did pull but it changed both of their attitudes and responsiveness to me for the better and that has continued.

I think part of the beauty of the method is that it does naturally ease off on the rewards anyway and by the time you are rewarding every 150 steps it is already pretty infrequent anyway. I take treats now if we go somewhere super exciting, like a country show so I took treats but to be honest I found they both walked pretty nicely anyway as it is pretty much habit now I think.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Sometimes I wish we could have more chances to practice walking on lead. Hmmm...the cars, people, traffic, noise, garbage, mayhem.....maybe not so much.


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

2nd hand... I tried this a month or so back. Tilly pulls from our house until she is let off her lead (usually 5 or 10 minutes) 

Especially when I take her out with the pram, this is not ideal. I loved the sound of your method so decided to give it a go. I took treats out and she could not have cared less about them! She is food motivated when standing in our house, but once outside, the reward to getting to walk and sniff is far greater!

So I decided to go more high value - roast chicken, her favourite!! In the kitchen she thought it was amazing! She'll do anything for the chicken! Outside the house? Didn't want to know in the slightest.....

Where do I go now?!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Will she eat the chicken or no interest at all?

If she will eat it try a very high rate of reinforcement to start with so you ask almost nothing of her, so step - chicken, step - chicken, step - chicken. It only needs to be the tiniest taste of chicken and you can usually see at some point the brain clicks in and you will be able to do step, step - chicken. Once you have her engaged you can start to build - if she is clicker savvy (and you can juggle the clicker too) the clicker helps to keep interest too as they realise it is their behaviour earning the chicken.

With no interest at all in the chicken you need another method and need to stop every time the lead is tight and make her come back to you - don't pull her, encourage her back and when she gets back to you take another step forwards (and probably repeat the stopping and getting her back to you) You can turn and go the other way each time she pulls but that is not really going to work with the pram. I sometimes do this as an exercise in training classes to get a pup to walk on a loose lead towards a bowl of food. It works but slowly and the first day you might be lucky to make the front gate without pulling but I allocate time to walk and when done the walk is over. If you can put her in car to get to park whilst you are working on training that can help too so you are not undoing the training by allowing her to pull to get to the park.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Lottie, this may not be recommended by 2nd hand but I must admit when Dudley was younger and I pushed a buggy a lot, when I walked alongside a wall or fence I would keep Dudley by wall and if he tried to pull ahead of the buggy I would just turn it towards the wall so he had to stop, he eventually walked by the buggy very well (and then he got treats too) - as long as there was a wall!! No, he actually did it quite well other times too.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Dawn you and I think so much alike. I think it might be because we both have energetic and wilful dogs. As much as I love all the postive training ideas I must admit with Rufus sometimes me "losing it" and cursing him up and down like a sailor is the fastest and best strategy. He always forgives me quickly.


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

She won't eat the chicken at all when we're out! 

Dawn I have definitely done that with the pram. If the path is narrow, she has to walk behind it! 

I must say, her walking isn't AWFUL, just not as good as I would like it to be 

I think I need to be really persistent with the 'stop walking evrytime she pulls" method. 

I think loose lead walking is definitely the most time consuming skill to train!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Yep if she won't take the chicken at all then you need to do the stopping.

Pushing the pram across to block is not necessarily a bad idea if you can do it just to block progress - I have been told of someone who happily explained how she taught dogs to walk at her side by using a large stick to hit them if they went in front of her  so it is all degrees and done as just a block will have the same result as just stopping and waiting for the dog to come back before you carry on.

Fairlie - I can't say I have never lost it with my dogs and shouted - but I generally consider I have failed when I do this and I don't think it has ever achieved anything training wise. 

I meet plenty of energetic and wilful dogs and usually pick the wildest in the class to demonstrate how easily you can get them walking nicely on a slack lead (albeit in the very limited environment of a small church hall - although plenty of distraction with the other dogs and people)


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

I am going to try to reform, really truly.

I wish you were here to have trained Rufus 2nd. If you had of maybe he would fewer obsessive behaviours that are just too much work for me to crack. I just watched a rerun of the Westminster dog show. So many beuatiful dogs, all of which seem to listen.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

don't get me wrong Fairlie - my dogs are far from faultless - but the faults are generally mine for not having done work in specific situations. 

I like finding nice positive solutions to training issues. A friend and I were discussing today how to get a really good "release" from a toy on command so might have a play with Chance with that tomorrow to improve what we already have


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

Another one for you 2nd.... 

Tilly lacks confidence (I have mentioned her snapping at over zealous dogs who come bounding over!)

She also barks at people who she doesn't know when they come to the house. I don't mind a couple of woofs when the door bell goes, but when the visitor has been inside for a couple of minutes and she is still stand offlishly barking, it gets a little tedious and sometimes be intimidating to others as they thinks she is being protective rather than a scaredy cat!

My plan is to sneak a couple of treats into the hands of any visitors and get them to offer them to her..... What do you think? Is there anything else I could try?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Probably better if you teach her to settle on a mat near you and then you give her the treats - you don't need her to like the visitors - just calm around them and less risky all round for you to give the treats as it means she can relax.

When she is more relaxed still they can gently throw treats onto the floor for her to eat and only get people to give her treats directly if she is totally unworried by them - I learned my lesson the hard way a long time ago that worried dogs are conflicted and may eat treats when offered but it does not stop them being conflicted and worried and they may decide the best way is to nip or bite (not saying Tilly would - but the dog who bit me had been taking treats off me for several minutes while I was talking to his owner before deciding that was enough and biting)


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## caz3 (Mar 27, 2014)

Harley is clever!!! (sometimes) he is learning fast he too had slipped up ,all my fault and he was pulling more and more so I decided time to get down to business !after reading great advice on here I just stopped every time he pulled ,it does take a lot of time and patience but certainly works I tend to walk him on the left and he figured it out really quick coming back to me and walking nicely then he would forget and off he would go but I just kept stopping he is now trotting back to my right side going round the back of me and standing at my left side it is so funny and does mean a lot of juggling with the lead .it is of course the hardest to control when he is nearing the fields but I am determined he is not pulling me into the fields I think we are all a bit guilty of letting things slip especially when we are rushing and have busy days but it just goes to show putting the time in it can make all the difference .i am a long way off perfect but we are getting there


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## Sassy (Mar 20, 2015)

Here's what I learned about trying this:

Go out and practice this BEFORE a meal. Your puppy will be much more motivated.

Here's what I'm having trouble with:

My little girl is great when we start out usually because she knows she gets to say hello to our neighbor's dog. We continue walking and she's still very good. But, we turn around and head back home and …. she just pulls and pulls. Now what? I stop then, she sits obediently ,,,, and when we start again, she's back to pulling. It really looks painful. I try to coax her into walking nicely, but she pulls. we stop. she sits. take a break and we start again. BUT pattern repeats: start-pull-stop-sit. Suggestions anyone?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

How old is she? I suspect still a baby? That sort of pulling for home is usually a bit of anxiety and wanting to get back to home security. Try short walks just in the region of home so going backwards and forwards in front of home maybe?

I also like a harness rather than a collar as more comfortable for the pup while they are learning.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Sassy said:


> Here's what I learned about trying this:
> 
> Go out and practice this BEFORE a meal. Your puppy will be much more motivated.
> 
> ...


Is she pulling to get home to get home to her dinner 
I would turn around and walk the other way the moment she takes a step ahead, say 'ohoh' in quite a jolly tone. If you do this you won't jerk her, your 'ohoh' should get her attention back on you. In my experience if you pull the dog, the dog pulls you. Use your voice and treats to control, not the lead, it is just there as a safety measure. Once your pup has caught you up and is again walking nicely you can do another about turn towards home. If she moves ahead of you, be prepared to 'ohoh' and about turn again.
Teach your pup to touch the palm of your hand with her nose. Then you can use this 'touch' command as another way to refocus attention on you.
If walking home is a huge problem, trying driving somewhere and doing a circular walk back to your car, take home walking out of the equation for a while.
All the effort you put in now, will be worth it.
Do you use a 'heel' command?


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Yes I also have two very energetic and willful dogs! They walked to heel beautifully in their obedience classes and will still do it at home. Once we are outside the front door they just charge toward the park and there's no stopping them!


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