Loose leash walking question

Deville · 06-08-2008, 12:08 PM

Hi,
So lately I've been really focusing on teaching Diesel to walk with a loose leash.
It's going ok and were in day 5 now.

What I do is start behind my house in the alley, we walk and if he comes to the end of the line I do one of 3 things at random.

1- Stop, and be a tree.
2- Start walking back wards
3- Turn around and walk the other way.

We don't get very far, and usually don't even get out of the alley. He seems to "get it" about 10 minutes into it, then he kind of forgets about it again and gets really frustrated. I usually just end the lesson at that.

My question is, what do I do when he needs the exercise, but I don't want him to forget everything hes learning. I mean if I take him out for a walk, he will pull the whole way, and anything he has learned would be for nothing, no?

I feel bad because I don't walk him much anymore cause I want him to learn to not pull before we start really walking again.

So can I still walk him and let him pull at certain times and still work on the no pulling issue at different times? Or should i stick to my guns and not really take him until he learns not to pull?

I would appreciate any tips.

Thanks.

**Burns** · 06-08-2008, 12:19 PM

Hi Deville,

TBH, dogs don't get that much exercise from walking anyway. Is there anywhere safe you can take him to run off-leash? A fenced in area like baseball field at a local school, or a park? That would be better exercise to burn energy than walking - plus it's more fun to run around and play fetch too!

As for the loose leash walking, it sounds like you are doing a good job working with him using your techniques. Do you use any rewards at all? I used to keep a baggie of yummy treats with me and any time Red was at my left side, he'd get rewarded for it. He soon realized walking with me at my left side got him a cookie. I also used a prong collar to help with the loose leash walking. What kind of collar are you currently using? Flat nylon? Choke? I've found a correctly placed and used prong collar to really help with the loose leash walking. I also use the word "easy" when the leash starts getting too tight, then a give a small snap of the leash - not enough to turn his head (as this could cause damage to his neck), but enough so he knows he's being corrected. The second time I have to say "easy" means he has lost the priviledge to walk ahead of me and must walk at my left side. He must stay there until he is walking loosely, then he can go forward again. He has learned not to get to the point of me having to tell him "easy" because he will lose his freedom to walk out ahead and sniff things.

Every dog is different, this is just what has worked with me. I'm at the point that I can walk Red on a regular flat nylon collar now with minimal "easy" corrections. However, when I am in a crowded area of people and he is likely to get excited to meet people or other dogs, I still use the prong to maintain control so he can't drag me anywhere!

Hope that helps

Good luck!

BvW602 · 06-08-2008, 01:01 PM

/\ Good tips, as I am having the same problems as Deville. My boy Baron is coming up on 10 months and is terrible at walking on a leash. He just pulls and pulls as hard as he can (I have been using a harness to walk him - I was worried he'd damage his neck). After a while at the park where he really gets to run, on the way home he walks pretty calmly with basically a loose leash. But I want him to walk the same way to the park, even when he's a ball of energy and excitement.

I've been thinking about getting him a choke or prong collar (prong collars are the metal ones with the spikes that embed in their neck when the pull too hard, right?). It sounds like you would recommend a prong collar. Above, when you said

Quote:

I've found a correctly placed and used prong collar to really help with the loose leash walking.

what exactly is correctly placed and used?

I've also been thinking I'll just resign to the fact that he'll pull until he gets his energy out, or he grows up and little more and chills out.

**Burns** · 06-08-2008, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BvW602

I've been thinking about getting him a choke or prong collar (prong collars are the metal ones with the spikes that embed in their neck when the pull too hard, right?). It sounds like you would recommend a prong collar.

what exactly is correctly placed and used?

I've also been thinking I'll just resign to the fact that he'll pull until he gets his energy out, or he grows up and little more and chills out.

Yes, I would recommend a prong over a choke. This thread contains very good information regarding proper placement and usage of a prong collar, and also why they are safer than chokes.

I need to know: does your dobe pull on leash even with a prong collar?

I used to use a choke collar but after reading this thread, I've never used one since, and have started using the prong exclusively for training, especially with loose leash walking and obedience in crowded public places.

Also, you said you are using a harness - this actually encourages dogs to pull (there is a reason sled dogs wear harnesses

) It makes it easier for a dog to pull when the pressure is redistributed over the shoulder and front end, rather than just at the neck, hence making it more comfortable and easier to pull while wearing a harness.

However, there is a harness called the Easy Walk harness that tightens on the dogs chest when it pulls forward, making it uncomfortable to pull forward. It is supposed to help with loose leash walking. If you prefer harnesses, you may want to look into it.

robinb · 06-08-2008, 02:00 PM

With my dog before Rex, I took him to work with me everyday. At noon I would take him out and play fetch with him on a long line or flexi. I have large fenced areas at home but he still needed to burn the energy off at noon when he was young. I would try to seperate loose leash walking with exercise, different line etc. Also if he is old enough, get a backpack and let him start packing a water bottle on each side.

Deville · 06-08-2008, 04:39 PM

Thanks everyone. I use an easy walk harness, the kind where your leash hooks up on the front of his chest. I guess the idea is to kind of make his body turn when he pulls to hard making it harder for him to really pull.

Unfortunately I don't have anywhere I can take him for a really good run off the leash, for a few reasons,
1- I do not trust his recall, he sees another dog, he will bolt.
2- The only places that are good and close enough are a few schools around here, and they are pretty strict with the "no dogs allowed" To me, it is not really worth the potential fines, and other problems I could run into if he spots another dog.

But I do have friends that live close and have dogs so we try and get them together a few times a week to play in one of our back yards.

Other then that, there is an off leash park really close to my house, but as I said in another one of my threads, he has issues meeting new dogs ( has some dog aggression issues.) and with his unreliable recall ( When there is other dogs around. ) I'm in a bit of a tough spot getting him adequate exercise.

I take him to the off leash park a few times a week, later at night when nobody is around, but I still keep him on a retractable. But I want to stop using the retractable and teach him standard 6' leash walking instead.

This kind of sucks, I wish I could just let him rip around at the dog park without problems, oh well time and training I guess.

Thanks again Burns and robinb, I will take what you said and try and put it to work. Some good tips.

robinb · 06-08-2008, 05:03 PM

I don't know how old your boy is but if he's around one year, if I were in your situation with no fence, I'd go to a e-collar. That way you could control him in a non-fenced area. High energy Dobes can be tough to live with when they don't get a good run everyday. If you go with one get a decent brand like Dogtra or Tri-tronics.

In my opinion if he is already bolting at other dogs and blowing your commands off, he would have a e-collar on him now if he were mine. You can either fight it, have the potential of a problem or solve the problem.

Deville · 06-08-2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robinb

I don't know how old your boy is but if he's around one year, if I were in your situation with no fence, I'd go to a e-collar. That way you could control him in a non-fenced area. High energy Dobes can be tough to live with when they don't get a good run everyday. If you go with one get a decent brand like Dogtra or Tri-tronics.

In my opinion if he is already bolting at other dogs and blowing your commands off, he would have a e-collar on him now if he were mine. You can either fight it, have the potential of a problem or solve the problem.

I appreciate your suggestion, and I may consider it at a later time but it would be a last resort. For now I am pretty firm on using no physical force to control my dog.

He is very good for the most part, and I'm sure when we get in some classes his behavior will change a lot for the best. I'm willing to stick it out and do it the hard way if need be.

One of the main reasons is that I have seen my dobes character and great temperament shine in the six months I have owned him.

The previous owner admitted to me that he did sometimes kick or punch Diesel when he owned him out of frustration. Diesel did not listen to his previous owner very well.

But he listens very good to me with my gentle but firm methods of training. He just has a dog issue that I am going to work through with him as long as it takes.

I realize an e collar is really not a big deal, I guess I just want to be able to teach him on my own, something I can be proud of I guess.

Thanks again.

**Burns** · 06-08-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deville

Unfortunately I don't have anywhere I can take him for a really good run off the leash, for a few reasons,
1- I do not trust his recall, he sees another dog, he will bolt.
2- The only places that are good and close enough are a few schools around here, and they are pretty strict with the "no dogs allowed" To me, it is not really worth the potential fines, and other problems I could run into if he spots another dog.

Couldn't you get a 30-50 foot lead so he can at least run around a bit but you still have control for recall and in case he sees another dog he can't bolt?

Have you considered using a prong to work on the loose leash walking? Even though you are using the right techniques, if it obviously isn't working, even after a lot of practice, you will have to try something else. Every dog is different and you just have to do what works for your dog. I would walk him to the park (or where ever) on the 6 ft leash and prong, then put the long lead on him once you got there. Bring lots of goodies and practice recall on the long lead.

I would also only use an e collar as an absolute last resort, but if that's what it took to be able to give my dog adequate exercise, yet still be able to safely control him, then that's what I'd do.

robinb · 06-08-2008, 08:08 PM

Another thought would be if your dog is over 18 months of age, get a bike and start biking him for exercise. With that said I would still get a full proof recall on him. There are too many situations that could turn deadly without one, bolting across a road whatever. My current boy, Rex, has a perfect recall, but I still hike with him wearing an e-collar. I've never had to use it but it is my insurance policy of him taking off after a deer and getting across a road.