LOOSE LEASH WALKING TIPS

      FOR DISTRACTED DOGS

      
  
Do your walks consist of you trying to get your dog’s attention while he is ignoring you, nose to the ground, searching for interesting scents?  Is your dog constantly on high alert, looking for that dangerous squirrel or pesky rabbit to chase?  Does your dog pull towards people or dogs you pass?

Teaching your dog to walk nicely with you (loose leash walking) can be a challenging skill to teach your dog at the best of times, but what can you do if your dog is excessively distracted?

It’s important to understand that some dogs were bred for the very skills that are frustrating you.  In other words, some breeds really can’t help it!  But having said that, here are a few loose leash walking tips that might help.

Teach your dog to make eye contact with you when you call his name.  Most dogs will do this already, but reinforce the behavior by practicing it and randomly rewarding your dog when he makes eye contact.  (Behaviorists have discovered that the way to maintain a behavior is by random reinforcement.)

Next, teach your dog the WATCH ME cue to encourage longer eye contact.  There are many ways to teach this cue; click here for help.  You can now call your dog’s name and ask him to ‘watch me’ as you quickly move past a distraction.  If the distraction is something your dog is really interested in, be sure you have incredibly high-value treats (or a high value toy – a tennis ball works great for tennis ball fanatics) available to reward your dog. 

Consider using tools to help with your walk; loose leash walking skills can improve dramatically when using a no-pull harness (like the easy-walk harness) where the leash attaches at the chest.  For more active dogs, consider a head halter (like the gentle leader).  It’s easy to teach your dog the ‘be a tree’ method (next bullet item) if your dog is wearing a no-slip collar (like a martingale collar).

If the dog pulls, be a tree.  Stop, call the dog back to you (penalty yards!) and then continue the walk.  Your dog will learn if there is pressure on his chest and/or neck, the walk stops.  When there is no pressure, the walk continues.  Consistency is key here.

If your dog pulls towards something they want to smell, turn this into a training opportunity.  Stop, be a tree and call the dog back to you.  Ask your dog to sit.  Then release the dog using a cue. (I like to use ‘free dog’.)  This allows the dog to sniff, but now it’s on your terms.  When you are ready to continue your walk, call your dog’s name, use your walking cue and move on. 

Leave it is also a very useful tool to redirect your dog before you “lose him” to a good smell or interesting distraction.  Click here to learn one method of teaching this cue.  Be sure to praise and/or reward your dog when he does leave it!

Keep your dog’s focus by being unpredictable.  If you are starting to “lose” your dog’s attention, start making U-turns and head in the opposite direction.  Keep doing this until your dog starts to pay attention to where you’re going. 

Mix up your walk by doing controlled recalls on leash.  During your walk, call your dog’s name to get his attention, then quickly back up several steps and call your dog to come.  When the dog comes, reward him with a high value treat and then continue your walk.  (If your dog jumps up on you, back up a few more steps and try again until he comes without jumping.  This is a great attention getting game and it also reinforces the recall and not jumping!)

Be sure to walk briskly; walking too slowly may be boring for your dog, resulting in excessive sniffing.  Dr. Sophia Yin suggests walking at a pace of 2 steps per second.

Consistency is the key to success.  Happy training!

Luvk9s Dog Training