2 questions : Lead pulling and barking issues

[pattysdaddy]

Ok, so I have two questions perhaps someone could share some advice. The first is about walking my dog on a lead and not having her pull. First off, I know and understand it takes time and practice and that's what I've been doing but wanted to know if there are any suggestions from you guys.

Here's the scenario.

I walk with Patty on my left side and hold the lead in the middle (roughly) with my left hand and then far end on my right hand. If she goes ahead of me of pulls I do a 180 (turning counter clock wise, so turning into her but not touching her) and once I'm facing the other direction I say Heel, pass the lead around my back so that patty comes back to my left side and I praise her once she is beside me.

Now this works fairly well however I seem to have "situation trained" (is that what they call it?) because we worked on the same route so she seems to that very well on that walking route but the minute we take a new route its like all the work we've done is out the window? Is it just a matter of changing up the routes and doing the same work I've done above? or do you continue on the same route until she has loose lead walking down very well on that route and move on to new routes from there?

On the route she's accustome to if we don't meet anyone or anydogs her loose lead walking varies...sometimes we can walk a couple of minutes with out having to correct, other times we only go 5-10 seconds before correction. SHe's not consistent yet. Also this brings me to another point...sometimes if the corrections are to short in intervals she seems to think we're playing a game?! When I turn and say Heel, she runs back to my left side very quick passing me (sometimes even jumping up and down) and looking at me waiting with what seems to be joy to turn around again. lol

On her regular route, if she sees a person or another dog she pulls to get there faster. Do I continue with the technic I've been using if this arises? One day it worked well. we saw a girl couple hundred feet away so I did a 180 when she pulled...walking away from her...then we went back and forth for a little bit until she seemed to understand I wanted her by my side, and when we finally walked by the girl patty was by my side and very pleasant. However another day we saw another person and the situation played out this way : when I did the 180 patty continued to face the other direction fighting against me to get towards the people however I walked away from them...and it took her a good 20 seconds or more before she gave in and walked towards me...when we finally made 180 back towards the people she pulled again and we repeated the above cycle. It was a pulling mess. lol

This past week end we went to a public park. I know there's lots of new people, animals and smells but we went for a walk around the lake and the whole walk (probably about 15 minutes) she pulled. I mean the "trying to dig claws into the paved walkeway" to get ahead. Pulling with all she had. She was weezing 30 seconds into her walk and it hardly ceased during the whole walk. Even if there was no one around us she was still pulling as if she was trying to get to someone or something. What do you do in that situation? DO you apply whatever technic you usually use to try and get her not to pull?

Wow, that was a long first question.
Second question. Barking. She used to Bark when someone would come to the house (knock at the door, ring the bell, or if she heard them outside). It wasn't crazy barking or anything just like one of two loud barks then she'd go to the door and give a bark here and there until either I got in the kitchen and got her to lay down or the person came in the house. I figure that was a bad habit so I went and got a spray water bottle. Stood in front of the door with her looking at me and I knocked on the door (hand behind my back) and she gave a bark when the knock came, so I sprayed her with the water. when she stopped I praised her on the quietness. Waited a couple minutes did it again and she gave a kind of half bark as it to say I'm gonna bark, wait, something happened last time I did that so I better stop. Then I rang the doorbell, and she barked, I sprayed. Went through this a couple times and she seems alright but how can I apply this outside? I only put her outside alone for 5 minutes do she can go pee. I put her on the lead attatched outside but as soon as she sees a person walking or something she barks. By the time I get outside it would be to late to correct her (you're supposed to correct when the bad actions happens right?) plus she sees me coming, hears me coming. Suggestions?

 

[Doberluv]

What I see here and what a lot of people do is concentrate on what the dog is doing wrong and punish it. You're praising when she does it right. That is good. However, I see a couple of things. When she pulls, you're continuing to walk in some cases. This is putting the pulling on a variable reward schedule which is strengthening that behavior. Going for the walk....walking forward is the reinforcer. You must prevent that from ever happening if she pulls. You can stop as soon as she gets to the end of the leash and just stand there silently and wait....not one step forward if there's any tension in the leash. You can turn like you have been and you can stop also. Mix it up. Mix up the locations also. When you stop and stand there, she'll eventually look at you and come back toward you because she'll be like saying, "huh? what gives?" That is when you immediately give her what she wants, forward movement.

Secondly, carry a fanny pack or use your pockets, but carry some yummy treats and give her a treat every few steps that she takes which are what you want. Keep on moving while you feed her. You need to raise the rate of delivery of reinforcement and the value. Praise is great, but something she really loves, like tiny pieces of hot dog or cheese, chicken really will help her to repeat what she is doing when she gets those. They don't have to be big, just a taste. Don't wait for her to do it wrong, then correct. Catch her while she's doing it right, before she starts pulling and reinforce..every couple of steps for a while, then every 4 steps that she is walking nicely. Do it frequently for some time until she's reliable. And don't forget to remove the possibility of forward motion if she pulls. Be consistant...not one step forward if she's pulling, ever.

Remember that training is a game, is fun, is teaching tricks. Make it that way for your dog. Use your happy, playtime voice and emphasise what she is doing right. When there is no payoff for the unwanted behavior, that behavior will extinguish. Be sure to always keep in mind the question of "how might my dog be reinforced in this situation? What is it that she's getting out of doing this? How can I keep her from getting that when she's doing the thing I don't want and how can she get it BY doing the behavior I do want?" (If not that very reinforcer that she wants, if you can't let her have that, then another kind of reinforcer) But a reward MUST be something the dog really loves and it must change the behavior in order to qualify as a reinforcer. Only reinforcers modify behavior.

Barking when someone comes to the door is a normal dog behavior. They're a social animal and that is what they do to warn the family. Punishing that by spraying things at her is asking her not to be a dog. There's nothing wrong with teaching enough. I usually tell my dogs "thank you" for barking, praise them and then tell him "enough." Punishing a behavior that you want sometimes is not a good idea. It's confusing. But "enough" has to be taught. Go to your dog, distract and when she stops even for one second, click and treat. (if you're using a clicker, you can read up on that) Or, just pop her a treat and give a cue, "enough" (or whatever you want to use) Only use the cue WHILE she is quiet or you'll teach her that "enough" means to bark. Treat again if she remains quiet, even for a couple seconds. You'll have to be consistant and have practice sessions with help from family or friends.

So, use a high rate of reinforcement for a long time until she is giving the correct behavior reliably, regularly and in different locations and contexts. (dogs don't generalize well, that is why you have to mix things up so that the behavior is singled out from other behaviors) Once she is really getting onto it super well, you can go to a variable reward schedule. You can read about it probably in the website I'll post at the bottom here. That will strengthen the behavior and get her so she's not dependent on treats all the time. It will help get her into the habit of complying.

There are some other little neat tricks to do also. I recommend the book, Click To Calm, by Emma Parsons. She describes some great exercises for several types of problems.

Anyhow, I wouldn't punish her with spraying stuff in her face. You will need her to trust you completely in order to get the most out of your training and relationship. You don't want her to fear you in any way or run from you, or be nervous. Learning tends to shut down when a dog is startled or nervous. They can't think as well. And as training progresses, she needs to be well engaged with you and not be thinking about what aversive is going to happen next.

You might like to check out this site.

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm

 

[Spiritus]

Ditto what Doberluv says, but I will go on say that she does need to have time to be a dog too.

On walks, I always take a flexi with me. On leash you walk on a loose leash, on the flexi you can roam and explore. Walks are supposed to be fun for the dog too, and part of "fun" for them is exploring all the new sights and scents. If you give her some recreational time, it might help her focus better on working time. And as Doberluv said, every time she gets away with pulling on leash reinforces that behavior. It is a self rewarding behavior so you need to be prepared to work with her consistantly when on leash.

And again as Doberluv said, barking is normal for dogs. She doesn't sound like she's nuisance barking, just alarm barking - barking to tell you something is happening. IMO, alarm barking should be permitted and a word should be taught to hush her, as in "enough" or "that'll do". To teach it, when she barks, say the command. When she stops and looks at you, "GOOD GIRL" - treat. Repeat.

 

[Doberluv]

Absolutely.....what Spiritus said about having fun on walks too. (no pulling though) You can ues a flexi or.....even a long line for fun time. The only problem with the flexi in the beginning, while she's learning not to pull, is that the flexi always has a little tension in it since it's on a pully system and she learns that that is normal....to feel tension. You want to avoid that, avoid that she learns that tension is par for the course for walking. With a long, 30 ft. line, she can have more freedom....if you're in safe place, away from cars or roads. Or the flexi could be let out and the lock put on so when she comes near the end, she knows that that's it....no more space to move until she gives you some slack. Be sure to use a word which means, "OK...go sniff" or something so she knows that THIS is the time she can stop concentrating so hard on walking right and she can go sniff. And a perfect heel should not be asked for for a long time. A loose leash, aproximately next to you shoudl be good enough for casual walking. I use "lets go" for a loose leash walk and "heel" for a precise heel, but only do that for a short ways as it's difficult for them to have to concentrate that hard for too long.

Also, it helps to show her a contrast...."walking nicely next to you time" and then a release word and it's explore, sniff, look around fun time.

The one thing I think really helps too, is when she doesn't know yet what "enough" means, you need to tie that word with the actual behavior of stopping the barking. Therefore, in the beginning, until she does make that association, I think it's best to say the word, "enough" WHEN she stops barking. Dogs learn so strongly by association that if she is barking and you say "enough," she is likely to learn that "enough" means to bark, instead of to be quiet. So, it's important to get her to quiet by distracting her, praise/click/treat (whatever).......she's quiet, "enough." Later, when you've done that for a long time and you think she has had enough of a connection between the stopping of the barking and the cue, "enough," you can try it out ahead of time, while she's barking and see if it stops her. Remember though, that cues in and of themselves do not drive behavior. Reinforcement does. So don't forget to really reinforce a lot that stopping of the barking. The more times you do that, the quicker she'll be apt to comply. But let her do her job of warning you when someone knocks on the door or if she is alarmed about something. Let her be a dog. Then tell her thank you and now I've had enough. LOL.

 

[squirtsmom]

Good advice.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

The trainer in my puppy class made the suggestion (for the most stubborn pullers) to click/treat whenever the tension on the lead relaxes. So the dog is pulling, and you're standing immobile. When the dog gives up and lets up on the tension, you click, then treat.

Now, I haven't been doing this. I don't feel the problem (for me) is that bad and I also worry that it might actually encourage pulling, since the combination of pulling then stopping gets them a treat.

But I'll toss it out there as a suggestion.

 

[Doberluv]

I also worry that it might actually encourage pulling, since the combination of pulling then stopping gets them a treat.

That can happen....that it becomes a behavior "chain." When there is such a strong pattern, the dog starts to anticipate. I pull, then I don't and I get a treat. That's why you mix things up...not always do it the same way. Sometimes stop when the dog gets to the end of the leash, sometimes make zig zag turns before the dog comes to the end of the leash. Vary speed, go back and retrace the same boring path you just made, go back to stopping and standing still and quiet again. This way you break the pattern. And use different locations.

Remember to practice in low distraction areas first until the dog is able to pay attention that way before adding gradually more distractions.

Another thing to be working on at other times, like inside at night while there's a commercial on TV would be attention training. Teach your dog that it is a very good thing (treats/praise) to look at you. You can use a cue when she looks at you, like her name or another word like "watch" ....whatever. Then when you're walking, you can ask the dog to look at you periodically. That helps keep the attention on the task and not so much in the enviroment. You can also hold a treat in your fist and let her know you have it. She'll sniff, mouth, nuzzle, trying to get it. Don't open your fist and stay still and quiet. Eventually, she'll look up at your face to "read" you. That's when you click/treat. Or, give the treat (if you're not using a clicker). When she looks at your face, not your hand, she gets the treat immediately. When she begins to get onto this game, then add a cue.....his name if you want or "watch." Then later, when you say her name or other cue word, she'll know it means to look at you. For now, just like before, don't say the cue first until she has made the connection between the behavior of looking at you and the cue. Say the word simultaneously when she looks at your face and treat. After a while, when she's getting good at it, gradually, second by second see if you can get her to gaze at you just a little longer before giving the treat and withhold the treat for only giving you one quick glance. But work up to it.

Also it is very important to feed frequently while the dog IS walking nicely, BEFORE she gets to the end of the leash....really show the dog what it is she's doing that he's being rewarded for as opposed to waiting for her to do it wrong. Try to avoid giving her the opportunity to create tension in the first place. She'll find out sooner what it is he's doing which is getting her all the good stuff. Tension in the leash doesn't work. But walking along side you does. Keep the leash rather short, but not tight so the end of the leash makes her near you, not way out ahead where she can't pay attention and gets interested in the environment. If she gets out close to the end, you can give a no reward marker, like...."woops" just before you stop or change direction. (just missed your chance for a treat) Always try to show her again right away what you mean and reinforce if she gets it. As long as she's taking nice steps, keep the treats coming fast and furious for now. Later you can skip a few steps, and then a few more. And then skip just one. Vary it. But that's way later, once the behavior becomes reliable. Try to always set up the situation so she is likely to succeed. Make it easy to add up those reinforcments. Then down the road, you'll add a little more difficulty.

 

[RD]

You've gotten some good advice but something else you can do to differentiate between the "serious" walk and the "fun" walk is use a harness with the flexi leash. It'll be a different sensation entirely to the dog and will make the difference (when to pull and when not to ) more clear.

Plus, the flexi leash allows you to work on the dog's recall. let her go out a little ways, then call her back, reward her and let her go explore again.

 

[Doberluv]

Great ideas RD....that is such a good thing...that's how Lyric got to have such a great recall.....getting him to come, getting a treat and then letting him go play right away again.

 

[Doberooney]

I am interested in the click and treat method..

I have a dobe that I like keeping lean.. we have finally found a food intake/exercise routine that keeps her in great shape..


As it stands, she gets 1.5-2 cups of kibble (daily) mixed with raw meat, fresh fruits and veggies.


The problem with the constant deluge of treats is that
a) she has a sensitive stomach
b) I worry about weight gain

 

[StunnedMonkey]

The problem with the constant deluge of treats is that
a) she has a sensitive stomach
b) I worry about weight gain

They don't have to be big treats. I often use the Pot Botanics Training Rewards, which are bite-sized (even for puppies) and semi-soft. But I actually cut each single treat into EIGHT tiny treats. Or I'll cook a hot dog and cut it into four long strips then cut the strips into little bitty pieces. All that is required is enough of a taste to keep the pup interested in getting more.

 

[Doberluv]

Yes Doberooney....just pea sized. Use the same things you feed for meals. The amount you use for training can be deducted from the meals. Just make sure it's high enough value to her so that it is a real reinforcer.