Pulling on a leash question

[ds5160]

Hello,
I went through the threads when I first joined a couple of weeks ago and saw a thread on dogs that pull on their leashes. This has been the main issue I'm working on with my dog, and now I can't find that thread. (I thought I bookmarked it, ) Anybody recall a thread that has good info on this problem? I try to take her for a long walk each day, about an hour, along with 2 shorter walks, about 20 minutes each. On the long walk, she will pull for about the first 20-30 minutes, then she starts to get tired and the leash goes slack. I will tell her easy, and give her treats randomly at this point.

My trainer is on vacation right now, and I can't remember what she said to do other than stop and let the dog hit the end of the line. Then turn around and walk the other direction a little bit. This isn't working, I think she thinks it's a game.

In all, I consider myself lucky. She's normally a calm dog, does the basics, and just needs a bit of consistency in her life. Not bad for a dog we picked up from a rescue organization. Now if I can get her interested in fetching a ball. She'll fetch the rope, but has no interest in a ball.

Thanks in advance.

 

[smkie]

Turning around everytime they pull works for me like a charm. YOU get a bit dizzy but once the dog figures out it doesn't get him anywhere the focus of the dog moves to you to figure out what the hay your doing, and that is right where you want the focus to be.

 

[lizzybeth727]

Basically, the walk itself is a big reward for your dog. So if you walk and she's walking on a loose leash, the walk can continue and she is rewarded; if you walk and she's pulling, you should stop walking and wait for her to loosen the leash on her own. This will teach her that the walk does not continue while the leash is tight. BUT, you have to be consistent - every single time you feel her weight on the leash, even just a little, STOP and wait for her to loosen the leash.

In addition to this, you should also find some way to reinforce her for walking next to you. Not pulling on the leash is fine, but it's difficult to learn as she is never really clear how much leash she has. But if you teach her to walk next to you, she can learn much quicker that if you're next to her she'll get big reinforcement. Start with pieces of hot dog, cheese, or anything else that she REALLY loves and NEVER gets to have. Use small pieces that are quick for her to eat, and give her one every time she's walking at your side.

It will also make the training much easier if she's exercised a bit before your walk. Many people think the walk itself is exercise for the dog, but actually dogs really need to run to get their exercise; walks are excellent for mental exercise and will mentally tire dogs out, but IMO some hard running is still extremely important.

 

[ds5160]

Lizzy, thank you. All that triggered what my trainer told me. It was a lot of info for one hour, so something was bound to get lost in my little brain. I will make sure I get her to play fetch before I take her for her next walk. I will likely need to walk the dogs separately for a bit so I can focus on the puller. We were lucky that our other dog never pulled.

We have had this dog only three weeks, and I wantto make sure I do not encourage any bad habits unknowingly.

 

[ihartgonzo]

"Be a tree" is the BEST... like Lizzybeth said. Loose leash = walk. Taut leash = no walk. She will learn to pay attention to the leash and slow down before she gets to the end in no time!

I recommend using a squeaky Kong tennis ball, rather than a regular ball. It's the only ball that Fozzie will fetch.