So I am wondering about something and would love some advice.
I usually bring my clicker and lots of treats out on a walk with Bandit. I forgot both today and jsut did the "be a tree/turn around and walk the other way" method and rewarding him for a loose lead by letting him go sniff. I don't care if he sniffs or doesn't stay glued to my side I just don't want him to pull.
So here was my thought. Can I just click + treat for generally walking near me every now and again because he gets the basic idea. Then when he occasionally puts pressure on the lead to sniff something super distracting just click + treat him for coming back? I feel like I am giving TOO many click + treats on his walks as he generally keeps a loose lead unless he catches wiff of something really interesting.
Yes! If he already generally walks loosely then just reward periodically for being good. I would actively click and treat for loose lead if you are going by something he'll generally pull towards, like a dog or person or small furry critter, etc. If he pulls towards something I would stand still but would not click and treat for coming back, when he comes back I would just immediately release him to go sniff it. The sniffing will be the reward. The reason for that is I wouldn't want to train a behavior chain of pull, come back, get treat. Pull, come back, get treat. You can do that a bit at first so the dog gets where he needs to be to get the treat, but you quickly want to start rewarding for duration, the dog must take several loose steps to earn the reward, and then more steps, and more steps, etc. It's like dogs who pop out of sits. Their owners tell them to sit again and reward them for listening right away. But then the dog learns that if he's been waiting longer than he wants for a treat he just has to pop up and be told to sit again to get another treat right away, they don't have to wait for any length of time. If it's something you don't want to let the dog sniff (so you can't use sniffing as a reward) I would stand until the leash is loose, then encourage the dog to move on with you and THEN reward him after you've both moved beyond the temptation. That way he gets rewarded for walking with you several paces, not for pulling then loosening the leash.
