# Loose Leash Walking



## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

What has been your preferred method for teaching loose leash walking to a small dog. My Tegan is a very stubborn, headstrong 7 month up, who pulls on her leash, and it makes walking her unpleasant. 

What methods have all of you used? What worked and what didn't? Please, friends, I really need some help here.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

You know how when you're holding a helium balloon by a string, and you prick it with a pin, it goes whoooosh bouncing all around still being kept in place by the string you're holding on to? That was Gustave when we started leash walking with him. 

He's still not 100%. Still pulls when he gets excited but he's a LOT better about it. For the most part he can walk on a loose leash. We did two techniques that worked. 

First, click and treat every few steps. Literally every few steps making sure the dog stays behind you. And then increase the number of steps between each treat. Let me see if I can make a video for you. 

Second, and this happens after you've nailed down the first technique, stop walking when the dog goes ahead of you. Just stop. The dog will get the message that they don't go anywhere if they pull. 

Good luck!


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Did you use high value treats, or the usual treats?


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

my4jewels said:


> Did you use high value treats, or the usual treats?


Gustave is food crazy, so I just used his lunch kibble when he was a puppy. I would say take a mix and keep her guessing. 


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Here, I did a quick video. See how I make him sit before I start or if he starts pulling? I feel like that helped a lot. It helped 'reset' everything so I could take a deep breath, and it acted like a marker for Gustave so he could relax a bit. 

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d...B30A430-2679-00000139DBCFF13C_zpsbe23da40.mp4

Hope it helps. 


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

I use a 6 foot leash, put the hook to the harness and the hand loop around her neck. Of course you will only use the loop if she is pulling, I just give it a little tug. I can control her with one hand. I put a knot in the middle so I can easily find which side to tug on. She learned real quick not to pull.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Thank you so much! I have seen so many videos and listened to so much advice that my head was spinning. I will try this method because it seems so simple. In a few more days, we'll be able to go for some walks. Tegan was spayed on 5 days ago, and, if it weren't for her pulling so badly on the leash, we would have been taking short walks already. Gustave is so adorable. I just want to hug him. Of course, I had to stop and watch most of your videos of Gustave. He is very attentive to you and does some really cute tricks. At 7 months old, it's obvious that Tegan is entering her adolescence, and I am trying to teach her some new tricks, but it isn't as easy now as when she was younger. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to get Tegan on board with this quickly. She is very stubborn. Recently I have been having some pretty severe back problems, so I will have to be very careful bending down to give her the treats. I'm almost 6' tall, and it's a long way down to her.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

IzzysBellasMom said:


> I use a 6 foot leash, put the hook to the harness and the hand loop around her neck. Of course you will only use the loop if she is pulling, I just give it a little tug. I can control her with one hand. I put a knot in the middle so I can easily find which side to tug on. She learned real quick not to pull.


I am guessing you mean a very small tug. I have never done anything but positive reinforcement with her. She pulls so hard that she is often standing on her 2 back legs to get where she wants. I'd be afraid to hurt her. She is super energetic and willful. It think it's her Lhasa side from her mother. Even when we had a behaviorist come to the house, she said she was a "pushy puppy".

Even though I work at home, I have been very busy lately, and I need to spend more time on a daily basis with training her. She sits, stays, down, spins, rolls over, and is learning "crawl". She needs to learn her loose leash walking, drop it, and leave it. Drop it and leave it are very hard for her.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Debbie, thank you for your kind words about Gustave. I am like you. I'd make sure I exhaust all possible positive reinforcement methods before I have to look elsewhere. Luckily, this worked for us. It was slow at first. Especially because Gustave is also very stubborn. I keep thinking I need to make walking on leash more fun for him than running like a banshee. 

The thing that helped us the most was never moving at all when he's pulling. If they get reinforced sometime for pulling, they won't get why it's ok sometimes and not other times. It was frustrating. This meant sometimes I got no further than a few feet away from home, but it does get better. 

Does she walk well on leash at home? If not I'd start there. If she does, is there an in between stage you could try between outdoors and indoors? A yard? A very boring non-busy street? Just so it's not very exciting. It will set her up for success if she finds you very interesting during the walk. 

Another thing I would specify is it helps a lot if you don't talk at first. For my own sanity it was crazy when I would say "sit" 10 times and Gustave wouldn't listen because he was too busy pulling. So then I stopped talking. I would just hold the leash tight, then go stand right in front of him facing him, then lure him in a sit with a treat. Always worked better when he was too excited. 

Hope it works for you. 


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

She does not walk well on a leash unless it's somewhere she really doesn't want to go, like to bed. We live on a quiet dead end street, so I think our road is a good place to train her. We have a large unfenced yard and she can be pretty good sometimes, but not usually. 

I am very encouraged to see how well Gustave listens to you, especially since he is also a stubborn one. It gives me hope for my Tegan. My husband is the one who feels bad for her many times and gives in. I hope I can retrain him...


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## maddysmom (Mar 8, 2012)

Great question....wish I could help you with this one! I will be looking forward to hearing all advice giving...as you can see I have my own struggles walking LacieB)


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

My Lola has been one of the trickiest I have ever had to train for loose leash walking, hubby still can't do it with her. What has worked the best for me is to take my time and if she goes ahead stop and go completely the other way which puts her automatically behind, treat when behind and offer praise. You may get dizzy in the beginning LOL but it does work  oh! and don't try to go anywhere......


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

my4jewels said:


> I am guessing you mean a very small tug. I have never done anything but positive reinforcement with her. She pulls so hard that she is often standing on her 2 back legs to get where she wants. I'd be afraid to hurt her. She is super energetic and willful. It think it's her Lhasa side from her mother. Even when we had a behaviorist come to the house, she said she was a "pushy puppy".
> 
> Even though I work at home, I have been very busy lately, and I need to spend more time on a daily basis with training her. She sits, stays, down, spins, rolls over, and is learning "crawl". She needs to learn her loose leash walking, drop it, and leave it. Drop it and leave it are very hard for her.


It is a small tug or even just a hold. I train her with "uh-uh" while tugging or holding. Izzy is not food driven at all and that makes it harder to use positive reinforcement training. I had tried the stop walking like Aastha did and also turn around and go the other way, neither of those worked for me. This did.


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## Paisley_The_Maltese (Jun 8, 2013)

I like using a flexi leash. When Paisley starts pulling I lock the flexi (so she can't go any farther ahead) and tell her "heal." That's how I taught her.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Well, Tegan is very food oriented, so I guess I'll try the "reward when she is behind" method first with some high value treats mixed in with kibble. I will also incorporate the clicker since it has worked so well for other things I've taught her.

Doesn't it seem that loose leash walking seems to be a more abstract concept than most of the other things we teach our dogs?


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## wildcard (Jan 5, 2009)

Any time we try to teach a dog a "negative" -- meaning "don't do" something instead of "do something" it is difficult. "Stay" is generally a toughy-- because it basically means "don't move." Loose leash walking is "Don't pull." Sit and down are easy because you are requesting action instead of inaction. So, if you can make what you would usually think of as a "don't" into a "do" training is easier. For mine, walking on a regular leash (as opposed to a flexi which I consider license to pull) means "do pay attention to where I am going." So i teach it with a lot of turns and twists with rewards for watching where we are going with the cue "Let's Go." The dog is then rewarded for following me through the twists and turns (he can't pull if he is doing this). Similary, I add in "resistance" training early on with stays-- light pulling on a buckle collar so that the dog has to work to hold the sit or down position. It becomes an active behavior then, not a "don't." 

Same goes for jumping on people, barking, etc. Teach an alternative "do" in place of your "don't" and the concept is more easily understood.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks so much for your added words of wisdom, wildcard. I am putting together a comprehensive plan for when we start taking her for walks again next week.


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## cyndrae (Aug 30, 2009)

Ok what I did was take something to read get ready to go on a walk. Leash up the pup ..... Leash in hand .... When she pulled I would stop and ignore her but don't move waited (this is where i got caught up on my reading) for her to look at me "mom let's go!!" When she look and stopped I would say good (or something positive or give a treat) take another step of course she pulled so I stopped until she looked again. This went on and on. Did not get to far. Eventually we were able to walk. 

Training is all about who can out last who sometimes.


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## littlefluffbabies (Apr 17, 2013)

Some fantastic suggestions in this post. I think I will go practice when it cools off this evening. I won't even look at it as a walk but a training session instead. 

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## littlefluffbabies (Apr 17, 2013)

If your pup is just not catching on the first few times do you not complete the walk? It would probably be counterproductive to continue the walk (or rather, be walked by your dog. Lol) However, there are occasions when we are going to the park to play and it is a couple of blocks away. It could potentially take us days to "train" our way to the park. What is the best way to handle this? Would l need to commit to zero tolerance on the pulling in order for it to be successful? Would It be better to drive over? Lol I think I just answered my own question. Sigh, you're right, it is sometimes about who can outlast who. - No wonder there are so many dogs taking their owners for walks. :-D 

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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

I'll be looking forward to implementing these wonderful suggestions.

Why don't we all check back in with stories on our progress with loose leashing walking.


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## littlefluffbabies (Apr 17, 2013)

So I took penny out for her walk last night thinking that I would spend the entire time changing directions rather than actually getting anywhere. Amazingly, she seemed to catch on very quickly and we were able to walk around the whole block!! I did take treats but oddly she wasn't interested in them so all I really had to do was tell her that she was a good girl. I did stop walking a few times when she got a little ahead and then when she looked at me I told her"good girl"and we continued. I was sooo proud of her!! I think the real problem is when I am walking both her and koa (my beagle) I'm not sure that she will behave when he comes along. He is a pretty good walker, but she likes to be ahead of him. I think that I will just take her on her own for a while to reinforce her good walking. Thanks for the great tips on turning a "don't" into a "do" 

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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

I use a very simple method. We start walking, and the minute I feel a pull, I stop walking. No talking or scolding. I just stop. The minute the tugging stops we proceed forward. In the beginning I must have looked like a lunatic, walking three or four steps and stopping, and they walking, stopping etc. But it works. Without saying a word, the dog starts to understand that the only way to get to go forward on the walk is to not pull.


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## cyndrae (Aug 30, 2009)

You cannot work on it a couple of times then give in because you are heading somewhere. Go ahead and drive or carry to the park. 

Yes zero tolerance or it will take a whole lot longer to get the idea across. 

You will get it just have patience and no where you have to go so you can out last. 



littlefluffbabies said:


> If your pup is just not catching on the first few times do you not complete the walk? It would probably be counterproductive to continue the walk (or rather, be walked by your dog. Lol) However, there are occasions when we are going to the park to play and it is a couple of blocks away. It could potentially take us days to "train" our way to the park. What is the best way to handle this? Would l need to commit to zero tolerance on the pulling in order for it to be successful? Would It be better to drive over? Lol I think I just answered my own question. Sigh, you're right, it is sometimes about who can outlast who. - No wonder there are so many dogs taking their owners for walks. :-D
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## cyndrae (Aug 30, 2009)

Debbie do you have an update on Tegan and walking? I was just wondering how it was going.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks for asking. I've kinda been in a mental funk lately, haven't been taking Tegan out. Hubby's been sort of working on her loose leash walking. I take meds for panic disorder and depression, and the depression side has been acting up lately, seems to go in cycles, and, of course, the days are getting shorter. I think I'll push myself and go out with her now. I'll report back.


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## puppydoll (Jul 11, 2013)

Thank you Aastha for your video!! You have a real talent with your dogs. I learned a lot just watching your video!! =)


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

I just took Tegan for a short walk. We got about 2 houses down the road and back, and we must have changed directions 100's of times. We spent about 1/2 hour practicing. I think she's slowly picking it up. She looked up at me much more often looking for direction, and I know that's a good thing. We just did our thing, and I didn't speak to her at all, just let her listen in a different way. I tried my best to be calm and relaxed, and it was a nice time together.


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## cyndrae (Aug 30, 2009)

That is great you and your hubby are working together on this. Mine loves the pups but is not a willing participant in the training. If I could just get him trained :blink:

Depression can be very difficult to deal with. I hope you are able to get some meds to control. It took a bit of time but I was able to. 

And it sounds like you are having a much more less stressful walk. Just make sure to let him know when he does good.


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