pulling on leash Archives - Smart Dog University

Easy Dog Training Treats on the Run

September 1, 2013

Schooner is in socialization overdrive right now. I’m finding places to go every day so I can get him out and around lots of different sights and sounds. The more he sees in a happy and comfortable way, the less excited he’ll be when it’s time for him to settle in and get to work with his partner. We’re still a good ways away from turn-in day, but the earlier he sees and experiences new situations, the faster he’ll become a pro at handling the public life of a service dog. And the better service dog he’ll be.

I’ve made an effort to have a treat bag full of training treats ready to go at the beginning of each week. One of my (many) Sunday night chores is stuffing the treat bag full of delicious, pea-sized food treats. Schooner is picky — I can’t get away with most packaged dog treats with him. He’ll turn his nose up at leftover chicken from dinner, for goodness sake! He’s definitely not interested in artificially flavored anything! He’s a real challenge in that department.

Sometimes I have him out in public for several hours. Summers in the mid-Atlantic can be tough on dog treats. I’ve had processed meats go bad before I get back home — ew, so stinky (and embarrasing when the lady in the checkout line sniffs and then turns to look at me as the source of the stink).

I was rushing out the door last week and had Schooner in tow. I got him loaded in the car, made sure I had my purse, my keys, my phone, Schooner’s vest, his leash, his harness… And I forgot the treat bag. I ran back into the house, yanked the refrigerator door open (where I store his leftover treats, as most of them need refrigeration unfortunately) and found a bare treat pouch. Like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard it was.

Drat! Now, in addition to having no treats, I was going to be late for my meeting because I needed a high value treat to reinforce all of Schooner’s good behavior I was looking forward to getting. I’m an eternal optimist.

I glanced in the pantry for something, anything, when I spied The Honest Kitchen’s quickies. I’ve mentioned The Honest Kitchen before. They had, rather fortuitously, just sent me some of their new little training treats. I grabbed the little can, threw them into the car and off Schooner and I went to our meeting.

As I was walking into the building, I tossed the treats into my treat bag and kept right on walking, not missing a beat. Schooner’s loose leash walking was quite impressive, so I clicked and treated him for such nice work. I grabbed a quickie, popped it in his mouth and went right on stepping it off. He came back for more! His loose leash walking turned suddenly into “right next to my leg, not leaving my side” walking. It was pretty cool.

Throughout the meeting, he got treated for settling quietly. This is an amazingly hard task for a social butterfly like Schooner. It’s not like he blends into the woodwork and no one notices him for goodness sake. He’s a very large, very speckled, extremely friendly dog. In a restaurant. Or in the grocery store checkout line. He draws a crowd. And settling is right up there with loose leash walking as far as must-have skills. So a high value reward is imperative, as we want him to repeat that lovely settling behavior.

I’m happy to report that the quickies did the trick for this picky dog. The quickies are simply Icelandic Haddock. That’s it. Nothing else. Oh, and they come in the shape of a heart. Very cute. And they’re delicious — at least according to Schooner. And our cat. Who begs shamelessly whenever I carry the treat bag inside.

Oh, and the other nice thing. They don’t need refrigeration, these quickies. No surprise stinky-car in the morning.

Your turn: have you found a delicious, easy, small treat that your dog adores? Please share in a comment below!

This post is entirely my opinion and I did not get paid to write this post about The Honest Kitchen. I received three quickie treat containers from The Honest Kitchen to try out for Schooner’s training.

Puppy Training: Lesson of the Day – Polite Walking

September 25, 2012

Puppies arrive knowing very little. If you want your pup to have good habits, you’ll have to teach them what to do. The easiest way to do this is to start training your puppy as soon as she comes home. One of the earliest lessons (it feels like there are so many early lessons!) we teach our puppies (service dog or pets) is to walk on a loose leash. The bigger the dog, the bigger the problem. Your chihuahua probably won’t pull you down, but your Great Dane surely will — unless you start teaching polite leash manners early. Here’s how you can teach your puppy to walk with a loose leash.

Put your puppy’s breakfast in a fanny pack or treat pouch. Get your clicker ready. When you go on your morning walk, click and treat every time you take a step and your pup’s leash is slack. You’ll be clicking a lot, and that’s good! That’s why you brought your pup’s entire breakfast with you. They need to eat anyway, you might as well get some mileage out of all those treats.

You’re clicking (and treating) every single time you take a step and your pup’s leash is slack. It doesn’t matter which side they are on, if they’re switching sides, or if they’re behind you. As long as there’s a little dip in that leash, you’re clicking and treating.

If your pup gets excited about another dog or a squirrel and pulls ahead, simply stop. Mouth closed, arms at your sides, just wait. Pretty soon, your smart puppy will figure out that she’s not going anywhere. She’ll probably turn to look at you quizically. Yay! You’ll click and then hold the treat down by your side. You want the pup to come back to you to get the treat. Click and treat again. And again.

You’re making it obvious to the pup that being with you is really rewarding! Pulling isn’t.

We inadvertantly teach our pup to pull when we follow along behind them when the leash is tight. Your pup doesn’t know that pulling means you’ll follow — until it actually happens! So unfortunately, when you follow your pulling puppy, you’re actually telling your puppy that that’s how to move forward — just lean into the collar, little buddy, and I’ll follow along.

That isn’t the message we mean to send, but it’s what’s received by the pup. Puppies do what works. If pulling gets them from Point A to Point B, why on earth would they try something different? So you, the smart trainer, are going to start your pup out with the realization that pulling = no movement.

And, in addition, staying closer to you, so the leash stays slack, gets the puppy two things: (1) treats and (2) moving forward! It’s a double win for your puppy! And it’s definitely a win for you! This is how we start loose leash walking — there are more advanced steps as the pup gets older, but we’ll get into that in another post. For now, all you have to worry about is teaching your puppy that pulling doesn’t work and having a loose leash gets that puppy lots more fun and freedom!

When did you start teaching your puppy leash manners? Share your dog-friendly loose leash walking tips in a comment below! I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

How To Deal With a Stubborn Dog

June 2, 2010

“My dog is so stubborn!” “He knows better, he’s just hard-headed.”

Usually, the owner who says these words is frustrated with his dog because the dog’s not listening. In my 15 years of training, I’ve not yet run into a stubborn or hard-headed dog. And I don’t think that’s because I’ve figured out how to screen the stubborn or hard-headed dogs out. I don’t think there are any out there.

What could people mean, then, when they say their dog is stubborn?

I think they think their dog is stubborn, but what they’re really seeing is an untrained dog.

They’ll say things like “He knows I asked him to sit. He’s just being stubborn because visitors are here.”Nope, he’s not being stubborn – he’s too distracted. The environment is filled with lots more exciting things, sitting’s the last thing on the dog’s mind. That doesn’t mean he’s stubborn, that means you haven’t done your training. Yep, I’m putting this one squarely on the owner, not the dog.

Look, if it were that easy for the dog to sit, he’d go ahead and sit! It’s not like sitting is difficult or time consuming. It’s pretty darn easy for a dog to do. So why wouldn’t the dog sit? Not hard-headedness, not stubbornness – it’s lack of training.

When I say lack of training, what I really mean is lack of training in the face of distractions. That’s usually what trips most dogs up, what gives them the label of stubborn and hard-headed.

Take my own dog, Nemo, as an example. He’s a puller on walks. He likes to go now, go fast, and go far. Logically, it would be much easier and more pleasant for him to walk on a slack leash. A tight leash is (1) a lot of work for the dog – he’s constantly pulling and (2) pretty uncomfortable – the leash is pushing against his trachea and neck muscles. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for Nemo to slow down a bit and have a nice, enjoyable loose-leash walk? Well, yes, it probably would. So why, then, would Nemo still pull?

Must be because he’s stubborn. Wrong. He’s excited. He’s over-threshold. He can’t wait to find out what scent the next blade of grass holds. He wants to know which dog peed on the neighbor’s mailbox. He can’t wait to add his own scent. In short, he’s awfully excited to be out on a walk.

He’s far from stubborn or hard-headed. He’s flat out excited. Plain and simple.

But it’s much easier for me to blame Nemo, rather than put the blame where it belongs: on me. I need to spend a lot more time teaching Nemo that a slack leash is the way to get to that next blade of grass or to the neighbor’s mailbox.

What do you do if you think you have a stubborn dog?

Teach him! If you’ve got a stubborn dog who pulls on the leash, get some really good treats (chicken, steak, hot dogs, etc.) and cut them into pea-sized pieces.

Take your clicker and these treats with you on your walk.
When you step out the front door, wait for your dog to look back at you. Don’t say anything to him, just wait.
The instant he looks in your direction, click and give him a goodie.
Take another few steps and stop. Wait for him to look in your direction, click, and treat.
Next, take several steps and when the leash gets tight, stop. Just wait for your dog to turn to look in your direction before you click, treat, and begin to walk again.

Your dog will get the message that the walk will continue when he looks at you. He’ll start to look at you a lot and you’ll then click and treat a lot. When he’s looking at you, he’s probably not pulling on the leash. Voila – you’ve just taught you dog to walk nicely on a leash!

Now you’ve got to add in small distractions.

Make a list of the things that really interest your dog. For Nemo, it’s the smells that really draw him in. He loves to smell the ground, the bushes, the road. Those are Nemo’s distractions – your dog could really notice other dogs, kids on bicycles, joggers, whatever.

The key to success is to start where your dog notices the distraction, but isn’t consumed by it.

If you need to walk 100 yards away from the distraction, that’s ok. You’re the teacher – you set up the environment so your dog can succeed. Click and treat every second your dog doesn’t react to the distraction.

If your dog has a problem with, say jumping on guests, put your dog on a leash before your visitors arrive. You can then prevent the dog from jumping by simply keeping him away from the guests and by asking him to sit.

Make sure he’s really good at sitting, though, without the distractions of the guests!When no one’s at the door, ask him to sit, then open the door. Can your dog sit even when you open the door? If he can’t do it when no one’s there, he won’t be able to do it with actual guests on the front porch. He’s not stubborn, he just doesn’t know how to do it.

The next time you’re tempted to call your dog hard-headed or stubborn, stop and think: did you really teach your dog how to do the behavior? With distractions?

Thankfully, it’s easy to teach the dog how to deal with distractions, it just takes some practice, some good reinforcers, and your trusty clicker.

Talk back!

The science is coming in fast and furious! Lots of research is being done in this area and the results are fascinating. Let me know what you think: If you think your dog is stubborn, what’s in it for your dog to be stubborn?

Menu

pulling on leash