Loose Lead walking

[rachel540]

Ok I think I'm getting my head round it On our walk this morning I was getting all confused and had my hands full with the leash, treats, balls and bag of poop and I was totally confusing Pepper.

We say "walk on" for Pepper to go ahead when off leash, but also say it when she been sat at the side of the road on leash and we're setting off again so I think I will limit this to off leash only for her to run ahead so it means only one thing to her. The problem is I talk too much to her people think I'm crackers!

Anyway I will continue with the training, praising her with a "yes good girl" when she is calmly walking with loose leash and like you said Nettle teach it as default rather than a command.

She is actually doing really well and I know she can get this, she just gets impatient and pushy sometimes. We walked almost all the way round the block so nicely I couldn't believe it but as soon as she knew we were heading for the field again (for her reward/ending on good note) she pulled and it took us a good 10mins to walk the final 4m.

Sorry for blabbering on about it, my OH doesn't really help with the training and wants me to "fix it" which makes it really hard to do on my own - thanks for your help

[Sheba]

When mine pests were puppies we started loose leash walking by just letting the puppies drag their leashes and encouraging them to follow. (Both loved cheese so it was and still s the best valued treat). Gradually I picked up the leashes but continuing the game. For them it was just play.
I also used very much my voice and body posture, I still do when doing complicated maneuvers in the busy city.

They know let's go, heal, this way (getting around people, and big obstacles), go ahead, left, right, wait, pole (first time their mum managed to knot herself around a light pole and the command just stayed like that, useful for trees also),
Then we have three walking modalities, one is in crowded areas when they need to listen to my voice, then is the relaxing walking when they get to sniff around and it is "go look", and the third way is trailing when they need to concentrate on loose walking, no sniffing and specific trail problems, especially steep trails when they need to pull if needed or sit during high risk descends. Obviously I offer them breaks to sniff around etc.
Also I taught them to untangle themselves, I am just helping them on this by letting down the leash.
All this mainly by play, to which they responded very well. They are older now but still learning new tricks just for the fun of it.

I also had their dad a really strong and stubborn dog and introducing him to backpacking did the trick. Before that he was capable of getting every human off feet, no collar or harness, normal or no-pull helped. I never used any kind of choke or prone collar. I hate them!
The backpacking really made a difference. He eventually carried the water for humans and dogs (4 lt) and dog food for the day
I think that he really needed a job (a tiring one).

[victorianpaws]

I find it's best to have a heel word and a separate word for potty time. For example, my new rescue puppy (age 1, named Wink) is being conditioned to the idea that the walk as two parts. Walking, and potty time. When it's walking, I will say heel and walk along and it's her job to remain calmly beside me. When it's potty time, she will here "Do your business" and will be allowed to have the full length of the leash at her means to sniff and potty. But when she is done pottying, she is to return at the word heel and commence walking. It took me about a week to fully establish this separate parts of the walk with her, with her effectively moving away to explore the patches of grass and returning to her place next to me when she is done. It's all about praise! It's going to be a little confusing for them at first, but stick to your guns and be very clear with your words and energy.

[lostsheltervolunteer]

So just to clarify, you guys never use food in addition to the reward of continuing the walk? I know that some positive trainers use food to, and I had assumed that that would speed up the training; what are your guys' thoughts on this?
Thanks.

[Suzette]

I personally did not use food as a reward when I was teaching loose leash walking to Piper. Her reward for walking with a slack leash was that she got to keep moving forward and that was the reward she treasured most.

[Fundog]

Food rewards are more useful for shy, anxious dogs who would rather stay home and not go on walks, or dogs who are terrified of their own lead, their own shadow, etc. The food is used as a lure to encourage the dog to move forward, one tiny step at a time, while they learn that walks are supposed to be fun, not scary.

[Noobs]

R and Gus started loose leash training yesterday! I'd been working with Gus intensively for a few days but this was R's first time. We used Mattie's method from the first post on this thread and it still works! R got the gist of it but his "turn and walk the other direction" time was slow; he should have walked the other direction immediately rather than stopping and waiting for Gus to follow. Here's a video linked below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Baae5eRjiI0/

[JudyN]

Love that video, Noobs - they're working really well together!