Loose Leash Walking

The leash should be used only as a safety measure, to keep your dog at your side and under close control when it is not safe or suitable for the dog to be walking with you, under control, but off leash.  Too many people think that the collar and leash are there to control the dog - but if they are used in that way it usually means that you do not in fact have control of your dog.  All dog owners should aspire to be able to manage their dog with nothing more than their voice or hand signals / whistle, and some form of reinforcement for good or compliant behaviours.

Obviously while city-living dogs need to spend a lot of their time on leash, those dogs being walked in quieter environments and away from distractions should be able to spend less time on the leash.  However, different areas have different regulations about whether a dog is allowed off leash or not so be sure you know what is applicable to you and safe for you and your pet in each situation.

Incorrect use of the leash can lead to many problems associated with dog walking and enjoying your pet.  Sadly it also means that certain members of a family are often unable to walk the dog as they feel unable to control it when it meets other dogs or people, or is in a certain situation. It is so much better to stop these problems before they start, rather than trying to stop them when they have become bad habits.

Training for leash walking should begin shortly after your pup has arrived home, as soon as it has settled in to its new home.  You don't need to take it out of the house, initial training should start within the home where the pup feels safe and comfortable, and isn't going to be distratced by new sights or smells.  The first step is to get the pup used to wearing a collar.  This may take several days as some dogs find a collar quite irritating and scratch at it continuously.  If you allow the pup to scratch at the same spot for a long time it could irritate or break the skin, so if your pup does this put the collar on for just a few minutes at a time.  Don't frighten the pup by grabbing him and pinning him down to put on the collar, but turn it into a training-game and encourage him to sit calmly while you put the collar on and then reinforce the calm behaviour (reward him) immediately.  But make sure you don't reward inappropriate behaviour such as mouthing, pawing or jumping around.  Once the collar is on, if your pup tries to scratch or otherwise remove the collar then distract it by playing a game - perhaps chases, tickling, or put the collar on before feeding time.  Try anything that will make the pup associate the collar with something good, and something that will distract him from scratching for a short while.  Try this several times a day and even if pup can only manage a few minutes each time he will soon become used to it.

Once the collar is on, use a house line - a very light, fairly short leash - only when you are home and whenever it is safe to do so as it lets you control your pup if he tries to turn inappropriate behaviour in to a game - such as grabbing and running off with your iPhone or purse.  Your natural reaction will be to shout and run after him and happy pup discovers he has taught you a new game (catch-me-if-you-can) which can leads to hours of fun for the pup, and hours of frustration for the owner as pup grows older and graduates to running off with expensive shoes, leather gloves, precious sweaters etc.  Unfortunately children are excellent students when pup teaches them this game - they shriek loudly, and love the thrill of the chase as much as the pup, so parents have to ensure that they stop this game immediately.  A game of chases with a dog toy is fine, a game of chases with Mum's best shoe is not fine.

When you start to walk the pup outside he will be very excited and try to dash off to investigate every new smell, or head straight to his favourite area.  This is the time to ensure that when he lunges forward on the lead he comes to a complete halt as you implement the "Become-A-Tree" routine. This means exactly what it says - when pup pulls in an inappropriate direction you become a "Tree" or a "Rock" and thus immobile.  Don't jerk the lead, or pull the pup - simply become immobile.  It means you won't get very far as you have to stop every few feet but pup will quickly realise that lunging and pulling mean NO progress towards his goal, and that the only way to progress towards it is for HIM to keep the lead slack.  So he is rewarded for keeping a slack leash by being able to progress towards his goal, as opposed to being rewarded for pulling and lunging by succeeding in progressing towards his goal.  

Puppy Dog Tales - The SIT, STAY, DOWN

Puppy Training - the SIT, DOWN, STAND

Teaching a very young pup the basic positions can be quite simple as they can be lured in to position more easily than a larger dog.  People who plan to exhibit their dogs in Breed Shows don't generally teach their dogs SIT as they need the dogs to stand for long periods in the show ring so they focus on teaching their dogs STAND instead.

Watch Mum! 

The first thing to teach your pup is to learn to pay attention to you by looking at your face, so when you feed the pup bring the bowl up towards your face and reward him verbally and with his dinner when he makes eye contact.  

The SIT

You will find that if you call your pup's name it is likely that the pup will sit as he lifts his head to look up at your face as it is so much higher than him.  If you know he will do this, call his name to get his attention then give him the command SIT.  When he sits, praise him and treat him immediately - behaviourists recommend rewarding within 3 secs of the dog complying so time 3 secs on a stopwatch to see how quick you need to be as it is a very short space of time!

The DOWN
When your dog is sitting, use a treat to lure your pup in to a DOWN position.  You can do this by showing him the treat by holding it in front of his face, then drop your hand to the floor immediately under his chin, at the same time giving the command DOWN.  As you do this he should start to lower his head to get the treat, so start to slide your hand along the floor away from his face - still saying DOWN.  His head should follow the treat and if you do it slowly and gently he will drop to the floor rather than walking forward. If he does drop to the floor, reward him immediately with lots of cuddles and praise and the treat. If he stands up, or lifts his back end off the floor, say 'No' and very gently try to manoeuvre him so that his belly is on the floor or he rolls over on to his side - at which point praise and treat as described earlier.  
DO NOT under any circumstances push your pup to the floor, pin him down or put pressure on his back or hips as you could easily damage his growing bones.   

The secret with this exercise is:

• Firstly to keep your pup calm.  If your pup has been over-stimulated by playing or some other physical activity, he will not be able to focus on you and your commands so wait until he is calm and able to pay attention to you.   
• Secondly only reward the required behaviour.  Don't reward a partial down or a 'cute' action such as giving a paw - you asked for DOWN so all that should be rewarded  is a DOWN.  Your pup learns by trial and error, so if he doesn't understand or doesn't get it right, say No gently and keep explaining what you want clearly and calmly.  If he is still very young you may only be able to try 2 or 3 repetitions before his attention wanders.  Be guided by your dog and work at his pace as all dogs are different and you cannot expect too much from a young pup.
• Thirdly make sure you DO reward the desired behaviour.  Your pup will probably accidentally put his belly on the floor just before he jumps up again so be prepared and the instant he hits the ground say Yehhh - Good pup - Well Done... etc and treat him.  It won't take him long to associate the belly on the ground and the reward.

The STAND

When your dog is sitting, use a treat to lure him in to the STAND position.  You do this by showing him the treat by holding it in front of his face, then moving your hand away from his nose, very slowly and parallel with the floor and giving the pup the command - STAND. You will only need to move your hand a few inches so that the pup comes up on to all 4 feet then praise and reward him.  Make sure you don't reward the pup for taking an extra step or walking forward - something they are liable to do if you move the treat too far away from their face.  Again, wait until the pup is calm and focussed on you before you try this; don't get impatient with the pup, and if he is very young then 1, 2 or 3 attempts may be all he can focus on before his attention wanders. 

Always finish on a positive note - so ask your pup for a sit as they usually learn that very quickly - then as well as praising him have a little game so that he looks forward to training sessions because he knows it will end with you being delighted with him!