Loose Lead Walking

This is not competition-style heelwork, it is ‘street walking’ i.e. your dog walks alongside you on a loose lead and with the dog adjusting its position and pace in order to maintain a reasonably constant position in relation to you without pulling or lagging.  It can be on both your left and right sides, and should include the dog learning to sit automatically when you stop at the kerb.

Why do dogs pull?

1.      It gets them what they want i.e. to the park faster

2.      Dogs generally walk faster than we do.

3.      Often it is because we are creatures of habit and it becomes very predictable to the dog where we are going, so the dog becomes impatient to get there (so be unpredictable).

4.      It is an opposition reflex – if one pulls (the dog or the handler) the other one is likely to pull against it.  So it takes two to pull, so if you stop pulling the dog is likely to stop pulling also. 

Collar and lead: the collar should be a comfortable fit and the lead is not a training tool, it is a security device to keep your dog safe.  Consider a head collar or harness if your dog is an established puller or especially if he/she is a large strong breed. 

There are several lure and reward methods of training loose lead walking, including:

Follow-The-Lure

Hold the treat in the hand nearest the dog and the hold the lead in the hand furthest from the dog.  Attract your dog’s attention to the treat in your hand and feed your dog a treat.  Take another treat in your hand and move a step forward and as the dog follows the treat hand, give another treat.  Continue to gradually increase the number of steps taken before treating.  Don’t jerk the lead or pull the dog with the lead – let the treat be the motivation.  Add a suitable cue word e.g. Heel, Close, Side, etc. when the dog is in the correct position.  (It is advisable to use different cue words for when the dog is on the left or right side of you; and to have different cues to distinguish this ‘street walking’ style from competition-style heelwork).

4-Treats

Have four treats in your hand nearest the dog.  With the dog at your side (sitting or standing) say ‘Heel’ (or whatever your cue word is) and feed a treat.  Repeat that twice more.  After you dog has eaten the third treat, take one step forward, say ‘Heel’ and as your dog catches up with you, feed the fourth treat. 

Red Light/Green Light

With your dog walking alongside you, if the lead tightens, you immediately stop.  Use a food treat to lure your dog back to you and by your side and feed the treat when the dog is the correct position.  With the lead slack, continue walking.  So if the lead tightens it’s the equivalent of a red light – you stop.  When the lead is slack, it is the green light – go, continue walking.

Another Lure and Reward Method

Have the dog at your side and have a treat in the hand nearest the dog.  Hold it above the dog’s head and when he/she is looking at the treat, drop it either into the dog’s mouth or just behind his head.  As he eats it, take a step or two forward (holding the lead in the opposite hand and ensure that the lead is not tight) and put another treat in the dog-side hand and wait for the dog to come forward to you.  As he catches you up, drop him another treat.  Keep repeating this but gradually keep walking an extra step or two forward whilst the dog is alongside you watching the treat hand, before dropping the treat.  Try to avoid the dog jumping up towards the treat hand; make sure you drop the treat when the dog has all four feet on the floor.

Clicker method

Have your lead looped loosely over your forearm on the side furthest away from your dog.  Have the clicker and a few treats in the same hand, meaning that the hand nearest the dog is empty and inactive until you have clicked and then the treat can be taken from the clicker hand and given to the dog by dropping it on the floor. 

Start to use the treat to move your dog to your side, not by luring but by dropping the treat to one side and slightly behind you, so that after he’s eaten the treat off the floor he will look back at you from your side, instead of being in front of you.  After a few repetitions at the side, wait for him to eat the last treat and as he looks towards you again, just take a step forward and as he makes a matching move to follow you, click and treat him again.  The aim is to gradually progress this behaviour of him following alongside you and looking at you, by clicking and treating him after an extra step or two, so that the duration of the behaviour is gradually extended. 

Please note: as soon as you have clicked, the behaviour you are shaping has been marked, it has ended, and the dog will receive his treat.  Stop walking and stand still as soon as you have clicked, take the treat and drop it on the floor and let him eat it – give him a few moments to savour his reward and wait for his attention to switch from the taste to focussing back on you.  Then move forward again to continue a few more steps. Gradually build up the duration (and the distance the dog is required to walk with you). Once the dog is reliably doing the behaviour the cue can be added and the level of distractions can be increased.

 Consistency:

Once you have started to train a dog to walk on a loose lead, it is essential that you never allow the dog to pull on a tight lead.  If a dog is allowed to occasionally pull, that is technically called a variable schedule of reinforcement, i.e. it is an occasional reward and is an extremely powerful reinforcer, one that is most difficult to overcome.