Teaching an easily distracted 8-month-old to "heel"....

[Reezy44]

Well, we did pretty well today on the leash as Lileigh walked pretty close beside me. She obeys immediately when I tell her to sit, stay: I can walk all the way around her and then come back to her right side--she remains sitting until I say, "walk." Here's the problem: She constantly PULLS me (with much gusto--and I'm recovering from whiplash--ouch!) because she's determined to put her nose to the ground (due to being TERRIBLY distracted by all the delicious smells of the field in which we are walking)!!! I hate to keep giving the "corrective jerk" in order to keep her mind on what she's supposed to be doing. Can anyone suggest something that will encourage Lileigh (and me) in this goal of ours to "walk nice" ... ??? Thanks so much for your help....

[Dixie_Girl]

Well, you might try a suggestion I was given by an experienced handler. When walking, hold the lead short. In your other hand have a pole, or such, I actually used a rake, and when the dog starts to go past your legs IMMEDIATELY place what you have in front of them. It took Jackson a few times but now he stays just behind or at my legs when walking lose or on lead. Hope this helps you also.

[MaggieDog]

Since you are recovering from an injury, perhaps a head halter might be a good investment to prevent the behavior while retraining it. The head halter will help with the sniffing as a front lead harness, also good for plain pulling, can't.

 

If you go this route, get help fitting the halter and be sure to introduce it slowly and with lots of rewards. It worked well for my girl, but I made sure it was comfy and she didn't wear it on a walk until I was sure she was ok w/ it. I used to like the Gentle Leader, but the narrow nose band seems to cause more problems than the old wider version did, so I find halties and BeBop USA halters are more comfortable; if you use the halti, be sure to clip it to the collar too as a dog can back out of it and get loose if you don't.

 

HTH

[Barb Scott]

Despite the flames I'll receive, I'm a believer in a prong collar.

Barb S

[MaggieDog]

Prongs have their place, but I don't think a collar or harness will help if the dog is sniffing as much as a halter that controls the nose can in this situation.

 

I consider prongs more for dogs that are too strong for the harnesses and hate having things on their noses; my parents' rott mix is just one of these dogs lol.

[Reezy44]

I appreciate all these suggestions and can see that there IS hope for Lileigh and me. Thanks again to everyone who replied...

[BeezSK]

One of the things we learnt in a seminar last weekend was how to get the dog to 'figure out' how to walk on a loose leash on it's own. My dog is terrible for pulling and I'm usually constantly giving her leash corrections which never seem to matter.

We would show the dog a treat and place it down at the end of the room. Then we'd start off walking and anytime the leash would go tight I would take 10 steps backwards and we would try again (without any leash corrections). Eventually after the 6th or 7th time we moved back she realized that tugging the leash wouldn't get her anyway. We've been for numerous walks since then and usually it only takes 1 or 2 'walk backwards' and she remembers not to pull the leash.

[Northof49]

There are several things you can to do to work on the sniffing. Certainly a head halter will well prevent the head going down and sniffing, which allows to do prevent that behaviour from happening. As with anything the two main rules of modifying an unacceptable behaviour is (a) prevent the unacceptable behaviour from being practiced and ( train an alternate acceptable behaviour.

 

You need to make yourself more interesting than the smells in the field. Load yourself up with tons of yummy treats and reward her for not having her nose on the ground. I usually start this by just standing still with a loose leash and reward for keeping an eye on me. Then I will back up a step or two and have the dog follow me and give treats. I move around with the dog following me and paying attention to me. Then I slowly move to walking forward with the dog at my side for a couple of steps or so then back up or move sideways again.

 

My youngest dog has the worst/best nose I have ever seen on my Border Collies. I swear she was a blood hound in a previous life, and all she wanted to do to was track scents - either ground scenting or air scenting, so I spent lots of time on working through this, by rewarding for the behaviour I wanted and preventing the behaviour I didn't want. So, not only did I have to keep her nose off the ground, but I had to get her to understand that I didn't want her air scenting her way on our walks either. It took me a couple of weeks of dedicated work but in the meantime we had lots of positive time together and had fun. Besides the treats, I also gave her lots of rib tickles, ear scratchs, butt rubs and lots of verbal cheerleading.

[RaisingRiver]

Originally posted by BeezSK:

We would show the dog a treat and place it down at the end of the room. Then we'd start off walking and anytime the leash would go tight I would take 10 steps backwards and we would try again (without any leash corrections). Eventually after the 6th or 7th time we moved back she realized that tugging the leash wouldn't get her anyway. We've been for numerous walks since then and usually it only takes 1 or 2 'walk backwards' and she remembers not to pull the leash.

That's the best senerio I've ever heard for the pulling problem. All my dogs pull and because they are rarely on leash, I don't care enough to train it - except of course when they are actually on leash, I wish I had

 

I've tried the turning around in opposite direction but I think their necks are already desensitized or something. But I bet they WOULD learn if presented with a great prize as described above.

 

I will definitely be trying out this training advice. THANK YOU!

[BeezSK]

I tried the quick change of direction thing and all that did was make the dog spin around by the neck and then run past me the opposite direction and rip my shoulder apart when she hit the end of the leash again

[Miztiki]

BeesSK, what you describe is a situation where a prong might be useful.

 

First it's best to try what you did. As soon as the dog gets too far ahead, turn around and walk the other way. If they do it again, you do it again too.

 

This works for alot of Border Collies because they are generally "soft" dogs.

 

All dogs are not soft though, and Boyden is one of them. Direction changes on a regular collar did not have an effect on him. He tried to dislocate my joints many times. So, I fit him properly with a prong collar and then tried it again. That was what it took and it worked. Once he had the hang of that (consistently walking on a loose leash) then I put his regular collar back on. If he went back to pulling then I'd put the prong back on. It wasn't but a couple weeks or so before he was walking well on a leash on a regular flat buckle collar.

 

There should be no jerking or popping with ANY type of collar. Those types of corrections do not work long term.

 

The point of changing directions is not to rip the dog's head off. The point is to put you back in the leadership position instantly. This causes the dog to pay attention to you and not all the neat smells, or cats running by, or whatever. There should be no jerking, talking, etc. Just do an about-turn and walk in the opposite direction. Bam, you're instantly in charge and the dog has no choice but to follow you.

 

Reezy, I agree that the the collar corrections are a waste of time and not doing either one of you any good.

[BeezSK]

The pronged collar looked a little too hardcore for me, I find my dog is sensitive to corrections as it is and she'll just give up on training if there are too many corrections. I liked the method that we learned better.

[Miztiki]

The method that you learned last week is good and works on the same principal as the direction change one. The dog gets the opposite result they are hoping to achieve by pulling on the leash. The only difference is that the handler walks backwards instead of turning around first, and the reward is a treat instead of reaching the anticipated destination.

 

But I wanted to address the rest of your post, perhaps for the benefit of others.

 

A prong collar does look scary but if you slip it over your arm or leg and pull to tighten, you'll see that it's not painful at all. Sudden jerks should never be used, and this type of collar should not be used on a dog that will suddenly bolt. It can cause damage in those instances. Mild to moderate pressure is fine though, and can get the attention of dogs who find everything else much more worthy of their time than their handler. I use a small prong on Fynne and a medium on my big Boy. Snug (not loose or tight) is the way to go if anyone uses one, and place it high up on the neck with no other collar to get in the way (you don't want uneven pressure).

 

What I don't understand is, if your dog is sensitive, then why did you describe this scenario?

 

I tried the quick change of direction thing and all that did was make the dog spin around by the neck and then run past me the opposite direction and rip my shoulder apart when she hit the end of the leash again

Done properly, there should be no dogs spinning by their necks. The ripping your arm out of your socket thing I can relate to. Boy did that (that's why I switched him to a prong). But that's not something a sensitive dog would do after a few directional changes.

 

Like I said, the method you described is wonderful, though I would definately phase out the treats ASAP. But prong collars are quite safe and effective when used and worn *properly*. Just an FYI for anyone that might want to jump in on the subject one way or the other.

[diane allen]

OK,here's another option for no-prong, treating till your fingers fall off...

 

"Spoon heeling" - smear a long-handled wooden spoon with something terribly gross, like braunschweiger or liverwurst, or less awful but probably not as appetizing as peanut butter or cream cheese (you can also grind up raw liver in a blender and use that...but maybe not a blender you use for your morning smoothies!). Hold the spoon at the dog's nose level, with his head straight ahead, and walk! Obviously fading this is harder, but it can teach the dog that walking beside you is Well Worth It.

 

My only objection to the "hold a handful of treats and dole them out" method is that dogs end up looking like obedience dogs - walking while looking at the handful, not watching where they're walking, and getting a crook in their necks!

 

Just another $0.02 worth....

[Catu]

When I use a prong I use a leather collar at the same time. I use the prong just to give small touchs to catch the atention of the dog, and then I praise it profusely and keep teaching the "Heel", now to a more atent dog. But if the dog pulls, I use the leather collar, never the prong to restrain it. This way, the dog don't associate the prong with punishment, but to be alert with praise.

[mudthirsty]

I have the same problem with my 7 month old BC. When we go for walks, she pulls way ahead with her nose to the ground. If I stop and turn around, she just continues pulling in the new direction. It seems she doesnt care where she goes, as long as she can pull. I have her in obedience class now, and they are teaching us to take one step at a time, and click and reward for every step you take with your dogs eyes looking at you. Eventually the dog will watch you walking down the street. It seems like a long process tho. Or atleast with my BC.

[Tassie]

I like to mix the 'penalty yards' method BeesSK described, with the stop 'be a tree' - when the dog pulls unacceptably, stand still - no lead movement, and wait for the penny to drop that nothing is happening - then when the dog checks back in with you, slackening the leash - big praise/treat then move on.

 

Another neat thing to do is to 'doodle' - just wander around aimlessly, making regular changes in direction (again no jerking, not even telling the dog anything) and wait for the dog to figure things out - again, big party for 'checking in with you'.

 

These things can work well for loose-leash walking (as opposed to 'heeling' - which I use to mean the formal obedience 'crick in the neck' style.)

 

That said - a head halter can be good in the short term to help the dog keep its nose off the ground, until it learns to pay more attention to the handler.

 

If it's a recreational walk, and you want the dog on leash, I would be taking a light long line as well, so that the dog can have some sniffing time over a larger area. And I would put that on cue, giving the dog a release word like "Go sniff".

 

Oh, and one last thing. Have you considered using a walking belt that the lead attaches to? I love mine - it's really great for walking 2 dogs. The pull, if any comes off the lower part of your back, and is spread across there - but you can still use your hand on the lead of course. I find the dogss can walk on ahead - which is where I like to have them if we're striding out - and my hands are free, so that I can power walk more easily.

[Reezy44]

I want to thank everybody here for their input ... Lileigh just celebrated her 10-month birthday and is becoming more and more obedient/less and less distracted. She and I haven't really "gone for walks" lately since she has gotten through her "rebellious stage" (which lasted about two months!) and has beautifully mastered the "come" command: it's just so much more FUN for BOTH of us now that she runs free and we can play with her "holey roller" ball (which she adores).

 

Guess I really DO need to start working soon on some of the neat suggestions you folks have made. Thanks again.

[mudthirsty]

Hey Reezy.. my BC is 7 months, and I would never imagine taking her off leash, as she just takes off, and gets into everything. We have her in obedience class, and she's doing very well so far. So are you saying that by 10 months my BC will calm down a bit, and start listening to me? I wanna be able to have her off leash without running away.

[Reezy44]

Hi Mudthirsty: There IS hope!!! hahaha ... The 50' clothesline thing really helped me with Lileigh. On the rope she had lots of [what SHE thought was] freedom, yet I had the peace of mind knowing that mom still had control. When we worked on the "come" command, I wouldn't confuse her with PLAY by taking along her holey roller or any other toy during the same trip.