Walking Basics Part 1

Does this look familiar?  Does your dog’s idea of a walk include pulling you down the street and your shoulder out of socket?  Do you feel like you get more of an upper body workout walking your dog than being in a gym?

One of the most common problems that I see is leash walking issues.    There are several smaller parts of the bigger picture that work together to make things more confusing to figure out how to get your dog to settle down and pay attention to you on your walk instead of dragging you from distraction to distraction.

So lets break this down into the 3 basic problems areas:

1. Nature
2. Equipment
3. Tricks of the Trade

You might look at that list and think, what does nature have to do with how my dog walking on a leash? Well the answer is…  everything.  Dogs have what is called an Opposition Reflex.  

An Opposition what you ask?  Have you never noticed when you pull one way your dog pulls another?  The Opposition Reflex is an instinct that dogs have that cause them to do this.  When something pulls or pushes on them they pull or push the opposite way.  This is a great tool to use for teaching dogs to pull sleds however it’s not so great for teaching loose leash walking.

The other part of the Nature is life’s variable reinforcement schedule.  If you have ever taken a class or worked privately with a trainer you will have hear the trainer talk about starting to change up when your dog gets a treat for the behavior.   Life has a way of doing this with leash pulling.  When we allow our dogs to pull on the leash they learn that if they keep pulling they get to go where they want.  So in their minds, it worked last time so it might work this time, or next time or the time after that, so this thought process makes them keep pulling.

It's on a daily basis that I see someone getting pulled across the street or parking lot, or park by their dogs.  The look of utter frustration on their face as they yank on the leash and yell at their dog to come back to them.  If these people would listen to me, I would tell them one piece of advice; If your dog's leash is pulled tight...  Stop walking!!!  It's really that simple.  How can it be that simple you ask?  Well think about it from the dogs point of view.  Dogs are opportunistic, simply put - if it works, they will do it. 

You take your dog outside and from the first step outside the door, your dog is at the end of the leash right?  Well what do you do?  Do you keep walking and let him go where he wants?  Dogs don't really understand the words we say to them, when you are yelling at your dog to come back, think about Charlie Brown.  Remember what the grown ups on Charlie Brown sound like?  wonk, wonk wonk...  That's what our dogs hear from us until we teach them to associate a behavior with a word. 

Dogs don't understand the difference in "good puppy, yes good dog" and "stop that right now, get back here"  To them it all sounds the same...  Wonk, Wonk, Wonk...  ohh, I must be doing something right because mom is giving me attention and I'm almost there, if I pull a little harder maybe she will walk faster...

Many parents will say...  "My dog knows better than to pull me..." but again, if you are walking with your dog and his leash it tight he has learned that pulling you is how he gets where he is going.  How does that prove that he "knows" not to pull you?  

"But I don't have time for that, we have to get from the house to the car or I will be late for..."  Another trainer that I have worked with used to have a motto...  "Consistency is the key to successful dog training"  If you decide to try and work with your dog on loose leash walking, you have to do it EVERY time the leash is on.  If you are running late for work and you let the dog pull you out to the car, but then when you get home for work you try to train him, you are not going to get any results.  This is because you have allowed him to pull you sometimes, but not others.  You are teaching him that it works sometimes, so he will keep trying to find out when it works.  I have spent the better part an hour teaching a class with loose leash walking being the main focus and then watch the person let the dog pull them all the way out to the car.  

Dog training is something that has to be put to use every day....  not just when you feel like it.

Keep an eye out for Part 2!!!