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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Lynne has been training dogs since 1985. She has worked as head trainer for two facilities, a studio trainer (print ads, commercials and television) and as a continuing ed and certification rep for what was then the largest dog training company in the US. Lynne is a member of the IACP and keeps her training techniques current by attending various seminars and reading books. She currently competes in the sport of schutzhund, has a registered therapy dog, and has started her young Papillion in agility. Lynne owns and runs Blazing Trails K9 Academy in Santa Clarita/Antelope valley California.
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[Edit]
11/14/2005
My 2 yr old lab has begun stopping and sitting during walks on the leash. If you turn around and go the other way he usually get up and goes with. When off the leash he follows and obeys commands perfectly. He has had hip surgery, but this began before that. He has been in training since he was 49 days old and responds to commands when hunting birds and traveling in pastures, etc. I realize that he is training me but how do I get him up and moving so I can reward him? Thanks in advance. Rebecca (rmckamy, Texas)
It's good that you recognize that the dog is training
you in this instance. One main rule of thumb to
remember when dealing with dogs is "dogs do what
works!" If it works for your dog to stop and sit
during a walk because he gets his way, then he will
continue to repeat that behavior. Almost always, when
a behavior creeps into our dogs repertoire, it is
there because let's face it...it works for the dog.
So in order to stop a behavior like this from
happening, we have to make it so that the behavior
does not earn the dog the reward of getting what he
wants. What you're describing is a dog that does not
want to go for his walk, but instead wants to control
the pace and direction of the walk (a leaders job in
the pack). When the dog stops and sits, and you stop
with him, you are allowing him to dictate your
actions. You doubly reinforce it by turning and going
the other way with him.
Ideally you would first make sure that this is not
related to the dogs health. If he's really out of
shape and you're pushing him to walk 10 miles a day,
then of course he wants to go home. Short of this, I'd
make sure his hips aren't bothering him but since you
mentioned this was going on before the hip problem,
I'm assuming the dog is in good health.
Once you've ruled out any health concerns, stop
reinforcing the behavior. Whatever you do, DON'T stop
an
d go with the dog. Instead, keep going. Give slight
tugs on the leash (not dragging, but slight little
tugs) and keep going. Don't stop. If he flops down,
continue slight tugging and keep going. He will learn
he'd best stay on his feet and remain moving with you
if he wants to remain comfortable. And because dogs do
what works, he'll learn it fairly quickly. Flopping on
walks only gets him tugs on the collar and it DOESNT
earn him what he wants (which is to control the walk).
The reason I'm suggesting tugs is because of the
opposition reflex in dogs. If I pushed you, you would
more then likely not just fall over easily but would
counterbalance in order to stay on your feet. Dogs do
the same thing. Dragging on the leash only leads a dog
to counterbalance. When the dog counterbalances, he
locks up and it becomes a battle of brawn. The
pulsating tugs on the leash helps resolve this. When
you give a tug and release he counterbalances and then
goes back to a normal position before you can tug
again. Then he counterbalances again and goes back to
normal. When he goes back to normal he begins to
counterbalance the other way which is TOWARDS you. So
it's important that you don't attempt DRAGGING him
with steady pressure on the leash, but use a "tug and
release" type motion and KEEP MOVING.
Some people try to bribe the dog with food when he
freezes. The problem with doing this is that the dog
learns that if he freezes, food will come out. Then
all he has to do is walk and he gets a tidbit. It's a
better idea to have a reward and use it AFTER the dog
is walking correctly. Tug and release repeatedly, and
when the dog comes into proper position, praise
verbally. THEN and only after the dog is in correct
position you can reward with food or a toy.
And don't feel bad, I see this behavior nearly every
day from one dog or another. When you make it stop
working for the dog, it goes away quickly.
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