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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Simon has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Psychology and specialized in Canine Behaviour. He was recently the first New Zealander approved for membership to the IAABC, and he is also a member of APDT Australia. Simon founded Dog Guru in 2002. Dog Guru has helped hundreds of dogs and their owners with training and specialist problems, and is also a dog trainer for the ministry of Education. Simon lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Michelle and two golden retrievers. Sherlock is often used as a demonstration dog in schools and retirement villages. He was also used as a demo dog in the Auckland pet expo in 2004. Training is always using positive reinforcement.
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[Edit]
1/26/2006
I have a beagle/lab mix age 1 month years we have been trying to train
to
walk on a leash not run, she pulls and tugs instead of walking. We
stop
when she pulls but to no avail. She is also escaping out of her collar
and
running the neighborhood. How can we fix this problem? My children
want to
walk her but she just pulls them. (W.I.Boskat, Mi)
Sounds like a typical problem that we see with many dogs, just trying to
contain them in and have them walk nicely beside us.
There are two options, both of which need to be incorporated.
- You say you are stopping when he pulls. This is a good idea but one
that needs work. In order for it to be effective you stop as soon as he
is pulling. Not a few seconds later. When you stop say "easy" and just
wait. I have to be honest and say that this can take up to a minute.
Keep saying easy and hold your ground. After a little while your dog
will turn around and see what is going on. As soon as he is slack, start
walking again. Over time the dog will go to the end of the lead and have
it tight but you should be able to hold the dog with one finger. This is
how tight it should be. To see how it is going I recommend to people to
go for the usual walk and over a stretch of 200m or so count each day,
the same spot how many times you have to say easy. Over a few weeks it
should become less, to the point of saying it maybe once or twice on the
walk. The trick with this command is never give up. You may look silly
stopping all the time, but it does work. Bear in mind he has been
pulling for a year and doesn't know any better. Remain calm, don't
stress out, and bear with it.
- Teach him the heel command. This is useful to teach him to walk
beside you. This should only be used a couple of times on the walk, as
it is a bit boring otherwise.
Hope this helps.
Simon Goodall is now a member of IAABC (International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants). This means the information you receive is the most up to date.
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