Loose Leash Walking Training – Professional Dog Training Tips
– [Host] In this video,
I’m going to show you
how to teach your dog,
Slam sit,
to walk calmly on a loose leash
even around tough
distractions, like other dogs.
I’m Ken Steepe and welcome
back to McCann Dogs.
(guitar music)
(dog barking)
– The two thing that are really important
when it comes to training any dog
are clarity (pop) and consistency (pop).
So to make it really clear to Rad
what my expectation is for
him to walk on a loose leash,
I need to make sure that
the clip of his leash
is hanging down.
(ding)
That really shows that there
is no tension on his leash.
This is the only time
that I’ll reward him.
I’ll never reward him when that clip is up
or that leash is tight
because I don’t want to
create any confusion for him.
So that it’s really apparent
that when he’s on a loose leash
is when he’s being rewarded.
So that little hack is a good
one for you to keep in mind.
Pay attention to the clip of the leash.
And only reward your dog when
that clip is hanging down.
Now another trick that you can use
is using a barrier to keep
your dog in at your side.
For those dogs that love to swing out
or maybe they lurch out
to the end of their leash away from you,
pick a barrier.
It could be a hallway in your house.
Or maybe it’s an exterior wall
or maybe you set up a
bunch of chairs in a row
so that your dog has to stay in
a little bit closer to you.
For those of you with the smaller dogs,
this is really going
to create a clear line.
A clear path for them to
maintain that position.
For those of you guys
with the bigger dogs,
this is going to be a lot easier
because it’s easier for you
to maintain their position.
Now I’ve chose Hippy Shake
to make it more challenging for me
and to give you a better example
of how well this can work.
So to set ourselves up for this exercise,
I’ve got a few treats already in my hand.
And I’ve counted the treats.
So I’ve got three treats.
As I’m walking along this wall,
I’m gonna reward Hippy twice
and save that last treat.
With that last treat I’m
actually gonna lure Hippy
into a sitting position.
So at no time am I rewarding
her for being out of position.
And I’m also not allowing
her to make a choice
to charge ahead of me
when I run out of treats.
I’m making it really
clear that when I ask her
to let’s go, (pop)
which is going to be our heeling term,
that it means stay in at my
side until I release you.
Ready to give this a try?
Let’s go.
Good girl.
See I’m really careful about
where I’m rewarding her,
making sure she’s on all fours,
and with my last treat,
I’ll place her into a sit,
I’ll wait ’til she puts a paw down.
Good girl, yes, good girl.
You see I kind of waited
her out a little bit.
I wanted to make sure that she understood
that she was only going to be rewarded
with all four feet on the floor.
Now, once you’ve had some
success with your dog
walking against that barrier,
you can up the challenge
for them a little bit.
I have laid down some jump bars,
but at home you could
use a couple of leashes,
or maybe it’s a chalk
line on the driveway,
or a piece of rope or whatever.
The reality here is that
this definitive line
is going to help you see that position
as much as it is for your dog.
So, once you’ve had some success
with some barrier walking,
you can give this a try,
with a little line on the floor.
So we’re going to practice
this the exact same way
as the last time.
I have three treats in my hand.
Now if you’re using four or five treats,
if your dog’s being more successful,
whatever the number is
it doesn’t really matter,
but just keep in mind, when
you’re walking with your dog,
when you’re working on this
maintaining position at your side,
save the last treat for that
beautiful sit in at your side.
Let’s give this a try.
Okay, let’s go.
I’ll reward her in at my side, two treats.
I’ve got my last treat ready.
I’m going to lure her into a sit.
Wait ’til all four are on the floor, yes.
Good girl.
She did a really nice job moving into
that sitting position.
Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy
when it comes to teaching
our dogs to walk calmly
on a loose leash.
If your dog really wants to go somewhere,
for example, Rad really wants to go over
to the agility arena,
which is something that we do every night,
and I…
Easy buddy, easy buddy.
Stop pulling, stop pulling, easy.
Then once I get over to the arena,
the first thing I do is take him off leash
so that he can play some agility,
then you’re not being very clear
about your expectations for your dog.
But identify this as a
training opportunity,
so if you have a dog that
loves to walk up to the park,
and then they get to play
once they’re up there,
maybe you walk up toward
the park for 25 feet,
and once they start pulling,
you turn 180 degrees
around and reward your dog
for walking away from the
park on a loose leash.
It’s really important that you’re not
accidentally rewarding
them for the behavior
that you’re trying so
desperately to get rid of.
Now one of the toughest
challenges you may face
is another dog or another person
when you’re on your walks,
and trying to get your dog to
walk calmly on a loose leash.
Now, the key here is
to be proactive, (ding)
rather than reactive (buzzer),
rather than waiting to see
what your dog does when
you encounter those people
or that other dog, you
need to be proactive.
Give them something to
pay attention to you for.
I’m going to reward Slim in this exercise.
We’re going to get Kell and Funky
just to sit off to the side.
And I’m going to reward
Slim copiously as we pass by
that tough distraction and
eventually we’re going to
work our way up to a point
where we’re walking dog to dog.
We’re passing one another and
Slam has built enough value
in paying attention to me
when we go past those tough
distractions that he only
wants to pay attention to me.
So you’re gonna’ get your
spouse, or your friend,
or maybe it’s a neighbor
with a dog and this is how
you’re going to practice this exercise.
Get them to stand still with their dog.
It’s a little bit less distracting,
if your dog really loves to meet and greet
other people and other dogs.
But as we pass by them and
as you pass by that tough distraction,
feed your dog.
Let’s go Slam.
And really keep them focused on you.
Good, let’s go, good boy.
We’re making it a lot less
interesting to check out
those other dogs and
those other distractions
as we walk by
by being proactive, by
giving Slam something,
so that he pays attention to us
rather than that distraction.
(upbeat music)
So the next way we’re
going to challenge our dogs
is by walking them by one another.
But you can see we’ve got the
dogs on the outside of us.
We’re going to make it a little bit easier
and a little bit more likely for them
to be successful by keeping
them on the outside as we pass.
So let’s give this a try.
Let’s go, good boy, let’s go.
Good, good job, buddy, sit.
It just lessens that
distraction a little bit.
But it adds a little bit of
challenge to the exercise.
And finally we’re going to
try it walking dog to dog.
Now this is going to be really tough
for some of your dogs at home.
So make sure you pull out
those really valuable rewards,
and you really are proactive
about rewarding them
before they get next to
that dog that’s passing.
Ready to give it a try, Slam?
Let’s go.
Lots of rewards, especially
as Funky passes by,
keep Slam’s attention directly on me.
Good boy.
And we’ll stop with a sit.
Now if you have a dog who is
just completely beside himself
as these tough distractions go by
and they’re not even paying
attention to the food,
then often working them
in a stationary position
can be really helpful.
You need to find a distance
that you can be successful.
Here Slam, get in.
As that tough distraction goes by.
This is a great exercise to teach your dog
a little bit of emotional control.
Now if you’re looking for more training
for your specific dog in
your specific situation,
then we actually have an
online dog training program
called “My Dog Can” (ding).
And I’ll post a link to
that “My Dog Can” program
in the description below.
Now if this is your
first time on the channel
and you consider your dog
a member of the family,
then make sure you hit
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We publish new videos every single week
to help you have a well behaved
four legged family member.
You see that video beside us?
That’s actually a video
that YouTube thinks
you’re gonna’ want to watch
next from our channel.
On that note, I’m Ken.
This is Grand Slam.
Happy training.
Bye for now.
(pop techno music)
