The BIGGEST Mistake People Make When Leash Training A Dog
– Every week in our classes,
we talk to hundreds of people.
And when they ask us
about walking their dogs
and how to take the dogs for the walk,
it turns out, they’re all
making the same mistake.
And it’s probably the biggest
mistake that you make,
when you’re teaching your dog
to walk nicely on a loose leash.
In this video, I’m going to
show you how to take this,
this, and this
to get this.
I’m Steve Walsh.
Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(piano music)
(dog barks)
Now, one of the most common
mistakes is people think that
taking your dog for a walk means
that they have to be
at your left hand side,
in that heel position for
45 minutes or an hour.
In reality, that’s an
unreasonable expectation
for yourself or young dog.
Teaching my dog to walk nicely
is about giving us some
freedoms once they earn them,
reinforcing some of the
skills that they already have,
which is just to hang out with us
and move with us without
pulling on that leash.
You may be wondering why I’m
talking about walking on leash
and my dog is just hanging
out in front of me.
We’re out of the park here.
This is casual time.
This is hangout time with me and my dog,
and this is also going to be time
for him to get a little bit of exercise,
’cause I really want to change the rules
on how you think about walking your dog.
Walking my dog is all about giving him
the freedoms once he earns them,
letting him relax a little bit.
But then when I asked him to come in
and be a little bit more formal,
he understands how to do that.
And that’s how we take our thought process
of walking our dog to teach
them to walk nicely with us.
Now we’re out here in this park,
and there are lots of distractions
for Final to work through.
And one of the biggest things
that I want my dogs know,
right off the bat,
is that their job is to
not pull on the leash.
And when we talk about this,
I don’t care if my dog
is in my left hand side.
He can be anywhere around me,
as long as he doesn’t pull.
Now I’m going to help him
by moving a couple of steps at a time.
And anytime he pauses
with me or stays with me,
I’m going to yes and reward him.
But if he doesn’t and if he pulls,
we got a dog with walking over
here and he’s a little bit
interested in that dog it’s fine.
If that leash goes tight,
I’m certainly going to add some
of those pulses on the leash.
And once he reconnects with me,
I’m going to engage with them
and praise him a little bit more,
let him know he’s on the
right track at that point.
His only job is to not pull on the leash.
And this is sort of the foundation
of teaching my dog to walk nicely with me.
Now one of the most applicable
skills of leash training
or teaching my dog not
to pull on the leash
is simply going down the driveway
and picking up the recycle bins.
If my dog understands that they
shouldn’t pull on the leash,
and they can be anywhere around me,
it makes life a whole lot easier.
Now response to name is a
really, really big tool.
When I’m walking around with my dog,
when he gets distracted by
things, because he’s going to,
I want to be able to say his name
and get them refocused on me.
And I also want to make
sure that if I call his name
and he doesn’t respond,
I’m just going to keep repeating
his name over and over.
I’m going to do something to
ensure that he does respond.
So he’s looking at some geese over here
that are in that ball diamond.
And now he’s getting distracted
by something else now.
That’s great.
I’m just going to say his name
and see what happens. Final.
Yes, good boy.
Excellent, good boy.
So he responded,
I marketed my voice.
Then I backed away.
Now I’m going to get a little
food out to reward him.
Boy, that’s good job.
Now I’ve got him on a fairly
short leash right now.
This is sort of what I walk with him
when I’m in tighter places.
Hey bud, come here.
Once he gets a little
bit more depth to this,
I can give him a little bit more freedom
by putting a long line on him,
but I’m going to make it a little bit
harder for him on the shorter leash.
I’m going to go closer to these geese
and see how the responds to name work.
So I’m going to move with him.
Come bud, okay.
Again, he doesn’t have to be at my left
hand side he simply moving with me.
And I’m just going to pause and
see if he notices those geese.
So he pulled on the leash there.
And I addressed the leash disrespect?
Good boy.
That’s better.
Let be back.
Good job, very nice.
Yeah, good boy.
Come on bud.
(mumbles)
Final, yes, good boy.
Excellent. I can have
a little tug and play.
I can change out my rewards
for him to keep him thinking.
Out.
Excellent job.
Why do we want to change the rules
on how you think about walking your dog?
It’s all about setting
up a clear expectation
for your dog and helping you be consistent
anytime the leash is attached to your dog.
Whether it’s giving
him permission to sniff
or go to the bathroom or
whatever it is they need to do,
or whether we’re asking
him to keep in tight
to our left hand side because
we’re walking on a sidewalk,
or in a busy store or marketplace.
But the consistency is what’s
going to teach your dog
the life skills they need
to navigate all the world around them.
This is about giving them
freedoms by being consistent.
Obviously, he wasn’t getting too terribly
distracted by those geese,
and he was responding really well,
every time I said his name.
So, this to me is an indicator
that I can start to give
him a little more freedom,
a little bit more freedom
further away from me.
So I’m going to switch out his leash here
to a longer line, about a 20 foot line.
And that’s going to allow him to move
a further away from me, be
closer the distractions,
but still gives me
direct connection to him,
to help ensure that he responds
to me every single time.
Take this on.
Now, even though he’s
got a longer line on,
I still expect that he
does not pull on this line.
And anytime that leash goes tight,
kind of I’m not mad at him,
I’m going to add those pulses
like we’ve shown you to
reconnect him with me.
I mean it’s my job to really
be more fun at that point
than the world around him.
So, I’m just going to let this line drive.
I’m going to let him move
out as he is interested,
and we’ll see what happens.
Okay buddy, lets go.
So again, there’s no tension on this line.
I’m making sure that
clip still hangs straight
up and down when he’s moving.
I’m just feeding it
out as he moves before.
Okay, go straight forward.
Go straight forward.
(mumbles)
I’m going to move about.
We going to get closer to these geese,
and see if we can turn up
here to respond out there.
Away bud.
So I’ve given permission to
him to be anywhere around me.
As long as this line doesn’t go tight.
Good boy.
Now, one of the things
you’ll notice he’s doing,
he’s actually checking in with me often,
he’s going a few feet,
and then looking back at me.
Those are great opportunities
to actually reward that.
Say yes to your dog when
they offer that focus
and praise them
for coming up close.
(dog barks)
Good job, when he is a little silly there.
Having a little fun.
He thinks we’re going to play,
Okay bud, let’s keep on going.
Good job, now we’re going to walk.
Now the nice thing about
walking a dog on a long line
is that I can transition
from this casual movement
to have him get inside
my at left hand side,
when I want to.
Final, yes, good boy.
Excellent job, come here, good.
Now as he’s closer to me,
I can take a hold of that
line a little closer to him.
Pretty bud get here, just come.
Yes, good boy.
Good boy.
And he moves into that more fun,
in that more formal position.
So I’m using a little bit more control,
just sometimes, not all the
time, because he’s listening.
He can go away and have a little walk
around the park as well.
Now even though we’re
moving in a relaxed fashion,
even as they come down
this part of the park,
I’m still very conscious of
where he is and what he’s doing.
We’re still training and
this is the thing that
tends to make the biggest
difference in your walking.
I’m conscious of what he’s doing.
I’m using the tools that he knows,
and I’m keeping the same expectation
no matter what we’re doing.
Don’t pull on the leash,
I will help you when you do.
And I’m also going to work the other tools
that we have to keep them focused on me
and keep them interested in me.
Now, even though this is relaxed,
this isn’t moving through the park,
updating all my social
media at the same time.
Here’s a great opportunity
to use one of the tools
that I use to help teach my
dog to not pull on the leash,
which is having them
respond to their name.
Just around the corner in the field,
there’s a whole flock of geese.
I have Final on his long line,
I’m going to give him permission
just to move about with me.
And when he gets interested I those geese,
I’m going to say his name,
in a nice excited fashion.
Of course, when he turns,
I’m going to say yes, I’m
going to throw a party
and let him know he’s done a great job.
Now, I’m not just going
to go up to those geese
and expect him to respond.
I’m going to try and start
further away and again.
Build on success so
then I can move closer.
It’s really important that anytime
there’s a distraction in your dog’s life,
that you teach them to be successful.
Don’t put them in a situation
where the distraction is too
much for them to be successful.
Start far away and then move closer.
Why is your dog having a great
response and aim important
when it comes to taking
your dog for a walk?
Well, when I’m walking along,
when my dog is distracted by something,
if I’m able to call his name,
and get him refocused on me,
it saves me having to,
a, use the leash to get him refocus on me.
It’s teaching him to listen to my voice.
And it’s also teaching
a little bit more value
for him staying closer to me,
checking in from time to time.
That’s why it’s important that
having a strong response name
can really help your
dogs walking on leash.
So the point of all this long line work is
to teach our dogs how to listen to us,
no matter what’s going on around them,
’cause our eventual goal is that
this line is not in my hand.
We’re not even attached to the dog,
but I can still call the dog’s name,
or say come or even just say lie down,
and my dog responds each and every time.
This is about giving them the more freedom
by setting a really clear
expectation right off the bat.
This isn’t about being
overbearing and controlling.
This is about teaching my dog to learn.
This is a great example of a
place where teaching my dog
to walk right on my left hand
side is really important.
This is a busy store with lots of people
and lots of things going on.
So I’m not going to afford her
the freedoms to move anywhere.
I’m going to ask her
to walk nice and tight
to my left hand side.
Now that we’re in a more quiet outdoor,
I can give her permission to
be relaxed and move about me
as I, let’s say, check out
some products on the shelf.
(mumbles)
You can see her only job
is to stay with me and
not to pull on the leash.
Good girl.
Very nice job.
Good, okay.
But let’s say things get a little busy
and somebody comes along,
I’m going to ask you to get in
and use that more formal walking position.
Okay, come, get in.
Let’s go.
Girl, well lets go.
(mumbles)
Good girl.
The next time you take
your dog for a walk,
I want you to think
more about teaching them
to walk instead of just
taking them for a walk.
And if you’re still struggling
with your leash walking,
check out this video right here.
It goes over some of the
five most common mistakes
that people make when teaching a dog
to walk on a loose leash.
On that note, I’m Steve.
This is Final.
Happy Training.
