Loose Leash Walking, Part 3

Loose Leash as a Lifestyle
Dogs that learn to exercise self control and keep the leash loose get more walks, are welcome in more places and have better quality of life. LLW is not hard to teach, but humans are notoriously inconsistent. Sometimes humans are focused and do a good job maintaining the criteria. Sometimes humans get distracted or forget what they are doing and then the dog gets rewarded for pulling on the leash by getting to go where he wants. Sometimes he gets rewarded and sometimes he doesn't, so pulling is on a variable schedule of reinforcement. Behaviors on a variable schedule are the strongest behaviors of all (i.e. the hardest behaviors to change).

If your dog is pulling on the leash - its not his fault. If its not his fault - then it must be yours. When you change what you are doing and are consistent about it, then your dog will learn to walk with a loose leash. So from right this minute, you must commit to the:

NUMBER ONE RULE
Dogs that pull on the leash never get to go in the
direction they are pulling. Never, never, not ever.

There is one other problem that deserves mention. Dogs often get used to the sensation of a tight leash, even though its uncomfortable.  Likewise, humans get used to the feel of a tight leash, even though they don't want to live with a leash-pulling dog. Chances are, if you and the dog are standing still and the leash is tight - its you keeping it tight. So, its important for you to be very aware of whether YOU are the one keeping the leash tight, part of the time or all of the time. If you are, stop that right away.

Now six simple rules to remember about teaching loose leash walking:

1. There is no verbal cue for LLW. The fact that the leash is attached to the collar is the only cue your dog needs. Its his job to keep it loose.  You can teach a verbal cue, but its really not necessary since the presence of the leash attached to the collar is the only cue the dog needs.
2. Dogs that keep the leash loose get to go forward - which dogs instinctively like to do and find rewarding.  You don't have to give your dog food rewards to teach LLW, because being allowed to get going is a natural reward to the dog.  However, having said that, you can certainly give treats for especially good efforts, such as walking politely by a big distraction.  Sometimes treats given randomly for polite walking can make teaching your dog go faster.
3. Dogs that pull in ANY direction, are immediately and firmly moved by the leash in the opposite direction.
4. Dogs on leash are allowed to sniff and investigate stuff as long as they ask for and receive permission first. The owner decides which things are safe and okay to investigate.
5. Dogs that are sniffing, must move with the owner when the owner cues them that sniffing time is up. I use my dog's name to let her know its time to move along.
6. Dogs that don't respond by leaving the thing they are sniffing will be immediately and firmly moved away by the leash.

Some Things to Consider
Its good training to pick a place for your first training sessions where the dog won't be overwhelmed with distractions. I started in my living room, using the hallway and other rooms as places to go as I was moving around. After a couple sessions, I moved outside into my back yard. The front yard has more distracting things to see, so I saved that for later sessions.

Remember, if you must walk in a place that is too distracting for your dog's level of understanding - use a management tool so your dog isn't learning things you don't want and practicing pulling.

If your dog has never moved around on leash before, you should be doing Walking With a Goal - not what I'm describing here.

If your dog is unfit and can't keep up with you, you will need to walk slower and keep your sessions shorter until he builds stamina and can keep up. You don't think its fun to have your dog dragging you down the sidewalk; your dog won't think walking is any fun if YOU are dragging HIM down the sidewalk. So work into this gradually.

Step 1:
Make sure you are using the leash you prepared with the knot in the right place. Before putting the leash on the dog, take a moment to practice how you will hold the leash. Hold the handle of the leash with your right hand. With your left arm hanging comfortably at your side, slip the leash between your middle and ring fingers and gently curl your fingers around the knot.

Step 2:
Remind yourself of the definition of a loose leash. That is, a leash with the snap dangling and pointed toward the floor and the leash having a curve to it. With your left hand gently curled around the knot, if the leash is loose, your left arm hangs comfortably at your side. If the leash is tight, your left arm/hand will be pulled away from your body.

Step 3:
Attach the leash to the dog's collar and wait a moment for the dog to check in (look at you).

Step 4:
When the dog checks in, simply begin walking slowly across your training space. As long as the dog is keeping a loose leash, you can keep moving. From time to time, pause in place and wait for the dog to check in. When she does, walk again. Because you are in a boring place, chances are your dog will mostly move along with you.

If the leash gets tight (your hand is moved away from your side), then you will move in the opposite direction. This is called "opposite walking". Any time the leash is tightened - it should be like a switch turning on your opposite walking motor:

• If your dog pulls forward, you start walking backward.
• If your dog pulls left, you side-step to the right.
• If the dog crosses in front of you and moves to the right, you side-step to the left.
• If your dog lags behind, you continue forward, picking up the pace a little.

Keep in mind the idea is not to give the dog a leash correction, you don't want to jerk on his neck. In the beginning of this training, you can let go of the knot and say your dog's name as you stop before starting to move backward, to keep from jerking on his neck and to help him understand you are changing direction. After awhile your dog will be paying close attention to you and won't need that extra help.

If you are walking in a place where you can't keep going in the direction that opposite walking calls for you to go - you can modify the technique, by taking one step in the opposite direction, then turning a quarter turn and continuing to move until the dog gets back in position.

For example, you are walking down the sidewalk next to a busy street and your dog pulls to the right. Opposite walking would mean you'd need to side step left, which would put you moving into the street and into traffic. So, to stay safe, take one side step left, turn a quarter turn to the left and now continue side stepping to the left until your dog can get back into position. Then you would make a quarter turn to the right and resume walking down the sidewalk.

When the dog gets back into a loose leash position (make sure you aren't the one keeping the leash tight), then you can resume moving in the direction you were going before you started opposite walking. If your dog had pulled to the right, you might have to guide the dog back into the right position by your left leg, until he learns to find it on his own.

Step 5:
Repeat step 4 as much as you need to through out the training session. When your dog realizes he can only move when he's close to you and keeping the leash loose, he will do just that. Gradually make it more difficult by training in more normal environments where there are distractions. Don't make the change too difficult, the key is gradual.

Step 6:
Now that your dog understands the basics, its time to teach him how to tell you he wants to go smell or investigate something. You will wait until he pulls toward something that is safe and okay to snoop. The moment he pulls, you start opposite walking. When your dog gets back into position, start walking more or less toward the interesting thing that first distracted him from his job (or at least walk so you will pass it). You'll want to stop far enough away so he can be successful and because he's used to checking in (looking up at you) whenever you stop, he will probably look up at you. The moment he does, move directly to the spot he wanted to sniff and let him have at it. Let him have some time to investigate it and then say his name and move on.

Watch for opportunities to include sniffing moments in your walk. If you consistently maintain the rules here, your dog will put two and two together and start offering you check-ins when he wants to sniff something. He'll probably look at the interesting thing, then back at you and then at it and then back to you. Dogs can be quite funny in how "obvious" they make asking permission, so watch for it. As long as he's not pulling toward it and its safe to investigate, reward his asking permission by letting him check it out.

Over time you'll develop your own walking style with your dog. You can use cues that tell your dog this won't be one of the things he gets to sniff. I say, "not now" followed by my dog's name. Because I am not a dictator and let my dog snoop when we have time and its safe to do so, she has learned to accept the times I have to say, "not now".

Sit to Say "Please"

Sit seems such a basic behavior, that we often take it for granted. In reality, sit is the very beginning of self-control. Dogs that control their own impulses are a joy to live with, unlike those dogs that were never taught and it becomes the owner's responsibility to maintain control 24-7. Self-control of a dog's natural impulses doesn't come naturally.

When your dog wants a share of your lunch, its his natural inclination to jump on you and try to snatch a bite. When your dog wants your attention, its her natural impulse to jump up, trying to get to your face, probably putting dirty paws on you in the process. When your dog wants to go outside, he thinks its perfectly acceptable to scratch at the door and woodwork until that door opens. When your dog wants inside, he'll do the same thing again. And when you arrive at your destination, your dog sees no reason to wait before making a mad dash to get out of the car, leaving scratches on your leg as she goes. All of these are natural and normal behaviors for a dog; however, they are not much fun to live with.

You can teach your dog to sit on cue quite easily, using capturing or luring. More important is to make sit a "required" behavior to get whatever your dog wants. I don't cue the sit (either verbally or with a hand signal). Instead I stand there and wait for the dog to figure out each time how to get something, so she thinks its always her idea and thus is very motivated to sit.

When I picked up my puppy, we had a long flight ahead of us, so I ate a light lunch of crackers and cheese before the long drive to the airport. My puppy repeatedly stood up with her paws on my leg begging for her share. I pretended to ignore her, but in reality 90% of my attention was on her. After several minutes of begging, she happened to lose her balance and fall back into a sit. I instantly popped a piece of cheese in her mouth and she ran off to enjoy her treasure. Minutes later she was back, wanting more. Again, her paws came up on my leg and I waited. In less than 30 seconds she sat again, this time tentatively, but on purpose. Again cheese appeared in her mouth and thus was born, the default sit.

Before we left on the first flight of our trip, Gimme had discovered that sit worked to get her all kinds of things besides cheese. She learned to sit when she wanted attention, when she wanted to be picked up, when she wanted me to pet her, and when she wanted strangers to pet her. By sitting instead of doing what came naturally, Gimme was already learning self-control and was on the way to becoming a pleasure to live with.

In the first couple of weeks, she learned to offer a sit to go outside, come inside, get treats, get meals, get out of a crate, get out of the car, have a ball/toy thrown, initiate training - really everything. Over time, I adjusted the length of time that she had to remain in a sit, to increase her self control. Then when I thought she was ready to learn a formal stay, it was very easy. It only took only one gentle reminder for her to understand what I wanted, because she'd already been practicing an easier version in her self control exercises.

Gimme here: I have to tell you, humans have a real weakness for a dog that sits and looks pretty. I can get my person to do almost anything when I sit and cock my head to one side. I think it’s the best thing I ever taught her. Its been very useful.

I have to warn you that there are times to ask for that default sit and times not to. For instance, it would be foolish to wait for a default sit first thing in the morning when your puppy or young dog probably has an urgent need to potty.

See separate entries on how to teach your dog to sit on cue and about other impulse control exercises to teach your dog.

Leave It

If you haven't already, teach your dog Doggy Zen before proceeding with Leave It.   You may want to wait until you have taught the other self-control exercises listed in Teaching Self-Control and especially the Mine vs. Yours game.  If you are ready to proceed with Leave It...

• Just as you did in Doggy Zen, present your hand to the dog with a treat in it.  Lower your hand toward the floor, and in several different directions. Repeat the sequence you used in Doggy Zen (closed fist, open palm, increasing time and waiting for a release), and then move to another room, outside--wherever you can.
• Dogs must learn to "generalize" the behavior. Just because he knows how to "leave it" in the kitchen facing north does not mean he will understand to do it in the bedroom facing east. So you back up a few steps, re-teach the behavior in each new environment, setting up for success. This usually only takes a couple of clicks to get the brain in gear in a new environment.
• You will be adding the cue "leave it", said in a neutral voice.  Don't yell the cue, just say it calmly as if you expect your dog to do it.  Say it nicely, just as you might say, "Thank you". If you yell the cue, you are adding an additional stress factor and actually making it harder for your dog to do as you've cued.  Say it in a neutral tone, only giving him information so that he can make a choice.
• After you have worked through all the positions and locations, you are ready to take it to another level.  Sitting right in front of your dog, put a treat on the floor, but leave your hand near the treat.  You must be ready to put your palm over the treat. Most chow hounds think "free meal" and dive in, but you don't want your dog to get the treat because it becomes a very strong "variable" reinforcement.
• Make sure that you have a better treat to give your dog - something incredible like bits of steak or something equally tantalizing, and one pile of so-so treats, like kibl. We are teaching that turning down food, dead animals, or whatever, will cause you to give something GREAT!
• When your dog is effectively ignoring treats on the floor, you start saying the cue words "leave it" and give treats from your great stash.
• You will want to up the ante and walk your dog by the treats (first on leash, later off leash), and say "leave it" before you get to the treats on the floor. Be careful: do not tighten up on the leash involuntarily and make 'leave it' a punisher. The dog needs to make a choice, and make the choice you want him to make. He will, if the reinforcement is strong enough.
• Practice this in all kinds of settings and with all kinds of distractions, making sure your dog always succeeds (i.e. no variable reinforcements for diving on food or distractions) and that your reinforcement is always better.

Gimme here: When we are training, my person leaves a bowl of scrumptious treats on a chair or the end table and sometimes on the floor.  I could get to them before she could stop me, but I know I'm not supposed to help myself.  I get lots of treats for playing training games with my person and I like doing that.  She's very generous when I do well.  Sometimes I even get treats just because I'm so cute.  Which you can clearly see is very cute indeed. 

• Practice doing this with food on the floor while you are training and teach your dog to ignore the food while you heel by or give various cues, such as sit. If you have no formal competition desires, you can then release your dog to clean up the food or the floor with "yours", otherwise you should clean it up yourself.  Cleaning up makes a great "job" for an older, retired dog.
• Remember the reinforcement you use could be a rousing game of fetch or tug as a reward, or any other things your dog really loves, once the concept is learned. Therefore, it doesn't always have to be just food. We use food in the initial training because it is convenient -- it's not the only reinforcer available to you.

Doggy Zen

The first part of this exercise is named "Doggie-Zen" because in order to get the treat, your dog must give up the treat. Remember "You have to give it up to get it, Grasshopper". This will eventually turn into a reliable "Leave It" for those times that your dog finds something less than desirable that you want him/her to drop and leave behind, such as questionable food, dead animals, etc.

• Present a smelly treat to your dog in your CLOSED fist. Be prepared to WAIT, and let your dog figure this out. Your dog will sniff, lick, and maybe even paw at or nibble on your hand – from your dog's point of view, you obviously need to open that hand! What’s wrong with you?
• If your dog is very persistent, you may need to take your hand away.  So, if your hand is "mugged" or your dog is lunging/leaping toward your hand (or otherwise hurting you), calmly pull your hand up well out of reach, and wait.  Don't jerk your hand away, that only encourages your dog to leap for it.  Make no eye contact, don't say anything -- no scolding, no nothing. Just ignore your dog until the unwanted behavior stops. Then bring the hand back in front of your dog.
• Watch closely, because you want to click the instant your dog backs off or looks away from the treats. At that moment, click and give your dog the treat. At first, the slightest glance away should earn a click and a treat. Gradually raise the criteria and wait for longer and more obvious glances away.
• As your dog gets better at resisting his impulses, you make the game harder and then teach your dog to give up a treat in your open palm. The idea is that your dog learns to wait for a cue that they can have the treat before taking it. Gradually increase the difficulty by opening your hand and increasing the time your dog must wait before taking the treat. If he dives for it, simply close your fist around the treat again.
• Once your dog is reliably waiting for the release cue, move on to "leave it" training.

Teaching Self-control

Teaching our dogs self-control in the face of distractions and food is important. It makes living with dogs easier, teaches them to resist their impulses and is an important part of the growing up process. It also teaches them to be gentle in the way they take treats and can keep the dog from being accused of biting someone, when they are really just trying to steal a sandwich. Self-control around food can even protect your dog from accidental or intentional poisoning.

We also want to teach our dogs a specific "leave it" exercise to really cement the idea that not all food is theirs for the grabbing. This exercise flies in the face of your dog's natural heritage as the consummate scavenger.

Gimme here:  When we were walking in the woods, I found a dead bird and ate it.  That worried my person because the bird could have been poisoned and I might have gotten sick.  So to keep me safe, my person taught me "leave it".  

Months later we had a chance to see just how well I had learned the lesson.  We were walking in the woods and I found a really cool dead animal and I wanted to eat it too, but my person said, "Gimme, leave it" and kept on walking.  So I dropped it and ran after her.  She gave me a LOT of good treats, almost all the treats she had with her I think.  They were really yummy.  When we came back by the dead thing, I only glanced at it and then pranced along with my person and got even more treats.  Being smart is a good thing.  I'm just saying.

Dogs teach self-control between each other very quickly. You'll start teaching self-control during the proofing part of the eye contact game. Make sure you use food in proofing so your dog learns to maintain or re-commit to eye contact in the face of food distraction. This same process of proofing is added to recall, sits, downs and loose leash walking.

There are many exercises that you can teach your dog to help them learn self control and many of them will also make your dog safer. Some ideas include:

• waiting for a release to eat meals after you set the dish down (starting by the dog showing calm self-control as you put food in the dish while its on the counter… and gradually requiring the same calm self-control as you set the dish down on the floor)

• waiting for release to go through any door (house door, crate door or car door) whether coming or going

• "mine" vs. "yours" game

Eye Contact Game 102

How to Play the Eye Contact Game
Begin training in an place free of distraction, such as a bedroom or living room. Put a short leash on your dog or hold the leash so there is only a small amount of slack, but not tight. Have 10-15 treats in each hand and a container nearby with hundreds of treats readily available.

Gimme here:  I was such a busy and wild puppy that my person first taught me this game when I was in my crate so she didn't have to worry about tangling me in the leash.  After that we played it in the bathroom, living room and kitchen.  We've done it in the back yard, front yard and on the sidewalk.  We play this on our walks in the woods, in the car and in grocery store parking lots.  Its really cool to have a great game that you can take anywhere.  I really love playing learning games with my person.

Before starting the game, stand in a loose, relaxed posture, one foot out and shoulders slack. To start the game turn to face your dog, stand up straight with hands to your sides (fingers closed around the treats) and feet together while looking at your dog’s face.

When your dog glances at your face, say "yes" and give her a treat. If she does not look to your face in twenty seconds, then you may have to shape this in the beginning.

You might shape in small increments, such as "yes"/treat if she turns her face more toward you or looks at any part of your body (except your hands). Watch for behaviors that are closer and closer to what you want and "yes"/treat those until you get to the behavior you want. 

Shape from a look/glance at your face to a point where the dog is truly focusing on you with intent eye contact.

When your dog indicates it KNOWS the eye contact game by immediately giving you focused eye contact upon seeing your "on switch" posture, start to wait a little longer before saying "yes" to gradually lengthen the time of the eye contact. When you get to 30 seconds, start adding distractions, but expect a shorter duration initially.
　
Introducing Distractions
Decide in advance which distraction you will introduce and how you can do it in a gradual and careful way so your dog can succeed.

For example, your dog has learned to look at your face even though you have food in both hands and even though your hands are closer to him than your face. In preparation for teaching him to not dive on food, start by moving the food hands closer to his head and "yes"/treat when she is able to look away from the food hands to give you eye contact. In the beginning to make this easier for your dog, you might need to hold the food hands up and farther away from the dog’s face.

If your dog tries to sniff a food hand, then move that hand out of range (move it at medium speed, and not enticingly). When he stops sniffing it, carefully move it back toward him and be sure to catch a moment when you can "yes"/treat for eye contact. Moving the hand away interrupts the unwanted behavior and tells your dog that sniffing the hand is not an available option and will not earn a "yes"/treat.

Part of incrementing this distraction for the dog might be moving the hands in an enticing way, but from far enough away so the dog can resist the distraction. Other possibilities might be having your food hand peeking out from behind your body, waving the food hand overhead, moving the food hand to your lips and making munching noises.

Taking It On The Road
For most behaviors you'll wait until it is well established before taking it on the road, but you'll begin taking the eye contact game on the road very early in training. This teaches your dog that the game does not just apply at home, in the yard and at the training location. You want your dog to understand that all the things you teach him apply just as much in strange locations as they do in familiar settings.

To begin, take your dog with you in the car when you have errands to run (of course being aware of safety for your dog) or on planned training trips. At each stop, get the dog out of the car and play the eye contact game for 2 minutes. In the beginning it will be enough for your dog to give you any eye contact in a strange setting and you may even have to increment just like you did in first teaching the game. If your dog has difficulty giving you eye contact, you can do some things to make it easier and gradually introduce the road trip concept, such as:

          ·  You could leave your dog in the car while you do your errand,
           so she has a chance to look around at the environment before
           you start the game.
          ·  You can park at the far end of the parking lot and play the game
           standing right next to your car.
          ·  You can go to settings that are not especially interesting from a
           dog’s point of view.
          ·  You can play the game in the car.
          ·  You can stop every block and play the game while walking your
           regular route.

Distractions To Work Your Dog Through
The following is a laundry list of things that you can work through. Be creative and add to the list. It doesn’t matter if the things you teach seem "relevant" to dog training, since every distraction the dog overcomes teaches them how to resist distraction and makes them better and better at giving you their full attention. The only rules are:

Distractions must be presented in a gradual manner so that your dog can succeed.

Your dog must be having fun. If you want to work on something that your dog has shown fear or anxiety toward, you should discuss this with a dog training instructor (who only uses reward based training) to get assistance in desensitizing the fear and/or setting up things to be fair to your dog.

You must give your dog the same level of attention that you expect in return. If something happens that is distracting you from training, then end the session.

Remember: you are looking for an attitude from your dog that says, "You can’t fool me."

food in your hands near the dog’s face food on the ground
food dropped at your dog’s feet 
someone tossing food near yousomeone offering/teasing with foodanother dog eating food at your dog’s feet
poop or dead animals on the ground
cats and other small animals
farm animals, people riding horses
other dogs walking by
other dogs running by
other dogs running agility 
other dogs playing
children playing
people walking by from all directions
people running by from all directions
tennis ball bounced near the dog
enticing settings - woods or fast food place
people eating
someone (not family members) saying the dog’s name
someone saying your release word
someone riding a bicycle past you
you looking away
you swaying from side to side
you stepping from side to side
you high stepping
you running in place
you moving your feet very near your dog
you stepping over your dog
you gently bumping your dog with your foot or leg
you leaning over your dog
you kneeling
you sitting on the ground
you sitting in a chair
you turning around (pivoting) in place
you taking several steps in any direction
you talking to another person
you singing
cars driving by
in your yard while neighbors run power equipment/lawn mower
in your yard with mad crows cawing at you
at your vet’s office in the waiting room
food tossed from your hands on the ground

Eye Contact Game 101

Why Teach Your Dog The Eye Contact Game
Teaching your dog the eye contact game has three main benefits that help your dog to "grow up" and become the life companion you desire:

1. increasing your dog’s attention span as it relates to paying attention to you (dogs already have enough attention for things they want to do),
2. teaching your dog to overcome distraction, and
3. teaching impulse control.

The Basics
The eye contact game is taught by carefully increasing difficulty. You want to use rewards so your dog succeeds and succeeds often. The goal is for your dog to give you extended eye contact even near distraction. If you see signs your dog doesn’t want to play, you have either not made the game rewarding enough or have made a jump in difficulty that is too big for your dog.

A correct response on the part of the dog is "marked" with a verbal signal. I suggest "yes" as a substitute for a clicker. It should be different from the "yessss" you use as a keep going signal (KGS). Do not use a clicker because it tells the dog they have earned a treat and can now stop. We do not want to tell the dog to stop after each yes/treat.

There is no verbal cue to start the game. You will use a formal posture that tells your dog the game is afoot; the posture is your "on switch". You are always the one to start and stop the game. The cue to end the game is "okay" or any other release word you choose. Be sure you always have more treats in your hands when you end the game.

There is no cue to the dog that says, "you made a mistake", rather you wait out his mistake and then mark and reward a correct behavior. If the dog turns his total focus away from you toward a distraction, use your leash to firmly move your dog several steps away from the distraction. You might do this several times until you are far enough from the distraction for the dog to return his focus to the game.

This moving away from the distraction is done firmly and quickly enough so that your dog knows they are following you, but not so fast that your dog gets a leash pop. The idea is to interrupt the loss of focus, not punish it. We are not making the dog pay attention to us with force or to avoid a correction, but rather teaching him a fun game that becomes compelling on its own.

If the dog is unable to work through a distraction or if you are unable to move far enough away, end the game (saying "okay") and allow the dog the freedom to look at the distraction or leave the area. Typical things the dog may not be able to look away from are things that are scary or highly arousing. You still want to work on these, but do it on your own terms in a planned training session for that issue.

Some things that are especially hard for your dog may have to be worked over and over again, maybe in every few sessions for all the time for life.

Gimme here: I love food, all food. It seems to me that food on the ground should be mine to take, but my person doesn't want me to. She says it could be bad for me and so we play a special game. If I ignore the food on the ground and look really intently at my person, I can hypnotize her into giving me the good food that she has in her pockets. I love this game a lot.

In most cases the first goal is to get a duration of about 30 seconds and then add distraction. However, some dogs get bored easily and duration isn't challenging enough to keep them in the game. For those dogs, as soon as you have 5 seconds duration, start adding distraction right away.

Distractions are introduced gradually so your dog can succeed and gain confidence. Never use "traditional" proofing that sets the dog up to fail so you can get in a "good correction". Just as in teaching children, we increase the difficulty of their work as they demonstrate they are ready for it, so that they are able to succeed, challenged with new stuff and never bored.