Teaching Your Doggo to Walk Near You
On the surface loose leash walking seems like both a simple behavior and one which we should be able to easily put on cue. However here lies the problem. My friend who trains service dogs will attest that loose leash walking is one of the more challenging skills for a service dog to master and takes consistency and clear communication to teach.
Since we can’t tell our pooch in words what we want them to do, historically this has meant telling our pooch “no” often with a yank of the leash or an about face maneuver whenever the dog hit the end of the leash. Here’s the problem: saying no or a yank yank on the leash is meant to act as a punisher ie telling the pooch don't pull the leash. According to principles of learning for a punisher to be effective it must be swift (ie consequence immediately like a second after the behavior you want to stop) and the consequence must be strong enough to make the learner not want to do the behavior (ie to avoid the consequence). Generally speaking a no or yank won't meet that criteria unless you really womp on the leash and most pet parents I know don't want to hurt their dog. What ensues is a lot of frustrating nos, tugs etc and you really haven't communicated to your pooch what the desired behavior is – when I say “With Me”, this cue means an invisible bubble goes around us and you walk with me close inside this bubble.
Whenever possible I try to focus on the behavior I want my pooch to perform rather than unload a bunch of no don't do this, don't do that. The latter can be exhausting and frustrating at best or even damaging to the relationship you want with your pooch.
It will take small, consistent steps to teach your pooch about the bubble. Here we go:
In a quiet, distraction free spot, start by placing a treat at your side, slightly behind you on the ground (sweet spot); let your dog wander off then repeat; at some point your dog starts to hang out or readily come stand by this sweet spot; treating behind you is meant to position your dog by your side and maybe even a tad behind as we are trying to avoid them standing in front of you with this positioning; keep training sessions short like 1-2 mins
Once doggo starts to recognize to line up by your side, wait for them to get into position then take 1 step forward and place another in sweet spot; repeat; the goal here is to have your dog follow your step then treat
When doggo readily comes to your side and takes a step forward with you, add a cue like “With Me”, say cue>take a step>if dog follows then treat **
Then slowly start adding one more step; same criteria don't add another step unless your dog is readily keeping up with you as slowly define what it means to be walking together in the invisible bubble
Next add different directions ie one step backward or to a side
Next add minor distractions
Technically “With Me” is a key skill for walking together but you could teach some other auxiliary skill like:
Let's Go means we are going to get going so you are not simply pulling the leash to communicate off we go
Stop or Wait means to pause
This Way means to change direction or turn without using the leash to direct or body pressure to move them.
Lastly, a reminder that a leash is a tool to keep your dog safe, not a communication device. The same goes for a harness or a flat collar. I'm sure there are other cues you could teach so your dog better understands what you are wanting them to do while out walking but that's a start -:)
Cheers, Tracy
** I love using a Marker to more efficiently communicate with my dog learner, see here. In this instance you would cue With Me > take your step forward > Mark when the dog moves forward with your single step > treat.
