# Leash Control/Check in



## AlexinBK (Dec 11, 2017)

I am constantly working with Emmy (5.5 months) on leash behavior because she is on leash 95% of the time we are outside. This is where we currently are now: 

*PULLING*
She has made _fantastic_ progress here. She has extended parts of the walk where she is nicely next to me. She often walks the whole way on the same side of me now. The tactic I am using for this is not moving when she pulls and calling her back to me. She still lunges towards other dogs and she will also pull me all the way to the dog park (but this I don't mind )


*COMMANDS*
She has a good auto sit at crosswalks and when I am not moving. She frequently responds to her name and consistently responds to "Look at me!" though it is mostly when I already have her attention. She is getting the hang of "Let's go!" and "This way!" 

While she has a decent "Drop It!/Leave It!" inside, outside is still a lost cause. I honestly can't imagine it ever getting better and have no idea how to enforce this. I try to stop at random to do some general drills with her on walks but they still seem so removed from when I actually need her to leave the dead cockroach or the ant-covered juice box alone. 


*ATTENTION*
She goes after everything that flies by on the wind (this includes a lot of really fast lunging that I can't control) as well as sticks, paper, food, paper with food on it.... This is when I try to use "Look at me!" but she never listens. She's completely lost to me. 

When I am trying to walk her away from a dog, she will plant her butt in the dog's direction and not move. I try to just wait her out/pull whatever she's got out of her mouth. Because of this I feel like I'm still tugging her a lot.


*TANTRUMS*
When she isn't listening and I have to tug her she has begun having tantrums. I have read that this is normal. Her tantrums involve leash biting, trying to play tug, playful growling, and sometimes jumping. I have handled this in two ways. 1. By standing like a tree and waiting for her to calm, then treating and praising. 2. Just saying F it, walking briskly home and not looking at her while she continues to act like a little demon next to me all the way to our door. 


*PACE*
I have noticed that she is most calm when we are walking at a "leisurely" pace. She is a nose-to-ground walker so she tends to take her time. Sometimes I'm in a rush and need her to go faster but whenever I pick up my pace, that is almost an immediate trigger for a tantrum. I would love to get her to walk faster but I have no idea where to begin with this. 



So walking is still frustrating. The pulling has improved a great deal so I am trying to focus on that progress as motivation that the rest will improve too. I would love some thoughts/feedback/advice from the masses.


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## jdavisryan (Jan 28, 2018)

I know you're frustrated, but I'm reading this and thinking "wow, she's doing awesome!" At 5 months old Emmy is still a baby, and you have so many years of training fun ahead of you. I always found that progress in training doesn't follow a linear path but lots of periods of stalling out, going backwards, and then boom! Something clicks, they get it, and you move forward. Try to stay patient, consistent, and positive and you'll get through this. Don't be surprised if you have a big set back around 8 or 9 months. My dogs seemed to forget everything they had learned around that age and acted like little jerks. A few months later and they were great again (well, mostly.)


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## sdain31y (Jul 5, 2010)

Your post made me laugh out loud. Our pup is 4 months and about the same. Not the same triggers but sometimes you just have to wonder. Loved your description of a “little demon”. Casey is pretty good until evening and then he gets his bad on. Zoomies thru the house, blundering thru and over everything, harassing the cats, just overall hellion. Then he crashes - it’s like an over tired toddler. About 30 minutes to an hour.


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

It sounds like you've made a lot of progress, you should be proud! Thats quite good for a 5.5 month old!! Your pup is still very young, and probably isn't even in her teenage phase yet where they will sometimes intentionally start pushing the limits (8-9 months or so...although for Piper it happened around 1 year). I live in an urban area, we are always on a leash, and when your dog becomes an adult you will be SO happy to have a well leash trained dog. 

Piper didn't have tantrums, but boy my last dog did--she would do the same thing--although it was because she wanted to play. Absolute berserk banshee. I was a tree...so very many times. It gave a kick out of the people stuck in traffic on my busy street. 

The excessive greeting syndrome with other dogs will get better with time, but I've found its one of the last things to improve because its VERY distracting. Your pup is still really immature at 5.5 months, and impulse control is hard. So keep working on it. Sometimes working on it one-on-one with a friendly dog you know can help. Honestly, once Piper's "leave it" got very strong outside I started incorporating it into walking by people and dogs that she wanted to go visit, and that seemed to help. 

I might try to work on the pulling to the dog park, because you don't want to reinforce pulling in any way if you don't want her to do it, but thats just my opinion. 

Do you use a clicker? It can help with shaping getting her attention back on. For example, if she's planted herself to get to a dog and is ignoring you, click as soon as her body shifts or she redirects her attention to you. You can try working on this one on one if you have a friend who has a dog. If not, "yes" and treat. 

How solid is leave it/drop it inside? Solid enough the she won't go chasing a toy that you've squeaked and thrown if you tell her to leave it? Throwing kibble close to her? Human food? Make it as distracting as absolutely possible inside. And outside, practice basic "leave it and drop it" with kibble and toys etc, the same way you taught her initially. With things Piper really wanted to eat, if I saw her going for something I would gently tug backwards to prevent her from getting to it if I could. She may have gotten it anyway, but it gave me enough time to say "leave it" first. That WILL get better though with lots of practice. Piper will leave yummy goose poop, food, wrappers, bread and even stinky dead old chicken bones alone. I have a neighbor who likes to feed the squirrels in our neighborhood--there's often food around . 

Regarding pace, does she know how to heel? She's more likely to walk at a more brisk pace if her nose isn't on the ground, so training the kind of heel where she is looking up at you can help with that. If she's already heeling but not looking at you, start reinforcing "watch me/look" with it, and shape it so thats the default. Then she will learn the difference between "sniffing time" and "walking time." Start with very short amounts of time (just a few steps or so at a fast pace), and build up. 

It sounds like you are doing a good job and she's coming along well! Keep up the good work. Consistency is key. Also, don't be afraid to give yourself a break if you need it. If you start feeling in over your head, enlisting the help of a trainer is always a good idea!


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## Cooper Golden (Jan 11, 2018)

There's a good tip on loose leash walking and turning around by @ceegee here: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/#/topics/479018?page=1

Whenever I've tried the method with Cooper I've noticed that he gets much better even after 10 mins so give major cred to the Ceegee suggestion. We start out by only going 5ft and turning around but can get to a good 20-30ft 10 mins in 

The issue is I need to build up my patience for this approach. When we're usually out on a walk I have a destination in mind and am too impatient to keep turning around. I've promised myself I'll try more when it's warmer and start by focussing on just leash walking without a destination in mind

As a second tip my obedience instructor said if using the treating approach with food most people stop feeding too quickly. We're practicing feeding while walking in class. It feels really awkward when you start out but gets better. 

Cooper is near perfect in that environment - he's even ignoring other dogs that walk right by him (we're practicing CGC 'drills'). She said to praise and feed pups for months after you think you have to - the behaviour of walking next to you while looking up needs to get ingrained and once it is the dog will follow your eyes/hands once you stop with the feeding.

If there's a CGC prep class in your area I highly recommend it - there's a big focus on impulse control and loose leash walking.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

I think you're doing great! It takes time and it's not a linear process as she will go through adolescence. There are always ups and downs throughout young adulthood. 


I always carry cookies in my pockets and heavily reinforce leave it. Leave it is not "no!", but stop what you are doing and come to me for a reward. I don't have issues with gulping or running and hiding while eating. In fact, they are not shy about bringing me things in exchange for food, either, as they know that I may reward them and at the very least, I will praise them for it. I once lost $80 in cash somehow and a few days later my dog came over, wagging, put his head in my lap, opened his mouth and out came four 20 dollar bills! You bet we went to the fridge for whatever yummy treats I could find for him.  


Another suggestion is that when you let her pull in the dog park, it reinforces that behavior, so I would suggest never allowing her to get her way when she is pulling. You can try turning and walking away from what she wants or you can try feeding in rapid succession for the dog being in position as you walk toward the coveted item or location. I'm really big on "you can have what you want as long as you do what I ask" training (aka Premack), which is basically what you are doing by standing still when she pulls and moving when she stops pulling. However, sometimes if the dog is really driven or excited and cannot use their brain well, using food for placement and to maintain focus as well as rewarding position helps, in this case rapid fire succession of treats from the car to the gate or person so that she never lets her eyes off of you. Eventually, you feed less. But, in a situation such as this, when she pulls to people, dogs, dog park, dog training building, etc. I see no reason to fade the food, at least not for a very long time. 


Finally, you might want to check out Denise Fenzi's Beyond the Backyard book for how to get behaviors outside of your own property. It's made for pet owners and is a great book on proofing and helping your dog focus in novel situations.


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

At 5 months or so Penny did the tantrum thing. But hers was to throw herself in the ground and refuse to move. Only once in the middle of an intersection!!
I’d say by 6-7 months she was the best walker ever and then like stated above changed into a nut around 9 mo!
Happy to report at 2 she is pretty darn cool to walk with 90% of the time. 

Baby steps and just keep up the good work.


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## AlexinBK (Dec 11, 2017)

@Piper_the_goldenpuppy Thank you for your post specifically. You made me realize how many more steps there are to a stronger inside "Leave It!" than I realized. 

Currently, she will ignore the treat on the ground long enough for me to pick it up. What suggestions do you have for elevating the command?

How do you train to not go after a toy that you've squeaked and thrown if you tell her to leave it? If she will go after it, how do I handle? Especially when it is not close to me either? 


Also for "Drop It" she will drop her toys but not much else. How do you build on that too?


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Sounds like you are doing great. Your dog is young, just be persistent.


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