# Outside in the big city



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

You have a good 8-12 months of training ahead of you. Every walk will be a training exercise. 

I live in downtown Toronto, so I know what you're up again. Here are some tips:

Get a 4-foot leash. Much easier to keep control.

Fill your left pocket with kibble or small treats (like Zuke's Minis). Teach her to walk nicely by keeping her on the left and treating every few steps, praising as you go. Expect to do this for months.

Work constantly on leave it and drop it. I felt like every walk for the first year was just me saying leave it, leave it, drop it, leave it. I didn't let anything go down my dog's throat - which meant I pulled a LOT of disgustingness out of her mouth (including poo one time!). I always traded a treat for what she had, but in the beginning, that meant me pulling out whatever she licked up and then treating. I walked and watched the ground like a hawk. I would say leave it as we approached something, and make sure she couldn't grab it. Obviously, I missed sometimes. But you have to act on every single one. It will take months. But I do have a dog who will not even bother picking up Kleenex or other garbage, and if she does pick up something like a piece of bagel or even pizza, she will drop it on command. 

I was not good about correcting the over enthusiastic greetings, so my dog still gets very excited when anyone pays her attention, even now at 4 years old. It took a LOT of time to UNDO her paws coming off the ground. I'd advise you to do a better job than I did stopping it at a younger age. :|
Biggest piece of advice - be patient, take your time, be patient. It is ALL worth it to have a dog you can walk nicely around the city, bring into dog-friendly stores, etc. Oh, and definitely take some good training classes with a certified trainer. It will help you so much with leash walking and other issues that pop up.


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## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

Carry high value treats to distract her from things that might harm her. Teach the concept of “trade” as well as “leave it.” You may also find that she will do well if she already has something in her mouth: a ball, rope, etc. A high value training tug may also be your friend. I recently got one that has a handle strap on one end and real rabbit fur on the other. 

They learn quickly. Hang in there.


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## AlexinBK (Dec 11, 2017)

Sweet Girl said:


> Teach her to walk nicely by keeping her on the left and treating every few steps, praising as you go.


This is a good idea. Do you treat even when there is tension in the leash? Meaning when she's walking because she has to and not because she wants to.



Sweet Girl said:


> I was not good about correcting the over enthusiastic greetings, so my dog still gets very excited when anyone pays her attention, even now at 4 years old. It took a LOT of time to UNDO her paws coming off the ground. I'd advise you to do a better job than I did stopping it at a younger age. :|


Any suggestions here? What do you wish you did differently?


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

For getting the greetings under control I like to use "sit for your greeting". Make sure to give the command before the front feet come off the ground and before the person is within arms reach. Be ready and don't hesitate to ask people not to pet your dog unless they're sitting and under control. Don't fall for the "It's ok. I don't mind." comment that you'll get from some dog lovers, you're training your dog. While they're learning or if it's an exciting situation you can slip your hand in their collar after they're sitting to have better control.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

TheZ's said:


> For getting the greetings under control I like to use "sit for your greeting". Make sure to give the command before the front feet come off the ground and before the person is within arms reach. Be ready and don't hesitate to ask people not to pet your dog unless they're sitting and under control. Don't fall for the "It's ok. I don't mind." comment that you'll get from some dog lovers, you're training your dog. While they're learning or if it's an exciting situation you can slip your hand in their collar after they're sitting to have better control.


The sit command before petting is a good tip. I trained Rukie to do that because my parents are in their 80's and I didn't want them getting knocked over. He learned quickly that he doesn't get petted unless he's sitting. We practice this every time anyone comes in the house (even when it's us letting him out of the crate) as well as anyone outside. I tell people, please don't pet him until he's sitting. He plants his bottom like a trooper now but sometimes jumps when people get done petting and step back so we're still working on it.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

To teach him how to greet people: When you go outside with him, take a large bag of treats or kibble. As people go past, ask them if they would like to give your puppy a treat. Most people will love to do this! Hand them a treat but ask them to make the puppy sit before feeding the treat to him. He'll very quickly learn that he gets treats from humans when he sits down. I did this in an indoor shopping mall with my pup when he was about the same age as yours (I would take the kibble for one of his meals and feed him this way), and after a while he would literally fling himself in front of passing strangers and sit down, waiting for his treat! It needs to be reinforced from time to time, of course, but it's a fun and interactive way to teach a useful skill.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

AlexinBK said:


> This is a good idea. Do you treat even when there is tension in the leash? Meaning when she's walking because she has to and not because she wants to.
> 
> 
> 
> Any suggestions here? What do you wish you did differently?


 1 - No, I only treated when she was walking nicely with me. If you have a pocketful of treats, and your dog knows it, chances are she will trot beside you, keeping an eye on that pocket. 

2 - I wish I had made her sit from the start to greet people. But when she was little and cute and SO many people were constantly stopping and patting her, I had a hard time just not letting everyone love on her. I spent many, many months (years?) then having to step on the leash, and make her sit, before people could say hello. Sometimes, if she would not calm down, there was just no greeting at all. Now she is 90% good. She is excited, but she turns and sits on people's feet and leans back with her head up.


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