# walking / not pulling / how to train to heel



## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

The last gazillion times I posted here it was for biting/mouthing. Yay!! We are finally through that! No clothes have been destroyed in at least 3 weeks!! So now that is under control, I am picking a new area to work on.

My older dog Willow has always dragged me behind her rather than me walking her. At 10, she's still got it! The only thing I was able to do for her is put her in halters so she's not having undue pressure put on her neck as nothing ever really worked for her. She'd rather have pulled one of those metal balled collars until she passed out from the gagging, than to have walked nicely. So you can understand why having a dog (as big as Max will be as well) that walks nicely on a leash is super important to me.

Sooo here is where we are at. I read on another post somewhere that an owner had never seen a dog on one of those retractable leashes walk well at all. So a couple of weeks ago, I started using his 6 foot regular leash. On the back roads, he does pretty well a lot of the time. Not with the heeling, but he doesn't really pull. If he does start pulling, I start pulling until after a few steps I stop. He looks back and I tell him no pull. Now, it's about 50 50 whether he'll take off and pull again, so I have to stop or we go forward a bit. Max is a bit over 4 1/2 months old but he's at least 50 pounds.

Sooo I hear a lot about this gentle leader. How much do they cost, do you know? I have been putting it off and likely will until October when I get my first paycheck. I was wondering what I can do until then to get my puppy to walk better? Any training techniques that worked for you? I'd especially like to start working on heel. It seems like an out of reach dream to have a dog that walks that well on a leash but I've gotta try!! I always see that people who have dogs that walk that well put a lot of training time in - I'm willing and excited to do that - I just don't know how to go about it from here. He walks noticably better now than he did a month ago which is good - just not where I want him to be yet. Which brings my last question - by how old with training will dogs be walking nicely on a leash?

Thanks for your help!!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Those gentle leaders work really well, but I like to have my guys on nice flat collars all the time, so I'd probably try to work off of it as soon as I could.

That stop and start technique works really well, but if you use just that, it takes about a thousand consistent repetitions before it starts to click with most pups, and if anyone allows any pulling without stopping for some reason, it sets back the training.

Why not combine some positive reinforcement with the stopping technique? That should both speed up the process and give you some good bonding time. Positive reinforcement for leash behavior has the double positive effect of making the dog better on the leash and teaching him to give you his attention when he's outside and distracted.

It might help to start inside, since he's less likely to be distracted and more likely to be interested in a game. Get a handful of small, soft treats (or soft treats cut into kibble-sized bits). Hold the leash and the treats in your right hand and get the dog on your left. Hold one treat in your free left hand at a time. Say "hey, Max!" _once_ and wait until Max looks at you, then pop the treat in his mouth. 

Now, start walking slowly. If Max takes a couple of steps right next to you, say "yes!" and pop a treat in his mouth. Reward him for looking up and/or being in the right position as you move around. You're not going for a true precision heel here (though you could work up to that if you wanted), but if you reward him for sticking around the correct position and for giving you his attention, you'll build it as a fun habit.

If you need to at first, you can show him the treat to get him into position. But, as soon as possible, you want to hide the treat in your hand so he works for _you_ and is rewarded with a treat that (as far as he knows) comes out of nowhere. You don't want to inadvertently teach him to work for the treat.

If he pulls, just stop, wait a beat, then walk in the opposite direction, saying "hey, Max!" in an upbeat voice. Show him that he when he pays some attention to you, he gets to move and be rewarded too! Once he really grasps the game in the house, take it to the most boring place you have outside. The backyard is usually good. Help him learn that the game works outside too. Then, graduate the game to your walk. Spend the whole walk doing the stop/start technique to address the pulling directly, and then spend a few minutes at the time integrating your game.

You're rewarding him for responding to "hey Max" and for walking in the right position. Now, when you're outside and he's pulling, you can stop and say "hey Max!" and there's a much better chance you'll get attention from him. Never repeat "Hey Max!" or wave a treat if it doesn't work. If you're saying it and he's ignoring you, that's a sign that you need to go back to a more boring situation to work on the habit. Dogs are creatures of habit, and a habit that's built and reinforced consistently enough can overcome just about any distraction. If a distraction wins, that's a sign that you need to go back and work on the habit, not that you need to do something more painful, louder, or more delicious to break through the distraction.

Good luck, be patient, and reward freely.


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## Thor0918 (Feb 28, 2008)

Jenn I have to agree with him. Getting Max's attention is the way to go. Although if you remember me getting to the picnic, I'm not that great at it yet with Leo. We're still in school though so maybe it will get better!


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## The_Artful_Dodger (Mar 26, 2009)

Dodger ussually walks pretty good on leash with just a flat collar. When we are walking down the sidewalk I never let him walk in front of me and I don't let him keep tension on the leash. If he does start pulling we stop and sit (he sits not me!) for a couple seconds before we go on. I ussually use the flexi leash because we ussualy walk along a trail where he runs around and sniffs things (too close to road to let him off leash) but when we are on the side walk or when there are other people/dogs/bikes/stroller approaching on the trail he walks next to me and I just lock the flexi leash in shorter. When I unlock it I tell him "okay" so that he knows when he can run around. 

When he was a little puppy we practiced walking on a loose leash with the comand "let's go". At first he was rewarded for taking a couple steps without pulling and slowly increased the distance. We saved the "heel" command until he was older and could learn to walk in the proper position while focusing on me.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks for the tips - for sure will start doing those things. My son starts school next week, so I can spend time one on one with Max just walking him which will help keep his attention I hope! He's doing really well I think for a baby. He is doing better on the main streets just in the last few days - I'm starting to get him to sit at some of the corners, just to get him listening to commands outdoors. Thanks again for all of your help!


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Thor0918 said:


> Jenn I have to agree with him. Getting Max's attention is the way to go. Although if you remember me getting to the picnic, I'm not that great at it yet with Leo. We're still in school though so maybe it will get better!


 Of course I remember you!! And Leo is beautiful - he didn't jump on Leif and he did listen to you... after a while.  He is lovely though and as we know, those who get by on beauty don't really need to work hard on anything else.


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom (Jul 16, 2008)

For "just our regular walks" where there might be rabbits, skunks etc. for distractions and 85lb tugs on the leash, I use an "easy walk" harness. It is great, my big guy does not seem to notice it and ensures full contol for me (who only weighs a few pounds more than my big guy!!) After trying this harness, I would never use anything else. The head harness was easily thwarted by my goldens...flicked their claws through it and yanked them off!! I wish I could use it in obedience/rally and agility too, but alas, no. But for everyday stuff, go for it!!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Here's a Choose to Heel youtube video, but we do it much differently-more like tag and more playful, with more parties, praise using the word "heel" as a verbal (bc the dogs are advanced heelers already). You can modify it to your liking( I use my clicker sometimes), but it really does build the dog's interest in heeling.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-85w2-fsKg. The dog learns it is his responsibility/pleasure to find heel position.I know people have many theories of training, but this works for us. Like the instructor's dogs, I have trouble getting rid of mine when I want them to be at ease off leash, bc they sometimes use getting in heel position as a form of begging.

A useful skill for walking and many other things is hand "targeting" in which the dog touches your palm with his nose and learns to follow your hand into different desired positions. You can start by getting a pup to associate touching the palm of your left hand with his nose with getting a treat. This is easiest with a clicker- touch hand, click, treat. Once the puppy understands,you can try it from the side. Lure the puppy to your left side with a treat, and ask for a sit. Then, practice targeting with your left hand. Pretty soon the pup will be able to walk at your side, busy using your left hand as a treat dispenser. Treat bountifully at first, and praise a lot. You can take a few steps, until the puppy can touch your palm in motion. With your hand down at your left side, the pup is automatically in the correct position.After a while, attatch the 'heel" command. It is anti-intuitive, but the treats should come from your right hand so that your left functions cleanly as the target. Just cross your right hand in front of you to treat. After the two of you get good at this, your target hand can gradually come up to the proper position, as the heel command will have meaning. Treating can get occasionally reinforcing instead of constant, then taper off way down the road.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

I have to agree with the endorsement of the Easy Walk harness. Best invention, EVER. It really allows you to work on training a good 'heel' without having to overcome the constant battle and setbacks along the way.

I was having a problem with Gunner who suddenly, after years of walking nicely beside me, decided that it was more fun to drag me along behind him. I wasn't sure that the harness would give me enough control (I only have about twenty pounds on him.) But it works like a charm! 

As someone explained it to me - the harnass is using the same concept as the Halti/Gentle Leader, but it's a better application. Instead of having his neck whipped sideways, or jammed (as can happen with a Halti) you're stopping the pulling and turning him sideways using his upper body. It works just as well and there's less chance of injury.

The only problem I see with the harnass is if it loosens up and the chest strap starts to hang too low, they could step out of it. What I do is connect his leash to the harness AND a regular collar. (Just an extra layer of protection, should he slip the harnass, though I haven't had it happen yet.) It also helps to _keep_ the chest strap higher-up, where it belongs.
If you decide to try the harness, just make sure it's the _front-clip_ variety!


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## Sandy22 (Mar 12, 2016)

Bumping up this thread that I found while searching for inspiration yesterday.

This post was so helpful in training my willful 18 week old to walk on leash, especially with the distractions of a city street. The hand targeting and "look at me" keep him focused. There was amazing improvement, even on just a 20 minute walk. Thank you Ljilly!



Ljilly28 said:


> Here's a Choose to Heel youtube video, but we do it much differently-more like tag and more playful, with more parties, praise using the word "heel" as a verbal (bc the dogs are advanced heelers already). You can modify it to your liking( I use my clicker sometimes), but it really does build the dog's interest in heeling.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-85w2-fsKg. The dog learns it is his responsibility/pleasure to find heel position.I know people have many theories of training, but this works for us. Like the instructor's dogs, I have trouble getting rid of mine when I want them to be at ease off leash, bc they sometimes use getting in heel position as a form of begging.
> 
> A useful skill for walking and many other things is hand "targeting" in which the dog touches your palm with his nose and learns to follow your hand into different desired positions. You can start by getting a pup to associate touching the palm of your left hand with his nose with getting a treat. This is easiest with a clicker- touch hand, click, treat. Once the puppy understands,you can try it from the side. Lure the puppy to your left side with a treat, and ask for a sit. Then, practice targeting with your left hand. Pretty soon the pup will be able to walk at your side, busy using your left hand as a treat dispenser. Treat bountifully at first, and praise a lot. You can take a few steps, until the puppy can touch your palm in motion. With your hand down at your left side, the pup is automatically in the correct position.After a while, attatch the 'heel" command. It is anti-intuitive, but the treats should come from your right hand so that your left functions cleanly as the target. Just cross your right hand in front of you to treat. After the two of you get good at this, your target hand can gradually come up to the proper position, as the heel command will have meaning. Treating can get occasionally reinforcing instead of constant, then taper off way down the road.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Sandy22 said:


> Bumping up this thread that I found while searching for inspiration yesterday.
> 
> This post was so helpful in training my willful 18 week old to walk on leash, especially with the distractions of a city street. The hand targeting and "look at me" keep him focused. There was amazing improvement, even on just a 20 minute walk. Thank you Ljilly!


I am so glad that it was helpful.

Choose To Heel is still my favorite game.


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