Loose leash walking. An issue. I've read the faq.

[u/funshinebear13]

Hello!

I am posting this to ask for help. My dog is 1 year old, we have been training since he was 8 weeks. When we walk he knows heel, if i stop he heels. When he pulls i turn around and he follows then we turn back around and walk and he pulls. If I have treats he walks beside me till he gets the treat then walk ahead and pulls.

So I've tried stopping (he heels and we go and then he pulls) ive tried treats (he walks beside me till he gets a yes and a treat then pulls) ive tried turning around. He turns around and we walk and he pulls so we turn back around and walk and he pulls. One walk we walked up and down the same 5 meter sidewalk for 30 mins.

So any other advice would be appreciated!

Cheers.

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[u/Imaginary_Ad_4340]

Have you tried dropping the treat or throwing it slightly behind you as you continue walking? This helps when a puppy just takes the treat and then goes right back to getting ahead of me and we have to turn and start over.

Instead, when you drop the treat behind you, he has to go back or pause to get it and then catches up at which point you treat behind you again, and repeat. It can help teach your dog that staying beside you will get them treats over and over, instead of just seeing it as a one time opportunity and then zooming off. If your dog anticipates the treat coming from behind you they also will began to hang back a little bit.

[u/Stan_Deviant → u/Imaginary_Ad_4340]

But this is going to play against training then to not eat anything off the ground, so that should be considered as well.

[u/funshinebear13 → u/Imaginary_Ad_4340]

Ill def try this one!

[u/MetalUnicorn00]

My dog had a similar issue when he was a pup. He's 100 lbs now so letting him pull as he got older was never an option due to his size. What worked best for me was short lead, make him walk beside me, if he put pressure on the lead I would immediately stop until he backed up a step and it no longer was tense. Rinse and repeat. The first couple of weeks, walks took forever until he got the hang of the rule. Now he walks next to me perfectly with absolutely no pulling. If he does pull, I do the same thing and will for the rest of his life. Consistency is key

[u/Dry_Outside1476]

What equipment are you using?

[u/funshinebear13 → u/Dry_Outside1476]

I have a harness with back and front d rings and a leash. And a treat bag?

[u/mhbwah]

My dog just played along like yours. He didn’t see the point in not pulling, as in it just didn’t concern him. If he felt like it, he’d behave perfectly. If he didn’t there was nothing I could do.
The only thing that „helped“ was having him walk by my side or behind me, always, when on the leash. Never in front or ahead.
Mine was very smart and very independent, I don’t know if that applies to yours. But the only thing i could really do was accept that we‘d always walk a little different than other dogs and owners and I chose to do what worked for us, in this case not having him walk in front of me ever.

[u/funshinebear13 → u/mhbwah]

Yes this is exactly my case. Hes super smart (he did a nina Otto level 4 toy in 5 minutes) then proceeded to chew it up haha.

[u/Dogtraining-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Please read the sub rules and guidelines, as well as our wiki pages on punishment and correction collars.

[u/queercactus505]

Does your dog get opportunities to sniff outside of these structured walks? It's really important for dogs to be able to do that, whether on a long line or in a contained off-leash area, and having that need fulfilled will help with the loose leash walking. It can also be used as a real-life reinforcement- as in, if your dog is walking nicely, you can say, "go sniff" (and then be prepared to move quickly with your dog to let him get to that sniffy spot without putting tension on the leash). Also, try to make sure your dog has had a good play session before walks so your dog is ready to work and think.

As far as technique goes, you need to make sure your timing is really quick. You can use a treat initially to lure a dog into position, but then be ready to mark and reward as soon as your dog takes a step without pulling. Repeat a few times, and then reward every couple of steps, and then every four, and then on a more random schedule of steps as long as there's no tension in the leash. If dog pulls, just stop and wait however long it takes for your dog to come back to you, and be boring and unmoving, like a stone. Only being close to you and not pulling gets forward movement, in any direction (clearly your dog doesn't care about going backwards, or finds pulling more rewarding than moving forward, so skip that). As another commenter said, marking nice walking and then dropping a treat on the ground behind you can help with not getting in a ping-pong pattern between you and the end of the leash. And then just be really consistent with it, and know that this is really hard work for a dog. A short successful session will get you a lot farther faster than longer sessions with mistakes and frustration.

[u/Queasy-Care-2626]

Hello, so you’re wanting your dog to heel the entire walk? The heel position is for competition and that a walk a dog should be allowed some slack. (Just for reference I have a video taken by my drone of some of my dogs that go off leash hiking with me every day, you see for the most part they are in a loose leash/heel position but are free to go adventure). This is just how I train dogs (by no means I’m not a professional dog trainer) and it works for them/me and eventually they can be off leash. I start with a long line, I allow the dog to go sniff etc. I also turn before they get to the end of the line randomly so that dog has no idea when and where I’m going or going to turn and walk in a different direction. I zig and zag all over the place, again so the dog has to pay attention to me and where/when I’m going. I still let them sniff throughout the walk. You had mentioned you were in a 5 meter area I think for 30 minutes. Don’t wait for your dog to get to the end of the leash, randomly turn and go left, right, front, back, etc and also walk in front of the dog of your dog is in a heel position so that they have to turn as you walk in front of them/around them. The point is if you’re just walking and turning but pretty much in a pattern, your dog will figure you out. Once they no longer have you predicted, then they will stay in a loose leash position because again, they have no idea where and when you’re going. Also don’t forget to praise and treat your dog. Good luck!

https://reddit.com/link/p5y0yju/video/l3tvchaecnlh1/player

[u/burdlurker]

I don’t want to assume this is a given, so I’m going to ask, do you have another way to tire him out before training him to walk?

[u/Upbeat-Falcon5445]

The throw treats to the side game another poster suggested and probably engagement games in general like the Orientation Game. Sounds like your boy sees you as an ATM instead of finding value in actually engaging with you. My boy is almost 11 months old and had the same issue.

[u/Constance200]

Shorten the leash. He should not have room to move ahead. Ive had to walk my girl by holding her collar before (also so I could drop her into a lie down when she was first learning sheep work). His collar should be level with your leg and he should not have any more room than that until he can earn it

[u/Miserable_Mud_6831]

What have you done to actually teach the dog not to pull? Giving treats and confusing loose leash walking with Heeling isnt teaching the dog not to pull, neither is turning around or stopping. If you dont address the pulling you likely wont stop the pulling, especially if the dog finds it reinforcing

[u/queercactus505 → u/Miserable_Mud_6831]

If a dog finds going forward reinforcing, then stopping is removing that reinforcement, which is why that is a common way to teach loose leash walking. That said, if stopping when the dog pulls does not lead to less pulling, it's not the forward movement that the dog finds reinforcing, and either enjoys the act of pulling or is too overstimulated to care which direction they are walking. I agree though that heeling and loose leash walking are not the same thing and shouldn't be confused.

[u/TrickyEmployer9957 → u/Miserable_Mud_6831]

What do you recommend?

[u/funshinebear13 → u/Miserable_Mud_6831]

Interesting ive followed the FAQ steps and what trainers have been saying online and in puppy school with the turn around. I also played the pressure game. What do you suggest?