As some of you know we have temporary custody of our daughter's dog, Miles, for the next few months. We're having lots of fun with him so far. This morning we woke up to about six inches of fresh snow and we immediately headed up on Boston Hill for a long walk. The walk to the trail head is right through town and that calls for a leash.
Claire never really taught Miles to walk like a gentleman so that task is falling to us.
When your dog weighs about eighty pounds it's really no fun to struggle through a walk where he tries to pull you all the way. In snow and ice it can be dangerous, too. The trick is to avoid getting into a tug of war.
I try to use a combination of positive reinforcement when the leash is loose and put an end to the fun when he pulls. I never try to make a fuss and pull back. He may see that as a reward for the pulling behavior, which could actually reinforce what you don't want him to do.
When he walks by my side, I praise him while saying the word, "heel." When I feel the leash tighten I hold it tight against my chest as I turn in the other direction and stop (see photo). Miles turns around to see my back which is not what he had in mind. Fun walk over, until he relaxes the tension on the leash.
When the leash is loose I walk him in the opposite direction again saying the word, "heel," and as long as the leash is loose he gets praise and an occasional piece of cheese.
We've had him for about three days and these tactics are starting to work. He's much better on the leash now and when I have his attention and he's not distracted, our walks are much more pleasant. He still pulls when he sees another dog or another person, but I have a plan for that, too.
Instead of getting into a tug of war when he gets distracted I get his attention and give him another command. I make him sit and when he does, he gets a tasty treat. Instead of pulling in an attempt to get to the other dog, he sits looking at me. I try to make him sit and stay until the other dog's intentions are clear and then we let them have a nose to nose greeting.
I can tell by the other
dog's body language whether I want to release Miles or not. If the approaching dog is relaxed as opposed to tense, with ears back in a slightly submissive posture, things are fine. Even ears up is OK. What you don't want to see is a tense look with teeth bared, a stiff erect tail and hackles up. That could signal an aggressive dominance display. The best body posture is the play bow. This signals game on and is what you like to see at the dog park. Let the fun begin.
We're planning on taking Miles to the local
clicker training expert for more socialization and basic training. It really helps to learn from an expert. I'll let you know how that goes.