Loose Leash Training The Most Effective Way To Train Your Dog (part 5)

Loose-Leash Training: The Most Effective Way To Train Your Dog (Part 5)

A final tip to help you with loose-leash training your dog is about helping your dog to walk in a specific spot.

Dawn Jecs, dog trainer and owner of Choose To Heel in Puyallup, Washington, teaches dogs to walk in a certain spot in relation to the handler. When they're in that spot, the leash is loose. “I teach the dog where I want it to walk,” Dawn says.

Before Dawn starts training leash walking, she first teaches the dog to go to an area ahead at her left side, about 18 inches out and 18 inches ahead. This is close enough to hand the dog a treat reward or snap the leash on or off, yet far enough away that it's not underfoot. When the dog goes to that place, Dawn praises and gives it a treat, then ends the exercise.

Dawn repeats this, without walking forward, until the dog easily goes to that rewarded spot. She teaches with the same cue she uses for walking: “Let's go.” When the dog hears that cue, it immediately moves into position.

Then Dawn starts leash training. “For a dog to learn to walk on a loose leash, it must get practice and success with the leash loose the whole time and not get to the end of the leash,” she says. “To accomplish this, Dawn praises and rewards the dog while it's still in the area by her side, before it can tighten the leash.”

“Every three steps, reward the dog with verbal praise and treat it while it's in the position it's learning and the leash is loose,” Dawn says. “Then release the dog and start over. Each time, before walking, say, 'Let's go,' and reward the dog for going into position.”

A Final Word

Pick one of the methods we discussed that works best for you. Try it out for two to three weeks. You should start to see improvement right away and fairly steady progress, but you may hit a plateau where your dog stops improving for several days. If this happens, give one of the other methods a try. Some dogs respond better when several different positive techniques are used.

A puppy with polite leash skills is a joy to walk. Instead of dreading walks, you'll look forward to them. Your arm won't hurt, your pup won't wheeze, and when people see you walking together, they'll admire your puppy's good manners.

BONUS : Obedience Training: Not Just For Show Dogs

The time is now for the public to understand that obedience training is not just for pure bred show dogs or those dogs used for services like police work, public service, and military missions.

If fact, it is surprising that so many owners of mixed-breed dogs feel that their dog isn't “good enough” or “acceptable” for formal obedience training. While it is true that many All-Breed Dog Clubs and Specialty-Breed Dog Clubs do discriminate and refuse to allow enrollment of mixed-breed dogs, dog clubs are simply just one place where dogs can receive formal obedience training.

The yellow pages and online search engines can help you find dog training classes in your area. With the exception of some dog clubs, mixed-breed dogs are welcome. And why not? The mixed-breed dog learns just as fast, and just as well as his pedigreed brothers.

Price of training is another area that has stopped so many people. Without actually inquiring, they assume that the price is prohibitive. Such is not the case.

In examining services from Georgia to California, and Maine to Oregon, we were perplexed to see no mention of price in advertisements for obedience training. The very absence of a price tag keeps many people from investigating any further. They are, of course, denying themselves the pleasure of owning an obedient dog.

The simple truth is that, formal obedience training classes are inexpensive. In some places, such training – sponsored by city governments – is free!

If a person truly loves his family dog, the tuition for formal obedience training must be considered as the soundest investment that could possibly be made. In less than 10 weeks - working with your dog just fifteen minutes a day – your family dog will know and respond to words from your language.

He will come to you when called (instead of ignoring you or running in the opposite direction), he will sit when you tell him (instead of jumping all over your guests), and he will walk at your side like a lady or gentleman (instead of pulling you down the sidewalk like a trailer). He will lie down when you tell him and where you tell him, and he will stay where you tell him.

Many people who own watch-dogs are forced to confine them to back rooms when visitors come, simply because the dogs have not received formal obedience training. They fail to realize that a watch-dog confined to a back room is about as effective as a car without a key.

An obedience-trained dog knows the difference between “no” and “okay.” Not only can this training elevate the status of your family dog, it also instills in him the soundness of character that you never knew possible. And obedience-trained dog is not “just a dog,” but a welcome addition to any household.