Walking while working on leash manners?

[AngieTorres]

Hi! I’m working on having my chihuahua walk on a loose leash, but in the meantime she still pulls and needs walks. I don’t want to reinforce that behavior but she needs exercise. Any tips?

[Adrienne]

Hi there!

This is a great question.

Training to walk on a loose leash is something that will take some time to master. Dogs weren't born to walk at our pace, nor where they born to walk on a leash. They also weren't born to walk in a straight line. Dogs are also cursorial animals (built for speed) and they walk on their toes (digitigrades) while su humans walk on our soles making us walk at a much slower pace.

On top of this, dogs are macrosmatic mammals which means that they have a greater reliance on their sense of smell while us humans are instead classified as microsomatic (with little reliance on smell) and they aren't born with good impulse control, which is mostly an acquired quality that becomes easier and easier to master as we train them and they mature. 

With this in mind, training them to walk on a loose leash requires time, consistency and patience. Here are a few thoughts and ideas for your situation. I am basing these answers assuming your dog is an adult (generally over the age of 8-9 months in smaller breeds). If she's still a puppy, consider that she will have shorter attention spans and therefore will require very brief and fun sessions for now, gradually building up as she matures. 

-Start Training at Home Without a Leash 

Start training at home in areas without distractions, even without the leash. Pretend you are carrying one and reward your dog every time she walks next to you and deliver

the treat next to you, in the" reward zone "right behind you knee. Then practice the same in the garden. You may need to increase the value of the treats when in the yard

as you will be competing against stronger distractions (smells, sights, sounds). Then, put the leash on and do the same in your driveway. Practice this a lot and then start

going on short walks in quiet areas around your home. 

-Stick to Your Neighborhood

It is often a big challenge for a young, energetic dog to resist all the temptations that come with the great outdoors. In your initial outings, it helps to set the bar low and just stick to short boring walks the first few times. Based on how well your dog does, start slowly expanding your walks. The longer your dog walks on a loose leash, the longer the walk. 

-Provide a Consequence for Pulling 

As you practice, you may notice at some point your dog reverting to his pulling behavior. This is normal. When dogs have been rehearsing pulling behaviors for some time, it becomes strongly ingrained and habit-forming. Dogs just walk that way because it's natural for them or they haven't learned another way. It's important to provide a consequence for pulling. No, this doesn't mean jerking the leash, or getting angry with the dog. These methods risk exacerbating problems and can ultimately back fire. 

Instead, the consequence will be not reinforcing the pulling with any forward movement. So you can mark the pulling by saying something like "oops!" stop in your tracks and stand still and entice your dog back into heel position rewarding that with a treat, or you can try walking backwards a few steps (careful not to trip!) or even making an abrupt turn in the opposite direction and praise/reward when the leash is slack again. 

I'll be honest here: your first walks may seem like they take forever and you might only walk a 10 foot strip in front of your house, however, you will still be getting your dog exercise because you can always walk almost the same amount of time in your driveway and reward her for staying by your side. 

Remember: The more you practice, the more your dog should learn that a loose leash is your accelerator and a tense leash is your break.  So try your best to use every single walk as a training opportunity to teach good loose leash skills. 

Following are some tips on how to pave the path for polite leash walking. 

•  Exercise your dog's body and mind. If you exercise your dog's body and mind prior to going on walks, chances are, she'll have less pent-up energy which can make for some more relaxed walks. So make sure to play with your dog, provide brain games, do some training and offer food puzzles.
• Swap training gear.  For instance, when working on loose leash training you can attach a leash to the front of the harness, and for pleasure walks, you can attach a long line to the back ring. It will be more difficult for a dog to pull when being on a 10 to 20 foot line as you'll just stop and call your dog back only once at the end of it. 
• Dedicate parts of the walk for the dog's pleasure. Snap on the long line so that at some point of the walk your dog gets to sniff, romp around and explore. This helps meet a dog's natural needs for engaging in species specific behaviors while also allowing the dog to burn some energy. Sniffing is a very rewarding activity and it can be very tiring too!
• Use a long line also for new places. Many dogs will pull to explore when they are taken to new places or places your dog doesn't frequent too often. Allowing your dog to explore on a long line for some time should calm him down and then you can work with your regular leash. The long line can be used as well for when you have to walk your dog and have little time to train. Since it's longer, the dog doesn't get to pull as much as when on the leash. 
• Use a front-attaching harness. Chihuahuas are small dogs and have very delicate necks. Harnesses may work best for them. A front-attachment harnesses (harness with a leash that attaches to a front ring) can turn helpful considering that,when the dog pulls, the dog will pivot around, but this time towards you. This gives you the advantage of reinforcing the dog with food.
• Use high-value treats. Help your dog make good choices by offering high-value treats that your dog drools buckets for.  
• Walk fast with your dog. If you have the chance, you can try walking at a brisk pace (your dog's normal pace) with your dog in the initial part of the walk so that your dog gets to burn some energy without pulling. With a small dog likes yours it shouldn't take long to burn some energy. Then practice loose-leash walking at the end of the walk when your dog is calmer. 
• Vary your speed and motions. As your dog does better, introduce some variety to walks. Walk slow, then fast, take a right turn, then a left turn, then go in an out around trees, circle them, do figure eights, about turns. This will keep your dog guessing and keep her attentive to your movement. 
• Work on the emotions. If your dog pulls because she's fearful, stressed or overly anxious,  she may need more behavior modification than training. With the help of a professional, expose very gradually in baby steps (desensitization) and create positive associations with triggers (counterconditioning).

Here is a thread with more tips/ideas:

 

I hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any other questions! Keep me posted and happy training!

Best,

Adrienne 

[AbegaelJackson]

Funny what Adrienne said about how they aren’t meant to walk in a straight line. If you watch a pure bred Shepherd, the kind that are quite big and have their hind quarters low to the ground, if you watch one that has been trained to walk on leash but not trained to heel you will see it weave back and forth. There is one in my neighborhood. He never pulled, always had excellent manners, so the owner never bothered training it out of him by teaching him to heel. When they are out for a walk the dog walks slowly and weaves back and forth in front of his owner for most of the walk.