A look at the difference between training and management

House training and urgency

Managing the dog during house training

Now, if you are in the process of house training a puppy or new rescue dog, or if you simply need to get from point “a” to point “b” without wasting time or messing around, then it is strongly recommended to have a method for managing your dog while you work on training your dog consistent LLW in a variety of situations. Because realistically, when your puppy has to go potty you need to get your puppy outside – fast! This is not usually the best time for an in-depth training session.

Expectations and quick management

However, even if you need to get your dog outside quickly, it IS still a good idea to expect him or her to maintain some slack in the leash and not yank you the whole way there. This is where it becomes important to “manage” your dog’s behavior with the appropriate training tools and equipment.

Training tools and equipment

Importance of management tools

One of the best management methods for not getting dragged around while you train LLW and better impulse control around distractions involves utilizing a non-restrictive, front-clip (no pull) harness such as a Blue-9 Balance Harness.

Recommended equipment: non-restrictive, front-clip harness

While it is true that pressure collars such as prong or choke chains can sometimes accomplish the same short-term result (management), there are some notable concerns with the use of pressure collars, in particular for dogs that struggle with fear or aggression. To avoid potentially negative side effects and behavioral fall-out, I’d recommend avoiding these collars and instead using a front clip/no pull type of harness for management while you work on the training aspects of loose leash walking.

Avoiding pressure collars

Concerns with pressure collars

There are some notable concerns with the use of pressure collars, in particular for dogs that struggle with fear or aggression. To avoid potentially negative side effects and behavioral fall-out, I’d recommend avoiding these collars and instead using a front clip/no pull type of harness for management while you work on the training aspects of loose leash walking.

Advantages of no-pull harness

For now – combine management (no-pull harness) with good training, and this will result in long term behavior change in your dog!

Long term behavior change

Combining management and training

It is strongly recommended that you invest in this type of harness for your dog for daily use when walking and practicing the LLW training exercises.

Reinforcing offered attention & playing the “Name Game”

Work on reinforcing check-ins

Work on reinforcing your dog (say “Yes!” feed them a treat) anytime they turn to look at you and “check in” while walking. Marking (saying “Yes!”) and feeding for auto check-ins should be done as often as possible to “capture” and reward this behavior so that your dog is “mentally connected” to you, not just physically restrained by the leash or long line.

Video example of reinforcing check-ins

*** Video example of me reinforcing check-ins and offered focus on a long line walk with my 6-month-old puppy Ben: Reinforcing Check Ins | By Spotted Success, LLC | Facebook***

Prompting attention with the “Name Game”

You can also prompt your dog to turn and offer attention by saying their name once with some inflection. If you say your dog’s name and they turn towards you, mark (by saying “Yes!”) and then feed them a treat or several. If they remain distracted/don’t look when you say their name, put the food in front of their nose and still feed them as you turn their head towards you with the treat. Then back up/add a bit of distance between your dog and whatever trigger/distraction has their attention to set them up for success; you want to work at the threshold where your dog is capable of turning away from the distraction and looking at you for a treat when prompted with their name.

Video example of the “Name Game” from FACT Academy | Dog Trainer Certification Course.

Video tutorial on shaping check-ins

Video tutorial from trainer Donna Hill (#dogsexplained) on shaping check-ins and offered focus using a clicker.

Building a reinforcement history

We want to build a solid reinforcement history of your dog checking in with you so you are more “relevant” to them when they are on leash. The goal is that your dog is mentally connected with you, not just being physically restrained by the leash. Once we have this foundation established, it will be easier to start to work through strategies to reduce your dog’s arousal level and excitement around new distractions (people, dogs, cats, squirrels, cars, etc.)

Teach your dog to easily follow light leash pressure

Benefits of following light leash pressure

The benefit of these exercises is that they teach a dog to easily follow gentle leash pressure, thus making it much easier to use the leash to guide the dog and re-direct them as necessary. A dog who easily follows light leash pressure is also a joy to walk on leash!

Training sessions and natural behavior

It is important to train this in training sessions because most dogs naturally lean into the pressure rather than come with you if you try to tighten a leash to guide them. By playing games in training sessions at home you can condition your dog that being moved on leash is simply a cue to mean “move with me”.

Step-by-step training

To teach your dog to follow light leash pressure, clip your dog’s leash to their front-clip harness or collar and start to apply slight tension to the leash. When your dog moves even slightly towards the tension (and thereby releases the tension on the leash), mark (“Yes!”) and feed a treat.

Once they’ve eaten the treat, again gently pull the leash so it is taut and sit or stand quietly. When they again move to release the tension, mark (“Yes!”) and treat. For this exercise, you don’t care about eye contact. What you are teaching is that releasing the leash tension gets marked and treated.

Building the habit

The more you practice these exercises in the house, backyard, or other low-distraction setting with a leash attached, the more you are building your “don’t pull on leash” account. You are helping your dog learn that good things happen when they follow you!

Practical application

Practice this game often, sometimes just saying “Let’s Go” and guiding her to a different area of the yard for a treat, sometimes saying “Let’s Go” and guiding her all the way to the back door for a treat.

Once you have practiced this often and paired it with treat rewards, it will mean that you can easily guide your dog with the leash whenever needed. It will also result in a dog with better leash manners that does not pull and yank you around, but instead naturally follows you and gives into gentle leash pressure.

Video Examples

Video example of teaching dogs to follow leash pressure

By trainer Sarah Fraser from Instinct Dog Training & Behavior.

Video tutorial on “giving into leash pressure”

Courtesy of Dogmantics Dog Training.

Decompression Walks

Importance of decompression walks

If I had one single recommendation for every dog to improve their behavior and quality of life overall, it would be to be creative about finding ways to get them out for “decompression walks” in nature at least 2-3 times per week (more is better!). I strongly encourage you to incorporate decompression-style walks in nature (parks!) into your dog’s regular exercise routine. Consistently implemented, doing so will help fulfill your dog’s behavioral needs more fully, which will in turn leave you with a dog who is satisfied, more relaxed, and less likely to practice undesirable behaviors (the goal of ALL the different types of enrichment we provide for our dogs).

What is a decompression walk?

A decompression walk means a walk where you go to a natural location (think wooded trail, beachfront, grassy fields, or even an empty soccer field at a local park) and either allow your dog off-leash time (you can have a long line dragging behind them for safety), or time walking with you wearing a 10 – 30′ long line where they are free to move around naturally – smelling, running, exploring, and just generally “being a dog.”

Video Examples

Video example of a 30′ Long Line decompression walk at a beachfront using “slow down” cue and directional change when dog approaches end of line.

Courtesy of Spotted Success Training & Behavior Modification.

Benefits of Decompression Walks

These types of walks are at least 75% of the exercise walks my personal dogs, dogs in training, and foster dogs get. Even though I live in a very urban environment, I prioritize seeking out opportunities to walk my dogs in natural, park-like settings every day because it has such a tremendous (positive!) effect on their overall behavior. Decompression walks fulfill their need to “dog” in a way very few other things can, and it results in dogs who are more relaxed and satiated because their most basic needs have been met. With regular decompression walks incorporated into their week, the dogs are more relaxed, willing to settle and sleep in the house while I get other things done and are less likely to display “nuisance” or undesirable behaviors.

Understanding Your Dog’s Olfactory World

Did you know that dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to just about six million in ours? Keeping this in mind might help make sense of why it seems like your dog is so “distracted” by wanting to smell anything and everything in a new environment. We as humans might scan the horizon and reach out to touch things; dogs are much busier soaking in as much information as possible through their ultra-sensitive noses. The good news for us: this means allowing our dogs to sniff and take in scents in new environments and while out on walks is an extremely enriching and satisfying (read: tiring!) activity for your dog.

Things to Note

1. Choosing Locations Carefully
   • You DO need to choose your locations for decompression walks carefully, and you DO need to have a reliable recall (dog comes running to you when called) in order to safely practice decompression time with your dog. Your dog should get a reward every time you call them, and they come running back to you!
2. Using a Long Line
   • If I am using a long line for a decompression walk, I prefer to use a 10 – 30′ line made of Biothane material. If you are not familiar with Biothane, it is a polyester webbing with a TPU or PVC coating that makes it more durable, waterproof, and easy to clean. It is becoming quite popular as a material for dog collars, leashes, and long lines, and you should be able to easily find one to purchase if you search for “Biothane long line” on Google or Etsy.
3. Finding Locations for Decompression Walks
   • If you are having trouble finding or thinking of locations near you to give decompression walks a try with your dog, I have the following suggestions:
   • The app “AllTrails”: This is an app that allows you to put in a zip code, then it will show you nearby trails with trail info, maps, detailed reviews, and photos curated by (literally millions) of other hikers/ walkers/ nature lovers.
   • The app “Sniff Spot”: This is an app that lists available safe, private places for dogs for off-leash play and exercise. Sniffspot basically crowd sources yards and private property that owners make available for “rent” to people looking for safe off-leash exercise areas for their dogs. Depending on where you live, some Sniffspot listings might be several acres of land, while some might be a typical fenced-in backyard. Don’t despair if only modest-sized yards are available in your area – it can still be a very enriching and fulfilling experience to bring your dog to a brand new area full of brand new smells to sniff, decompress, and explore, regardless of the size of the area.
   • Get creative! If you live in a busy metro area and don’t have easy access to nature trails and wilderness areas, don’t despair! You can allow your dog to have a “decompression walk” by doing something as simple as attaching a long line and allowing them to zig-zag back and forth smelling and exploring in a low-traffic area of a manicured park, across an unused soccer or baseball field, or someplace similar.

Again, I have lived in urban environments in several different major cities with my dogs over the past fourteen years of dog ownership, and with a little creativity we have always been able to come up with at least several different locations for great decompression walks within reasonable driving distance.

Teaching “Yield to Leash Pressure” (for decompression walks on a long line)

Impulse Control and Loose Leash Walking

Teaching your dog the concept of impulse control and keeping the leash (or long line) loose and slack when a person is holding onto it sets you and your dog up for calm, relaxed behavior on walks and on outings in distracting environments. Use these techniques for walking on a long line (10 -30′) that gives your dog some range of motion. I most often teach this on a front-clip harness, but the techniques can be used with a back-clip harness as well. These skills are really useful for those dogs that think a leash or long line and collar is akin to the Iditarod. It is best taught well and practiced before it is needed, like most things!

Understanding Pulling Behavior

The reason dogs pull in the first place is to get to move quicker toward the freedom they desire. They want to run around and move at a fast clip, and so they pull on us to get that. I want the dog to understand that yielding to the pressure they feel on a harness is what gains them quicker access to that freedom. It is best to teach this on a short leash and harness and then graduate to a long line. The basic process goes like this:

Basic Mechanics of Yielding to Leash Pressure

1. Do not pull on your dog

   • Remember these basic mechanics: do not pull on your dog. Be sure if pulling is happening, he started it. That means keep your leash anchored on your body so that you do not “bungee arm” (as shown in the mechanics video). Say “hey” or “slow down” and stop moving just BEFORE the dog hits the leash. Do not say it after the dog starts pulling. If you forget, just proceed without the verbal. It is meant to help the dog to anticipate hitting the end of the line better so that he is not guessing.

2. Warn your dog

   • When you see the dog approaching the end of the line, warn him. I say “hey” or “slow down” in a neutral tone. When you warn, anchor your leash and stop moving.

3. Respond to leash pressure

   • When the dog hits the leash pressure, he will either keep pulling (you just stay put) or yield and turn to you to say “what is your deal?” When that happens, praise and move in a slightly different direction.

4. Anticipate leash pressure

   • Start to say “hey” or “slow down” any time you anticipate leash pressure. That includes when you are about to change direction, not just because the dog is about to hit the end of the line.

5. Transition to a long line

   • When this is going well on a short leash (and you may not get very far at first), you can switch to a long line and try that out. You will find some of the mechanics are more difficult, as long line handling takes some practice. Do this in a not-too-crazy-exciting space at first, and when it is going well, you can take it to better spots.

Video examples

Video example of 15′ long line work using “slow down” cue and directional change when dog approaches end of line.

Courtesy of Spotted Success Training & Behavior Modification.

Video example of long line mechanics. Keep arms anchored close to body as dog approaches end of line.

Courtesy of Spotted Success Training & Behavior Modification.

The “Circle Method” for Loose Leash Walking

On neighborhood leash walks, use the FRONT clip on a harness attached to a regular 6 foot leash. You can allow sniffing during leash walking training sessions in the front yard, but if your dog starts to yank on the leash or pull forward, use the “Circle Method:”

When to walk forward

• If the leash is loose and the dog is within a foot or two of the people holding the leash, you can continue to walk forward and/or allow your dog to sniff, eliminate, etc.

Switching directions

• If your dog starts to yank on the leash or pull forward, switch directions and walk in a wide circle (see video examples below).
• Only continue forward when the leash is loose again.

Using positive reinforcement

• Say “Yes!” and feed a treat near your legs often if your dog is walking near you on a loose leash, or if they choose to “check in” and look up at you.

Handling distractions

• Also use the following protocol for when your dog looks at/notices something “new” or “distracting” in their environment:
  • Say “Yes!” and put a treat by their nose, then down on the ground for them to eat if they casually look at any “trigger” or “distraction” (car, bike, person, dog, squirrel, leaf blowing, etc).
  • If your dog is uninterested in the treat or is already barking, add distance from the distraction using the circle method, then try again to mark (“Yes!”) and feed for looking at the “trigger” or “distraction” from the further away spot.

Video examples of the “Circle Method”

This “Circle Method” is illustrated with two dogs who are learning to walk on a loose leash in the following videos.

Courtesy of Harenhaus K-9.

Courtesy of Trainer Alycia Noble.

Use “Life Rewards”/ allow sniffing for acclimation:

You can give your dog a release to go to the end of their leash to sniff and explore a new area as a “life reward” to positively reinforce their behavior, and also to allow them time to sniff and acclimate in a new space they may be nervous about. Dogs rely very heavily on their sense of smell, and many dogs can focus and work better in a new and distracting environment if they are allowed time to acclimate and smell for a bit.

Differentiate between these two cues:

• “Let’s go” or “Let’s walk” cue

  • We want to teach your dog that this cue means to walk relatively near you with a loose leash and not very far out in front.
  • This is how you want your dog to be on leash the majority of the time as it results in good behavior and impulse control around distractions. You can achieve this consistently in a variety of new and distracting situations by practicing the techniques outlined above.

• “Go sniff” cue

  • Use this cue to give permission for your dog to move forward to the end of their leash to sniff a patch of grass, a tree, bush, etc.
  • Use this as a periodic “life reward” during walks (or in new locations) after your dog has been walking nicely with slack in the leash.
  • This cue and “life reward” allows your dog to use their nose to acclimate and gather information about the environment (important for mental enrichment, acclimation and increased comfort in a new space, and to allow them to just “be a dog!” for a bit).
  • When your dog is finished sniffing or doing his business and you are ready to continue walking forward together (or if you need to gain immediate control because you notice a distraction approaching), give the “Let’s go” or “Let’s walk” cue and resume regular loose leash walking.
  • While your dog is taking advantage of their “go sniff” time, make an effort to follow closely behind them and try to keep the leash slack as they sniff and explore the designated area. If your dog really begins to yank in one direction, you can firmly anchor the leash to your body, say “Let’s go” and move quickly in the opposite direction. When the leash goes slack again you can encourage your dog to “Go sniff” some more with a loose leash again.

Teaching “let’s go” and following leash pressure

Practice loose leash walking with the front clip harness in the house and backyard often. Use the cue “Let’s Go” when you start walking or when you change directions.

Changing directions

When you change directions or if your dog hesitates slightly, square your shoulders to face away from him, or turn to the side and crouch down. Then as soon as you feel the leash loosen and he starts walking, praise and feed him! You are rewarding him for following you and following the subtle leash pressure.

Video resources

You can review more about this approach with these videos.

Courtesy of Instinct Dog Behavior & Training | Professional Dog Training & Behavior Therapy.

Courtesy of Dogmantics Dog Training.

 

Questions?

Remember, training is fun, but it also takes consistency and patience!

If you hit a roadblock, have concerns about your dog’s behavi

or, or would just like to make sure you are

implementing the above techniques correctly, feel free to reach out.

Emily Dombrowski
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC)
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
Spotted Success, LLC
(727) 209-7618
SpottedSuccess@gmail.com

Spotted Success Training & Behavior Modification