If you've enjoyed this video please like, comment & share 🙂 It really helps! 🙋♀️COMPLETE DOG TRAINING SOLUTIONS: •❓🤨 STRUGGLING WITH LEASH TRAINING? 👇 ✅ 6 Weeks to Dream Walks: Step-By-Step Leash Training Program: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/6-weeks-to-dream-walks-step-by-step-leash-training-program •❓🐿️ STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DOG CHASING ANIMALS (indoors or outdoors)?👇 ✅ Dog Prey Drive: How to STOP Animal Chasing: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/dog-prey-drive-how-to-stop-animal-chasing-with-force-free-methods ►👀 WATCH NEXT: ✔️ Simple "recall" game: ua-cam.com/video/E1bY5ZeUxXQ/v-deo.html ✔️10 tips to immediately improve pulling on leash: ua-cam.com/video/V7kE4RZ18XM/v-deo.html ✔️ Teach your dog to fix their own tangled leash: ua-cam.com/video/qNk4EVgu5-g/v-deo.html ✔️ Train your dog to stop jumping on you: ua-cam.com/video/g6PVdqinCUk/v-deo.html ► 🗣️ STAY CONNECTED: • Instagram (my most active platform): instagram.com/happyhounds_dogtraining/ • Facebook: facebook.com/HappyHoundsDogTraining.ca • Blog: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/blog/ • Email list: view.flodesk.com/pages/61898eeb3a0e5bcf6f5411ec ►❤️ FAVOURITE DOG GEAR: ➡️ *ALL* my favourite dog items & discount codes: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/shop 🧸 Amazing faux & real fur toys: www.tug-e-nuff.co.uk/?ref=happyhoundsdogtraining 🐕🦺 My favourite harness & dog gear: rockymountaindog.ca/?ref=ka8S8Xue 🦴 My favourite treat bag: amzn.to/3UUGF60 🦮 Beautiful custom biothane leashes (I use the hands-free version): www.hightailhikes.com?aff=212 Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content.
love the simplicity of the exercise and your explanation, it was one of the first techniques I learnt and still use 😁 Looks lovely to walk dogs in your country, soo much space 😍
Remy is so cute with his little booties 🥹 Really effective and useful tips, thank you again! My dog is doing so much better with the changing direction method, I’d say we were BOTH happy to ditch the “be a tree” approach haha
As always, terrific video!!! Every hound owner needs to watch this video! Allowing your dog to walk on a loose leash while enjoying the environment but NOT pull is essential for both of you to have a good outing.
Hello! My dog and I have seen our improvements plateau over the past 2 months. Some days he does very well, but is extremely inconsistent. His success seems to depend almost entirely on what kind of mood he is in when we start our walks. Our routine is very consistent: wake up, play to burn energy, recall game to build focus, walk. I am also careful about maintaining a happy and upbeat demeanor/voice myself even during bad days. Behavior on a good day: - Quickly refocusing on me when I change directions and call his name (very often before reaching end of leash) - Very very few (usually zero) situations requiring treat to nose redirection - Great cued heel for 30+ second stretches - Frequent voluntary non-cued heeling in "boring" areas like our cul de sac - Frequent check-ins even when 4+ feet ahead of me - Runs to me for a treat after good (but reasonable length) sniffs - Quick to disengage from distractions (including people and dogs on other side of the street) with a simple name call - Instant leave-it/drop-it for "easy" things (I only cue these when I can tell he's being attentive and I'm confident he will succeed) - Able to complete a full loop around our neighborhood which includes a couple pretty distracting areas - Enthusiastic body language: loose whole body/tail wagging, "prancy" gait while heeling and looking up, tongue out - Getting home after a 40+ minute walk he wants to continue training and will follow me around in heel looking up at me both inside and in the backyard Behavior on bad days: - Frequent failures to refocus when changing directions (requiring treat to nose redirection) - Constant stopping or pulling ahead, basically disregarding me completely - Stalking/hunting behavior where he walks extremely slowly then freezes (he is a pointer) - Complete fixation on other calm dogs 100 feet away (refuses treat to nose redirection and does everything he can to maintain line of sight) - Rigid body language, mouth closed, tail not wagging - All of the above within our front yard/cul de sac, which he has been doing great in for over 3 months - I usually cut these walks short (around 20 minutes), and when we get home he just wants to immediately go in the backyard and hunt lizards My best guess from the stalking behavior and his immediate desire to hunt at the end of the bad walks is that for whatever reason some days his prey drive is unsatisfied (GSP) and he would just much rather be hunting than training at that moment. He is very excited every time I pull out the leash and harness (regardless of what kind of day its going to be), so I often don't know his mood until a few minutes into the walk. Any tips on how we can improve his consistency?
Hey Cole! I’m VERY glad to hear your dog responded well to the training (upper list), but it’s really hard for me to pinpoint what’s going wrong some days (lower list) without knowing your dog, neighborhood, seeing the training/timing in action, etc. It definitely sounds like he may be a bit bored/distracted some of the days, but again hard for me to confirm or offer specific suggestions without having even met him. I’d encourage you to consider 1-2 sessions with an in-person trainer so you have a second set of eyes that can watch your sessions and help pinpoint what’s different between the days!
One thing I learned with my dog that might be helpful - frustration can sort of stack and cascade quickly! When I first got my dog, I was a beginner, so I was bad at spotting his frustration, and my training was mega sloppy, and that was frustrating for him. Then, we would go to the offleash park and puppies would jump in his face and try to maul him. I didn't clue in that he hated it until he started to be reactive with puppies, then we managed to get it all under control again because I was better at trying to see when he was frustrated and uncomfortable. During that process, I definitely noticed that he had those drastically different moods like you described, where everything either worked great, or everything seemed to fall apart at once. Basically what would happen was the stuff he did in order to cope with his frustration actually made him feel way more frustrated, because it was in conflict with what I was asking him to do, and he wanted everything to be okay between us. It was a vicious cycle. When frustrations have been too high for too long, your frustration tolerance goes way down too. When my dog's frustration tolerance is low, and I ask him to do something and he's just not sure he knows how it's going to work out, the way he copes with the stress of that conflict is by ignoring me, looking away, trying to get interested in the smells around him even when he's already smelled everything and I'm pretty sure there's nothing good, he pretends there's a really interesting smell. That's what he does to cope with the stress. If I "punish" him at that point (by accident) by demanding that he behave better like he normally does, it's just more stress on top of stress, so it feeds into the problem behaviours. My theory is that your dog defaults to the prey drive behaviours when there is conflict, confusion or frustration between you, because it's fun and engaging and helps them avoid the difficult stuff. It's like escapism for dogs lol. So maybe the tension started because idk he had a bad dream or a tummy ache, then he dealt with it by getting really worked up over a prey animal, then that wasn't working with what you were asking of him, which stressed him out more, which made him want to hunt even more, which supercharged his nutty mood and all his behaviours. Not to mention that he doesn't actually get to hunt the way he wants! Idk how GSPs hunt, but I imagine they do some stalking and chasing or something that they're not allowed to do on a leash walk, so that could double down the frustration. My best advice for how to fix it is to train the dog in front of you. If your dog is in a bad mood make everything easy for them, and reduce their frustration however you can, don't keep the same expectations as you'd have of him in a good mood. Look at the ways he acts out, and try and figure out a way you can provide him the opportunity to work out his stress the same way, but with your permission. You might need to re train some stuff that he already knows, even if you know he'll get it back automatically on a good day, you have to help him make those same brain connections even when he's seeing the world super differently through the lens of the tension he's experiencing. I've also heard people swear by fixing their dog's diet to fix their behaviour, and a tummy ache might be what sets off the bad mood, so that might be something worth looking into as well.
Hello, I'm wondering - what are the chances the dog can teach(with this technique) that he will be rewarded when he pulls? I understand that to minimize this, I need to give him a treat for occasional checks. But - first, there is a dog's behaviour, second, there is a recall and then there is a treat so I can see a reward pattern in this for his pulling. But still, there is nothing better I can think of than this. Thanks :)
I tried the stopping with my dog and it just caused him to get all worked up. Eventually after almost all my treats are gone, he starts to catch on. Seemed like we were getting no where. Thank you for this.
You're welcome! I find that "be a tree" method works for very few dogs (I personally never use it for training) so I hope the in motion techniques work better for you 🙂
Oh what a wonderful video. I have a Boston Terrier puppy who is crazy loveable and I am a bit overwhelmed. You made this look doable and for that I thank you so very much.
Hahaha I just finished filming a different tutorial with a french bulldog and crazy loveable is a great way of saying it ❤ I'm so glad you enjoyed this video!
Your videos are awesome! Very helpful tips which so far improved our walks. My dog is really good on a short leash with a collar, but when I go on hikes I put him on a long line with a harness and I find it difficult to keep him from pulling while still letting him enjoy all the smells. All the other videos I found were kind of just explaining how to get your dog to heel, which isn't really what I wanted. So thanks a lot for all your content on loose leash walking!
So glad you're enjoying them!! Hiking with my dog is one of my favourite activities (hence all the hiking trip videos on the channel too haha), so I get it. There's two other videos I'd suggest checking out if you haven't yet. 1) This simple "recall" game is sooo good for building engagement outdoors and teaching your dog to check back in with you without cueing when you're a distance away: ua-cam.com/video/E1bY5ZeUxXQ/v-deo.html and 2) This training is helpful for being able to verbally ask your dog to leave something (including smells) from a distance while on walks: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html
Your training methods are brilliant. Very good vids thanks for the help my dog is going to be so well behaved by the time I’ve got through your training thanks. 🤩
Hello! I'm 2 days into week 3 of your 6 week loose leash program (been seeing great progress so far), and my dog doesn't seem to understand the difference between when to heel and when loose leash is okay. In the backyard I would release with "Ok!" and toss treats and he would go get them, but then most of the time he would quickly return to heel. When he did take advantage of it and start to sniff he would eventually pull and then return to heel in response to the direction change (after all... heel position is where the rewards are). He never really understood continuous loose leash walking in the backyard. As we've transitioned out to the sidewalk in front of our house he is now taking advantage of the extra freedom during loose leash time, but his heel has fallen apart. He doesn't voluntarily check in, and he wont stay in heel long enough for me to even get another treat out of the pouch for another lure without starting to wander, leading to tons of direction changes. I'm worried the "rules" aren't clear and he is interpreting the extra freedom as sometimes/always(?) being allowed, and doesn't understand why the rules suddenly become super strict after cueing heel. When we go to less interesting places like our own front yard or back yard, he goes back to almost always being in heel. Any tips?
I'm so glad to hear you've seen progress, and great questions! - For the loose leash in the yard that's pretty common for food motivated dogs. The yard isn't quite exciting enough, so they fall back to what got them the rewards instead of sniffing. I tend to not worry too much about that since as you noticed, that quickly changes once they go somewhere more exciting. - Few tips for the more stimulating spots: 1) If you can manage it, I'd keep a couple treats in your hand as you walk (without showing them to your dog) so you're ready to quickly mark & reward when in a newer/harder environment. Over time phase this out, but it can help speed up the process while learning if you always have a reward ready to go. 2) As you walk out of the yard, try incorporating some up/down game (like this: ua-cam.com/video/st-ferrvuhs/v-deo.html) to really grab his attention as you transition to the new environment. 3) In a heel, try to add some direction changes (call his name as you turn and reward him for looking at you and following) BEFORE he goes in front of you so that you have more opportunities to reward the heel. Let me know if those help!
@@happyhoundsdogtraining Thank you! Number 3 in particular worked pretty well today. I think I am also going to stop working on heel in the current "hardest" environment, but rather keep it to the areas 1-2 grades below his current max. Hopefully that sets him up for success while continuing to build that skill in progressively harder scenarios. 2 more questions... 1) What do you do when a dog pulls to the side? In particular, what do you do when during loose leash walking on the side walk he tries to walk into the street? Technically he is well within his allotted 8ish feet of leash, but its obviously not safe to let him just run around in the street. Its often not possible to change directions directly away from the road (like when the sidewalk runs next to a wall/hillside). 2) What do you do when a sniff break needs to be stopped? My boy is always on the hunt, so an innocent sniff near a shrub can quickly turn into only his butt sticking out of the bushes. In this scenario I can't access his head so the suggested management techniques don't work and I've had to drag him out. Thanks again!
Hi, I have taken many positive training classes with my dogs over the years. Different dogs and different issues sometimes. I am finding these training videos for walking loose leash so helpful. I don't want a heal, just a loose leash. One dog is good, the other is a work in progress, but he is smart & it it helping. I am going to continue to watch all the videos over time. I watched one where you asked breeds of Louie & his brothers, I think they may have different fathers. Louie looks more Terrier/maybe some herding breed, his brother looks more bully to me. I did Wisdom Panel for both my mixes & Echo doesn't look his breeds but Hunter does.
My spaniel is almost a year old and is in training to be a service dog so we’ve done a lot of leash training. But he’s still a teenage spaniel and pulls when we are doing walks he knows we aren’t “working” on when he’s excited so I’ve started doing the turn around method with him and it’s working wonders, I think partly because of his working heel/loose leash training. Being a tree does not work for him though because of the energy you mentioned and his need to move and sniff haha!
I can't wait to try this with some of the crazy pullers I work with. you have so many creative ways to work on problems! is that something you developed over time? I often feeling lacking in creativity in trying to work on behavior issues but maybe that's just my frustration talking lol
I’ve been doing the “tree” method with my high energy GSP and just came to realize this method is frustrating for both of us and is not working. Thanks for the other suggestions.
Awesome video as always! I would seriously die for Remy...he's so cute.. I have a question, would you apply these same techniques for a dog who is very very scent driven? I know this women who has a beagle and he has such a high scent drive that she hates walking him because when he's outside, 95% of the time his nose is to the ground and his nose will not leave the ground. I'm not exaggerating, I've seen it. He pulls her everytime he wants to smell something which is a lot!! She says when he catches onto a scent he'll even start like barking/baying/howling? Which I guess is a thing beagles do when they catch onto a scent their excited about 😂. She'll literally have to pull him away from a scent he's following. And when he's outside, no treat or toy or anything she's tried is worth more than the scent on the ground. Hence her having a very difficult getting him to focus on her. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Thanks Lauren, glad you liked it! Few thoughts/ideas without knowing the dog or client: - Has she HEAVILY practiced the skills indoors & built a huge reinforcement history? I find a lot of people try to train in scenarios where they already need the skill, and that doesn't work as well. - Depending on her area/where she walks, I'd try to find ways of bridging the difficulty when she takes training outside. For example, walk down the road rather than sidewalk (if in an area where safe to do so) since there will be less scents that way.... then slowly progress to desired walking areas. - Find a way of incorporating his desire to sniff into the reward... for example if he listens to leave it, toss the treat into grass for him to sniff and find rather than offering it from her hand. - I'd also STRONGLY encourage her to follow this training video since the entire premise is practicing with smells that are inaccesible: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html
I suggest trying a few different treats to determine your dogs highest value option (This video explains how: ua-cam.com/video/vywrddzYG90/v-deo.html), but I've been a huge fan of using Vital Essentials freeze dried bites lately (not sponsored, I actually purchase them).
How would you recommend giving treats to short dogs during walks. Should I be reaching down or is it okay to throw it on the ground. It can be diffuclt to constantly reach down.
Dropping treats on the ground after saying your marker word works for some dogs, but for others it can make them more likely to jump or take treats harshly later on. Check this video out for a quick solution: ua-cam.com/video/RBngNKpMq74/v-deo.html
The 'be a tree' method 'worked' for my dog. But it came with side effects, whenever I stopped she would immediately return to my side. Which you'd think is good, but if I stopped to let her sniff, she'd think she'd done wrong and return to my side. She'd also get pretty frustrated. Side effect being no sniffing is pretty bad, keeps her pent up and she's also a dog reactive dog. Sniffing is very important for dogs, and just doing light sniffing wasn't doing a whole lot for her.
That makes SO much sense because to her, you stopping became a non-verbal cue to return to you. Yet another reason to dislike be a tree lol. Sniffing is so, so important for reactive dogs in particular!
wow what a great lesson to be learned .. thanks for this comment, I'll keep that in mind. does she sniff on the go at all? maybe you can put that on cue when she does it, and use the cue to encourage her when you guys stop?
@NoOne-hg1qc I stopped using that as a 'command'. Instead, I stopped and threw a treat where she was sniffing to encourage her to keep sniffing. She doesn't stop with me anymore unless I ask for it, with a verbal command. Occasionally, she will just stare at me for most of the walk, and I do the same thing of throwing treats on the ground. I think her breed also doesn't help as she's a heeler/corgi, and very attached to her humans, and super obedient. She wears a flat collar and a harness, and I usually attach the leash to her harness.
I'm trying to get her learning a 'search' command, but I'm using it for too many things. She thinks if I ask something of her, I'm asking for her attention.
If it helps it’s not people he humps but any dog he comes in contact with but I think it’s sort of a dominance over the other dog just don’t want it to lead to people he humps 😅
My Echo humps Hunter & Hunter let's him sometimes so Echo is confused. If his nails scratch or hurt him Hunter fights it. Wld really like to see a video on this issue. Thanks
How would you deal with a dog that keeps lagging behind alot? Obviously, I mostly let her sniff /explore etc. But it would be nice to have a cue that means "now we really gotta go" (out maybe a cue for "explore, do your thing"?) maybe something for a future video, unless you have one already! Also, gonna try the direction change because my dog can get frustrated with the tree method 😊
Good question! Do you find she lags behind because she's found something interesting to sniff, or just walks slower? I have two suggestions you might try: 1) I personally like teaching both heel (walk at my side at my pace, no sniffing) and loose leash (go anywhere you want and stop when you want, as long as there isn't leash tension). Heel has a bad reputation because of how harshly it's commonly taught, but it's really useful for walking down busy sidewalks or if you ever just want to go for a fast paced "exercise" walk with your dog. I personally put both on separate verbal cues so the dog knows which kind of walk we're currently doing. In your situation where your dog has lagged behind for awhile, it would be a nice break for you to be able to request a heel and just move for awhile 😂 I'll put a video here for how I taught both heel & loose leash to Charlotte: ua-cam.com/video/4fUVXntWPOM/v-deo.html 2) Other tip if you're finding your dog just sniffs things for a bit too long for your patience is to teach her a "leave it" cue to get her to disengage from whatever she found. I have a beginner tutorial (linked here: ua-cam.com/video/umt0jF9MHeI/v-deo.html ) and more advanced version that really works for anything your dog finds on walks (linked here: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html ). Hope those help!! And yes, I find a lot of dogs hate the "be a tree" method 😂 I'd be curious if your dog seems happier without it!
Hello and thank you for this video. My dog is very strong 72lb less than 2 years old. Sometimes I can even hold her when she pulls. Our problem is she is not interested in treats at the beginning of our walks. And she pulls. I tried all kinds of meat and dog treats. On our way back home it gets easier, but what should I do on the first part of our walks? Thank you for your help 😊🐶🐶
How would you do this with a dog that full on SPRINTS? Somedays my little ACD/Staffy/chihuahua boy will be fine and stay with me but most days even when I do some prep games before for engagement, he’s RUNNING and then getting popped by the leash. I’m exhausted. It’s hard to catch him to mark and reward if I’m not ON IT.
Good question! Without knowing your dog, my first two thoughts would be: 1) If he's picking up speed because of something specific he's running to, rehearse & use a solid leave it cue before he hits the end of the leash: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html 2) If he's picking up speed for no reason except that it's fun to run, use that in your training. I'd plan for a month of LOTS of pre-emptive turning. Whenever you notice him pick up speed, turn and call his name before he hits the end of the leash. That way he can actually sprint to catch up to you, and the fun aspect becomes part of the reward for maintaining a loose leash. When he catches you, I'd reward 3-4 times in a row for walking right next to you in a semi-heel so that they food rewards are used for teaching him the general pace you'd like him to maintain 🙃 A month of heavy focus & cueing prior to leash pulling will go a longgg ways for building more sensitivity to leash tension & decreasing pulling overall.
i hear some dog videos claiming that you shouldnt give you dog treats by tossing them on the floor because it teaches them to eat random stuff on the floor.
Obviously you need to do what you’re comfortable with, but I’d personally disagree with that concern! ☺️ Dogs are natural born scavengers; it’s not something they need to be “taught”. There’s been a lot of worry over the years that outlets that mimic natural tendencies will bring out the worst in dogs (example tug causes aggression, chasing a ball increases prey drive, trash or paper shredding will make them more destructive in the home) but I haven’t seen anything to support those claims. Typically it’s the opposite- offering outlets helps satisfy natural tendencies!
If you've enjoyed this video please like, comment & share 🙂 It really helps!
🙋♀️COMPLETE DOG TRAINING SOLUTIONS:
•❓🤨 STRUGGLING WITH LEASH TRAINING? 👇
✅ 6 Weeks to Dream Walks: Step-By-Step Leash Training Program: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/6-weeks-to-dream-walks-step-by-step-leash-training-program
•❓🐿️ STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DOG CHASING ANIMALS (indoors or outdoors)?👇
✅ Dog Prey Drive: How to STOP Animal Chasing: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/dog-prey-drive-how-to-stop-animal-chasing-with-force-free-methods
►👀 WATCH NEXT:
✔️ Simple "recall" game: ua-cam.com/video/E1bY5ZeUxXQ/v-deo.html
✔️10 tips to immediately improve pulling on leash: ua-cam.com/video/V7kE4RZ18XM/v-deo.html
✔️ Teach your dog to fix their own tangled leash: ua-cam.com/video/qNk4EVgu5-g/v-deo.html
✔️ Train your dog to stop jumping on you: ua-cam.com/video/g6PVdqinCUk/v-deo.html
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love the simplicity of the exercise and your explanation, it was one of the first techniques I learnt and still use 😁 Looks lovely to walk dogs in your country, soo much space 😍
Thank you so much! And yes haha, Canada is great for space ♥
Remy is so cute with his little booties 🥹 Really effective and useful tips, thank you again! My dog is doing so much better with the changing direction method, I’d say we were BOTH happy to ditch the “be a tree” approach haha
Isn’t he?! I love the sound they make as he walks 😂❤️ Yay! I’m so glad the tips helped!!
As always, terrific video!!! Every hound owner needs to watch this video! Allowing your dog to walk on a loose leash while enjoying the environment but NOT pull is essential for both of you to have a good outing.
You are so kind ♥ Thank you!
Hello! My dog and I have seen our improvements plateau over the past 2 months. Some days he does very well, but is extremely inconsistent. His success seems to depend almost entirely on what kind of mood he is in when we start our walks. Our routine is very consistent: wake up, play to burn energy, recall game to build focus, walk. I am also careful about maintaining a happy and upbeat demeanor/voice myself even during bad days.
Behavior on a good day:
- Quickly refocusing on me when I change directions and call his name (very often before reaching end of leash)
- Very very few (usually zero) situations requiring treat to nose redirection
- Great cued heel for 30+ second stretches
- Frequent voluntary non-cued heeling in "boring" areas like our cul de sac
- Frequent check-ins even when 4+ feet ahead of me
- Runs to me for a treat after good (but reasonable length) sniffs
- Quick to disengage from distractions (including people and dogs on other side of the street) with a simple name call
- Instant leave-it/drop-it for "easy" things (I only cue these when I can tell he's being attentive and I'm confident he will succeed)
- Able to complete a full loop around our neighborhood which includes a couple pretty distracting areas
- Enthusiastic body language: loose whole body/tail wagging, "prancy" gait while heeling and looking up, tongue out
- Getting home after a 40+ minute walk he wants to continue training and will follow me around in heel looking up at me both inside and in the backyard
Behavior on bad days:
- Frequent failures to refocus when changing directions (requiring treat to nose redirection)
- Constant stopping or pulling ahead, basically disregarding me completely
- Stalking/hunting behavior where he walks extremely slowly then freezes (he is a pointer)
- Complete fixation on other calm dogs 100 feet away (refuses treat to nose redirection and does everything he can to maintain line of sight)
- Rigid body language, mouth closed, tail not wagging
- All of the above within our front yard/cul de sac, which he has been doing great in for over 3 months
- I usually cut these walks short (around 20 minutes), and when we get home he just wants to immediately go in the backyard and hunt lizards
My best guess from the stalking behavior and his immediate desire to hunt at the end of the bad walks is that for whatever reason some days his prey drive is unsatisfied (GSP) and he would just much rather be hunting than training at that moment. He is very excited every time I pull out the leash and harness (regardless of what kind of day its going to be), so I often don't know his mood until a few minutes into the walk.
Any tips on how we can improve his consistency?
Hey Cole! I’m VERY glad to hear your dog responded well to the training (upper list), but it’s really hard for me to pinpoint what’s going wrong some days (lower list) without knowing your dog, neighborhood, seeing the training/timing in action, etc.
It definitely sounds like he may be a bit bored/distracted some of the days, but again hard for me to confirm or offer specific suggestions without having even met him. I’d encourage you to consider 1-2 sessions with an in-person trainer so you have a second set of eyes that can watch your sessions and help pinpoint what’s different between the days!
One thing I learned with my dog that might be helpful - frustration can sort of stack and cascade quickly! When I first got my dog, I was a beginner, so I was bad at spotting his frustration, and my training was mega sloppy, and that was frustrating for him. Then, we would go to the offleash park and puppies would jump in his face and try to maul him. I didn't clue in that he hated it until he started to be reactive with puppies, then we managed to get it all under control again because I was better at trying to see when he was frustrated and uncomfortable. During that process, I definitely noticed that he had those drastically different moods like you described, where everything either worked great, or everything seemed to fall apart at once. Basically what would happen was the stuff he did in order to cope with his frustration actually made him feel way more frustrated, because it was in conflict with what I was asking him to do, and he wanted everything to be okay between us. It was a vicious cycle. When frustrations have been too high for too long, your frustration tolerance goes way down too. When my dog's frustration tolerance is low, and I ask him to do something and he's just not sure he knows how it's going to work out, the way he copes with the stress of that conflict is by ignoring me, looking away, trying to get interested in the smells around him even when he's already smelled everything and I'm pretty sure there's nothing good, he pretends there's a really interesting smell. That's what he does to cope with the stress. If I "punish" him at that point (by accident) by demanding that he behave better like he normally does, it's just more stress on top of stress, so it feeds into the problem behaviours. My theory is that your dog defaults to the prey drive behaviours when there is conflict, confusion or frustration between you, because it's fun and engaging and helps them avoid the difficult stuff. It's like escapism for dogs lol. So maybe the tension started because idk he had a bad dream or a tummy ache, then he dealt with it by getting really worked up over a prey animal, then that wasn't working with what you were asking of him, which stressed him out more, which made him want to hunt even more, which supercharged his nutty mood and all his behaviours. Not to mention that he doesn't actually get to hunt the way he wants! Idk how GSPs hunt, but I imagine they do some stalking and chasing or something that they're not allowed to do on a leash walk, so that could double down the frustration.
My best advice for how to fix it is to train the dog in front of you. If your dog is in a bad mood make everything easy for them, and reduce their frustration however you can, don't keep the same expectations as you'd have of him in a good mood. Look at the ways he acts out, and try and figure out a way you can provide him the opportunity to work out his stress the same way, but with your permission. You might need to re train some stuff that he already knows, even if you know he'll get it back automatically on a good day, you have to help him make those same brain connections even when he's seeing the world super differently through the lens of the tension he's experiencing. I've also heard people swear by fixing their dog's diet to fix their behaviour, and a tummy ache might be what sets off the bad mood, so that might be something worth looking into as well.
How Rammy walks in his shoes! So cute!
Haha I agree! I kept some of the sound on the walking clips because I love the noise of him plodding along in his booties 😂❤
I love the sound too so much, haha! Glad that you kept the sound on the clips. It made Rammy's walking double cute! @@happyhoundsdogtraining
Hello, I'm wondering - what are the chances the dog can teach(with this technique) that he will be rewarded when he pulls? I understand that to minimize this, I need to give him a treat for occasional checks. But - first, there is a dog's behaviour, second, there is a recall and then there is a treat so I can see a reward pattern in this for his pulling. But still, there is nothing better I can think of than this.
Thanks :)
I tried the stopping with my dog and it just caused him to get all worked up. Eventually after almost all my treats are gone, he starts to catch on. Seemed like we were getting no where. Thank you for this.
You're welcome! I find that "be a tree" method works for very few dogs (I personally never use it for training) so I hope the in motion techniques work better for you 🙂
Thank you.
You’re welcome ☺️
Very interesting video! I’ll try it to my dog. Thanks😊
Thank you, hope it helps!
Oh what a wonderful video. I have a Boston Terrier puppy who is crazy loveable and I am a bit overwhelmed. You made this look doable and for that I thank you so very much.
Hahaha I just finished filming a different tutorial with a french bulldog and crazy loveable is a great way of saying it ❤ I'm so glad you enjoyed this video!
Your videos are awesome! Very helpful tips which so far improved our walks.
My dog is really good on a short leash with a collar, but when I go on hikes I put him on a long line with a harness and I find it difficult to keep him from pulling while still letting him enjoy all the smells.
All the other videos I found were kind of just explaining how to get your dog to heel, which isn't really what I wanted. So thanks a lot for all your content on loose leash walking!
So glad you're enjoying them!! Hiking with my dog is one of my favourite activities (hence all the hiking trip videos on the channel too haha), so I get it. There's two other videos I'd suggest checking out if you haven't yet. 1) This simple "recall" game is sooo good for building engagement outdoors and teaching your dog to check back in with you without cueing when you're a distance away: ua-cam.com/video/E1bY5ZeUxXQ/v-deo.html and 2) This training is helpful for being able to verbally ask your dog to leave something (including smells) from a distance while on walks: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html
Your training methods are brilliant. Very good vids thanks for the help my dog is going to be so well behaved by the time I’ve got through your training thanks. 🤩
Thanks so much 😊 I’m excited for you to see the changes in your dog!
Hello! I'm 2 days into week 3 of your 6 week loose leash program (been seeing great progress so far), and my dog doesn't seem to understand the difference between when to heel and when loose leash is okay. In the backyard I would release with "Ok!" and toss treats and he would go get them, but then most of the time he would quickly return to heel. When he did take advantage of it and start to sniff he would eventually pull and then return to heel in response to the direction change (after all... heel position is where the rewards are). He never really understood continuous loose leash walking in the backyard.
As we've transitioned out to the sidewalk in front of our house he is now taking advantage of the extra freedom during loose leash time, but his heel has fallen apart. He doesn't voluntarily check in, and he wont stay in heel long enough for me to even get another treat out of the pouch for another lure without starting to wander, leading to tons of direction changes. I'm worried the "rules" aren't clear and he is interpreting the extra freedom as sometimes/always(?) being allowed, and doesn't understand why the rules suddenly become super strict after cueing heel.
When we go to less interesting places like our own front yard or back yard, he goes back to almost always being in heel.
Any tips?
I'm so glad to hear you've seen progress, and great questions!
- For the loose leash in the yard that's pretty common for food motivated dogs. The yard isn't quite exciting enough, so they fall back to what got them the rewards instead of sniffing. I tend to not worry too much about that since as you noticed, that quickly changes once they go somewhere more exciting.
- Few tips for the more stimulating spots: 1) If you can manage it, I'd keep a couple treats in your hand as you walk (without showing them to your dog) so you're ready to quickly mark & reward when in a newer/harder environment. Over time phase this out, but it can help speed up the process while learning if you always have a reward ready to go. 2) As you walk out of the yard, try incorporating some up/down game (like this: ua-cam.com/video/st-ferrvuhs/v-deo.html) to really grab his attention as you transition to the new environment. 3) In a heel, try to add some direction changes (call his name as you turn and reward him for looking at you and following) BEFORE he goes in front of you so that you have more opportunities to reward the heel.
Let me know if those help!
@@happyhoundsdogtraining Thank you! Number 3 in particular worked pretty well today. I think I am also going to stop working on heel in the current "hardest" environment, but rather keep it to the areas 1-2 grades below his current max. Hopefully that sets him up for success while continuing to build that skill in progressively harder scenarios.
2 more questions...
1) What do you do when a dog pulls to the side? In particular, what do you do when during loose leash walking on the side walk he tries to walk into the street? Technically he is well within his allotted 8ish feet of leash, but its obviously not safe to let him just run around in the street. Its often not possible to change directions directly away from the road (like when the sidewalk runs next to a wall/hillside).
2) What do you do when a sniff break needs to be stopped? My boy is always on the hunt, so an innocent sniff near a shrub can quickly turn into only his butt sticking out of the bushes. In this scenario I can't access his head so the suggested management techniques don't work and I've had to drag him out.
Thanks again!
Your videos are amazing. I can’t tell you how much hope I have for training my dogs. Thanks to you.
Thank you, what a lovely comment to read 😊 Messages like this REALLY encourage me to keep making more tutorials!
Hi, I have taken many positive training classes with my dogs over the years. Different dogs and different issues sometimes. I am finding these training videos for walking loose leash so helpful. I don't want a heal, just a loose leash. One dog is good, the other is a work in progress, but he is smart & it it helping. I am going to continue to watch all the videos over time. I watched one where you asked breeds of Louie & his brothers, I think they may have different fathers. Louie looks more Terrier/maybe some herding breed, his brother looks more bully to me. I did Wisdom Panel for both my mixes & Echo doesn't look his breeds but Hunter does.
Wow, thank you so much!! 🙏 I love hearing that even with lots of prior learning, there’s some helpful additions in my videos 😊
Will Definitely give this a go.
Due to the amount of pulling along with some lead reactivity, been using a head harness to be able to walk nicely.
Hope it helps! Decreasing pulling helps SO much with reactivity as well 😊
Excellent instructions
Thank you!! 😊
My spaniel is almost a year old and is in training to be a service dog so we’ve done a lot of leash training. But he’s still a teenage spaniel and pulls when we are doing walks he knows we aren’t “working” on when he’s excited so I’ve started doing the turn around method with him and it’s working wonders, I think partly because of his working heel/loose leash training. Being a tree does not work for him though because of the energy you mentioned and his need to move and sniff haha!
Amazing!! I'm so glad to hear it's been helping 🙂 I can imagine a year old Spaniel hating the be a tree method hahaha
Thank you! 🙏🏻
You're so welcome!
I can't wait to try this with some of the crazy pullers I work with. you have so many creative ways to work on problems! is that something you developed over time? I often feeling lacking in creativity in trying to work on behavior issues but maybe that's just my frustration talking lol
Thank you! Haha I’ve been training dogs for a loooooong time, so I’ve learned lots of methods. Every dog is so different. It’s nice to have options!
I’ve been doing the “tree” method with my high energy GSP and just came to realize this method is frustrating for both of us and is not working. Thanks for the other suggestions.
You're welcome! I definitely find that "be a tree" frustrates most dogs. I also personally get tired of all the stopping 😂
Awesome video as always! I would seriously die for Remy...he's so cute..
I have a question, would you apply these same techniques for a dog who is very very scent driven?
I know this women who has a beagle and he has such a high scent drive that she hates walking him because when he's outside, 95% of the time his nose is to the ground and his nose will not leave the ground. I'm not exaggerating, I've seen it. He pulls her everytime he wants to smell something which is a lot!! She says when he catches onto a scent he'll even start like barking/baying/howling? Which I guess is a thing beagles do when they catch onto a scent their excited about 😂.
She'll literally have to pull him away from a scent he's following. And when he's outside, no treat or toy or anything she's tried is worth more than the scent on the ground. Hence her having a very difficult getting him to focus on her.
Any suggestions? Thanks!
Thanks Lauren, glad you liked it! Few thoughts/ideas without knowing the dog or client:
- Has she HEAVILY practiced the skills indoors & built a huge reinforcement history? I find a lot of people try to train in scenarios where they already need the skill, and that doesn't work as well.
- Depending on her area/where she walks, I'd try to find ways of bridging the difficulty when she takes training outside. For example, walk down the road rather than sidewalk (if in an area where safe to do so) since there will be less scents that way.... then slowly progress to desired walking areas.
- Find a way of incorporating his desire to sniff into the reward... for example if he listens to leave it, toss the treat into grass for him to sniff and find rather than offering it from her hand.
- I'd also STRONGLY encourage her to follow this training video since the entire premise is practicing with smells that are inaccesible: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html
What training treats do you recommend ?
I suggest trying a few different treats to determine your dogs highest value option (This video explains how: ua-cam.com/video/vywrddzYG90/v-deo.html), but I've been a huge fan of using Vital Essentials freeze dried bites lately (not sponsored, I actually purchase them).
How would you recommend giving treats to short dogs during walks. Should I be reaching down or is it okay to throw it on the ground. It can be diffuclt to constantly reach down.
Dropping treats on the ground after saying your marker word works for some dogs, but for others it can make them more likely to jump or take treats harshly later on. Check this video out for a quick solution: ua-cam.com/video/RBngNKpMq74/v-deo.html
The 'be a tree' method 'worked' for my dog. But it came with side effects, whenever I stopped she would immediately return to my side. Which you'd think is good, but if I stopped to let her sniff, she'd think she'd done wrong and return to my side. She'd also get pretty frustrated.
Side effect being no sniffing is pretty bad, keeps her pent up and she's also a dog reactive dog. Sniffing is very important for dogs, and just doing light sniffing wasn't doing a whole lot for her.
That makes SO much sense because to her, you stopping became a non-verbal cue to return to you. Yet another reason to dislike be a tree lol. Sniffing is so, so important for reactive dogs in particular!
wow what a great lesson to be learned .. thanks for this comment, I'll keep that in mind. does she sniff on the go at all? maybe you can put that on cue when she does it, and use the cue to encourage her when you guys stop?
@NoOne-hg1qc I stopped using that as a 'command'. Instead, I stopped and threw a treat where she was sniffing to encourage her to keep sniffing. She doesn't stop with me anymore unless I ask for it, with a verbal command.
Occasionally, she will just stare at me for most of the walk, and I do the same thing of throwing treats on the ground.
I think her breed also doesn't help as she's a heeler/corgi, and very attached to her humans, and super obedient. She wears a flat collar and a harness, and I usually attach the leash to her harness.
I'm trying to get her learning a 'search' command, but I'm using it for too many things. She thinks if I ask something of her, I'm asking for her attention.
@@jacksona1262oh super cool! thanks for that info
Do you have a video on how to stop dogs from humping? 😅 my brothers dogs started this bad Habit on mine.
I don't BUT I've actually had multiple requests now, so I feel like I should 😂
@@happyhoundsdogtraining please! 🤣
If it helps it’s not people he humps but any dog he comes in contact with but I think it’s sort of a dominance over the other dog just don’t want it to lead to people he humps 😅
My Echo humps Hunter & Hunter let's him sometimes so Echo is confused. If his nails scratch or hurt him Hunter fights it. Wld really like to see a video on this issue. Thanks
How would you deal with a dog that keeps lagging behind alot? Obviously, I mostly let her sniff /explore etc. But it would be nice to have a cue that means "now we really gotta go" (out maybe a cue for "explore, do your thing"?) maybe something for a future video, unless you have one already!
Also, gonna try the direction change because my dog can get frustrated with the tree method 😊
Good question! Do you find she lags behind because she's found something interesting to sniff, or just walks slower? I have two suggestions you might try:
1) I personally like teaching both heel (walk at my side at my pace, no sniffing) and loose leash (go anywhere you want and stop when you want, as long as there isn't leash tension). Heel has a bad reputation because of how harshly it's commonly taught, but it's really useful for walking down busy sidewalks or if you ever just want to go for a fast paced "exercise" walk with your dog. I personally put both on separate verbal cues so the dog knows which kind of walk we're currently doing. In your situation where your dog has lagged behind for awhile, it would be a nice break for you to be able to request a heel and just move for awhile 😂 I'll put a video here for how I taught both heel & loose leash to Charlotte: ua-cam.com/video/4fUVXntWPOM/v-deo.html
2) Other tip if you're finding your dog just sniffs things for a bit too long for your patience is to teach her a "leave it" cue to get her to disengage from whatever she found. I have a beginner tutorial (linked here: ua-cam.com/video/umt0jF9MHeI/v-deo.html ) and more advanced version that really works for anything your dog finds on walks (linked here: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html ).
Hope those help!! And yes, I find a lot of dogs hate the "be a tree" method 😂 I'd be curious if your dog seems happier without it!
Hello and thank you for this video. My dog is very strong 72lb less than 2 years old. Sometimes I can even hold her when she pulls. Our problem is she is not interested in treats at the beginning of our walks. And she pulls. I tried all kinds of meat and dog treats. On our way back home it gets easier, but what should I do on the first part of our walks? Thank you for your help 😊🐶🐶
How would you do this with a dog that full on SPRINTS? Somedays my little ACD/Staffy/chihuahua boy will be fine and stay with me but most days even when I do some prep games before for engagement, he’s RUNNING and then getting popped by the leash. I’m exhausted. It’s hard to catch him to mark and reward if I’m not ON IT.
Good question! Without knowing your dog, my first two thoughts would be:
1) If he's picking up speed because of something specific he's running to, rehearse & use a solid leave it cue before he hits the end of the leash: ua-cam.com/video/M1UvdL4-3B8/v-deo.html
2) If he's picking up speed for no reason except that it's fun to run, use that in your training. I'd plan for a month of LOTS of pre-emptive turning. Whenever you notice him pick up speed, turn and call his name before he hits the end of the leash. That way he can actually sprint to catch up to you, and the fun aspect becomes part of the reward for maintaining a loose leash. When he catches you, I'd reward 3-4 times in a row for walking right next to you in a semi-heel so that they food rewards are used for teaching him the general pace you'd like him to maintain 🙃
A month of heavy focus & cueing prior to leash pulling will go a longgg ways for building more sensitivity to leash tension & decreasing pulling overall.
@@happyhoundsdogtraining omg thank you so much!!!!!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
🙏😁
i hear some dog videos claiming that you shouldnt give you dog treats by tossing them on the floor because it teaches them to eat random stuff on the floor.
Obviously you need to do what you’re comfortable with, but I’d personally disagree with that concern! ☺️ Dogs are natural born scavengers; it’s not something they need to be “taught”. There’s been a lot of worry over the years that outlets that mimic natural tendencies will bring out the worst in dogs (example tug causes aggression, chasing a ball increases prey drive, trash or paper shredding will make them more destructive in the home) but I haven’t seen anything to support those claims. Typically it’s the opposite- offering outlets helps satisfy natural tendencies!