Help with loose leash walking please!!!!

[CoraBoxer]

Woo Ottawa, Bruce Pit? Never know who you're going to meet there, I guess its like any dog park thats open to everyone. Keep an eye on her. Some people have no regard for other dogs and for what there dog is doing. I'm going to keep an eye out for Smudge Its getting really nice now. Honestly some of the best evening walk weather imo.

We do the opposite with Cora. We take her for a walk/bike ride BEFORE going to the dog park. Yours maybe isn't old enough yet, still growing but bike rides are awesome. Nothing super fast just faster than you might be able to walk... keeps them focused and less likely to jump after something if you're moving forward. In the summer its soccer balls she loves. No pull harness (we have one as well) is good for the choking 100% but its not magic. They can still pull. Easier to correct/control. It takes a lot of work, which usually is also a long time to get them consistent. Don't head out too far, keep the 'leash training' walks shorter. You'll both get frustrated to no end. Drain in other ways like other said.

There are some really cool places around Ottawa. Especially if you're able to drive. Manotick, Riverside south is where we hang out most of the time. Have a few pals we meet up with, don't need the whole dog park :P

 

[johann]

There are ways to painless teach your dog loose leash walking. Use a no pull harness for when you need to walk and don't want to do any heel training. Don't walk forward when she's pulling. Get yummier and irresistable treats for walks. And, the more she gets out and about...the more she will be able to focus.

Start working on teaching her how to heel, but start in a very quiet and non exciting environment. Get some small pieces of a yummy treat. Reward her every time that she is standing in heel position. We used a clicker to mark exactly what was getting the reward. Once she has figured out why she's getting treats, you can add the verbal cue. Gradually make it harder for her to get in to heel (turn away, take off running, etc). Then start walking one step and rewarding, then two steps, and so on. As she starts to really understand the process, you can space out the treats while you are walking. Start with super frequent rewards though.

Once she understand this inside, move to your front yard. Use a long lead so that you can do tune same type of exercises as indoors. I'd do this off leash indoors and in fenced areas. Once she's solid in a quiet outdoors area, move to a park or busier location.

It takes a lot of practice and repititions, but she will figure out what heel means. Please don't use negative and painful methods.

 

[whiskers]

I would start by getting either a Gentle Leader or no-pull harness, so that walks are more manageable while you're training.

What kind of treats are you using? Sometimes it's just a matter of using a different treat that is more interesting than the rest of the outside world. That can be hard to figure out with a pup! When Juno was a pup and we were leash training, I was so frustrated because she completely ignored my treats--and I was using a Natural Balance food roll, which I thought would be like, THE ultimate treat (nice and meaty and stinky!). But nope, she didn't care. So I started using hot dogs, and those got her attention! Peanut butter also works very well; I put it in a food tube (Coghlan's Squeeze Tubes - Package of 2 at REI.com) so it's easy to use. Spray cheese in a can might be enticing to her as well. And, like Lilylarue was talking about, then you can hold it down at your side and she can smell it and lick at it, which will keep her more interested in staying by your side.

Another technique is to walk backwards. Yeah looks silly. If she is following you though, she won't be pulling on the leash. Here's a nice video demonstrating the beginning stages, and how to progress to walking forward: YouTube - Loose Leash Walking

I would also reward her any time she steps into heel position at home, even if it's by accident. If you're walking around the house and she comes to your side, tell her YES and go grab her a cookie. Make it the TREAT ZONE, being at your side should be very fun and awesome and rewarding!

It does take A LOT of time and patience though! At one point I truly believed Juno was not capable of walking politely on a leash . She is 1000000% better than she was a year ago though. I remember taking her in for the CGC test, she was dragging me all over the parking lot and was a nutcase in the lobby of the shelter; clearly she did not pass the CGC. But that bad behavior is long gone.