Really good tip to stop leash pulling

[Jinnytee]

I have a boxer pup called Luna, plus a 4 year old lab called Bailey. After years of walking on leash without a problem, my lab had started gradually pulling more and more .... until it got to the point where walks were no longer enjoyable for either of us. She half-choking herself and me doing battle the whole way. Tried all sorts of collars, methods, like the stop-and-start thing, nothing helped. Finally brought in a professional dog trainer/ behaviourist.
She showed me to walk with a walking stick held in my right hand, Bailey on the left, with the walking stick diagonally across my body so that the tip of the walking stick was held in front of Bailey, about 6 inches off the ground, parallel with my feet. Took Bailey for a walk ... AMAZING. She walked to perfect heel, relaxed leash, in complete unison to my steps. Who knew that all I needed was a walking stick to " draw the line" ( literally and figuratively) on her bad walking manners.

Thought I would share this for anyone else with this problem.

 

[Cami]

Raine would want to attack (play) with the stick.
She is 3.5 years old now and will walk pretty well after years of working with her. She is much better with me walking her than hubby. She pulls crazy with him.....but I walk her 99% of the time so I guess she thinks when he takes her that it is a rare event and time to play.

 

[TwoDogs]

Heeling sticks have been around for ages--popular with compulsion method trainers.

If used to deliver physical corrections it falls into the positive punishment realm and discussion of such use is prohibited on this forum.

Another use is to deliver negative reinforcement--trainer speak for presenting an aversive and then removing it when the dog performs a desirable behavior. In real life applying negative reinforcement often involves some initial positive punishment. For example, the stick comes out when the dog steps out of heel position (aversive applied as a "correction" for the undesired behavior) then as the dog slows and hits position again, the stick is removed (removal of aversive when the dog initiates the desired behavior).

Both instances rely on the stick being aversive to the dog--something that it wants to avoid. Why and to what extent the stick is aversive (and therefore how effective the use of it will be) depends on the dog, how the stick is/has been used, and what association the dog has with the stick being placed in their path.

You can use a heeling stick in a non-traditional manner by using positive reinforcement methods to teach the dog to target the stick with a body part (its nose) or the area behind the stick. Then, during your walk, cue the behavior and reward the dog for performing it. Increase the number of steps required or the length of time the dog must maintain the behavior in order to be rewarded and then vary the reward. Over time the targeting stick can be faded.

 

[entelekia]

I've used a "stick" (it's actually the cardboard inside of a roll of wrapping paper) as both an aversive and a targeting device. Lego is very aware of physical "boundaries", for instance, things like tables, chairs, baby gates, even curtains - he will mind his space and will always avoid these things. Laika on the other hand, was the proverbial bull in the china shop, she would jump over baby gates or knock them down, barrel through chairs and tables like they weren't even there… you get the idea.

So for Laika the "walking stick" would not have worked for leash walking at all, but I did use it for some aspects of agility training, as an extension of my arm. She was so fast at agility that while I worked on handling from behind I would use the stick for her to target the next direction change or obstacle. It was awesome.

With Lego -ages ago- we did use the stick for leash walking… I think I used it 3 times altogether, and the same way you describe, just holding it in front of him until he fell back, then removing it when he was in the desired position. I don't even think he touched it once.

 

[Jinnytee]

Thanks for expanding on this

Two Dogs ... I would never in a million years even use a hand, never mind a stick, to threaten or hit a dog, so please don't worry that would ever be my intention.

Thanks to you, and also to Entelekia for expanding on this form of training. I had never heard of heeling sticks !! I am not an experienced dog trainer ... well, my pooches are trained for respecting house rules and boundaries, but it more or less ends there. So I appreciate your advice and your tips on making it a positive learning experience shall certainly be taken on board.

Bailey was not at all bothered or cowed by the stick ... I would not have continued if she had of been. She had a lovely walk, trotting happily around ..... but she is a dog who takes notice of physical boundaries. I think she just needed that physical marker to know what was expected of her. She didn't ever touch the stick. I will try not keeping the tick there next time, and just bringing it forward if she pulls .... and I did reward with treats for stopping and sitting whenever I stopped.

She used to walk very well on the leash and the pulling had worsened so gradually that its impossible to link it to any specific event or fathom a reason for it. At first stopping whenever she pulled worked, then we needed to give a pulling correction on the leash .... and pretty soon nothing worked ... she was just so focused on moving forward as fast as she could that she was impervious to anything else.

My hope is that after a couple of walks with the stick she will remember her walking manners and we won't need the stick at all

 

[Gunther]

A more common from of a walking stick is to repeal stray or loose dogs. And of course "any" training tool can be misused,

 

[TwoDogs]

Two Dogs ... I would never in a million years even use a hand, never mind a stick, to threaten or hit a dog, so please don't worry that would ever be my intention.

I wasn't implying that you would (I hope it didn't come across that way). I was just trying to head off at the pass any possible discussion of using a heeling stick as a positive punishment tool.