"No-Pull" Training
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 7:26 pm
To follow on from the collar discussion ..
The use of a special collar or harness is, in my estimation as a trainer, something that you use in order to set your dog up to give you the behaviors you want. When we're talking about a prong collar or head halter or no-pull harness, they're each designed to keep the dog from pulling. But that doesn't teach the dog not to pull - it only teaches the dog not to pull when wearing those particular items.
So the training of the behavior falls directly in our laps. We need to be very observant with our dogs. We need to see when they give us what we want. In this case, it would be when they don't pull (which the collar/harness sets them up for). We have to take that opportunity to mark the behavior and reward it.
By "mark the behavior" I mean that you need to have a particular sound or word that specifically tells the dog "at this very moment in time, you are doing what I want you to do" and the dog pays attention to that because the marker is ALWAYS followed by a reward. You can use a clicker to mark the behavior or you can use a word or sound. If you use a word, it MUST be something that you don't use at other times .. it has to be unique to the training only. In my case, I use "YES!!" but it's said in a very happy enthusiastic tone, specifically used for training. I draw out the "SSS" sound too. It's not at all like I say "yes" in normal conversation. And every time - without exception - that I say "YES!!" I follow it with a treat or some other reward. It's extremely important that the dog always knows that the reward marker is followed by a reward. If you stop doing this, the reward marker loses its power.
So what I do in training is I first never let the dog pull me. Anytime you walk out of your door and your dog is at the end of the leash ahead of you, leash tight, then you are essentially teaching the dog that pulling is okay. Is it then fair to the dog that you punish him another time for pulling? No, I don't think so. If we humans can't be aware of when the pulling is happening except for when it inconveniences us, then how are we to expect that the dog will understand when the pulling is okay and when it isn't? So - first rule - never let the dog pull.
If I go out the door with Khana and she goes to the end of the leash, I give her a warning .. "easy!" .. and if she starts to pull, I stop my forward motion. She doesn't get to go where she wants to go if she's pulling. It really doesn't take long for most dogs to understand this.
The difficulty comes when you are in an area with a lot of high-level distractions (other dogs, people, squirrels, moose, etc.). Then it really helps if you have something on that keeps the dog from pulling. But that means you also have to be alert to those non-pulling times so you can mark and reinforce that behavior, especially if they voluntarily come to you and give you attention.
It really helps if you do attention training prior to loose leash walking (or in conjunction with it). You can see the steps for attention training on my website (http://www.kippsdogs.com/tips.html). This gives the dog a default behavior - looking at your face. It's really handy to have this ingrained into your dog for all levels and types of training. I refresh the attention training on all my dogs periodically so that it remains a strong behavior.
Another tip on teaching loose leash walking is to first practice in an area with little or no distractions (like in your house). Then gradually add in more distractions. I work my young dogs in store parking lots. I start off way out in the parking lot and over a period of days or weeks gradually move in until I can walk right outside the door of the store without my dog pulling. This really is effective. And I go to dog training classes for the exposure to other dogs and training for "no pull" around dogs. That's usually the toughest situation as my dogs tend to be very social.
Be consistent, persistent, kind and fair in your training and your dogs will respond!
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
The use of a special collar or harness is, in my estimation as a trainer, something that you use in order to set your dog up to give you the behaviors you want. When we're talking about a prong collar or head halter or no-pull harness, they're each designed to keep the dog from pulling. But that doesn't teach the dog not to pull - it only teaches the dog not to pull when wearing those particular items.
So the training of the behavior falls directly in our laps. We need to be very observant with our dogs. We need to see when they give us what we want. In this case, it would be when they don't pull (which the collar/harness sets them up for). We have to take that opportunity to mark the behavior and reward it.
By "mark the behavior" I mean that you need to have a particular sound or word that specifically tells the dog "at this very moment in time, you are doing what I want you to do" and the dog pays attention to that because the marker is ALWAYS followed by a reward. You can use a clicker to mark the behavior or you can use a word or sound. If you use a word, it MUST be something that you don't use at other times .. it has to be unique to the training only. In my case, I use "YES!!" but it's said in a very happy enthusiastic tone, specifically used for training. I draw out the "SSS" sound too. It's not at all like I say "yes" in normal conversation. And every time - without exception - that I say "YES!!" I follow it with a treat or some other reward. It's extremely important that the dog always knows that the reward marker is followed by a reward. If you stop doing this, the reward marker loses its power.
So what I do in training is I first never let the dog pull me. Anytime you walk out of your door and your dog is at the end of the leash ahead of you, leash tight, then you are essentially teaching the dog that pulling is okay. Is it then fair to the dog that you punish him another time for pulling? No, I don't think so. If we humans can't be aware of when the pulling is happening except for when it inconveniences us, then how are we to expect that the dog will understand when the pulling is okay and when it isn't? So - first rule - never let the dog pull.
If I go out the door with Khana and she goes to the end of the leash, I give her a warning .. "easy!" .. and if she starts to pull, I stop my forward motion. She doesn't get to go where she wants to go if she's pulling. It really doesn't take long for most dogs to understand this.
The difficulty comes when you are in an area with a lot of high-level distractions (other dogs, people, squirrels, moose, etc.). Then it really helps if you have something on that keeps the dog from pulling. But that means you also have to be alert to those non-pulling times so you can mark and reinforce that behavior, especially if they voluntarily come to you and give you attention.
It really helps if you do attention training prior to loose leash walking (or in conjunction with it). You can see the steps for attention training on my website (http://www.kippsdogs.com/tips.html). This gives the dog a default behavior - looking at your face. It's really handy to have this ingrained into your dog for all levels and types of training. I refresh the attention training on all my dogs periodically so that it remains a strong behavior.
Another tip on teaching loose leash walking is to first practice in an area with little or no distractions (like in your house). Then gradually add in more distractions. I work my young dogs in store parking lots. I start off way out in the parking lot and over a period of days or weeks gradually move in until I can walk right outside the door of the store without my dog pulling. This really is effective. And I go to dog training classes for the exposure to other dogs and training for "no pull" around dogs. That's usually the toughest situation as my dogs tend to be very social.
Be consistent, persistent, kind and fair in your training and your dogs will respond!
Melanie and the gang in Alaska