Loose-Leash Walking II

Frustrated with loose-leash walking? Everyone, including my parents, gets frustrated with all the starting and stopping, good days followed by bad days, so I thought I'd offer a few more tips.

Every day, Mom changes our walking route. At first, we would walk an entirely new route every day, but now there are only slight changes. Even walking on the opposite side of the street feels completely different! Why does she do this? First of all, puppies like me need extra mental stimulation. Walking the same route over and over can get a little boring, and since puppies need more exercise and mental stimulation, it's important to provide it. In addition, puppies do not learn like humans. We don't generalize. So if you walk the same route every day, a dog will learn to walk perfectly on that walk, but it will all fall apart in a new area. If you aren't prepared for this, you may get really frustrated.

Take me for example. On our regular route, I can walk almost perfectly (except when there are birds -- I LOVE to chase birds). However, when Mom changes it up, I still pull a little. Then she knows what I still need to work on. As for the birds, she has to use "leave it" or else I will pull her arm out of her socket! That's not just a loose-leash walking issue. With distractions, you may have to use additional commands, such as leave it, watch or sit. Expecting us to ignore those is expecting a lot for a puppy!

And if all else fails, use a different type of collar when you don't feel like training. My dad isn't very patient, but when he ignores my pulling, I don't learn well. Thus, he uses a Premier Easy Walk harness when he doesn't want to train me. This is different enough from my collar that I know when I am being trained and when not. And the harness reduces my pulling anyway, so he doesn't have to worry about getting dragged down the street.

So keep walking! Your pup will get better. And I will, too, Mom, I promise! Love, Bammie