# Loose leash walking, worth hiring a trainer?



## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

My dog is just 2 yrs old, he walks good, bit not as good as I'd like. He doesn't pull hard, just always has to go faster than me just enough though to be annoying. If I put on a prong he is really pretty good, though I'm still correcting him often. I want him to be better because we both would enjoy walks much more. I also half wonder if I'm not being reasonable on how good he should walk. 

I kind of want to hire a trainer, but I'm afraid to spend the money and get nothing out of it. I know it's hard to say without knowing the dog, me, or the trainer, but in general would you feel it's worth doing? I walk daily and it's frustrating both me and the dog right now.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

if you are putting in the effort and not seeing the results you want then it is something you are doing wrong. if you dont see improvements then yeah a trainer would be a good idea. or you can try new ideas yourself because what you are doing right now isnt up to your standards.

constantly correcting the dog isnt going to help if he isnt crystal clear what you are wanting. you need to train him to understand. youtube michael ellis leash pressure. thats a good place to start.


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## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

boomer11 said:


> if you are putting in the effort and not seeing the results you want then it is something you are doing wrong. if you dont see improvements then yeah a trainer would be a good idea. or you can try new ideas yourself because what you are doing right now isnt up to your standards.
> 
> constantly correcting the dog isnt going to help if he isnt crystal clear what you are wanting. you need to train him to understand. youtube michael ellis leash pressure. thats a good place to start.


Thanks, I've seen those videos, and he is perfect in a training situation. It's just that I don't know how to convert that to when we are actually out for a walk in the real world. 

Those videos, the ones I've seen anyway, never show a dog walking ahead of you, it's always just getting the fog to follow you and turn. The trouble I have is when we're walking, he then knows we are heading this way and he is ready to go go go. All the videos seem to be a dog that doesn't know which way to head anyway, if that's the case then Hugo is perfectly fine in that situation.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

are you sure you understand what leash pressure is? IF you do and your dog knows leash pressure and your dog is getting in front a slight tug and stopping should make him back up to where you want. then move again. rinse and repeat. german shepherds are smart; if you are clear and consistent he'll understand what gets him the reward aka he gets to keep moving forward on his walk. if he isnt in the position you want then stop walking. only reward good behavior just like every other dog command.

teach him what the heel position is. its a command just like sit. if i say heel my dog runs to my left leg. again they are smart. a 2 yr old should know the command in 10 minutes if you are clear and the dog understands what you are wanting.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Well your thinking about what "you" might be doing wrong and that's great! I would suggest losing the prong, you did something wrong or you still would not be having this issue. Been there did that, the only dog I had that would not walk worth a crap on a leash was the only dog I used a prong collar on incorrectly!

Since you seem to have both time and patience, just start over and give this a try:






It will do no harm and might be all you need? If it fails then hire a trainer.


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## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

boomer11 said:


> are you sure you understand what leash pressure is? IF you do and your dog knows leash pressure and your dog is getting in front a slight tug and stopping should make him back up to where you want. then move again. rinse and repeat. german shepherds are smart; if you are clear and consistent he'll understand what gets him the reward aka he gets to keep moving forward on his walk. if he isnt in the position you want then stop walking. only reward good behavior just like every other dog command.
> 
> teach him what the heel position is. its a command just like sit. if i say heel my dog runs to my left leg. again they are smart. a 2 yr old should know the command in 10 minutes if you are clear and the dog understands what you are wanting.


I know it's me, I just don't know what I'm doing I guess. He knows the heel position, all I have to do is tap my hip and he comes and sits right against my leg. When we are walking if I stop, like you mention, he jumps right back into position. But then it's right back out front as soon as we start walking. If I hold a treat, or ball, we walks perfectly, but then you reward him and it's right back out front again.

I do feel like we are so close, I just think I'm missing the correct way to communicate to him what I want I guess. I think a little bit of the issue is we walk in the same places, so he knows where to go, and also knows his favorite places along the way, like the park where he can run.


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## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

Chip18 said:


> Well your thinking about what "you" might be doing wrong and that's great! I would suggest losing the prong, you did something wrong or you still would not be having this issue. Been there did that, the only dog I had that would not walk worth a crap on a leash was the only dog I used a prong collar on incorrectly!
> 
> Since you seem to have both time and patience, just start over and give this a try:
> 
> ...


That video is really helpful, thanks. I do something similar, with the turn every time he gets ahead of me, and he will do good with that. It's just maybe I'm not doing it enough. I'll keep on it, and try some of the other points in the video. Thanks for the link.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Sounds like he is forging. A properly fitted prong used properly will fix that in 10 minutes. There are numerous youtube vids.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Yep, I have a forger (I should have him arrested!  ) as well. I can 'fix' it with a prong or even just wrapping the leash around his belly. HOWEVER, it's not really fixed. It would be nice to have them walk without forging and without needing a tool to enforce it. That's what I would like .. and I think what the OP is wanting as well.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Actually it would fix the problem if done properly. Common myth spread about prongs is you always need them. Not true. Dog already knows heel all you do is intro leash pressure. Then you place the dog in heel walk out of position, correct, not nagging little pops an actual correction. Rinse and repeat until you arent correcting the dog anymore. When the dog is allowed to be off heel give the free command so the dog understands the difference. Very quick, black and white a couple of sessions and done. 
You create habitual obedience, you will soon be able to put the dog an a flat if thats what you want, say heel and the dog will heel.

Many people confuse the dog trying to do everything like they are walking on egg shells. Reliable heel on leash with heavy distraction should take no longer then one month for a novice handler and dog assuming its spirited..


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

I had a similar problem with Harry.

I have discovered that by me picking up my pace a little more, he is better - he just needs a faster pace from me.

I also did the following for a little while constantly :-

Used a martingale collar, picked up my pace and kept lead loose. Every time he went slightly ahead of me and the lead tightened, I stopped, called him back to heel position and we started again - every single time. 

Also, imo you don't have make him heel at your side all the time when on walks, using a 6 foot lead or off lead if you can, sometimes allow them to wander as they please enjoying the smells and sights etc. As long as you can call him to heel when you instruct.


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## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

Harry and Lola said:


> I had a similar problem with Harry.
> 
> I have discovered that by me picking up my pace a little more, he is better - he just needs a faster pace from me.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply. I have tried walking faster, it definitely works, but I don't always want to have to hurry to feel like I'm trying to keep up. And I agree with the loose leash, I'm not to concerned about a perfect heel.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

Harry and Lola said:


> I have discovered that by me picking up my pace a little more, he is better - he just needs a faster pace from me.


Lol not sure who's walking who if you're going at his pace. I guess you also stop when he decides to stop?


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

Boomer I am interested to know how many years you have with training a German Shepherd.

You come across as very young?


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

I actually own a little Chihuahua. 

No matter the breed I would seriously laugh out loud and demand my money back if a trainer told me to increase my pace to fix loose leash walking


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

Boomer have you trained your dog in obedience and to what level?

How many years experience do you have training dogs, any breed.

In terms of obedience trialling, your dog must be able to heel at both a slow and fast pace. However, when exercising your dog or just walking for enjoyment, picking up your pace for some dogs enables them to move better than just meandering along, it is also good for the owner - gets the heart moving.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

When my dog is on a heel she moves at MY pace however fast or slow that may be... Adjusting your pace for the dog covers up a training failure unless there is a physical disability.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

Harry and Lola said:


> Boomer have you trained your dog in obedience and to what level?
> 
> How many years experience do you have training dogs, any breed.
> 
> In terms of obedience trialling, your dog must be able to heel at both a slow and fast pace. However, when exercising your dog or just walking for enjoyment, picking up your pace for some dogs enables them to move better than just meandering along, it is also good for the owner - gets the heart moving.


I don't really have any experience, I just watch a bunch of videos on YouTube. 

There are many many ways to get loose leash walking. You can use treats and a happy voice or use a prong and a mean voice or use an ecollar and not say a single word. Do what you are comfortable with as long as you are clear and consistent. If you tell the dog no for walking ahead one time and then let him walk ahead another time then you are just creating a confused dog. 

Loose leash walking isn't about walking, it's about getting the dog to pay attention to on you or at least keep your movements in the corner of their eye. That's why when people first start out they make a lot of random change of directions so the dog has to pay attention to them. Or at least that's what they say on YouTube......


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

Absolutely agree with you about being clear and consistent. 

However your comment "_If you tell the dog no for walking ahead one time and then let him walk ahead another time then you are just creating a confused dog_" does make sense unless you have trained them to do so. 

For example on our daily walks I give Harry and Lola the command "ok go" they can loose lead or off lead (depending where I am) in front or behind me as I am giving them permission to and I have trained them to recognise this freedom. When I give them the 'heel' command, they will fall into my left and heel properly.

By differentiating the two on our walks means Harry and Lola understand my instructions on both allowing freedom and expecting them to heel, if you did not train your dog to this, then yes I agree with you that by only doing a training exercise every so often as opposed to consistently will create a great deal of confusion for your dog and frustration for the handler.


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## jjk454ss (Mar 26, 2013)

We have been working on this a lot. While walking I intentionally will walk arounfpd things like signs, benches, trees so that he will watch me. It seems to help a little, but he always is just that one step ahead of me, not recalling pulling, just having to be at the end of the leash.

Now I decided to try the prong again the last 3 days, and he is so good with it. It's so much more enjoyable when using the prong because I never even have to correct him, he just walks so nice.

Anyone have tips for transitioning so he will walk nice without the prong?


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

boomer11 said:


> No matter the breed I would seriously laugh out loud and demand my money back if a trainer told me to increase my pace to fix loose leash walking


If you walk slowly the dog has time to look around and that makes it more likely that he'll find something to distract him. If you walk quickly and correct when he's out of position by giving a correction and making a right or about turn, he has to pay more attention to you to avoid the correction. Correction can come from just about any source. Using my methods with the Ecollar, the recall becomes loose leash walking in a matter of days.


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