Walking puppy - help!

[Natalielouise56]

So little Joey is 15 weeks old now and is generally well behaved (apart from chewing everything!). I want to ask for help and advice for when we take him out for a walk. We are going to puppy classes and the trainer tellls us to treat every time he does loose lead walking...ok...so we do this when he walks well for a few seconds although sometimes we can't quite get there quick enough!  The problems that we are currently encountering are- he wants to sniff particular driveways/hedges/trees so much to the point that he won't listen, come or look up even when the best treats are on offer- it also seems to be the same spots so I'm assuming that's were other dogs live or have peed etc. He will literally anchor up and it's almost impossible to get him going again unless you literally pick him up and walk him away (we certainly don't want to do this!). On the other hand, he pulls a lot. Again we are start, stop, get him next to us, off we go again, treat when loose lead...repeat, repeat.
Any tips or advice about how to combat these things? I know there's no quick fix but I'm wondering how other people have trained their pups especially with the crazy sniffing...do we leave him to it for a little while or show him who's boss so to speak and get him away, somehow?!
Thanks

[Leo0106]

Hi Natalielouise,
We use the t-touch method of stroking the lead to encourage him from stopping pulling etc. https://youtu.be/Yl8iq39sibw

This is the YouTube link to it. Our trainer always taught us this way and it works really well for us, especially when ours decides to anchor himself to one spot.

On top of this, we too, treat when he is loose lead walking. To give you an idea of consistency for some dogs, we still treat for loose lead walking and Leo is 11 months old, although the treats are not as consistent now as they once were. He will often walk beside us, looking hopefully up at us for about 500yds before being offered a treat. Important thing is to stop, get him to sit, then give the treat, and walk on. We find that if we give him the treat whilst walking, he starts to pull the minute he's been rewarded for walking nicely.

We've also embedded a 'here' command to walking by our side. We started this by showing Leo the treat we had for him, asking him to 'watch me' which basically means 'make eye contact' and I bring the treat to my chest so he continues this watch, then treat after a short while.

Other than that, I do try to give our pup the freedom to have a bit of sniff time where I can, I feel it is important for them to learn about new smells and scents etc but also that it is on your terms.
I have also been taught that dragging them away from something entices them to go back to it again, as it is the classic case of 'I'm not allowed to do it, therefore I will do it more' so having a bit of patience, ignoring the fact he is not doing what you want him to do then praising him when he decides to walk again is the way forwsrd.

I'm certainly no expert and am still learning myself however these things seemed to have worked really well for us, on Leo's usual everyday walk he is  as good as gold on the lead and we are starting to make progress in new places too.

I'm sure you will get some more really helpful advice on here but hope this helps a little bit

[Micahs Mum]

Great advice I've not much to add to that other than I found a secret weapon reward I use for loose lead walking.

I've struggled with it in the past and I was determined to get it right this time so I started training it from day one. I found Arden Grange Liver Paste in a tube, when he's walking by my side he gets to lick a bit off the tube. From day one Micah, who's 16 weeks now, has walked beautifully at the side of my wheelchair. I've used the same technique I always have but I think the tube makes it easier to reward at exactly the right time. If they don't like the paste you could use Primula cheese in the tube, I use that for toilet training which he loves too.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[Barry H]

For what it's worth, I've never been a fan of strict 'heel walking' and never used to give Jack treats for loose lead walking (he's now almost 3 and brilliant on and off the lead).  He's not food oriented and I just found it more of a hassle for both of us than almost anything else.  I used the 'stop when he pulls' tactics with a 'Wait' command which was usually spoken normally or barked out like a sargeant-major depending on my mood...  His 'reward' was being able to go further!  It can seem like a long slog (pun intended) - months - and you really have to be consistent, but worked for me (us).

The sniffing is a Cocker thing and they love it.  Remember, he's young and it's all so new and fascinating.  Besides, it's their version of You Tube/Facebook etc.  Jack hasn't grown out of it.  His nickname is 'Columbo' - he just has to investigate everything.  Much patience is required.  It's difficult if you're time limited, but I tell myself that it's his walk too, so I try not to get too narked with him (which I still do ocassionally, especially when it's raining!).

[Natalielouise56]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. He is getting better everyday and his recall is great when we get him on the 'long lead'. How long did people wait until they dared to let them off lead?

[ips]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. He is getting better everyday and his recall is great when we get him on the 'long lead'. How long did people wait until they dared to let them off lead?

We got eze at six months, she was untrained at that stage and had been kennelled all her short life. I had her off a lead the day we collected her and apart from literally a handful of occasions when she has lost her head on scent (hare, dear) she has never been more than twenty yards from me.

[Barry H]

Thanks for the great advice everyone. He is getting better everyday and his recall is great when we get him on the 'long lead'. How long did people wait until they dared to let them off lead?

Oooooh!  Tricky question.  A lot depends on where, and how confident you are about recall.  Young puppies can lull you into a false sense of security since they (usually) want to be where you are.  Once they become more inquisitive they head for the hills at Warp 9...

I started Jack's recall training at 3 months, though will confess I wasn't totally consistent.  I'm lucky in that I have a council owned local wooded area that's secure and well away from traffic which helped or hindered depending on how you look at it.  Even so, I had a couple of AWOL nightmares once he reached 1 yo, after which I kept him on a long line for three months (no exceptions allowed!) with constant recall training.  It's hard work but pays off in the end.  Still, I'm convinced that for a non-working Cocker maturity is the best thing that can happen to help with a reliable recall - especially if you're not totally consistent, like me.  Since Jack reached 2 yo his recall improved tremendously.

Do check out the 'How To Teach A Reliable Recall' sticky by Top Barks in the Behaviour & Training section.  Helped me (us) enormously.  Also, 'Total Recall' by Pippa Mattinson is the recall bible.

[Leo0106]

Yes tricky one, we got Leo off the lead by 4 months.... I say off the lead, I mean we dropped his long line. That we he had the freedom to roam but we also had 20ft of line to grab if he decided to attempt to fly off a cliff/ a less friendly dog approached etc. Leo goes off lead on his every day walk now but in busier places like the country park he does stay on lead some of the time as he's likely to ruin people's picnics etc if we give him full freedom.
One thing we learnt is that it's good not to let him off lead every single walk, that way you can keep the loose lead and other training consistent and he dosnt just learn that he has full control over walks.  Leo has 3 walks a day and stays on the lead for about 3 walks a week so we can embed further training