We are into the second week of my 'I'm determined to crack it this time' loose-leash training with Henry. As many of us here have darling little pullers, I thought it would be useful to record what I'm doing, and with what success (if any!). It will keep me motivated knowing I need to report in, and if things go wrong it might help to pinpoint when and where the cause is, if I keep a record. So here goes!
I started at home using this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DayHrhoSJZc&app=desktopI did this for a few days. It took a while for Henry to work out exactly where I wanted him to stand when I started moving around, I'd say we had this sequence down in three days, practicing for ten minutes twice a day.
I then added the leash and did the Kikopup loose-leash training in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFgtqgiAKoQ&feature=youtu.be&app=desktopI also like this video, especially the tip on holding the lead at your belly button, which I've been doing this week and find really helps. For one thing, my shoulders no longer hurt!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Th5z-mnnUE#action=shareI did this training in the garden rather than out in the street as our roads are really busy. I did this for another three days, a few times a day.
Meanwhile, we went on our normal walks but I tried to keep pulling to a minimum by changing direction or stopping. I know the trainers say it is best to not walk them on a lead if they will be able to pull while training, but it's impossible for us, especially as Henry's recall is currently so poor.
This week I've been doing loose-leash training for all our walks (bar some free running in the woods where for some reason he is very good and stays close). I let him run around on the longline first to burn off some energy then put him back on the regular lead. I have the clicker attached to my belt on one side and the treat bag on the other - so glamorous! On most walks it took him at least ten minutes to settle into the training. Click then treat for being by my side, or for looking up and turning back (click on the look, treat when he gets back to my side).
He's still forging ahead, but today I noticed him correct himself a few times. So I've upped the ante a bit. If he pulls ahead, I stop. I don't turn or walk backwards to try to reposition him, because I can see he knows what I want. So I just stop. I don't say anything. I just wait. Henry stops too. After about 20-30 seconds he remembers what I want and turns and comes back to my side. So I am now getting him to make the choice to come back to my side. As soon as he gets there, I start walking again and feed him the treat behind my leg while we are moving. After about 30 minutes of this, we were steadily increasing the amount of time he was walking by my side rather than ahead. I rewarded him a few times on the hoof when he was walking nicely for any length of time.
So that's the strategy for the next few days. He knows what I want, he knows the potential rewards, and that's the foundation to build on. Here's hoping we are both on the right track.