Author Topic: on lead  (Read 8295 times)

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Offline ips

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on lead
« on: March 13, 2017, 10:12:33 AM »
My wc is truly rubbish on a  lead despite continual attempts with every method known to mankind and some made up ones. And yet off lead she will walk to heel even in areas of high distraction, go figure. So a few questions for discussion

Has anyone else experienced the same as in good off lead rubbish on lead.
Has anyone actually got a cocker good on a lead cos I have yet to see one.
How many (like me) have just about given up on lead training.
Of those that have managed it (if there are any) how the heck did you manage it.

Ian
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Londongirl

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Re: on lead
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2017, 10:25:39 AM »
It depends on what you mean by 'good'. I've never achieved heel walking on the lead but we do have reasonably good loose-leash walking. It requires constant reinforcement, though.
Rachael (me) and Henry (him)


Offline ips

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Re: on lead
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2017, 10:46:14 AM »
I would consider loose leash good enough, hats off to you LG I have all but given up. Luckily she rarely"needs" to be on a lead, probably part of the problem
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Londongirl

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Re: on lead
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2017, 11:03:07 AM »
I was forced to tackle loose lead walking when Henry's recall went AWOL last summer. My dog walker refused to take him anymore because his lead walking was bad too (my, there were some tears shed then about what a terrible job I'd done with my dog).

I put him back on the lead and did nothing but train loose-lead walking every time we left the house, whatever the environment. It took about 3-4 weeks. It was NOT fun and I doubt I would have persisted if off-lead walking was an option at the time.
Rachael (me) and Henry (him)


Offline ips

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Re: on lead
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2017, 11:16:49 AM »
What technique did you use ?
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Londongirl

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Re: on lead
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2017, 12:26:19 PM »
I kept a diary of my training here: http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=117627.msg1692288#msg1692288

I started at home with the training outlined on the videos I mention, and then took it 'on the road.'

Now we are at the stage where I get a bit of pulling when we have just arrived somewhere new or fun, and I have to remind him that it's not acceptable by not moving, or turning away from where he wants to go. It only takes a few minutes to settle him down. I use a long (6ft) lead so he can walk along and snuffle the bushes and hedgerows if he wants without putting pressure on the leash.

I still reward self-correction. And if Henry suddenly sees something he wants to get to and makes a lunge, I stop dead if he can't reach it, or if he can, turn him away from it. Then I often reward a return to my side by walking him over to the thing of great interest. So he is learning that he only gets what he wants on my terms, but that I can often be very reasonable and let him have what he wants as long as there is no tension on the lead.
Rachael (me) and Henry (him)


Offline ips

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Re: on lead
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2017, 01:03:32 PM »
So very similar in many respects to a "leave it" or "break away" training thing. I tried similar with mine but to no avail. I have all but given up to be honest 😞  good job she heels off a lead or she would be on pets for homes. Lol. Only kidding.
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Londongirl

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Re: on lead
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2017, 01:09:26 PM »
For me, it's a case of picking my battles. I had no choice but to get this sorted, given that where we live dictates a fair amount of lead walking. So I have focused on that and kept other training at a lower level for now. There's only so much failure I can take at one time.  ;)
Rachael (me) and Henry (him)


Offline ips

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Re: on lead
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2017, 01:20:55 PM »
Just read some of your diary, interesting reading and I think very common to all spaniel handlers. The closest i got was rewarding with ball for walking at heel building the time at heel up incrementally but I am embarrassed to admit I did not continue long enough or was consistent enough. If I was in similar shoes to you I would have to knuckle down and sort it as you have but she is rarely on a lead so I have been very lapse. It's flamin embarrassing on the occasions she has to be such as around a town if were away for for weekend.
At game shows etc we play a game called spot the spaniel on loose lead, we rarely see any. I believe e even most triallers don't even bother as even they struggle with it. I raise my cap to anyone who has trained a loose leash.
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Murphys Law

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Re: on lead
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2017, 01:39:46 PM »
Like you, I have tried every method known to man plus a couple of magic harnesses too. Nothing worked apart from the Halti head collar but Millie hated that so I decided not to use it.
What changed things for me was sticking to one method and not giving up and trying different things.
The method that has worked wonders for me is the treat method. A pocket full of chopped up cocktail sausages to be exact. And a slip lead inst3ad of a harness or collar. She is a 100% better than a month ago, still not perfect by any means, but I no longer come in from a walk and head straight to the fridge for a beer.
My advice is to find a method and stick to it, even at times when it doesn't seem to be working.

Offline MIN

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Re: on lead
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2017, 08:13:32 PM »
well it took us over 3 years to get Gemma to walk to heel on a lead  :013:
We tried fig 8 leads, walking in circles, walking backwards ( that was a waste of time- 15 mins walking and we had not left the garden).
We did have success using a Canny Collar but in the end it was a very short tight lead that clinched it.
Now on or off the lead she is "close" unless given the "okay" command where she sprints off to do her thing.

BUT, (she is a spaniel so got to be a but". In the field on lead she pulls like a train.  It is easier for her to be off lead and walking close.  We can only think that when she wears her yellow hi vis jacket (as she is the colour of a fox) she is in work mode and just wants to get on in there.
Run free and fly high my beautiful Gemma
2011 - 2023 

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Offline ips

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Re: on lead
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2017, 08:31:12 PM »
well it took us over 3 years to get Gemma to walk to heel on a lead  :013:
We tried fig 8 leads, walking in circles, walking backwards ( that was a waste of time- 15 mins walking and we had not left the garden).
We did have success using a Canny Collar but in the end it was a very short tight lead that clinched it.
Now on or off the lead she is "close" unless given the "okay" command where she sprints off to do her thing.

BUT, (she is a spaniel so got to be a but". In the field on lead she pulls like a train.  It is easier for her to be off lead and walking close.  We can only think that when she wears her yellow hi vis jacket (as she is the colour of a fox) she is in work mode and just wants to get on in there.

3 yrs, 😁  well at least there is hope 👍
Very similar to my experience, we tried everything incl figure eight, canny collar anti pull, stopping, turning round etc etc etc. I give up I really do 😁
Muddling along in the hope that one day it all makes sense.

Offline Pearly

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Re: on lead
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2017, 09:31:07 PM »
On lead walking is cracked with Coral.  A tin of sardines (emptied into a polythene bag in my pocket) I held some of the fish at my left knee while walking - her nose was pinned to my fingers nibbling the fish treat....while I continually praised her and said the "heel" command.  Took 3 weeks, 3 times a day but she's the best of our four at walking to heel on a lead!

Offline AlanT

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Re: on lead
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2017, 11:37:34 PM »
You describe mine perfectly.

And the answer was a WYDWL harness.

On a collar my wife cannot hold him. She is tiny and has a back problem.
But she does just fine with a WYDWL.

Just the other day I accidentally clipped on to normal head collar.  Almost at once I wondered why my dog was pulling. It's like some kind of switch was flipped.


Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: on lead
« Reply #14 on: March 14, 2017, 06:50:01 AM »
Hi, somehow missed this thread yesterday, despite the word "lead" which usually flashes at me as its THE biggest issue, like with LG I've shed more tears over the blinkin dog lead than any of the puppy problems! We have a hall cupboard full of leads, collars,and harnesses, all of which have tbeir advantages and disadvantages but none of them work wonders and in the end its down to the handler/dog and consistant training, I believe, is the only real long term answer. We're no where near there yet but since I learned to accept that it IS a cocker trait and globally, there must be thousands of us in the same boat, I've become more accepting and try not to get into such a lather about it, - although I agree, it can be embarressing in a crowded street. We train it all the time HUmphrey's on the lead and alrhough progress is slow, we're definately making headway. LG's videos have been a great help, I've also found the lighter the lead the better (off lead is no problem, so less of a burdon it is for the dog, the better I think), the best one I have is a cheap elasticated thing I bought in Aldi!!
Also, try to avoid extending your arm, - it is tiring but if you can manage to keep your arm straight at your side, it does seem to help - in a crowd I tend to hold it with both hands, infront of my body.  And if anyone disputes the fact that its NOT in the breed, ask them if they've ever seen a training video featuring a cocker! I've yet to find one!!!  ;)