[dutchgal]

I've read the threads on loose leash walking, but I still have some problems.

First of all, I got my dog as an adult. When I first got him he would pull me ahead, walk right in front of me and change sides unexpectedly. I corrected this to the point where he stays on one side, and he doesn't drag me along anymore, but that's it. Whenever I let the leash go slack, he uses this to walk ahead of me again. I have to remind him constantly where I want him to walk: beside me and following, not leading. I have trained a lot with him lately, following the instructions. I use high value treats, and lots of them. I stop when he walks ahead, call him back, and reinforce where I want him to walk with another treat.
So far it hasn't had any effect, and I've been training for weeks now. What am I missing here? He picks up really quickly on other thing I teach him, but hasn't changed his behaviour in this situation at all.
Any tips? What am I doing wrong?

 

[Gally]

It sounds like you've already mastered loose leash walking and are now trying to accomplish a formal heel? As long as a dog is not pulling I would consider that loose leash walking. Are you doing formal obedience where a proper heal is necessary? I haven't done competitive obedience but in our basic obedience class we start by luring the dog into following straight at our side with a treat closed in our hand. You lure the dog along for a few steps then stop and ask them to sit. Praise, repeat.

Something like this: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/heel

 

[dutchgal]

something like that, yes.
Thanks, that's helpful.

 

[petpeeve]

I stop when he walks ahead, call him back, and reinforce where I want him to walk with another treat.

Any chance that maybe you're building an unwanted "chain" of behaviours ?

In other words, perhaps your dog is inadvertantly learning through repetition, that the ENTIRE SEQUENCE of ... "1) walk ahead, 2) handler stops, 3) get called back, 4) come back to handler" ... is essentially what earns him a reward.

Have you checked kikopup's youtube vids for LLW ?

 

[Poly]

It sounds like you've already mastered loose leash walking and are now trying to accomplish a formal heel? As long as a dog is not pulling I would consider that loose leash walking. Are you doing formal obedience where a proper heal is necessary? I haven't done competitive obedience but in our basic obedience class we start by luring the dog into following straight at our side with a treat closed in our hand. You lure the dog along for a few steps then stop and ask them to sit. Praise, repeat.

Agree 110%.

if you are not training for formal obedience, rally, etc - there is no reason to teach a left-side only loose leash walk. In fact, even if you ARE aiming toward those events, you would still keep a loose-leash walking behavior where the side that the walk is on is immaterial. And if you think that there will never be occasions when you WANT your dog to walk on your right side, you should think again.

A dog walking slightly in front or walking slightly behind is not important as long as the leash is loose, the dog is basically following your pace, and the dog responds to your stops, turns, etc. in a reasonable way.

in obedience, rally, etc, a dog is expected to heel (in a strict position) for no more than about five minutes - generally a lot shorter than that. A walk with your dog should be lasting much longer. If you are overly concerned about your dog's position - assuming that the leash is loose - you are not going to enjoy your walk and neither will your dog.

 

[Greater Swiss]

I think both Gally and Petpeeve have great points!
I'll say we had a HORRIBLE time with loose leash training. You've been working on it for weeks, we've been working pretty much since we got Caeda (almost a year ago), concentrating on it the last 6 months. It can take a while, so don't get discouraged that you haven't quite got it yet.
We made our biggest breakthrough when I loosened up....I stopped requiring her to walk right next to me. After about a month of that we've got a pretty good agreement, leash is loose, all is well, leash isn't and it takes more than a little twitch to get her to stop pulling we stop all together (though I if she comes back to me right away I'll generally give her the opportunity to sniff whatever it was she really wanted as a reward).
You could try some attention exercises, changing direction often (give a little attention cue for this), and that might help. If you need to walk in really busy places with your dog close to you, I'd work up to that (I'm not worried about that myself....I live in the boonies )

 

[NewfoundlandOwner]

I first tried the "be a tree" approach, but I hate this. Might be my ADD kicking in. Instead, I carry a handful of small treats in my left hand, and dispense one for every 10-20 steps i take. My dog gets highly motivated to keep his head right next to my hand. I'll glance down and give extra treats for eye contact. I do this fairly frequently, and when I don't have treats my dog still tends to stay right at my side.