Ace has done very well on loose-leash walking in our new neighborhood. He is already at ease with his new surroundings, and I credit that to walking him often. Heeling well down the sidewalks is no problem for Ace with a flat collar. I have been keeping the choke collar on him, but I haven’t clipped the leash to it. I’ve also been doing short sessions of off-leash heeling with him when we are in areas with few distractions.
Ace needs practice with more distractions, so I plan on taking the mutt to some more exciting locations such as the dog park. I will drive to the park like normal and then walk in that area for a half-hour or so with him. He is usually pretty bad once we pull into the parking lot and will pull me to the gate if he can get away with it.
Ace was not so good yesterday when I walked him through the field behind where we live. The smells in the grass were too tempting, and he was constantly putting his nose to the ground. Rather than popping the leash, it works better to offer Ace treats to get him to look up and focus on me. I’ve unintentionally trained him to look at me when I say “here,” so now I take advantage of that when I need him to make eye contact. Another trick is to stop walking all together, so he sits and automatically looks up.
Although it’s annoying when Ace has his nose in the grass, I was glad he wasn’t pulling ahead. I’m also happy when I see his scent instincts kick in rather than his retrieving side!
This is day four of my 30-day challenge to work with my dog on loose-leash walking. Click here to see my other 30-day challenge posts.
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Funny, when my silly guy gets into a sniffing expedition he doesn’t pull at all. He stops. One of those things about having a bloodhound – they loooove to smell things.
Sounds like as usual Ace is doing well in his challenge. That’s pretty tough walking through enticing smells in the fields.
Maries last blog post..Today is a good day!