Leash protocols for older dogs, too
Question: I adopted an older dog who appears to sort of understand walking on the leash. Somebody already taught him to stay on my left hand side for example, but what do I need to be teaching him about the leash?
Answer: We’ve been talking about the leash for the last couple of weeks, but mostly with reference to puppies. I’ve already mentioned that the walk is perhaps one of the most important aspects of your relationship with your dog. The whole “leader/follower” paradigm is really driven home psychologically when each day you literally lead and he follows. Once a dog is around 6 months old, it’s important to get serious about getting this dialed in properly.
The best leash for training is a standard 6 foot leash. Avoid new-fangled clasps. None of them are as good as the standard clasp that’s been around seemingly forever.
I like a 6 foot leash so I don’t have to follow 4 feet behind my dog when I let him have a sniff break. This gives you a little more room. I do not recommend retractable leashes for leash training. If your dog is proficient at walking in the heel position (aka at your side) whenever you want him to, I suppose a retractable is OK, but it’s common for people who use retractable leashes to get themselves in trouble technique-wise, not to mention irritate other dog owners.
As far as harnesses are concerned, I use them only in the car to secure my dog. Attached to the leash, they actually encourage your dog to pull. And don’t let anyone tell you how “great” prong (spiked) collars are. There’s a large market for these but I do not condone their use. Less skilled trainers use prong collars as a shortcut, but when it comes to leash training, you absolutely do NOT need to employ the use of “teeth”.
The metal version of the so called “choke chain” is a very old tool and is basically the correct appliance. Except for one thing: It’s weight. You do want something (in the beginning) that will tighten up for one second, and then release. But you want one that is very lightweight. The magic trick of using a correction collar is positioning. All dogs, even the little guys, are very strong at the bottom of their neck. But up at the very top of, they’re pretty sensitive. Even big dogs. The best collar to teach proper leash protocol will be a lightweight slip collar. The lighter the better, because you want to keep it positioned as high as you can get it (like a show dog) and if it’s a lightweight version, it will stay up high easier, as opposed to the chain version which will constantly slip down to the strongest part of Max’s neck.
When we walk Max, we imagine a boundary line even with our shin. You should not let his shoulders pass in front of this line. If he’s right on the line, his head would be just in front of your leg. It’s very important to leave the leash a little slack, but as soon as his shoulders start to cross that line, you should be in the process of correcting him in an upwards or lateral direction. Try not to pull back. You’re not pulling him back into position. You’re essentially correcting him with a “nip” on his neck, so to speak. The lateral or sideways correction entails you drawing the leash behind you toward your hip pocket. This brings him back into position at your side.
You want to maintain a steady pace and don’t let him sniff the ground. No tracking on patrol. He can gather scent from the air until you decide to give him a break and let him sniff a patch of ground for a minute. To release him to sniff on his own say “OK!” When you’re ready, hike up his collar again, and get back on patrol. Don’t stop for sniffing any more frequently than every five minutes and make sure you choose the timing. There’s a hierarchy message here. More next week.
Gregg Flowers is a local professional dog trainer and owns Dog’s Best Friend dog training. Contact him at dogteacher7@aol.com or dogsbestfriendflorida.com.