Tips- Heel/jumping

Bryando

Hi,

My pup is proving to be a nightmare to walk to the heel. Sits and recall fine. We have even got him recalling to the hand.

The pulling is something I must stamp out before my lab because even more powerful. Suggestions please? I say his name and heel, he looks back at me eases up and then goes back into his way.

Another is the jumping on people. Not being helped by my partner allowing the dog to jump when said partner returns from work. My thoughts behind is this - Turn my back and tell him to sit. Every time he jumps turn my back and only show attention when he remains seated/standing. ?

Thanks

sangie595

How old is the pup and what have you tried so far?

And for definite, your dog will never learn that any behaviour is not acceptable if one person allows it. You and your partner need a chat about everyone observing the rules.

krlyr

Check out Kikopup on YouTube, she has lots of videos, including several for puppies. She does some on loose lead walking in general, and jumping up
https://www.youtube.com/kikopup

Beckyy

If he's still very young I would avoid saying his name and then heel as it will take the meaning away from heel unless he truly knows it already. I would try and associate it with when he is showing the correct behaviour instead until he's made a good pairing.

The jumping, as mentioned you need to be consistent however difficult it is when it's not yourself allowing it . Totally ignoring the bad and then praising the good we found quite successful with it. Praise only when all 4 paws are on the ground. You can try using a sit command too if that's a strong one and you can see a jump coming.

Pulling...

You could try change of direction - as soon as pup goes in front of you swiftly turn around and go in the other direction. It's better done for short bursts, maybe 10 minutes practice at a time as it feels very repetitive and you probably won't get very far initially.

There is also the 300 step peck... take a step and if your pup stays to heel take another. If not stay still until the lead slackens/pup returns to your side. Take it one step at a time, one less step if pup doesn't heel one more if he does and eventually you should be able to build up to 300 steps. Again quite repetitive but worth trying.

Best of luck, enjoy your pup

Bryando

Thanks folks for your replys. Pup is six months. He is great at recalling and knows his name. So will take on board the advice and fingers crossed we get over this. I am fine with him walking in front of me as long as the lead is not getting pulled.

Katiehound

Bryando wrote: »

Thanks folks for your replys. Pup is six months. He is great at recalling and knows his name. So will take on board the advice and fingers crossed we get over this. I am fine with him walking in front of me as long as the lead is not getting pulled.

Just to point out that if you train your boy to walk beside you, or behind you that will be far better. In any chance of confrontation you can put him behind you quickly and deal with the matter. If he is out in front he thinks he is in charge!!
Walking up and down the pavement and changing directions when dog gets ahead has worked for me. Wonderful homemade treats given out when he does what you want also work wonders.

Do not encourage him to jump up. When he gets to be big and bouncy he could easily bowl a child over- and the laws have changed in the areas of dog 'aggression.' (I am not for one moment suggesting he is aggressive but a leaping up dog might be a frightening experience for child/ non dog lover with possible repercussions.)

sangie595

Bryando wrote: »

Thanks folks for your replys. Pup is six months. He is great at recalling and knows his name. So will take on board the advice and fingers crossed we get over this. I am fine with him walking in front of me as long as the lead is not getting pulled.

You shouldn't be. The correct position is to the side and head by your side - the rest of his body behind you. In front tells him that he is deciding where you go and he is leading you. It leads to pulling.

It sounds like you may have inadvertently trained him to this. You have given this behavior a name - " puppy, heel ". You may think you were giving an instruction to do something, but if you are using these terms when he was doing this, all you have done is named the action he is doing. Pulling is called "puppy, heel"! He's looking at you because you are speaking, which means he had to stop pulling, but then he goes back to the action because that is what he had been trained to do! Easy mistake to make, especially with some dogs.

Becky' s advice is goo. But it may be too late. Six months is a long time to have learned this behavior, and it isn't going away quickly. Try her advice. Another trick is to keep a particularly tasty treat in your lead hand. It is very hard for most dogs to allow their nose past a tasty treat. If his nose is in that position, so is he.

Other things to try. Make sure that time on the lead is not always about going somewhere hee wants to go. If the end of a walk on the lead is always a run in the park, you would pull too. Take him to the bottom of the street and home again. Around the garden. Up the stairs. Anywhere that isn't about him getting fun at the end of it.

If all else fails, try a gentle leader. There are a number of types available, but the principle is always the same- like a halter for a horse, it controls where the nose goes, and the rest of the dog must follow. Don't get lazy, use it in combination with normal lead training.

sangie595

Bryando wrote: »

Thanks folks for your replys. Pup is six months. He is great at recalling and knows his name. So will take on board the advice and fingers crossed we get over this. I am fine with him walking in front of me as long as the lead is not getting pulled.

You shouldn't be. The correct position is to the side and head by your side - the rest of his body behind you. In front tells him that he is deciding where you go and he is leading you. It leads to pulling.

It sounds like you may have inadvertently trained him to this. You have given this behavior a name - " puppy, heel ". You may think you were giving an instruction to do something, but if you are using these terms when he was doing this, all you have done is named the action he is doing. Pulling is called "puppy, heel"! He's looking at you because you are speaking, which means he had to stop pulling, but then he goes back to the action because that is what he had been trained to do! Easy mistake to make, especially with some dogs.

Becky' s advice is goo. But it may be too late. Six months is a long time to have learned this behavior, and it isn't going away quickly. Try her advice. Another trick is to keep a particularly tasty treat in your lead hand. It is very hard for most dogs to allow their nose past a tasty treat. If his nose is in that position, so is he.

Other things to try. Make sure that time on the lead is not always about going somewhere hee wants to go. If the end of a walk on the lead is always a run in the park, you would pull too. Take him to the bottom of the street and home again. Around the garden. Up the stairs. Anywhere that isn't about him getting fun at the end of it.

If all else fails, try a gentle leader. There are a number of types available, but the principle is always the same- like a halter for a horse, it controls where the nose goes, and the rest of the dog must follow. Don't get lazy, use it in combination with normal lead training.

boodog1969

You could try Meg Heath Dog Leads they sell all sorts of training leads including head collars and harnesses.

sheramber

Find a good training class that uses positive, reward training methods. There you, and your partner, will both learn how to train your dog to be a well mannered member of your family.

Having somebody show and be hands on is better than trying to do it yourself and maybe not realising you are not doing it correctly.