bespoke behaviours
Individual Dog Training
Loose Lead Training Walks
Does your dog find the world overly exciting?
Is it hard work to walk your dog?
Are you getting pulled all over the place?
Are your arms aching?
Are you wanting your dog to listen to you more on walks?
Are you wanting walks to be enjoyable rather than endurable?
Let's talk!
Tell me about your struggles and we will discuss how to make walks easier and more pleasant!
Let's face it, most of us get a dog as a companion to be able to take for enjoyable walks. A friend to wander with us on daily rambles.
We don't get a dog with the intention of having to build arm muscles like Popeye to be able to walk them.
We don't want to be blasted out of the door, dragged down the road or used as a human tug toy to the never ending comments of 'who's walking who?' from the comedians on the street...!
We don't get a dog to then be yanked all over the place when they see another dog, person, small furry creature, bird, football being kicked around....
Why does my dog pull?
Well, it could be a number of things:
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Maybe the dog has never been taught how to walk on a loose lead? If they have never been taught it, how should they know what we are asking of them?
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Maybe the dog has been over-socialised meaning that they now consider every person and other dog to be a potential playmate on sight of them.
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Maybe the dog has a strong prey drive or is triggered by movement - sometimes this is built into their breed DNA as part of the job that we bred them to do (before asking them to adapt to being a domestic pet)
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Maybe the dog comes from working lines whereby they were specifically designed to be out working independently of their handlers so the lead causes frustration.
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Maybe they aren't getting enough stimulation or exercise throughout the day so a walk is an unbelievably exciting prospect and they cant control themselves.
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Maybe the equipment we are using or the training methods that we have tried are inappropriate or not consistent with your dog's learning.
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Maybe its a set routine of knowing the route and when the exciting play time is coming up.
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Or maybe they are in fact nervous and are being driven by nervous energy and jumping up for reassurance or pulling on the lead to get away.
There are loads of potential causes, these are just a handful of examples.
So how do we train my dog? to walk more calmly?
Through chatting over your dog's history, breed and walking issues, we can start to understand your dog's motivations a little better. We can then tailor a programme of 1:1 support to start to improve the walks for you both.
We will be looking at gaining focus between dog and handler. To achieve this, we need a connection (other than a piece of rope) between the pair.
We will be exploring the equipment used and if another piece of equipment may be more effective. I will only advocate for non-aversive equipment and positive reinforcement handling techniques.
We will be looking at putting some basic principles of lead walking into practise.
We will be looking at disengagement and desensitisation techniques to make it easier to regain the dog's focus and to make the triggers less exciting.
We will be evaluating your dog's individual motivations, triggers and thresholds so as to keep them under threshold and responsive at all times.
How long will it take?
As with any dog training, it takes as long as it takes. Progress is dependent on handler consistency, following the guidance given, the dog's response to training, breed implications, and understanding that we need to change an emotional driver, not just manage an outward behaviour.
To manage expectations, loose lead walking is one of the hardest training techniques to master. This is why many owners tend to give up on it when their dog is a puppy but then find that they struggle with their dog as they get bigger and stronger.
Its never too late to teach your dog to lead walk but doing it right, definitely isn't an overnight fix. Its a short term investment for a long term gain!
I will show you loose lead walking techniques, focus games, disengagement methods and will help you to understand your dog's motivators, equipping you with the tools and knowledge to continue the training by yourself.
There are numerous variables which all add to your dog's pulling on a lead. We need to take time to identify and work holistically on the lead walking techniques, recall and disengagement methods, triggers and desensitisation to them and building the bond with, and focus on, you as the handler.
This training package is designed to give us an overall view of your dog's motivators and a plan to work on each part separately rather than simply trying to manage a behaviour without addressing the emotional driver.
This package will give you a good understanding of your dog and new skills and tools to start you on your loose lead walking journey together.
Included are 4x 45 minute sessions (within Swindon):
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Assessment walk on a normal route to observe your dog's behaviours, identify triggers for pulling and begin disengagement techniques
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Starting loose lead walking techniques in your home, we need your dog to learn and master these techniques in a very low distraction environment before trying to take them out into a blizzard of distractions
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Flexible session for progression of new skills, introduce further focus games (if applicable) and starting to put the walking and disengagement techniques together
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Walk to observe development and give progression suggestions
Package cost: £185
Loose Lead Walking Training Package
