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Grabbing & Tugging on the Leash, Part 3 of 4
We’ve been talking about leash grabbing and tugging, as in the ▶video I shared about Roscoe.◀
I’ve met other dogs who begin grabbing and tugging the leash near the end of their walk, as they approach their home. ???? The dogs were doing their best to boycott the ‘going home’ plan by grabbing and tugging against the leash. ????
What are some ways we can make “going home” more fun and rewarding?
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12 Replies
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I may try using a scent trail or I may even change the route slightly with lots of yummy things for forward motion
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Love the scent trail idea, @jenz !
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Whenever we’ve been “Out & About” I always, always, dump the remaining yums from my treat pouch into the girls’ crates in the truck when we return to it. ???? This makes our return to “home base” very rewarding. And, I hope, should they ever get separated from me (god forbid), they would think to go back to the truck. I should think this would also work on walks from the home. Give them the rest of the yums in a giant pile, just inside the front door!????
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Such a great idea, @programdev ! Only issue will be with less food-motivated dogs, who value the walk a great deal more than even the best food. I worked with a husky today that exactly fits in the ‘exception’ category. ????
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You are ????% right, @virginiad – I got tractable dogs because I love that they are easier. ????For the non-food motivated, we just need to pivot to what’s important. I had a Vizsla who (not surprisingly) loved to hunt. She’d take food from my hand, but if I tossed the food so she could hunt for it, that was way more motivating! ???? So her rewards were tossed away from me, when she recalled, for example.
So with these other dogs, we just have to look ????for what drives them. If it’s chase, we get the flirt-pole out when we get home. If it’s bite/shake, we play a rowdy game of tug. If it’s a chance to cuddle up, then we reward them with a cuddle puddle as soon as we return home. ????
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For food motivated dogs a lick mat prepared in advance with something the dog loves can be a nice calm treat at home at the end of a walk.
Also thinking about the routine once home, and what that feels like for the dog. Sometimes my dog doesn’t wasn’t to come back on the house after our walk because he knows I’m most likely going to get ready to leave the house or just otherwise busy doing non-doggy things.
When possible, it helps if I can play with him in the house for a while after the walk and before I start doing other things or getting ready to leave.
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Super input, @gina !! ???? I loved your comment below as it such an important consideration. Dogs sure can learn patterns very quickly.
Sometimes my dog doesn’t wasn’t to come back on the house after our walk
because he knows I’m most likely going to get ready to leave the house
or just otherwise busy doing non-doggy things.
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I would say, to get a dog excited to go home after a walk.. maybe start a chase game for the last bit, before the dog stars tugging (if you can run that far – I couldn’t lol). When I let my cat in the house, even if she JUST walked out, I’ll get her a few bits of food. It seems to encourage her to want to come in more often! It might work for dogs. She has started a behavior chain with it. Meow, get let out, come right back, jump to bowl and get food lol. Sometimes I go in first to get some food or treats ready to surprise my dogs when they come in, but only maybe 20% of the time.
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What a great idea, @david_p ! The story about your cat is especially delightful. ????
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@virginiad I’m trying to think of things we could do for non-food motivated dogs. One idea is to hide a toy near the house and then on the way back play a “find it” game to find the toy leading to a tug game?
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This is an excellent idea, @abbie !
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@David_P Kitties are soooo smart – lovely behavior chain. ????
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