-
Training dogs to accept leash pressure – yay or nay? – Video and discussion
Leash pressure will happen in every dog’s life. Learning how to cope with it and how to “win” when feeling leash pressure can be a useful tool for all dogs.
Kate Senisi and I talked together about this concept – take a peek into our conversation, then let’s hear from you.
Have you proactively taught dogs how to respond to pressure on a collar, harness or head halter? Why or why not?
1:35
-
23 Replies
-
@Catherine So glad this is part of the llw discussion. I love the way that Sue Alisby teaches this in her Levels class. I think this method works best if the puppy learns leash pressure first before ever going for a leashed walk. Once a dog is rewarded for pulling (away from leash pressure) then I think training this operantly is much more difficult.
-
Wow! That is amazing! I never thought of teaching them that leash pressure is ok and to follow it. That is genius!!! I always use a harness (either a Ruffwear longline when going to the vet or the Pet Safe easy walk if we are out and about) but never thought about doing that.
I haven’t done that with the collar either. I’ve taught Tuff that a collar grab is ok. Basically when I move my hand to grab his collar, there is a positive association with it. But it would make sense to follow that up with teaching him to follow the pressure on the collar. I sense a video coming on! 🙂 🙂 Thank you so much @Catherine for posting this!
-
Yes, @Abbie – totally agree that it’s easiest to teach with puppies, but I’ve also had great success training older dogs this critical skill. It works really well with the “tight leash is a brake line” LLW technique. Basically, if that leash gets tight, dog should at least look at me, then release the pressure by moving toward me before we resume walking (in whichever direction.)
@ZaneB I’m so glad you are enthusiastic about this idea – and yes please with the video!
-
Great topic. I have several questions:
Does this conversation assume that the handler is consciously or unconsciously putting tension on the leash, or is the pressure from the dog pulling? Or both?
If it’s on the handler, once the dog has turned toward the pressure, do you recommend following up the release of pressure with a reward?
If the pressure is the result of the dog’s movements, after the dog has been conditioned not to panic or negatively react to leash pressure, what is your next step in habituating the dog toward LLW – or is that an unrelated process?
-
As usual, @Chris , these are great questions. And you know what I’m going to say next… what do you think!? ????
We can jump into learning theory and talk about negative reinforcement. …
We can talk more about the goal of the pressure…
We can talk about a dog’s agency…
We can talk more about how most owners handle leashes…
I can take this convo so many places… I need a little more direction from you and other members. What are you thinking about with your questions?
-
-
Yikes! From Kate’s video, I got that she was primarily addressing how handlers may exert leash pressure unconsciously, and even though we try to prevent that, it’s going to happen so let’s use that as a positive training opportunity – but I wasn’t completely sure about the source of the leash pressure, i.e. was it coming from the dog or the handler. Following that, when the dog accepts it or acknowledges the handler, should that action by the dog be rewarded? I’m hoping you can understand this question better than I am writing it.
I would really like to hear about effective manual leash handling techniques in general.
This is something I focus on a lot. I cadged a phrase from a colleague, “let’s not use the leash as a tool,” and I think that tries to address maintaining the dog’s agency while still having leash control. The leash is good for maintaining contact and distance but it’s not a device for correction, punishment, etc.
I’d also love to hear about other trainers’ takes on common leash handling issues that they see with clients and how they address those issues. Most of my clients start off with the handle around their wrist and then use the length of their arms to limit the dog’s movement. The arms get raised higher and higher while the leash handle slides down to the elbow, and the dog is still moving away. I explain that at some point they will run out of arm and the dog will still be away from you, and the handle around the wrist is a great way to unintentionally get taken down a flight of stairs. My mother would tell you this is true.
In classes/lessons when we are almost constantly reinforcing/rewarding I use a thumb anchor similar to the one you demo’d in an earlier video, but it’s a one-handed hold, in the handler’s dominant hand where they can anchor the leash, control slack, and keep a clicker under their thumb while using the other hand as a treat dispenser.
I also like it for doing grid work attention exercises, and you can quickly add the second hand to the leash if needed, AND you can quickly drop the leash as you showed in the video.
-
And I would love to hear thoughts and comments on agency in general.
-
Oooh… this is such a great segue for our new featured topic! Starting mid month, we’re talking Enrichment, and we’ll be looking deeply at Agency as a theme within our exploration! Can’t wait! Stay tuned!
-
-
@Chris Okay – yes I think you have a great handle (pun intended) on all things “leash”! And yes, in the context of the video conversation, we’re talking about what normal folks do with their hands and leashes and how puppy does/not respond, accordingly. I LOVE teaching dogs of all ages to “move toward the pressure” , with the rewards coming twofold for the behavior: R- (pressure is released) and R+(cookies, praise, etc.).
The release of the pressure is REALLY HARD for some handlers. It seems they tend to take up the slack as soon as the dog creates it. It’s a sticky point – and an important concept to help them understand that they will never have a loose-leash walking dog, if they always tighten up the lead!
I also like to point out that if we were walking down the sidewalk and I had ahold of your sleeve constantly, like a little kid will cling-on to you, then you’d habituate to that constant pressure and it’s normal. You tune it out. Similarly, you don’t have to look at me/the kid, because you know exactly where I am since you can feel me! The dog doesn’t have to look at you, if he can feel you. So by loosening the lead, we create MORE opportunities for check ins, especially if we capture and reinforce them.
-
I’m not sure if I addressed all your initial questions. I think that it doesn’t really matter who caused the initial leash pressure; we have to teach both handler and dog to overcome it and to create a “dance” that is LLW – where both are aware of their partner and responsive to the interests, goals and purpose of the walk.
And the leash pressure I’m talking about is a finger-strength tension, not a jerk, not a pull, not a tow-rope contest. It is tiny, tiny pressure. The goal is that both partners have communication like fine dancers, where the lead moves his hand *just so* and the follower knows exactly what the next step should be. There’s no force implied or appreciated in R+ LLW training.
-
Hey Catherine,
Thanks for the thorough reply. I like the dance analogy a lot and I will start using it (if you don’t mind). It is a great way to express the finesse required. I’m a big fan of using cues for check-ins (touch, look) to replace unwanted behaviors too.
-
Hey Catherine – it may already be posted but there is so much information on DD now that it’s hard to keep up – but is there a video that demonstrates any of these techniques?
Thanks
-
Not specifically! Wouldn’t it be great for some of out experienced trainers to take a shot at sharing their skills this way!? (Please do!!)
-
-
-
-
-
-
This is a very interesting concept of teaching LLW especially since we always hear: “keep the leash loose”. Thank you for sharing.
-
@Catherine here is my upload of my initial video of conditioning leash pressure. I have to admit this was super interesting. Looking back on this video, I noticed some body language on Tuff that I was unaware of during the video. I was so focused on not pulling hard that I missed some stress signals. In the first five seconds, he was leaned away from me and then he gave a huge tongue flick/lip lick. Maybe it was the proximity of me to him was too much at that moment. As you will also see in the video, he knew I had treats so he was backing up as a way of asking for them, which made this exercise interesting as well LOL
Hopefully this video comes through. The first few times I tried to upload it, it said there was an issue. Fingers crossed!
0:42
-
This is so fun, @ZaneB ! ???? Thanks for your fearless post! It’s great to see how Tuff responded to your gentle pressure. That third and final rep was lovely, with your “yes” timing being spot on. ????
Regarding his stress signals… I wouldn’t worry too much about it, unless you think he is in distress? Eustress is part of being ready to learn and an excited dog who is self-inhibiting his enthusiasm can also look “stressed”, right? So, he could just be super eager to get going! If you do a lot of video when you train, you can look for patterns and watch to see if his stress signals increase or decrease as you start working. Making sure you are providing very frequent reinforcement, with short latency (short waiting periods between reps), can help these very driven, fast dogs.
For what it’s worth, Joy screams at me when I’m too slow. ???? So, I think Tuff is doing fine. lol
-
This is a great example, way to be @ZaneB ! And thanks to Tuff, too! ????
This is why contributions from every one make such a difference – because this video demo ALSO applies to the question @Abbie asked about the demo video on “moving mode”. Setting a dog up to respond to leash pressure that is pulling them forward would help the dog learn how to react when you want to be in that exercise-oriented moving mode and not stop for every potential sniff on the way. -
@ZaneB Thanks so much for posting
-
You’re very welcome @Abbie !! I really appreciate your support and positive comments!! Love this group.
-
-
-
Thanks @Catherine for the super feedback! Always appreciate the support!!!! For me, I get a little nervous when I know I am videotaping, and sometimes that translates over to my handling! But usually by a few reps in, I’ve course corrected and gotten back to neutral. 🙂 Yeh, I am not too worried about his stress in this case. He usually equates the harness with going on an adventure, so I think his adrenaline was just up in this case. 🙂 🙂 🙂
That’s adorable about Joy! Tuff usually just backs up when my reinforcement isn’t fast enough! haha! Thank you so much for the feedback on that! I will definitely take that into account!
-
@ZaneB Great! I’m glad my comments are helpful. That’s why we are here! ????And yeah, I totally get it about video. It’s SOOOOO hard at first!! I think the hardest part is watching yourself. Because that’s when you catch all the errors. But, it’s invaluable for becoming a better trainer. ????Keep up the fearless work!
-
-
Thank goodness for the app! I’m back on. I know this topic is an older topic but, it’s an important one. Very smart to teach leash and collar pressure. I don’t know if there is any Karen Pryor P.S.R. instructors out there but it’s part of her curriculum. Since dog’s have opposition reflex, teaching leash pressure training, teaches the dog to go in the direction of the tension and helps prevent your dog from pulling while walking on a leash . Thank you for the great topic.
-
Agreed, @stomper16 Brenda. Glad you got the app, great to see you jumping in.
-
Log in to reply.