I've started taking my friend's dog out for walks every weekday. He hasn't had much training, nor does he go out much aside from going to the bathroom twice a day. Once around noon, another closer to 6-8pm.
Since I love him a lot, I thought I'd try working on training him; at least his pulling. When I was with my ex, his dog was pretty well training to stay by your side. He said that clipping the leash on the front (with a full chest harness, not just a collar) should help keep the dog from pulling so much. While trying it on this walk, he wasn't pulling *as hard*, but he was still pulling.
I also have a little bag of treats I'm trying to train with. When indoors, he responds to his name and can sit, but when outside, even if I bring the treat in front of his face, he can struggle to listen. I want to keep him from pulling so much, and then especially when we cross the street, it is absolutely crucial that he learns to wait at the cross, look at me and wait to go, and stay by my side until we finish crossing.
Edit: This is a copy paste from one of my posts to r/dogs. It hasn't been approved in a few days and I need help.
Since that initial post (3 days ago) I've been doing more research. I was taught about the harness by one of my friends, who it worked well for. The harness also isn't mine, I didn't buy it, it's just what they have on hand and what I've been using.
I've since learned that Gentle Leader harnesses can be helpful. I've also heard some controversy surrounding it though, and want thoughts on it. I also know that training is a two way street, and I want to make sure I'm properly training myself as well.
Here's the current routine:
Put his harness on (gets it on well. I have him sit so I can put it on).
Have him sit and wait at the door, looking at me for permission. He used to bolt straight at the door the second his leash was on, but I've taught him that he needs to wait if he wants out. What usually happens from there is he bolts out the door once I fully open it. I have trouble with that, and how to stop it. What I did to train him to look for permission was as soon as he ran at the door, as it peeked open, I would close it and wait till he sat, following this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2yj2xtCo-k&list=PLXMViC9umr57McZZLQ3SwmaNX-7vUsrwh&index=3
From there, once he's out, he starts to tug hard. It's cause he's quite excited to go outside (cause his current caretakers frankly suck and they only go out for 5 minutes to go to the bathroom. I'm trying to see if I can get the dog from them).
The rest of the walk is a lot of tugging. After about halfway through the walk, about a quarter of a mile, he pulls a little less. Still pulls, sometimes hard, but noticeably less.
Indoors, in a low stimulation environment, he reacts well to his name and "sit". Outside however, I just can't get his attention. Another thing I was taught was to pull him right by your side and stand in front of him to block the distraction from sight. Once he ignores it, then reward him.
submitted by /u/Kieotyee
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