How can you train a nervous older dog not to pull on the leash. Particularly a shelter dog who probably has a history of abuse and neglect.?

Answer 1

All Dogs Can be trained. When out on a lead and you feel the dog pulling say BACK and gently pull on the lead until the dog is behind you this may take a while and make you feel guilty but it will help in the longrun. Hope this helps

like in all aspects of training it is of the utmost importance to stop an unwanted behaviour(in this case the dog pulling on the lead) before it actually happens . this will improve youre chnces of your dog repeating the behaviour in the future. therefore next time you take your dog out for a walk, you should prepare yourself and look out for the slightest sign that the dog is about to pull on the lead and then stop him immediately.its is important to always use the same word (in this case -back-) to get the dog to understand this command. it is also impervious that you are consistent with training your dog until you are convinced that the dog has learnt .

----So magically the dog is suppose to know what "BACK" means??? Do dogs now speak English? Here is a correct protocol for dealing with a dog not honoring, or pulling on the lead. This is an excerpt from my booklet "One, Two, Good Dog!" and no permission is given for copying or distribution.

Walking on a loose lead

The single most common problem I see is dogs that do not understand to walk

on a loose lead and instead pull. Mostly this is a learned habit we inadvertently

teach our dogs through inattentive handling. Think about it! If we walk our dog

around on a lead and we keep that lead tight all the time to attempt to remain in

control then the dog learns that feeling this pressure or strain from the lead is

normal and accepted and possibly even rewarded. Often people will further

reinforce a dog to pull by using a retractable lead before the dog knows how to

walk on a loose lead. This happens because when a dog pulls the lead tight it

reels out and the dog proceeds! Common sense tells you that this is conveyed

to the dog as "pull harder and you get to go further". Therefore you should not

use a retractable until the dog has learned to keep slack in the lead when

walking. Remember that anytime a dog is non responsive and in front of you it

views itself as being in control. The thought of many trainers and other so-called

dog professionals is that anytime the dog is in front of you it is in control is simply

not true. If your dog honors the lead no matter what your position then you are in

control.

Step one is to properly fit the whisper string at the base of the head just behind

the ears and above the shoulder on the top vertebrae. The knot should be

positioned at the side of the neck or towards the throat not centered on the back

of the neck. (See picture 1) This position is essential to proper and natural

communication with the dog. It is ideal for the string to remain at that position on

the neck and not slip down. If your dog has slick or short hair it may be

necessary to tie a retainer knot in the string to keep it from loosening to much

and slipping down.

Now with the string properly fitted simply walk around a larger area with minimal

distractions. Give the dog about three feet of lead as the lead tightens tug as

hard as necessary to turn the dog in your direction and develop slack in the lead.

This is a tug and release, not a pull where the lead is kept tight. Now continue

walking around changing directions causing the lead to come tight and using the

tug and release. You'll be surprised how light the tug becomes with just a few

repetitions. You can also inject the PRAISE in this process. The verbal praise

should begin during the tug. Refrain from physical praise as it will slow down the

process. You should look for about 30 repetitions of this process in 2 to 3

minutes. You will see your dog begin to HONOR the lead very quickly and the

more you work the better the honor will be. As you proceed through this you can

increase the length of the string to as long as you like. Remember we are

teaching the dog to HONOR the lead not to walk at heel. So it is okay if the dog

is 10 feet away on the lead as long as it does not become tight.

For question please contact me by email at dr.hogan@invincibleservices.com

basically i never said tell the dog, back and he will learn the word magically. What i meant was that you say _back and a split second later you tug on the lead. if you are consistent with this , you get to a point where you can just say back and your dog has by now learnt what it means!!!

its easy to take an excerpt from a book and try to do the same, buth the truth is that dogs, like humans are individuals and are different. some are quicker learners than others. The important thing is that you are consistent enough until the dog learns . this could take 20 repetitions, 50 or even a hundred, its no use saying do this 30 times and youre dog will learn it.

With thids system ive had a dog walking to lead in 5 minutes

I'm not saying you method doesn't work I'm simply stating that you have done a poor job of explaining in simple understandable terms why or how it works. Now your restating what I've stated. This "EXCERPT" is from my own book which states, in simple straightforward understandable English how to apply the "Canine Learning Process" in a training situation. The only problem is you really have not stated or maybe don't understand that pulling on a lead is an undesirable behavior and you should absolutely not install or connect a "Command" such as "Back" to the dog's response. Also there is no need to make the dog get behind you unless you are teaching the dog to "heel". By instilling a command you are actually teaching the dog to respond to the command when you give it but not simply teaching the dog not to pull. The dog may think it is ok to pull until you give the command. By teaching the dog to keep the lead slack the dog is responding to the lead coming tight not a vocal command. Therefor the dog steps in your direction anytime the lead begins to tighten without presenting a command. As far an "excerpt from a book". and your comments about reps: Where in this sentence "You should look for about 30 repetitions of this process in 2 to 3 minutes." do you see anyone saying absolutely a dog will learn in exactly 30 reps? NO! What you see is an example of how quickly the protocol must occur.

Besides that the command 'BACK" is generally used in directing a dog to move away from you. I realize you can use any sound or sign you want and as long as you've done a good job of "linking" it to a behavior it will work. There are two steps to training a dog. The first is "Teaching" that is what occurs in the process from my book. The second is "conditioning" and this occurs by consistent use of the learned process over time. Generally by integration into you daily interaction with the dog such as when you go on walks and the learned process is adhered to. The conditioning process will generally take anywhere from 200 to 600 meaningful repetitions. Understanding that all dogs actually learn in the same manner is important to allow you to build consistency into you training program. Now this is not saying all dogs respond the same but their are certain things that must occur in every training method in order for the dog to learn. These are the things I have labeled "One, Two, Good Dog!" if these things do not occur the dog will not learn until they do occur. The excerpt from my book needs to be taken as only a small piece of the puzzle and may well be out of context without seeing the whole book and I apologize for that as there are certain explanations leading up to this excerpt that help to understand how the protocol works. Dr. Hogan