Leash training a dog, is effectively achieved by teaching him one simple fact-
Instead, walking properly next to us, is the quickest way to get to his destination.
To teach this lesson, it is important NOT to reward our dog for pulling.
Do not let our dog drag us along, and do not pet or give him any affection while he is pulling. Teach him to walk on a loose leash first, before attempting to walk him close to us in a heel position.
Here are some leash training techniques:
1. Red-Light, Green-Light
A simple way to leash train a dog and teach him not to pull, is to …
- Stop walking when the leash is taut, and
- Start moving again when the leash is loose.
We do not even need to say anything to our dog. Through our actions, he will figure out the rules of the game.
When we stop, some dogs may decide to roam around and smell whatever is available in the environment. To stop this, I usually shorten the leash and bring my dog in next to me. This does a better job at limiting his freedom, which makes this technique more effective.
In addition, I only start moving again after my dog does a Sit next to me. I use a shorter lead in the beginning, then slowly lengthen it if my dog walks nicely, and without pulling. By changing the length of the lead, we can control the amount of freedom our dog has, and further motivate him not to pull.
Initially, we may need to stop very frequently, so be ready for really short walks. However, it is important to be patient and absolutely consistent with the stop rule. Otherwise, our dog will learn that if he pulls enough times, we will give-in and let him go wherever he wants. This encourages him to pull more in the future.
2. 180 Degree Turn
Depending on the age and temperament of our dog, frequent hard stops may cause him to get frustrated. Too much pent-up frustration can make a dog act out in other ways, for example, he may resort to leash biting.
If we are training an easily frustrated or excitable dog, it may be more effective to use the 180-turn technique.
As soon as our dog starts to pull, quickly turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. In this way, the dog can release his pent-up energy, because he is still doing something physical – walking. At the same time, he learns that when he pulls, he just gets farther away from his desired destination.
If our dog walks properly on a loose leash for a few seconds, we can mark him for his good behavior (Good), turn back, and resume our walk. If he starts pulling again, it is fine to walk back and forth on the same stretch of ground until he learns not to pull.
3. Hand Targeting
Start by training the dog to target our hand at home.
First, I put some dog treats in my hand, and make sure my dog knows that it is there. Then, I put my hand close to his muzzle and say Nose. As soon as my dog touches my hand with his nose, I mark him (Yes) and treat him. I repeat this exercise until I am confident that he has learned the command.
Next, I move a few steps away, put my hand out in the same gesture, and say Nose. When he moves toward me and touches my hand, I mark the behavior (Yes) and treat. I keep repeating this inside the house, then continue the exercise in the backyard.
Once we are comfortable doing this in the backyard, we can try using this technique outside.
If the dog pulls, non-mark him (Uh-oh), get him to do a Sit, re-target him on our hand, and continue the leash training session.
In this way, our dog learns that pulling is inappropriate, and walking close to us will get him affection and treats. We can treat less often, and slowly phase out the treats altogether, once our dog learns to walk calmly by our side.
4. Collar Correction/ Leash Correction/ Leash Jerk
The most common aversive technique for leash training a dog, is to perform collar corrections (also called leash corrections or leash jerks).
A collar correction must be a quick jerk of the leash. There is only tension for an extremely short amount of time (a quarter-second or less), and then the leash should be loose again. Most people tend to do tugs rather than jerks, which will do little in training the dog.
Tugs may actually exacerbate the situation, because it places continuous tension on the leash. This tension may cause the dog to get tense and frustrated.
We must also be properly positioned for the collar correction, so that the force is always to the side rather than directly back. Jerking to the back may encourage the dog to lunge forward to oppose the force, thus causing him to pull even more.
To work well in leash training, collar corrections must be executed with the proper force, proper timing, and proper redirection. This is necessary so that the dog learns that pulling is wrong, without becoming afraid of his surroundings, or distrustful of his owner.
If not properly implemented, a collar correction may backfire and cause additional behavioral problems including dog aggression.
Only use collar corrections as a last resort. Only use collar corrections under the direction of an experienced professional trainer.
How to Stop Dog Pulling
Some dogs and some dog breeds will pull more than others. For example, I have two Siberian Huskies, and they both pull more than my Shiba Inu, because Huskies are bred to pull. However, by starting training early and being very consistent, even Huskies can be trained to walk at a measured pace by our side.
In the beginning, I leash train my dog in the backyard, where there are very few distractions. Once my dog is comfortable walking there without pulling, I move on to more quiet areas of the neighborhood. Another alternative is to walk during off-peak hours, where there are fewer people and dogs around.
By carefully choosing our training environments, we can set our dog up for success, and help build his confidence. Once he is comfortable walking in a given area, we can slowly increase the level of distraction.
Before we know it, we will be enjoying a wonderful neighborhood walk with our dog! 😀
What kind of harness is it that you have on your shiba? I am looking to buy a harness for my baby 🙂 if you could respond or email me it would be amazing. Thank you
We tried many different harnesses with Sephy, mainly because he is so picky about wearing anything on his body. I believe the one in the pictures here is a step-in harness.
We started with a no-pull (Easy Walk) harness, the one that has the ring on the front, but that was really a production to put on with Sephy. The step-in is much easier to put on, but even with that, Sephy did not want to have anything to do with it after a while.
A bit more on harnesses –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment#harness
Hello
I have siberian husky who is now 2 years old. He is wonderful dog and every family member connected with him like he is a real person. He is showing all characteristics of siberian huskyes and we are really enjoying in that. But now we are starting to have a bit of problems. For the last year we were not going on leash walks because we were going on large grass spaces where he could run. He has really a lot of energy. But now we started leash walks and he is pulling really hard. And when he sees a dog he gets really excited and its hard to control him. Also when we are going on a free runs sometimes he doesn’t return on command. My question is, is it good to start with your leash training techniques that you described here? And can you suggest how can I distract him from other dogs when we are on the leash walks?
Thank you
1. Over-excitement
I do dog-to-dog desensitization exercises to help my dog be more calm in the presence of other dogs. The article is about aggression, but desensitization can also help with over-excitement.
2. Coming when called
This article from the ASPCA has a good list of recall training techniques. However, Sibes usually have high prey drive. When they are chasing after prey, they are in instinct mode and will be deaf to commands or whatever else we may say. This is why most Huskies are kept on-leash, unless in a fully enclosed and safe area.
Here is a passage from the Siberian Husky Club of America –
3. Leash training
In my articles, I talk about my own experiences with my dogs. However, dog behavior is very context dependent – the temperament of the dog, his routine, his environment, etc., all have to be taken into account. What I usually do is I read up a lot on dog behavior and training techniques, pick the ones that I think are most suited to my dog and his environment, and then I may further tweak them to suit an individual dog.
I make sure to always “listen” to my dog, and try to be responsive to his needs. I always try to set my dog up for success. For example, when leash training my Sibe puppy, I start inside the house. That way, she can get used to the feel of collar and leash, and walking next to me. In the house, we can both just focus on the walking exercises.
Once she is walking well in the house, we try doing it in the backyard, then we walk in very quiet areas in the neighborhood, and so on. I always start small and only *very slowly* increase the environmental challenge.
Here is a bit more on how dogs learn.
Getting help from a professional trainer can also be helpful because he can visit with our dog, observe his temperament, routine, environment, and more.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I need some advice about my dog, I can walk my dog quite well depending on how he leaves the house, he sees the lead and whines constantly obviously hes too excited in seeing the lead. I do leave it in livingroom so he can see it but once its on he gets very whiny. I have waited aroun an hour till he calmed down but still has a slight excitement in him. I use a Halti head collar which redirects his head and works a treat but when I take him with a pack (my friends dogs) he gets worse, has to try get to the front, and the whining starts again. I know the issue is how hes leaving the house, but I do have days when hes in the same condition as before and he will be great on a walk with the halti collar on him. Its mainly the pack walk he cant cope with. I need advice on why hes likes this with a pack walk, and how to calm the situation. Thanks
Yeah, my Sibes are also a lot more excited and excitable when they go out together or with my Shiba Inu. I think they are more confident when out in a group, and they each want to get to the next interesting bush first. Group outings are also more unusual, so it is more exciting and there are more things to do when friends are around.
I make sure to leash train them separately first. I only attempt group walking *after* they have mastered regular non-group walking.
As with everything else, I always start small and set my dogs up for success. For example, I start training in a very low stimulus area. At first, I do group-walk training with one Sibe and my Shiba Inu. This is because my Shiba is very calm when out on walks, and he does not need to be the lead dog. My Sibes are a lot more excitable, so it is much better to pair each of them with just one calm walker. I start small, go in small incremental steps, and set them up for success.
Once my dog improves, I can very slowly increase the environmental and ‘other dog’ challenge.
Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises can also be used to help a dog stay calm when in the presence of other dogs.
Hi we recently got a 3.5year old sibe who loves pulling as she was not walked much when she was younger and she weighs a tonne. What do you recommend in training her to walk properly (on paths and not smelling every blade of grass haha) . She doesn’t pull as much in the backyard but I am unsure of what to do next. Thanks and tell your sibes and shiba inu hi for me 🙂
With my Sibes I mostly use the red-light-green-light technique and the 180 turn around.
In the beginning, I start walking in a more quiet area, where there are fewer distractions. Once they get better with walking, I very slowly increase the environmental challenge.
I also start with shorter but more frequent walks. In this way, I can stay calm and patient throughout, and they still get a lot of practice.
For very strong pullers – some people use a head halti. But there are pros and cons to that.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment#halti
Hugs to your Husky!
Hello,
I am having a couple different problems with my German Shepperd/ Husky mix, Tho I have not had him sense he was a puppy my boyfriend and his ex have. his ex left him locked up all the time weather she was home or not, and My boyfriend works alot. So when I came in to to the picture his dog is now 4 years old and knew some of the basic commands. But now I am trying to work with him and he just seems to be stubborn and doesnt listen to him or I very well. I am 6months pregnant and would love to be able to walk with him with out him literally dragging me. He walks pretty well in the back yard/woods with me with out his leash, His problem i noticed is he wants to explore and sniff EVERYTHING. haha
2. Is he hates being on his chain and barks and barks until you let him back in the house or just run, but when I do let him off I usually say to the house or the garage and he goes straight to the house or the garage, but to just let him out side for not even five min’s hes over in the neighbors yard eating the bread they throw for the birds or hes down the snowmobile trail and i have to call him 4-5 times for him to come back and we he does he has this thing were he looks at me from behind a tree or the side of their house like i dont see him. He wont stay in the yard and it sorta flusters me because when im out side with him hes pretty much by my side but i cant be outside with him all the time, and i dont want one day for him to get hurt or hit by a car.
and the 3. and final question is being that im 6 months pregnant my pupper doo AKA Thor seems to i dont know if it jealousy or protectiveness but he does not like not only my boyfriend but none of our friends to come near me and give me hugs or anything. Hes got to have the attention and push in between us. He is also a beggar. But i have pretty much gotten him to kennel up when he hears dishes. But he stairs at you and creeps outta of his kennel and will sit right behind you and stair at you till you give him something or yell at him and hes still very stubborn about it he’ll do it 3 or four times. If you have any advise for me to be able to help him and work with him it would be great. thank you so much.
Hello Misty,
Thor sounds like a wonderful boy, especially given his history.
1. Leash training
I leash train my Huskies using the red-light/green-light technique and the 180 turn around technique which I talk more about in the article above. If my dog pulls, I stop moving and shorten the lead. As soon as he stops pulling, I start moving again. In this way he learns that –
Dogs, especially Huskies love to explore and sniff, so we can use that to motivate them to do the right thing.
2. Chaining
Huskies are high energy and they also have high prey drive. They will want to explore and chase after small animals, e.g. squirrels, birds, and more.
Two things help with my Huskies–
a) A good amount of structured exercise. We play structured games in our backyard, they work for their food through interactive food toys, and we go on long daily walks.
b) A secure fence line. The best way to keep my Huskies from escaping is to make sure that my fence line is secure. To save on cost, we can enclose up a smaller exercise area. In my old house, I did not really have a backyard, so my dog would spend his time inside the house, and we would go on more frequent walks.
As you have observed, chaining or tethering can cause frustration in a dog and this may result in other undesirable behaviors, such as non-stop barking, pulling, as well as guarding. Here is a USA Today article on how chaining can encourage bad behaviors.
3. Begging
Dogs repeat behaviors that get them good results and stop behaviors that get them undesirable results. If I do not want my dog to “beg” then I make the behavior be unrewarding (i.e. they don’t get anything while begging). Instead, I tell them what to do instead, e.g. Down. Then I make sure to reward the desired behavior very well with food and affection. Consistency is very important in dog training, so I make sure never to reward behaviors that I *don’t* like, and to reward behaviors that I *do* like very well.
What has worked well for my Huskies is to set up a consistent routine and consistent set of house rules. Then I teach them the rules and motivate them to follow rules by following the Nothing in Life is Free program.
Here is a bit more on how dogs learn.
This ASPCA article on introducing a dog to a new baby may also be interesting.
Good luck and big hugs to Thor!
I have a golden retreaver puppy who is scared of water and won’t let my other dogs eat what should I do?
My Shiba Sephy does not generally like water or being wet either, but when it is related to doing something fun, he actually does not mind the stuff. With Sephy, he will be motivated to go into the water if there is something there that he really wants, or if water is involved in a fun chasing game. I don’t force him into the water – he comes on his own to join in on the fun.
With my Husky puppy Lara, I started small, by first introducing her to a little kiddie pool and made the experience fun and rewarding. Then I slowly build up from there based on what motivates her most.
What does your puppy like most? What games does she like to play? What was her first water experience?
Can you elaborate? Does she show aggression? Does she try to guard the food? Do all the dogs eat together? How old is she? When did this behavior start?
Hi, please can someone help
I have 2 huskies, my eldest girl is just over 1 and my youngest is a 9 month old boy, I am having massive issues with their behaviour, to the stage the rest of my family want us to give up the dogs, I am determind that I can train them and that they can be well behaved.
One of my biggest issues is that they pull so much on the lead I end up in pain by the end of a short walk.
I took the dogs for a 10 mile walk the other day hoping that it would quite them down but all they did was pull, I ended up with serve back pain for days and they weren’t even worn out. I am starting to loose the faith, please help me
Hello Melissa,
At the beginning of leash training, I walked my Sibes separately. They are a lot more hyper when they are together, and also a lot more reactive. When I walk them separately, they are each *relatively* more calm, and I can start the leash training process.
For leash training, I use the red-light and green-light technique as well as the 180-turn-around technique. Consistency and repetition are very important. In the beginning, I would also do shorter, but more frequent walks. This allows everyone to recharge between walks but still have a lot of learning opportunities.
I start by training them separately in the backyard. The backyard is a quiet and low stimulus area, so it is a good place to start. Once they are good with walking in the backyard, I move on to very quiet areas in the neighborhood, and so on.
When they are good walking by themselves, I start by getting a friend to walk one while I walk the other. In this way, we start to practice walking together, but we still have good control over each dog.
Huskies are bred to pull so they are more of a challenge to leash train. But with consistency and repetition, they will improve. Certain leash training equipment can also be used to provide more control, but after trying out many different things, I ended up just using a no-slip collar and leash.
Other things that help with my Huskies –
1. Making them work for all of their food.
2. Following the Nothing in Life is Free program.
3. Redirecting their energy into a variety of structured activities.
4. At home, I set up a fixed set of rules and a consistent routine.
How I trained my Husky puppy.
Love and appreciate your site so much! I have a Shiba mix (well, we’re pretty sure) and we are working on the pulling, among other things, and she is very high energy. We love to hike, which definitely helps with energy thing, but I was wondering if you had a recommendation for a hiking harness. The first time we took her, and granted this was before we really started working on the pulling, we thought she would wear herself out but she never did! After many hours of rugged hiking she was still pulling! She ended up chaffing really bad wearing a basic harness that attaches the leash at the top. We now realize we have to master the walk first but thought we would ask about special harnesses and see what you thought…
Hello Bonnie,
Two types of harnesses come to mind-
1. One is the Premier No-pull harness that has the leash attachment up in front. I tried this for a while with Sephy. It was a little bit better than a regular harness for pulling, but also harder for us to put on. Sephy is not a big fan of harnesses. 😀
2. The Ruffwear Webmaster harness. I used this for a while with my Sibe Shania. The nice thing about this harness is that it is a lot more heavy duty and fits very securely on a dog. The one that I got also had protective coverings on the straps to try and prevent chafing. However, the protective coverings do not always stay in place when a dog moves around, so I am not sure of their actual level of effectiveness. I didn’t have any chafing issues with Shania, but we didn’t do overly long walks during that time.
This harness has a lot more material, and provides better support, but as a result, Shania also got hot while wearing it during warmer weather.
A bit more on my experiences with harnesses –
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-leash-training-equipment#harness
Hi,
I have a 10 month old Siberian Husky and he doesn’t have any leash training. We use to go to the park when he was 2-3 months and he learned how to be on a leash, but we stopped going to the park, and he forgot how to be on a leash. When I tried to put the leash on him, the first thing he did was run away. He was scared. When I try to put his collar on he runs away. Can you give me any advice?
Thank you!
Collar desensitization exercises helped with my Shiba Inu-
http://shibashake.com/dog/train-your-puppy-to-walk-on-a-leash#collar-desensitize
Hi,
I just found your site and I love your articles. I have a two month old beautiful black Shiba and I actually have the opposite problem that most people have. Rather than pulling, she just sits down all the time. Not when she’s tired, just when she feels like it. It can be right as we step out of the house or even while we are still on the porch. She is very stubborn but also a generally calm and submissive pup. I don’t know how to get it through her head that now is walking time, not sitting in the grass time.
Ever had that problem with one of your’s?
Haha, yeah actually both Sephy and Shania like sitting/lying-down during walks. They like to look at people, and smell the wind. I bring my iPhone with me and read books when they do this. 😀
When I need to go, then I move them along. Shania is very good about this. Sephy is a lot more stubborn and will sometimes refuse to move by doing alligator rolls or some other Shiba-move.
Some things that help with getting Sephy to move along-
1. Getting him moving from a sitting position is much easier. Then he can’t do alligator rolls or just refuse to budge. If he is in a stubborn mood, then I just prevent him from lying down.
2. If Sephy is lying down then I lift him by his chest into a sitting position and move him along. When I need to go, I just go – at a jog.
3. Sometimes, I scrape my shoe on the sidewalk. Sephy doesn’t like the sound of this and usually gets up.
4. The Find-It game can also make walks more interesting and get him to move along.
Let us know how it goes. Hugs to Shiba puppy!