Welcome,
enthusiastic viewers,
to Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
On today’s program
we present part three
of our three-part series
featuring renowned
dog trainer
and animal behaviorist
Carolyn Menteith
along with Dogs Trust,
one of the largest and
oldest dog-welfare charities
in the United Kingdom.
Carolyn says that when
a dog is well-trained
both she and her caretaker
enjoy a more relaxed,
loving relationship.
In this episode, Carolyn
discusses teaching
our canine companions
how to walk on a lead,
to stop pulling,
and to stay.
Today
I’m going to show you
how to teach your dog
to walk nicely on the lead
without pulling.
This will
transform your walks
and make them
far more enjoyable and
a lot safer for you both.
9 TEACH YOUR DOG
TO WALK ON A LEAD
Step 1 Lure Your Dog
So to start
to teach your dog
how to walk on the lead,
strangely we are going
to do it without one,
because I don’t want
the temptation
for the dog to pull or
for you to pull on your dog.
This isn’t
about tug of war
this is about walking nicely
besides you.
So the first step as always
is to show the dog
what you want.
So take a treat, hold it
near the end of his nose
so he sees where it is,
and then take a few steps
forward with him
nice and close beside you
on the left hand side.
Come on Barley.
Keeping the treat
near the dog’s nose.
If the dog loses interest,
put the treat
back on the nose and
just lure him back again.
Oh, you are so clever.
What a good boy!
So practice that lots
until you can do
10, 15 paces with the dog
staying beside you.
Step 2
Make Your Dog Think
Step two is to get the dog
to think about what it is
that got him the reward
last time.
In other words,
walking beside you.
So, show him
you’ve got a treat –
and then without holding it
on the end of his nose
this time, walk with him
and encourage him
to come with you.
Ready, Barley?
Let’s go, good boy!
Oh good lad!
And then he gets
the reward at the end.
And you need to
practice this a lot, so that
every time you walk,
he walks closely beside you.
Step 3 Name the Action
Step three, as always,
is putting a name
to the behavior.
So we want him to know
that when I say either
“heel” or “close”
or whatever you like,
that he should be
walking beside me.
So, no treats, ready,
nice and close,
close, close, close.
Oh you are so good,
so good, yes!
Good boy.
And practice this a lot
so that you link the behavior
of being close to you
with the words.
Step 4 Practice Everywhere
The stage four is
to get out and about and
practice this everywhere.
So your dog learns that
he always walks close
beside you on the lead.
You have to use a lead
for this bit, because
it’s not safe otherwise.
So use your
long training lead
because that’s really useful
to be able to attach the
other end onto your belt,
so that you’ve got
your hands free.
Come on then.
Let’s go and do it again,
good, good.
Our dogs genuinely believe
that the quickest way
to get us to go anywhere
is to pull.
This makes walks
unpleasant for both of us
and if you’ve got
a large and strong dog,
it can be dangerous.
It can even
injure your dog’s neck
if he’s continually pulling
all the time.
So we have to train our dog
that he will never ever
get anywhere faster
by pulling ever again.
10 TEACH YOUR DOG
TO STOP PULLING
So to help me show you
how to teach your dog
never to pull again,
I’ve got Digby here.
Now you need to start
in a really quiet place
with no distractions.
You need
some really nice
yummy training treats –
there you go, Digby –
your six-foot training lead
and that needs
to be clipped on
to a plain flat collar.
There we go,
we’re ready to go.
So step one
of teaching this,
is to teach your dog
that a loose lead is good.
So as long as the lead
is loose, it doesn’t matter
where he is,
you can give him a treat.
Hold it right at the end,
and he has to learn that
“loose lead” means
“good stuff for the dog.”
Now after you’ve
practiced that a lot
so that your dog knows
that every time
you clip the lead on,
the lead ’s got to be loose
when you’re standing still,
it’s time to be able to
move around a bit.
So remember,
if the lead is loose,
he gets a treat.
It doesn’t matter
where he is, he can be
on either side of you,
front or back, as long as
that lead‘s loose,
he gets the treat.
So yeah, get one for that.
Good. Oh yeah, still loose.
If at any point
the lead gets tight,
you just stop giving him
the treats, stand, wait ’til
he comes back to you and
the lead ’s slack again
and then give him the treat,
and practice this
all the time.
He has to know the minute
that lead goes on,
it’s got to be loose.
Yeah, good boy!
Now as you know
from the other films,
step three is putting a name
to the behavior.
But this is the only one
that’s different, because
the cue for your dog
not to pull is now going
to be clipping the lead on
in the first place.
Not pulling is going to be
your dog’s
default behavior
from now on,
isn’t it, Dig? Good lad!
So once you’ve
practiced that a lot
so that your dog knows
not to pull on the lead,
now you can start
to other distractions to
make it a little bit harder.
Maybe something
like a toy that
your dog really loves,
like Mrs. Pig here.
And what you’re going
to teach the dog is
the only way that he’s
going to get to that toy is
with a slack lead.
So you start
walking towards it.
“We’re going to go
and see Mrs. Pig.
Look, Mrs. Pig!
And if the lead gets tight,
you back up.
As soon as
he comes back to you,
start walking again.
So the only way he’s
going to get to Mrs. Pig,
is if he does it
on a loose lead.
And if he gets all the way
there, he can have it.
Yeah! Good boy.
Very well done.
Your dog has to
believe 100% that
the only way he’s going
to get to that toy,
is if the lead’s loose.
If the lead gets tight at all,
it’s going
to take twice as long.
As long as he believes that,
it’s in his interests
to keep the lead loose.
Good boy!
Shall we do that again?
See, I told you
it was really easy
to teach your dog
to walk on a loose lead.
He just has to believe
with all his heart
and all his soul,
that never again will he
get anywhere faster
by pulling.
The only quick way
to get anywhere
is on a loose lead,
but it does take
a lot of commitment.
From now on,
your dog must never, ever
pull on the lead again.
And that can be difficult
because sometimes
you just quickly
want to get somewhere.
But if he pulls just once
and gets there faster
just once, he’s always
going to believe
that it’s worth doing.
So if you don’t have
that commitment or
maybe there are just days
when you don’t have time,
you could put a harness
on your dog or
a head collar on your dog,
just to give yourself
a bit of power steering.
It’s far better
that you walk your dog
on one of those
than let him go on
half strangling himself
on a collar, which could
cause injury to him
and it could also
be unsafe for you.
So from now on,
get out, and practice and
make sure that your dog
never, ever pulls again.
I’m going to show you
how to teach your dog
to stay in one place.
This is the beginnings
of having
a “go anywhere” dog.
It’s really useful
if you can get your dog
to lie quietly
if you stop for a chat
or to wait
in the back of the car
while you clip on a lead
before you go for a walk,
or more importantly,
if you’re going
to take him out
visiting to friends’ houses.
You can teach your dog
to stay in either a stand,
a sit or a down, but
the down’s the most useful
because then your dog
can lie quietly beside you.
11 TEACH YOUR DOG
TO STAY
So to help me show you
how to teach your dog
to stand or down,
I’ve got Bac.
Bac, come on man.
Halo, lovely!
So before you teach your
dog to do a down stay,
you have to make sure
that she’s got
a really good down.
If your dog doesn’t,
go back over the “down”
film and practice that
until it’s perfect.
So Bac, down.
Oh, perfect.
So now you can work
on the down stay.
So the first thing
you’re going to do is
get her to stay down
for longer.
So you’re going
to ask her to lie down,
and then you’re going
to count to five seconds
before you reward her.
Just hold your hands up
and then after 5 seconds,
give her the treat.
So, Bac, down.
Hold your hands,
it’s almost like a stop sign
for five seconds,
and reward her.
She’s so clever.
Make sure
you give the reward
while she’s lying down.
You’re rewarding her
for staying down, not for
getting back up again.
Our many thanks,
Carolyn Menteith
and Dogs Trust,
for sharing your
thorough knowledge
on positive training to
improve the relationship
between humans and
their canine companions.
Your insights
and experience
help us develop
a better understanding and
a more joyful partnership
with our beloved
dog friends.
May we continue to be
immeasurably enriched
by our precious
animal co-inhabitants.
For more information on
Carolyn Menteith
please visit:
www.DogTalk.co.uk
Dogs Trust
please visit:
www.DogsTrust.org
A copy of the
Dog Training Made Easy
with Carolyn Menteith
is also available
at the above website.
We are grateful for
your thoughtful company
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Enlightening Entertainment
is coming up next
on Supreme Master
Television,
right after
Noteworthy News.
May the Earth
be evermore graced
with the loving
and noble presence
of our animal friends.