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Have a read of my blog - Anxious Dog Communication....what is he saying?
This will give you an insight into body language and behaviours you may see in your dog.
If you would like some help with your anxious dog, please do contact me via WhatsApp - 07960423833 and I will arrange a free no-obligation call to discuss your situation.
Tracey Ordish DTC-CDT
First you need to look at WHY your dog is pulling?
In order to have a better walk with your dog, you both need to be in a calmer state of mind!
Have you sometimes said to your dog - 'Rover...Walkies!!!' in an excited voice? This intense excitement causes your dogs arousal levels to increase and they start to associate the lead or harness or you getting your shoes on with being in an excited state.
When a dog is in an excited state, the opportunity to focus decreases! The behaviours they exhibit are barking, jumping up, spinning, fast pacing, biting the lead or harness etc...
It is the same when your dog has had some stressful times both in the build up to the walk and/or outside. They may increase their stress levels which causes behaviour such as pacing, jumping up, barking, biting, hiding, cowering etc...
These ultimately lead to your dog pulling you out of the house and up the street as they have an elevated state of mind which reduces their chance to think calmly!
Have a think about your routine and whether your dog exhibits any of these behaviours. It could be an eye-opener to why your dog pulls hard on the lead.
There are some exercises to try after you have found a reason for their pulling.
1. Lead on/Lead off - is exactly that!
Practise calmly and quietly clipping on your dogs lead and taking it off after a few seconds. Do this in different rooms of the house and the garden and when they are and when they are not paying attention to you. Practise it with your dogs collar and with their harness too.
Why? - What we are doing is changing your dogs association with the lead. To them currently, it may mean 'We are going out' and this will start building their emotions. They will either present excited or stressed behaviours. By practising Lead on/Lead off, your dog will start to change their emotion around it. By doing it calmly and quietly you are saying to your dog that it is a non-event and you don't need to worry or increase your excitement. If you walk your dog off lead, you can practise this outside on a walk too. If you recall your dog and clip their lead on, then take it off and send them back to what they were doing, it will be easier to get them back on lead when it is time to go home as you are changing the association of lead on means going home!
2. Change the routine of leaving the house
As stated above, if your dog is not in a calm state of mind before leaving the house, you will need to help them calm by changing certain things about your routine.
For example: Change the order of getting ready.
Dogs associate human actions with a feeling (stressed, excitement, worried etc...) so it could be that seeing you putting your jacket on means they associate this action as needing to feel excited or worried. They will start to anticipate what is next. By changing routine, you can start to change the way your dog feels about the actions and predictions.
3. Going out of the door - calmly
When you are ready to go for a walk, you will need to help them associate walking out of an open door with being calm. To help them achieve a calm departure out of the door, you need to gradually open the door in stages and reward them for not taking steps towards the door.
For example:
You can use praise just before the reward but do not say anything else. If your dog moves towards the door at any time, you have gone a step too far, therefore you need to go back a step. I know this sounds like a lot of work however, I bet being pulled out of your doorway is a lot of work too! This method will help your dog to achieve a calmer state of mind around the door being open, as long as you stay in a calmer mindset!
There are many steps towards a calmer walk with your pooch depending on why they are pulling in the first place!
Look at me!
Let's Go!
Intermittent rewards!
Drunk walking!
Obstacle course!
Stop/Start
Go sniff!
Engage/Disengage
If you would like to learn more or need some help on your journey towards a calmer walk, please get in touch!
First you need to look at WHY your dog is not returning to you when you call?
- Do you find yourself calling them and calling them to no avail? Stop and think for a minute.....
What does your dog's name mean to them? Have you actually asked them to do something?
When you overuse a dogs name, the meaning gets lost and they just hear a noise. If you do not cue them to come back to you, then they do not know what it is you want from them.
- Is your dog excited or stressed when out on a walk? Do they run over to other dogs or people?
When a dog is in an excited or stressed state, the opportunity to focus decreases! The behaviours they exhibit include barking, charging, jumping up, spinning, running away, hiding and lots of sniffing.
This means that ultimately they will listen to you less as they have an elevated state of mind which reduces their chance to think calmly!
Have a think about your walks and whether your dog exhibits any of these behaviours or you identify with the questions above. It could be an eye-opener to why your dog does not recall to you.
- Are you annoyed at them for not coming back to you?
Tone means a lot to dogs and they would choose to come back if it was a pleasant experience. Put yourself in their shoes......
Would you prefer to go and see a person who is shouting angrily at you or who is excitedly calling you over?
No matter how you feel, you should always try to keep a consistent approach to recall, which includes how you call them.
- Do you only call your dog back when you are going to put the lead back on and the walk is finished?
To a dog, this would mean that enjoyment and freedom of the outside world of smells, sounds and sights is over and they will be restricted again.
If your dog gets used to you recalling them then you send them back off to explore again, they will start to think differently about it. They will not know when it is time for the lead to go on so that association will diminish.
There are some games to try after you have found a reason for their lack of recall such as Runaway Recall.
Runaway Recall – Most dogs love to chase and are curious so would more than likely follow you. Without notice, say ‘Come’ and start running away from your dog. When you stop, drop some treats by your feet. Whilst he is eating repeat the exercise. Repeat this for a maximum of 3 minutes. This teaches your dog that ‘Come’ or whatever your cue word is, is an amazing sound and one that he will run to you for.
When you have a solid Runaway Recall, you want to start teaching your dog some other fun games to do. What we want is to have another game when he recalls to you. This will bring more anticipation into the recall and he will want to know what game you are going to play.
If you would like to learn more or need some help on your journey towards a better recall, please get in touch!
Positive Reinforcement is using reward, such as treats, toys, playtime or praise, to show your dog that they are choosing a behaviour that is considered to be correct, such as walking calmly past another dog rather than barking and lunging towards it.
When your dog receives a reward for a behaviour, it is more likely that he will use that behaviour again!
Example: in human terms, say you took your child into a sweet shop and they use great self control and ask politely for a sweet. This should be rewarded. So you praise them for a good decision and you let them have the sweet. If they do not use great self control and demand sweets repeatedly, then you would leave the shop without buying a sweet for them.
What your child will learn eventually is that to have self control in that situation, earns you a reward.
You will be Positively Reinforcing good choices!
Let's just think about the question......is he doing wrong or is he using natural behaviours in the wrong context?
When you brought your lovely pup or dog into your home, did you assume that he would start listening to you and would behave for you? Just as children need to learn the rules of the house and boundaries, dogs need to learn how to live in a home with humans (a different species to him).
You need to become his guide and show him, using Positive Reinforcement, how to deal with each situation that benefits both of you.
Example: In the situation of jumping up and biting at you (a natural dog behaviour to show that they are either over-threshold, over-excited, fearful or have been told it is okay), it would be up to you to show him to choose other behaviours such as finding treats on the floor, offering you a nice 'sit' or chewing on a dog-friendly chew on the floor. When your dog chooses these other behaviours, you can praise him to show him he is choosing correctly. When this gets repeated, your dog will start to choose the behaviours on the floor rather than jumping up and biting you.
The areas we cover are:-
Thornhill, Sholing, Bitterne, Merryoak, Harefield, Midanbury, West End, Bursledon, and other areas within the range.
Dog walking prices are as follows:-
Solo walks (per dog)
30 mins - £12
60- mins - £17
Group walks (per dog)
60 mins - £15
Group walks (multiple dogs from same owner)
30 mins - £20
60 mins - £25
Dog boarding prices are as follows:-
One Dog
£30 per night (based on a 24 hour period)
£55 per night (BH/Xmas/NY)
Additional dogs from same owner save £5 per night