TRAINING ARTICLES 

I hate my lead!

What to do when your dog won't let you catch him

• About turn walk

• Chasing

• Clicker training

• Clicker retrieve

• Crate training

• Daily stay

• Delivery problems

• First nine months

• Gunfire

• Holding an area

• I love my lead

• Puppy recall

• Puppy retrieve

• Recall problems

• Stop to flush

• Trained retrieve

It is very frustrating when your dog is just a few feet away,  but won't come close enough to let you put the lead on him,  or dodges away when he sees the lead come out of your pocket. 

Many new dog owners fall into the trap of teaching the dog that his lead is a very bad thing.  They do this by frequently associating the lead with the end of a nice walk.   This situation is best avoided by putting a puppy's lead on and taking it off again,  many times during the course of each outing from the very beginning.  The technique below will help you cure a  dog that has already learnt to dislike having his lead put on. 

Teaching your dog to 'love his lead'

When attempting to reverse any recall problem it is often a good idea to use a new recall command.  This is because your old one has become associated with bad habits.   So, if for example your old command was 'here'  you might like to change it to 'close' or 'come'.  Don't let your dog run loose outdoors until step 3.

JOIN

 TODAY

THE

GUNDOG CLUB

SETTING NEW STANDARDS

FOR GUNDOGS

IN TRAINING

STEP 1. FEED ON THE LEAD  (Indoors)
For several days put your dog on the lead to eat his dinner. You will have to stand there with him whilst he eats,  but this is an important step. For best results divide his daily ration into as many portions as you can arrange at intervals throughout the day.  Don't try and call/train your dog or get involved in any  conflict,  simply go to the dog,  pop the lead on (whilst he is indoors) as if you were going to take him for a walk. Then feed, saying your new recall command several times whilst he is eating, and remove the lead when he has finished.  You are building up a subconscious association between the lead and food/pleasure.   Lots of small meals is crucial to success.  Once a day will take you far longer.
 
STEP 2. CALL AND FEED INDOORS
Still indoors, continue to feed the dog on the lead,  but begin calling him to you first.  Use your new command/cue word as he approaches.  The more times you do this each day,  the better.  Give at least one 'jackpot' reward each day  (a jackpot reward is something extra special or tasty such as a sardine,  or a sausage or some warm cooked ham or chicken)  Keep this up for several more days

STEP 3.  I LOVE MY LEAD!
Preparation for this step is crucial.  The temptation for the dog to revert to his previous behaviour when released outdoors is very high.  The longer you take on steps 1 and 2,  the better your chances of success at this stage.

Preparation:

• Before the first outing,   do not feed the dog for 24 hours.  He needs to be hungry. 

• Take with you some exceptionally tasty 'jackpot'  type food.  Preferably hot (not burning hot) cooked meat.  Have plenty of it -  you are going to be very generous

Method:

1. Take your dog into your usual dog walking area - a wide-open space outdoors where he is safe.
   Wait until there are no other dogs/people/distractions nearby, drop some of the hot meat on the ground, let him eat whilst holding the lead, and remove his lead as soon as he has eaten it. 

2. Let him run a few steps then call him back with your new command, put him on the lead and feed again. 

3. Remove the lead and release the dog.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 at least 10 times, letting the dog run around briefly in between before taking him home.  Don't let him go too far from you at this stage,  and don't expose him to any distractions

What if it doesn't work??

If you have spent several days on each of Steps 1 and 2 then you are unlikely to have problems at this stage.   If you do,  then an interim stage where you release the dog whilst he is wearing a training lead or check cord under his ordinary lead,  will help to condition the new behaviour outdoors

All being well,  you should repeat Step 3 daily for several days before proceeding to Step 4

STEP 4. FADING REWARDS
It is important not to rush this step.  People are often very keen to remove themselves from dependence of food rewards and fade them out too quickly.  The old problem if not properly extinguished will then resurface with a vengeance.  The first step in fading the rewards is to replace some of your very high value rewards with more boring ones.  Little cubes of cheese or toast, or kibble, make good basic food rewards with which to replace your hot meat.  Fade the high value rewards gradually  -  over days or weeks.   Your high value rewards should continue to be used at least once during every walk for a couple of weeks, plus after putting on the lead to come home.  Once you have the dog coming and willingly accepting his lead for simple rewards such as cheese or kibble,  you can begin -  just occasionally  -  to put on his lead without rewarding him.   Continue to put the lead on and remove it many times each walk. 

STEP 5. CONSOLIDATING TRAINING
You now need to be working on your dog’s overall obedience by following a training programme such as the one in the Gundog Club's training guides. Keep up your new habit of putting on and taking off the lead several times during your walks and occasionally treat the dog.  Introduce distractions very gradually and at close quarters where your influence over the dog is greatest.  For this dog,  it is a good idea to always treat the dog after putting on his lead to go home at the end of the walk.

~

Give your dog a job to do.

Make sure your dog always knows what he is supposed to be doing,  find things to occupy him.  If you don’t he will surely find amusement for himself.

One of the simplest ways to occupy and amuse a dog during exercise is with retrieving.  Make a point of nurturing your dog’s retrieving instincts so that you can give him longer and longer retrieves to keep him fit.   If your dog is a spaniel, you will get the best results if you teach him to quarter from side to side in front of you and never allow him to run around hunting for himself

Do train your gundog as a gundog.  

Even if you never intend to go anywhere near a gun, gundog style training is designed to harness the natural instincts and desires of the gundog and will give him and you great pleasure

Training a dog takes time  - most people introduce far too many distractions to a pup at far too young an age.  Follow a well-structured training programme such as the one in The Gundog Club training guides.  Get the basics well established before you add complications. Keep your puppy close and out of mischief.  If you are careful he need never learn to have fun without you.

copyright©Pippa Mattinson  2006,2007, 2008 All rights reserved.  You may not copy this article or any part of this article in any form without the written permission of the author.  Breach of copyright will be pursued!

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