From loose leash to off leash! Pupdate w/ Beach Video!!

603 Views 16 Replies 8 Participants Last post by TotallyAwesome, 10 d ago

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · 16 d ago

We had been practicing variations of loose leash for some time but the HS collar still seemed necessary. Excitement for dogs, cats, crows, etc was getting better with a strong stationary heel and “focus” command but reactivity was common enough that flat collar was a pain on the butt.

Coming out of her season, i felt comfortable bringing a clicker into loose leash walk training. A clicker, flat collar, cheddar cheese cubes, and the word “easy” were the tools. Man! She figured it out in 2 days of cheese clicker loaded walking. This dog has not pulled or required a correction in over a week. While she is still looking at other critters, she has been trotting on by, click, treat, keep going at my side.

i figured it was time to do our morning walk off leash. An experiment on trust and confidence. Again, lots of cheese and the clicker. While we didn’t run into many people and only dogs in windows/behind fences, she did the whole thing by my side, paying attention to what i was doing. Its like a switch went off or something “clicked.” After even these short unleashed walks, it feels like a heavy training session, like her brain has been worked hard!

i know off leash isnt for everyone or everywhere and we are taking it slow, but combined with true loose leash walking, it feels great to have this level of progress in this scampy pup!!!

thank you to everyone who has offered tips along our way!

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TotallyAwesome

· #2 · 16 d ago

Congratulations! Must feel awesome! 👍

Reactions: 1

Hopps

· #3 · 16 d ago

Rosie has such a squishable face! Once I started rewarding a lot, our training progressed a lot quicker. I might have to start bringing out the cheese cubes. I like that harness too. David posted a picture of a grey one so I think I'll end up getting a pink one for Fern.

Reactions: 2

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · #4 · 16 d ago

Hopps said:
Rosie has such a squishable face! Once I started rewarding a lot, our training progressed a lot quicker. I might have to start bringing out the cheese cubes. I like that harness too. David posted a picture of a grey one so I think I'll end up getting a pink one for Fern.

some days she is quite squishy!!!

We generally always have treats, but i really think the clicker made the biggst impact. I didnt really feel comfortable timing it prior, but even for me its like something came together and it became less stressful trying to grt perfect timing. I guess its easier when the dog isn’t pulling either…

and we are very happy with this harness. It came with some saddle bags (cant think of the word) that we havent used, but it fits her well and is easy to get one and off. I do believe we bought it after david mentioned it

Hopps

· #5 · 16 d ago

RosiesPaw said:
some days she is quite squishy!!!

We generally always have treats, but i really think the clicker made the biggst impact. I didnt really feel comfortable timing it prior, but even for me its like something came together and it became less stressful trying to grt perfect timing. I guess its easier when the dog isn’t pulling either…

and we are very happy with this harness. It came with some saddle bags (cant think of the word) that we havent used, but it fits her well and is easy to get one and off. I do believe we bought it after david mentioned it

Ruffwear gang! Strangely enough Fern responds better to voice vs clicker. Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on in her fuzzy little brain. Congrats on the training. I’m going to hunker down on training in the next few months!

Reactions: 1

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · #6 · 15 d ago

Hopps said:
Ruffwear gang! Strangely enough Fern responds better to voice vs clicker. Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on in her fuzzy little brain. Congrats on the training. I’m going to hunker down on training in the next few months!

we were/generally voice across the board but i feltlike “why not!?!” with the clicker this time. Probably due to my constant reading about neuroscience and making changes in the brain…

anyhow, thank you! And good luck!!!

Reactions: 1

tim_s_adams

· #7 · 15 d ago

Just a word of caution. Off leash reliability requires lots and lots of off leash practice in various environments. And for safety sake, that's best done in an enclosed (fenced in) area.

If you don't truly know your dog will not chase after another dog or a cat or a rabbit, it's best to find that out in a safe place, rather than walking through the neighborhood.

Great work on the obedience!

Reactions: 4

dogma13

· #8 · 15 d ago

RosiesPaw said:
we were/generally voice across the board but i feltlike “why not!?!” with the clicker this time. Probably due to my constant reading about neuroscience and making changes in the brain…

anyhow, thank you! And good luck!!!

That's exactly it - programming them "when I hear this I always do this" without stopping to think about it. I'm not coordinated enough to use a clicker so rely on vocalizing.

Reactions: 2

Carter Smith

· #9 · 15 d ago

dogma13 said:
That's exactly it - programming them "when I hear this I always do this" without stopping to think about it. I'm not coordinated enough to use a clicker so rely on vocalizing.

Same!!

Reactions: 1

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · #10 · 12 d ago

well, today, we went for proofing at the beach. Man, did she do well. Crows and Gulls galore. In the first video you'll see her turning toward one in the distance and instead of bolting, comes when i call. She was also able to run with some other cool dogs and again, from quite a ways away came when called. Super, super cool day

Reactions: 5

peachygeorgia

· #11 · 12 d ago

well done Rosie! looks like an awesome day, she's doing fantastic

Reactions: 1

dogma13

· #12 · 12 d ago

Nice!!

Reactions: 1

Hatchetjack

· #13 · 12 d ago

Great job! Looks like the hard work paid off.

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · #14 · 11 d ago

Hatchetjack said:
Great job! Looks like the hard work paid off.

thanks. She is a good dog. A forgiving dog.

i wanted off leash at 18 months. An arbitrary #, looking back, and it didnt seem like we would hit the goal. But we are getting there!

Reactions: 2

TotallyAwesome

· #15 · 10 d ago

RosiesPaw said:
thanks. She is a good dog. A forgiving dog.

i wanted off leash at 18 months. An arbitrary #, looking back, and it didnt seem like we would hit the goal. But we are getting there!

Wow! 👍 would be over the moon once my dog has reliable recall

RosiesPaw

Discussion Starter · #16 · 10 d ago

TotallyAwesome said:
Wow! 👍 would be over the moon once my dog has reliable recall

aw thanks. You’re putting in the time/work from what it looks like by your posts. You will get there. She is 18 months and its taken daily practice and training since the start. We have had a lot of digital support via this community!

TotallyAwesome

· #17 · 10 d ago

RosiesPaw said:
aw thanks. You’re putting in the time/work from what it looks like by your posts. You will get there. She is 18 months and its taken daily practice and training since the start. We have had a lot of digital support via this community!

Thank you 🙏

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