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BAT LEASH SKILLS

Many dogs are reactive on leash and “fine” off leash. I think that a lot of the problem is how we walk our dogs on leash. The dog has little to no choice of where to go. Because of sidewalks and how humans walk, she has to walk in a straight line right at other dogs and people. She is forced into situations that scare her and pulled away from most of the chances to learn about her world through sniffing.

The video below is by Charmaine Anthony, CBATI, demonstrating the BAT style of walking with a lab puppy. Notice that even though he is concerned about the fountain a few times, Charmaine’s relaxed leash handling helps him take in more information and realize that he’s actually okay:

[vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/135897011″]

The leash is there for safety and would also be used to help slow him to a stop if he were getting too close to something scary. She doesn’t need to call him away during this video, but if she did, she’d verbally call and if that doesn’t work, use a leash technique called mime pulling, which you’ll learn about beolw. But you shouldn’t constantly be telling the puppy where to go. At least half of your walk, let your puppy choose where to go. Let him learn about his world at his own pace!

When your puppy greets dogs on leash, it may be awkward because of the way the leashes change the dogs’ body language and motivations. Many dogs are literally pulled in two directions at the same time: one by their interest in other dogs and one by the leash.

So how do we avoid all of this? I recommend that you practice the BAT leash skills and use them with your puppy whenever you can. Instead of your short leash and collar, have the puppy in a harness and use a comfortable leash that is about 12-15 feet long. In group classes or other tight situations, you may need to use a shorter leash unless you are good at handling the longer one. You can easily clip two leashes together to make a 12-foot leash. I like the round Mendota leashes (same material as our custom long lines).

The Ahimsa Dog Training Manual has tips on leash walking, for teaching your dog not to pull. The simple tip I’ll give in this lecture is to reinforce behavior that you like, including the times when your dog comes back to you if he feels any pressure on the leash.

This week we are going to focus on YOU not pulling using the same leash handling skills that we use to rehabilitate reactivity. I think this will be very helpful for your puppy’s socialization.

Here’s another clip, with my dog Peanut, so you can see what I’m doing with the leash:

[vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/131015410″]

Please download the leash skills handout PDF (also in other languages on my public Handouts Page for family and friends). Practice each of these skills. Watch the video above before you try them out with a friend. Here are a few illustrations to help you. They were drawn by the fabulous Lili Chin of http://DoggieDrawings.net.

Slow Stop is used any time you need to stop the dog without the added distraction of calling verbally.

Mime pulling is used to get your puppy to turn and go with you, when calling away isn’t enough.  The illustration below shows the “Slide” aspect of mime pulling. Your front hand doesn’t grip the leash, it just slides through to create a vibration. Your hand can even be flat. Use slightly more braking distance than this illustration.

Using a friend as your ‘dog,’ practice the following skills. Your helper doesn’t need to act like a dog, just move around with the leash. Please practice this for a while with a person, then get our feedback, before trying it with your puppy. During the exercises, the human-dog should walk upright (as humans do) and hold the leash clip at his/her waist (target the belly button).

The person should give you feedback on how it feels. If you don’t have a human to practice with, tie your leash to a chair. For Slide, slow stop, and mime pulling, swap roles with your friend so you can see what it feels like.

• Using a short leash (6 feet / 2 meters), practice:
  • Handle
  • Slide
  • Slow Stop
  • Relax the Leash
  • Mime Pulling
• Using a long line (12-15 feet / 4-5 meters), practice by having yourself move away and toward the ‘dog’ and also having your human ‘dog’ move away and toward you, at various speeds:
  • Shorter
  • Longer

TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS:

The training skills this week are:

• Touch (Nose to Hand)
• Name

Instructions for Touch and the Name Game are both in Chapter 4 of the Ahimsa Dog Training Manual. I’ll add some more information here, but if you don’t already know how to teach these two cues, look at the manual for more information.

Touch: With the Touch cue, your dog touches her nose to your hand. Touch is useful for getting your dog’s focus, for moving her from one place to another, for getting past distractions, and even getting your dog to come to you. Think about it. In order for your dog to touch her nose to your hand, she has to turn away from what she is doing and bring her nose to your hand. This automatically brings the rest of her body with her. It’s possibly THE most useful skill for a dog to have.

Alternate between Touch and Find It. So when you click for your dog touching your hand target, say Find It and toss a treat on the floor for your puppy to find. Start with an easy location and build up to tossing it several puppy-lengths away. I do this for two reasons:
1. It moves the puppy away and sets you up for another Touch, automatically building distance into the Touch cue.

2. Find It is probably my second favorite cue for dogs to know. You can use it as a distraction, to reduce stress, and for physical and mental exercise.

Name: The dog’s name means “the next instruction is for you.” Say the name (or give the name visual cue if your puppy is deaf) and reinforce any attention to you, including ear flicks, head turns, and eye contact. Vary the reinforcement: treats, toys, running away, and cues! Yes, cues. If your puppy knows Sit, Touch, etc., use those as a reinforcer for your dog paying attention to his name.

Remember, training is great, but the socialization is more important.

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