"Let's go" teaches
your dog to walk nicely on the leash without pulling. It is
not the same as heeling. You need to start in your yard with
the dog on the leash. Start walking and when the dog goes
ahead of you, immediately turn and walk in the opposite
direction saying, "Let's go!" The dog will bound after you and
immediately run out ahead of you again. Simply turn in the
opposite direction and repeat, "Let's go!"
What you are teaching the dog is to
follow your lead. You are the leader. It's the dog's job to pay
attention to where you are going. It's not your job to guide
the dog, or walk around the dog, or follow the dog while he wanders
aimlessly sniffing. Your dog
should walk next to your side without pulling on the
leash.
Please note that this is different from
the heeling exercise where the dog needs to sit every time you stop
and remain in a precise position at your leg looking up at you as
you walk. With the let's go exercise, the dog is allowed to
look around and be fairly liberal as to how close he is to your
side, however, he should never be out ahead of you, and he does not
need to sit when you stop.
After a few times you can try doing
this with distraction. Your front yard will have many more
distractions such as children playing nearby, cars driving by, other
dogs and cats, etc. Repeat the same lessons until your dog
ignores everything else and pays attention to where you are
going.
Now you are ready to go to a park
and repeat the same process. There are many more distractions
at parks such as ducks near a lake and squirrels, etc. Repeat,
repeat, repeat -- never allowing the dog to pull on the leash.
The leash should be slack at all times.
Next, you are ready to
walk down the street on the sidewalk. You might not get very
far the first few times, because every time the dog goes out ahead
of you, you must turn around and go in the opposite direction.
You might begin to feel like a metal duck target in a shooting
gallery but stick with it and reap the rewards. Your dog wants
to go forward so it won't take long for him to figure out that the
way forward is not to pull on the leash and to keep close by your
side. If you have done your work at home and in parks, walking
with your dog on a sidewalk without him pulling will come fairly
quickly.
And, remember to praise the dog and
reward with a treat here and there along the way. Make walking
fun. After all, wasn't taking pleasant walks together one of
the reasons why you wanted a dog in your
life? |