RANDOM WALKING
This leash-training methods main
purpose is to change your dog’s leadership-oriented thought processes by
reinforcing the idea that HE’S not leading the way, YOU are. By forcing your dog to follow you, you are
showing your dog leadership skills in a way that he can’t fail to
understand. Here are the steps to take:
Take your dog to an
open space with a few distractions.
Hold your leash short
and by your side
Take a few steps (5-10)
and change directions without warning.
Take a few more steps
then head off in another direction.
Take another couple of
steps before making another random direction change.
Vary the number of
steps and direction. You want to keep
your dog guessing.
You are really making
him think now because he has to look to you for directions rather than assuming
he knows where you will go.
Weave in and out of
trees, jog, walk, start and stop.
Do this for approximately
10 to 15 minutes. Keep in mind this is
mentally taxing stuff for your dog.
After a week of this,
slowly increase the time. Soon you will
find you can walk for longer periods of time in one direction.
Variety is the
key. Mix up stride, length, speed and
direction.
Change locations. You don’t want him to associate good behavior
on leash in one place.
You need
to commit to this technique to achieve long-lasting results. Fortunately, it’s not something that requires
a lot of time to have an effect. If you
are consistent with this program by maintaining ten to fifteen minutes of
random walking every day or every other day, you will start to see results
usually within a week.
REMEMBER,
this is a demanding exercise for your dog and it is best done when the two of
you are mentally alert. If either you or
your dog starts to show signs of tiredness or stress then it is time to take a
break.
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