Or in Penny’s case, a lot more complicated!
Penny is an action-junkie. From her first day home she always had to be wherever the action was – irrespective of leashes and training
When there’s no action, Penny happily strolls by my side. But if we see a squirrel or birds or other pups, Penny is desperate to charge forward. She craves action above treats or praise, so traditional positive reinforcement markers aren’t effective.
In our case, I’ve had the most success by modifying my training to fit my pup. Rather than engage Penny with positive-reinforcement cues, I disengage from the situation by putting the pups in a firm “stay.”
A sitting pup is a well behaved pup. If there’s no walking, there’s no pulling
And you can see how desperately Penny wants to pull into the fray of the dogs she’s spotted across the street
I let Penny coil up her excitement in a play-bow, as long as she stays in place
Finally, as the dogs pass, Penny regains her (limited) sanity and we walk on to the beach
Where my little wild child can romp off-leash to her heart’s content
For me, my experience with loose-leash training Penny is another reminder we should always modify training and care to our individual dogs – not the other way around. What works in a textbook isn’t always what works in the real world.
Knowledge of positive-reinforcement techniques is invaluable, as is the lesson to know when you need to modify those techniques.
For Penny it’s loose-leash walking, but each pup has their own challenges. Have you ever had to modify traditional training/techniques to better suit your dog?
