When Pigs Fly_ Training Success With Impossible Dogs - Jane Killion [55]
1. Walk out 20 feet from your dog and then see how much duration you can build. Start at one, then two seconds, and build up to one minute using the same schedule of reinforcement you used for teaching the one minute stay with you standing right in front of your dog.
2. You can start standing a little further and further from you dog as the distractors do their thing until you are 20 feet away.
3. You can start practicing all of these things in other, gradually more exciting, places.
If you want a longer stay, a stay further away from you, a stay with you in another room, or a stay in the middle of the county fair, you can work your way up to it using the guidelines in this section.
I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You!
Attention Walking
Walking politely on leash is another behavior that many dogs do quite easily, but it can be a formidable task with a Pigs Fly dog. It seems like Pigs Fly dogs are always either pulling your arm out of the socket or planting themselves into the ground and refusing to move. One of the top reasons people bring their dog to professional trainers is that they want to be able to take a walk and return home with their arms the same length as when they set out, and not need extensive chiropractic attention to return their shoulders to good repair. There are also lots of people out there who would love to take a nice, long, bonding walk with their beloved pet, but Fido just plain will not budge. The answer to both problems is exactly the same. We are going to teach your dog that walking close to you is a very rewarding experience that he can look forward to.
This is what attention walking looks like. Ruby gladly offers attention because she has been reinforced heavily over the years for looking at me and walking by my side.
What you are going to teach your dog is what I call “attention walking.” You will teach your dog to walk right next to you on your left side and keep his eyes glued to you. This will be the foundation behavior for loose leash walking. You may not want or need your dog to be in this exact position with full eye contact all the time, but it is essential that you have it to draw upon. There are lots of times when it is handy to have a dog that walks right next to you with attention: when you are in a crowd; when there are other not-so-nice dogs around; when you don’t want your dog walking all over the place and getting wrapped around a telephone pole; or when you just want to get past some big distraction. In these situations you need to be able to get your dog into attention walking mode and get past the problem. Attention walking, when reinforced, is also a fun game for dogs to play and they love being asked to do it. If your dog is fearful or reluctant, attention walking makes him feel safe. His world is narrowed down to you and him, and timid dogs find that very comforting.
You will also teach another, more casual, walk, but you need the foundation of the attention walk, first. Trust me, it will be much easier to get casual walking without pulling if you teach attention walking first.
I am going to click the dog here. Ultimately, I would like her to be closer to me, but this is a good start.
Shape. If you have worked on free shaping attention, teaching attention walking is a snap because it is really just a moving version of the attention behavior. Ideally, you will teach this behavior without a leash. Begin in a safely enclosed, boring environment. If you don’t have a fenced-in area, go to an open area and put your dog on a 30 foot long line.
1. Free shape some attention (as in Chapter Five). Click and treat a few times just to get your dog’s motor running.
2. Start meandering around while keeping an eye your dog. Don’t say anything to him—let him become curious about what you are doing so he will come over to investigate. Imagine an area that extends about three feet directly off of your left side, and extends to about two feet in front of you. We call this the “magic circle”