Is Your Dog a Polite Walker?

Does your dog run through open doors? Pull on the leash? Act without regard for consequences? Some of the nation’s top trainers recently gathered in San Diego to share their techniques for dealing with these problems and more at the Association of Pet Dog Trainers annual conference, a sort of TED gathering for the pet set. The following bite-size tips can help you live with and train your dog more effectively.

Teach the wait command. It’s better than a fence, says Trish King, director of behavior and training at Marin Humane Society. Wait means that the dog should stop immediately—“do not pass Go” in Monopoly terms. It should be as if a wall has dropped down in front of him. It’s not the same as a stay command; there’s no need for the dog to sit or lie down. Practical applications include waiting before going out the front door, getting out of the car, or when approaching a blind corner.

“If I’m walking with my dogs and there’s a blind corner, I tell my dogs to wait until I catch up with them,” King says. “With a wait, the dog just has to stop, as opposed to 'Come,' which requires the dog to stop, turn around and return to the person.”

To teach the wait, practice in front of a door or gate, with your dog sitting in front of you. Step back through the opening. If the dog follows, lean forward, taking up the space that the dog might otherwise move into. When the dog stops, give a reward. When the dog stops just as you begin to lean, add the “Wait” command. Practice walking toward the door together and giving the wait command. Block the dog with your body only if necessary. As your dog improves, you can fade out the lean or the body block and the rewards.

Then practice in different areas (the car, on the street) and for different lengths of time. King covered several other techniques for teaching this behavior, but this basic one worked well with my dogs, who have a rock-solid wait at the front door. Now we’re practicing it in other areas.

Polite walking is one of the behaviors that dog owners want most, says Gail Fisher, author of The Thinking Dog—Crossover to Clicker Training. That doesn’t mean that the dog must be in a strict “heel” position.

“Loose leash walking means we are walking together with the dog within two to three feet of the person’s side, either side,” Fisher says. “He can sniff, look around, there is slack in the leash. You have to understand what a dog’s field of vision is. Dogs by virtue of the shape of their skull and position of their eyes have a 270-degree field of vision, greater than that of a human. If a dog is somewhat in front of a person, he can still see the person.”

To teach polite walking, be clear about exactly what you want by setting specific boundaries. This is one instance of training where “good enough” isn’t good enough. By rewarding your dog when he’s where you want him to be, you can give him the freedom to explore within certain limits.

Start with a counterintuitive move. Stand with the dog facing you, make an “alert” sound—a kissing noise, cluck or word—and move backward. When the dog follows you, “mark” and reward that first step, using a clicker or the word “Good” or “Yes!” and giving a treat.

Do this frequently at first. Then pivot, turning toward the right, so you and your dog are walking in the same direction. Continue to mark and reward when your dog is walking nicely but gradually reducing the rate of rewards.

I practiced this with Harper and made a point of clicking when she was looking forward or to the side instead of at me. Then I tossed the treat on the ground in front of her, just far enough that she didn’t have to pull on the leash to get it but enough that she could eat it and be ready to walk on by the time I passed her. Keep the treats in the hand or pocket on the side opposite where the dog is walking. They should be a reward, not a lure, Fisher says.

If your dog pulls ahead or to the side, make the alert sound and walk backward to refocus the dog. When it moves toward you, praise and then continue forward. As your dog learns its boundaries, gradually fade out the marker and reward. If the dog forgets and moves so that you are no longer in its peripheral vision, introduce a “lost opportunity” marker: “Oops,” “nope,” “too bad” and back up, moving the dog away from the object or place it wants to go.

Remember that just going for a walk is a reward in and of itself for a dog. When your dog knows how to walk nicely on leash, it’s easy to “reward” it with a walk when you know your arm won’t be tugged out of its socket.

One of the most important tips: Train in flashes. A training session doesn’t have to take up 10, 20 or 30 minutes at a time. One to three minutes of practice is plenty, and it leaves your dog wanting more. Most important, be consistent, give rewards only for error-free behavior, and practice in different locations so your dog learns to respond in any situation.