wont focus

S

snkoyle15

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so, sadly we have seriously lacked in loose leash walking with Gizmo. but i am now trying to really work on it. he isnt to bad, he doesnt pull really, but he has to have tension on the leash. he will not stay by my side or even let the leash loosen at all. but the problem is, if he knows i have treats, he flat out will not focus on anything because he is to excited for the treats he can smell. he doesnt even have to see them. :rolleyes2: i will get him next to me and give him a treat, and as soon as i take one step he is running out in front of me and bouncing like a kangaroo wanting another treat. so i get him back to my side and start all over. there have been a couple times that he will go a couple steps by my side so i will try to give him a treat but he freaks and starts bouncing again. he will sit after a few seconds, but then i feel like im treating the sit, not the fact that he walked next to me. another problem with it is, i just took him outside and normally he pees as soon as we get out there. but this time he could smell the treats and was to excited for that, so in the 10 minutes i was out there he DID NOT PEE!!!! :uhoh: so back to the crate he went. ill give him a few minutes then take him back out, without the treats this time.
So, how do i get him to stop freaking at the treats? how can i get him to focus on what im trying to teach him? he is extremely food motivated, but it seems like its a little extreme. or am i actually doing things right and it will just take a while for him to catch on? (i know it will take a while for it to fully sink in because of how long we havent done it with him, but its hard when he wont do it if he sees/smells treats)
any tips/advice/ideas?
 
Maybe try the method of changing direction very quickly as soon as there is tension on the leash- no treats just getting Gizmo's attention on you as he tries to keep up. This usually isn't a very far walk as you may find yourself just constantly changing direction but it does work and gets your dog to focus on what you are doing and not treats. You can google loose leash walking to see instructions.
 
okay
this may sound counter productive BUT you probably aren't giving enough treats in the beginning :D Get the dog to play some it's your choice games, so they can mug the hand that has the treats all he wants but you won't give him one until he backs up ... then when he looks at you, and give reward FAST, don't wait, don't make the dog work too hard at the beginning, then space out rewards but that will be the last thing you do.
Just increase time and distance and you will get better results, because the dog learns to work around treats. It really takes time, nothing works instantly when it comes to dog training

Do an exercise, before even putting a dog on a leash, it teaches impulse control and it is the foundation of which to build on going forward to do ANY exercise with. It helped me immensely, needless to say this is a TOP trainer, but this works for everyone if you wait your dog out!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc

In the end it really is about patience and just waiting them out, he mugs your hand, you don't treat, and you don't let them reward themselves.
 
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I agree with Irene. It isn't a matter of putting the treats away, it is a matter of teaching them that even if food is present they need to work to earn that reward.

Here is a video of Birch when I first started working with him as a puppy. It is a long video but the beginning is the part I wanted to show. Birch at first is all over me and climbing on me. I just waited for him to take a tiny step back and feet on the floor and reward that. Then I started working on the behavior I was trying to get. It takes time and it is a matter of teaching the dog that their actions control your actions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjzr8fTxPUY&feature=g-upl
 
Toffee's Mom said:
okay
this may sound counter productive BUT you probably aren't giving enough treats in the beginning :D Get the dog to play some it's your choice games, so they can mug the hand that has the treats all he wants but you won't give him one until he backs up ... then when he looks at you, and give reward FAST, don't wait, don't make the dog work too hard at the beginning, then space out rewards but that will be the last thing you do.
Just increase time and distance and you will get better results, because the dog learns to work around treats. It really takes time, nothing works instantly when it comes to dog training

Do an exercise, before even putting a dog on a leash, it teaches impulse control and it is the foundation of which to build on going forward to do ANY exercise with. It helped me immensely, needless to say this is a TOP trainer, but this works for everyone if you wait your dog out!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc

In the end it really is about patience and just waiting them out, he mugs your hand, you don't treat, and you don't let them reward themselves.
Click to expand...

i like that. so how do i incorporate that for while on walks? i mean, he will bounce for a few times then sit, because he knows he needs to sit for treats. but then i feel like im treating the sit, not the fact that he came back to my side.

Mellie- i have tried that a few times. the problem with that is i end up dizzy from turning around so much :dead: :lol:

we have done a little bit with the clicker, so maybe i need to pick that back up with him. it would make marking the right thing a lot easier then trying to get him a treat that fast and then treating the wrong thing.
 
Don't go to PHD level before finishing graduation ;)
you simply won't expect a perfect walk until you did the exercises and games around those treats. lol, I would use a wooden spoon with peanutbutter by my side and recommend you to be quicker with your rewards to get a cookie into him BEFORE he gets a chance to sit down... so you reward in the position you want him to be.
The good thing about positive dog training is that in reality there is no real damage to reward wrong, other than the end behaviour takes a LOT longer to train ;)

I guess my point was that I feel you are wanting to fade your treats way too quickly on walks, because you say he won't focus on you when you have them... Dogs Do NOT generalize so start putting on leash inside and work there, then go outside etc etc, reward when he is walking calmly by your side, we often really don't reward the quiet moments!
I think it would be beneficial to increase your treats like peanutbutter on a spoon while walking beside you, that rewards him IN the position and keeps him with you, this will translate into him wanting to be by your side because it becomes more rewarding than the pulling on the leash to get somewere itself.
Do NOT go ONE step forward when the dog pulls, not an inch, stand still, wait him out, when he comes back to you, treat and the spoon goes back down and wander on... increase time and distance intermittently, but take your time.
I have used these leashes as a prototype and found them to work great, as the clicker is on your leash while walking, so just easier to manage.
http://www.clickerleash.com/how_it_works.php
 
you might also want to try using kibble instead of such a high value bonus treat.... of course, Justus is just as happy with scraps of ham as he is kibble, or pocket lint... :wink2:
 
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