Without a doubt the most common thing I am called into help with when it comes to people’s dogs is leash pulling. Not by coincidence no matter what issues a dog has the first thing we do is to get them to walk not only on a loose leash but, walk on just a fingertip. There are three different pieces of equipment that people have no need for after we leave, and they are prong collars, harnesses, and expandable leads. They are the enemy of the loose lead. A lead is not used for control, it is used for safety and communication. A tight lead provides neither. It is impossible to correct a dog on a tight lead. For the sake of this article, we are going to talk about the expandable lead.
Most training actually comes down to conditioning. Condition is using consistency to influence the state of the dog. Without input from you your dog should be neutral. Unfortunately, most dogs are conditioned to be in drive. As many clients can attest to there is little need to talk to a dog when you have their full focus using your movement or lack of movement.
In the beginning of every training session, we start by conditioning the dog to walk in the “heel” position, which is walking next to you, so their front leg is in line with your heel. This allows the dog to maintain a loose lead by using the movement of the handler as a reference to avoid tension on the lead. The other key element is that the dog can also see where the handler is looking without reacting to it. This is the basic canine relationship and the foundation for everything that will follow. This is achieved by using the Immediate Correction & Traffic Lead that I designed. Because they are a standard length, each dog will have a custom “heel box”. The heel box is the distance that the dog can be front, back, or sideways from you and remain on a loose lead. This will change if the dog is given to another handler of different size. Using the same principles, the dog can be conditioned to walk in the heel box taking into consideration the size of the handler. They quickly adjust because the correction is the same.
While handling a dog the handler should not move their body to accommodate the dog’s movement. This means that your arm should be down at your side and relaxed. You NEVER move around the dog; the dog moves around you. Space is the one canine commodity that is always in place whether you are moving or static. If the dog is conditioned that you own the space the dog will have no choice but to focus on you in that space. This is why most dogs go crazy at the front door.
When a dog is on an expandable lead the distance, they are from you goes from zero to the length of the lead. There is no standard for the dog to condition too. Imagine what would happen on a set of stairs if each steps height was changed every day. Or how about if your garage was a different depth once in a while. Do you think you might hit something accidentally. Dogs are much more especially aware than we are and because of that it’s easy for them to control people who are not conscious of it. It is just common sense that one of the keyways to ensure control is to limit the variables you do have control over.
Odin is six now and has not been on a six-foot lead in a long time. Basically, all we use is the Immediate Correction Lead and a 15-foot lead. When a dog is tied to something stationary, they quickly learn how far they can go before being corrected. When the attachment point is moving, they are never able to receive consistent correction. Behavior modification comes down to the result of the behavior being either attractive or unattractive. If the dog’s movement at a certain point becomes unattractive, they will stop before hand to avoid the correction because that is attractive. All training/conditioning must have a standard to be compared to so that the effectiveness is measurable. That is why we use the military’s tried and true TASK/STANDARD/CONDTION principle. The Task is to walk your dog on a loose lead. The standard is 100% of the time. Conditions are the only thing that change. Walking on a loose lead in your house or backyard is not a measure of your control over your dog while walking down the street. We also need a defined “Neutral” to return to by using consistent, predetermined, non-emotional corrections. None of this can be achieved on an expandable lead.
Whenever your dog is leading you, they are in danger. Would you let a three-year-old lead you across the street? Of course, not but people let their dogs lead them through the neighborhood. Why do dogs become reactive. When you dog goes out the door in front of you and then down the street you are telling them they are the higher-ranking dog and in charge of your pack. Being on a lead they are limited in their fight/flight response. Where are they going to go to retreat, your behind them. They can’t fight because they cannot get away. The only thing they can do is bark/growl/ and posture and guess what this gets them removed from the situation, so they are conditioned to continue with that behavior. Clients are blown away how their once reactive dog walks quietly next to them in the heel when you identify yourself by movement at the higher-ranking dog.
When it comes to physical safety the extendable leads are made up of cord/webbing or a combo with the cord being at the attachment point to the dog. That cord with friction can cut you right down to the bone in the back of your ankles or knee. Being thin it can also wrap around a dog’s rear leg and break it in pieces if suddenly pulled straight. The thin webbing can do the same to a lower extent. The biggest threat is the tangle/tripping hazard. Get bound and you are down. If it was up to me extendable leads would not even be for sale. Stick with a lead of a standard length or better yet the Immediate Correction Lead.