Leash Walking Advice: Lagging
Anyone have any tips for a lagger?
When we walk, like most dogs Maddie likes to go ahead. She doesn't pull, so we regularly let her walk in front and she will heel nicely or slow down when asked, with just voice requests or a mild leash "reminder." Off-leash, her preferred position (again, like most dogs) is forging ahead, peeking back over her shoulder now and then to make sure we are coming.
But Jack, of course, has to be different. *sigh* Most of what I've read of laggers is shy or timid dogs who are reluctant to move out. That is NOT Jack. Jack likes to stop and smell the flowers. And the leaves, the grass, the sidewalk. His natural walking speed is glacial. Don't get me wrong, he has a very proper Corgi trot and can really cover the ground. He's a high-energy dog (which makes it even more maddening; he's not lazy). When he was younger he would sometimes lag, but usually he had so much pent-up energy that it didn't make itself apparent. Now that he's nearing 5, I get tired of hauling him around and the arm position (pulling with him behind and his center of gravity away-down-there) is enough to give me shoulder/arm fatigue in no time. When we walk off-leash, his preferred position is somewhere 50 feet behind us, sniffing something, then he runs periodically to catch up.
He WILL heel nicely if he's in "training" mode. He almost never pulls forward. He has a great verbal "wait" command on the rare occasion he's forging ahead (usually when he knows we are headed to an off-leash trail).
However, when we are just out on a casual walk, he's always two steps behind trying to get his nose down. Problem is, the behavior is terribly self-rewarding because he will sometimes find food; he (and Maddie) loves to eat bark, which is plentiful in the park setting where we normally walk; he knows every dog in the area and can find where they peed, etc etc etc. Keeping him on a short enough leash to prevent this is tough on a dog whose natural head carriage (level with his shoulders) leaves his nose all of 4 inches off the ground; I need to practically choke him to keep the leash short enough to prevent his dropping his head further and even then he can still get a good smell of what's on the ground.
And this is a dog who has no qualms with half-choking himself til he snorts and coughs, so it's not much of a correction anyway.
We've passed TDI where we need to do a loose-leash walk past food on the ground. He knows the commands, the problem is keeping him from lagging on a relaxed walk.
Suggestions? Ideas? Pullers are so much easier because you can teach them that the minute they pull, you stop or go the opposite way. But laggers...well, stopping is counter-productive and the opposite way is where they want to go anyway! I've had some success with rewarding him by letting him have a good long sniff in favorite spots in exchange for moving out nicely for a period of time, but the success has been limited. And he'll also start walking fine about two-thirds of the way into the walk; it's like he gets it out of his system and is happy to continue.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Lots of great ideas. Thanks everyone! Today I started with the simplest, which is the suggestion to let the slack of the lead fall in front of my thighs.
This seemed to help a lot. Of course it was one walk, and it was one where I was with my husband so we each had one dog (which makes things easier). However, something about the "bumping" from my legs worked in a way that tugging with my arm doesn't. I think, first, that he doesn't see it as a power struggle; rather than me "arguing" with the leash, it's simply catching on something and he has to change what he's doing to avoid it. It's more of a self-correction. I think that the second thing is it's 100% consistent, whereas my pulling is not because sometimes he can get further behind me (depending on my arm position and how much slack is in the lead). With this method, the range is very defined. I frequently held the leash in my right hand before, but I held the top of the slack with my left hand, so it was still my arms doing the work.I will try it over a week or so and see how it goes. The nice thing is, my arm does not get tired. I'll need to see how it works with two dogs, also. If not, my next step is to evaluate the collar/harness/head collar situation and consider switching it up.
In addition, I plan on making a conscious effort to give him more planned times to just wander around and explore to his heart's content.
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Permalink Reply by Ludi on
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Great, Beth. I carry out the same idea that you had with Ace - I set aside "sniffy times" for him. He also knows that if we reach a park or open grassy space during our walk, that he's given free reign. Dogs seem to strive on structure, after all, so this system has worked quite well for me so far!
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Well, there is the problem: almost all our walks are in a park, since we live across the street from a very large one (couple hundred acres). So... there are plenty of places where sometimes we stop, sometimes we don't.
I can't blame him for being confused. This new method is definitely helping, though.
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Oh wow, I'm very jealous of your proximity to a park (just checked your location - Scranton! Obligatory 'The Office' reference here). I have to go about 20 minutes at a brisk pace just to reach an incredibly modest one here in Reims, France. And the kicker is that it's almost always covered in poo from owners who don't pick 'em up. -_-
That said, I'm very glad that the new method helps. I had to employ it today, myself, as I set off for the half-hour walk to the vet's office. The sheer amount of food people can leave on the pavement here is astounding!
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Permalink Reply by Teresa on
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We call Baron the anti puller. He also moves very fast when he wants to, but either lags behind or stops. When Baron stops he finds something stinky to roll in. I like to use the easy walker harness with a 6 foot leash, which helps to keep him from choking himself, and from pulling. I also stand still and refuse to move when he lags behind till he realizes I'm not moving and has to "run" to catch up with me. Most of the time that works unless of course there is something interesting and stinky to roll in.
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Permalink Reply by Molly and Isabella on
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What helped us when leash walk training was to 1) keep a very short leash and 2) treats. The leash was knotted at thigh height, or so, with arm straigt down, no slack. In the non-leash hand we'd reach across our body down to dog level with a tasty treat...every few steps, literally. It helped keep Isabella's eyes forward and even up and engaged on whoever was walking her. It is time consuming, and tiring, for sure! Early wallks weren't very long because it was constant training mode! This method was really effective, though...
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I wanted to update this to say that Jess and Milo's suggestion about letting the leash fall in front of my thighs has pretty much cured Jack's lagging. He still sometimes plants his feet, mule-like, when he is not happy with the direction of our walk, but that' s a different matter altogether. :)
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Permalink Reply by Jess and Milo on
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Wonderful! I'm so glad that helped.
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Permalink Reply by Nora on
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It is great!!! I didn't find this post when I had the problem. Gotta read it thoroughly!!!
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Permalink Reply by Marina Holshevnikoff on
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I know this post is hells-bells old but this is exactly Jerry's problem. Especially the smelling the flowers part. Actually in our case it's rip every wild flower off the stem and throw them everywhere. But the sentiment remains. He likes to explore the neighborhood at a glacial pace.
I will try this leash method. Sounds more than reasonable. Curious how it works with a puppy as opposed to an adult dog...
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Hm. Sometimes Cassie does all of the above.
To stave off infirmity, the crippled Old Bat (that would be moi) needs to walk -- BRISKLY -- one to two miles a day, bare minimum. Sometimes this is OK with Cassie, sometimes...not so much. Some days, nothing will do but leaf-picking and flower-sniffing.
If she just will NOT keep up with me, I take her back to the house, put her inside, and go back out for the required constitutional. I dunno...maybe Cassie is some sort of doggie genius (i doubt it), but... Next time out, she has the message. She walks right along with me.
If I'm not altogether crippled of a given evening, I can manage this fake jog. It's actually much slower than I can walk, but apparently the footfall on the ground sounds to the doggy ear like running or trotting or .... whatever. The Fake Jog causes Cassie -- and more recently, Pup -- to trot right along. It's the sound and tempo -- not the speed -- of the feet on the pavement that seems to make the difference.
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