# loose leash walking



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

is going to be the death of me. Yes I know another LLW post. I'm just frustrated is all. It seems like I have been working on LLW with Remus for a year now and it just...I just.. my head is going to explode. He was walking so nice and then he hit 1year and it was like his brain left his head. He is leash reactive, I think that is the best way to describe it. If he sees a person, a dog, a bike, hears another dog behind a fence (oh the dogs behind the fences around here) he just loses it. He starts yodeling. If a jogger gets to close he will lunge and scream. The issue is if we approach a person he is fine, happy tail wiggles, can I get a hug. But try to convince some one of that after they have heard him lose it. Besides that being yanked all over while he has a fit is not exactly fun. At the same time he started pulling like a mad man. 

So I started using the Gentle Leader, that stopped the howling and most of the pulling like magic. The only thing he was reacting to was dogs behind fences (I swear he even has an arch nemesis it is that bad). I just don't want to be walking my dog on a gentle leader for the rest of his life. I bit the bullet put him on the front lead harness and started LLW training all over again. I was the tree, we did penalty yards, I clicked and treated more times that I can count. He is walking reasonably decently but if a person so much as enters his field of vision he starts screeching. The harness gives absolutely no control (he can fling himself pretty hard and he weighs over 50lbs). We are unable to go on our "normal" walk because it passes too many dogs behind fences plus his "arch nemesis" so we are just walking about 1/4 mile of the bike trail back and forth as we do "penalty" yards whenever he pulls. 

We have been at this a couple of weeks now and don't seem to be making much progress. I seem to be facing a couple of obstacles. First, he is too smart for his own good. He knows that if he pulls I will turn and he uses that to get going the direction he wants to go. I don't care what the kikopup videos say, no matter how many times you turn around the dog still knows which direction is home/where he wants to go. In this case Remus really wants to head towards the playground where his kids are playing. He is most concerned if there are other people at or near the park but even just knowing they are playing there will get him anxious. So I started stopping and making him sit/wait if he pulls to get my to turn that direction. Doesn't seem to be helping, he still gets anxious and tries to maneuver me that way, he gets to the point of crossing in front of me and pushing me that direction. Also when I turn him away he will refuse to be turned. Second (or maybe third), he isn't really reacting to the click and I am essentially shoving the treats in his mouth. I am sure he can hear, like he can hear me opening food or a chip hitting the floor from another room so it isn't that he can't hear the clicker, he just doesn't care. I think he is too worked up while walking to care about the food/it doesn't have a high enough value. We were using treats but switched to string cheese because Freyja was getting sick. Honestly I don't know if there is anything that has a value high enough for him other than getting where he wants to go. Last would be his reactivity. I can work on LLW as much as I want but as long as he is losing his cool whenever he sees a person/dog/scooter/hears something I am only getting part of the puzzle. I'm just feeling sort of defeated today.


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

So things aren't really getting better. At this point we are really just covering the same 500ft of trail in probably 10ft paces. I had to take a day off last week because it was just so frustrating I wanted to do something other than work on walking with him, we played frisbee instead. I think I have watched every positive reinforcement style loose leash walking video on youtube and haven't come up with any ideas on how to get through to him. I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong but he seems to be getting worse. Is it possible we are experiencing some sort of extinction burst or is that just wishful thinking? Every time we go out the amount of distance we can cover before he pulls seems to shrink. Should I just suck it up and put the Gentle Leader back on? I want to enjoy walking my dog but would prefer not having to walk him on the gentle leader for life. Why is he getting worse?


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

Believe me, I'm no expert on LLW. Now that my dog is 4 years old, she's finally good on a leash _most_ of the time. She still pulls but she calms down eventually. But, she's small enough at around 35 lbs. that I can control her when I need to.

That said, have you tried "look at that" training when it comes to things that he reacts to? There's a sticky about it somewhere here, or google it. It sounds like he's pretty much over threshold and nothing is getting through. That's part of my issue with Buffy too - I couldn't find the treat or toy or whatever that was more rewarding to her than pulling. If I turn around, she just pulls the other way. If I stop, she'll just start pulling again as soon as I move again, and I guess I don't have the patience to try to wait it out.

I wouldn't feel bad about using a tool to help you control him. But I think teaching him to control himself a little more with "look at that" would go a long way with helping his walking issues. Also, dogs are kind of jerks around that age.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I agree with melaka - work on the reactivity and his emotional response outside of the context of LLW. "Look at That" is a great tool. And sometimes you just need to shove treats in their face to get them past something when you can't control the situation. He's over threshold and he really can't focus on where he should be walking.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

You need to figure out what motivates your dog, what do you do to engage your dog, and how well can you read your dog before she reacts. What methods are you using with her? Usually the turning is pretty effective and you don't have to wait until the dog pulls to turn. Turning often teaches the dog to pay attention to the handler. 

Take a look at the links in this thread

http://www.dogforums.com/dog-training-forum/282305-loose-leash-training.html

Also take a look at this one about leash techniques

http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/d...-the-vet-5-tips-that-dont-involve-food-or-tra


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

Hector4 said:


> You need to figure out what motivates your dog, what do you do to engage your dog, and how well can you read your dog before she reacts. What methods are you using with her? Usually the turning is pretty effective and you don't have to wait until the dog pulls to turn. Turning often teaches the dog to pay attention to the handler.
> 
> Take a look at the links in this thread
> 
> ...


He is typically highly food motivated, can't even hear the treat bag without becoming alert and ready. He is also play/toy motivated but I have found that play doesn't work well as a reward for him with the exception of things like disc training and fetch. The problem is that the moment we leave the house he is on alert and reacting, it isn't a matter of reading him and catching him before he starts to react he is really amping up as soon as the harness goes on. He is better in the back yard but even then he is in a heightened state of arousal. I'm shoving high value treats in his mouth but to be honest I don't think he even tastes them, sometimes he gags and coughs them right back up. I have tried taking tug toys instead but he had no response. I really can't turn any time other than when he is pulling because he is almost always pulling or at the very least walking ahead so I am essentially taking two or three steps and either stopping, turning or both. I can stand there for quite some time and he won't return on his own, just pull at the end of his leash. 

I've looked at the links and I don't see how they are different than Kikopup or any of the others. Walk fast, stop if your dog pulls, turn, make eye contact. Doing it all and if anything he just keeps getting worse. 


I will look at the Look AT That links. He could certainly use help in the control department in all areas. I was hopeful that working with the disc and jogging would help at least burn off his excess energy so he might be more laid back but so far not doing much. I can put him in the Gentle Leader but unfortunately I can't really train him while he is wearing it, he won't take treats or respond with it on so it will let me walk him but not work with him. Nothing is helping with the "dog behind fence" issue. Not sure what to do there. Wish so many of our neighbors didn't keep frustrated back yard dogs.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

It sounds like he gets out the door excited and amped up. Have you tried just going in and out of the door so he doesn't know when the walk is actually going to happen? Have you tried waiting him to calm down before walking? Have you tried working him right out the door say start his heeling obedience right away in the driveway? If the harness going on really amps him up, have you tried not using that? 

It's really a handler issue. It sounds like you need to work on engagement and focus exercises. The dog sounds like she completely tunes you out when the walk starts. She needs direction and structure. Here is a video on reactivity to dogs behind the fence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWEsn0rxj40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49n-UZB5HJE

The LAT will highly benefit your dog - again it goes back to engagement exercises.

IT IS a matter of reading your dog - your dog starts off amped up and is never shown how to calm down. It sounds like you do know what motivates your dog. You just need play around with your techniques.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

Here is another dog that's reactive, but the handler counter conditions the dog with toy reward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FgbarVF3CY&list=PLalqzPxWmRjHztRxgeWkgkpSI00Vw6HMx&index=4


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

I feel your pain! I'm a very patient person, same boat as you with a reactive dog, been working on LLW off and on for over a year. But jeez, I was getting so frustrated I could bite my Grandma! Never tried a Halti but was tempted to. But (I'm almost afraid to say it) I think we've got it! Two 3 mile walks in the last 2 days with a loose leash! On a flat collar! At least in our familiar territory - hey it's a start...

By all means, if walking him on leash is too stressful, stop for a while. You can walk by yourself if you so desire, and work him out in other ways. Fetch, tug, flirt pole, off leash runs. Play groups/doggy daycare, we splurge on that about once a month now, boy does that work her out! Walking on leash SHOULD be a pleasure for him, and you too...

LAT - SO helpful, meat treats. Any impulse control games you can think of. Work on redirecting his focus at the earliest sign of reactivity, with a "touch" cue or a "watch me." Distance from what he is reacting to means everything. Maturity helps, he will calm down with age and work. Treat for calm and relaxation. Stupid pet tricks, really helps with focus, keep him guessing, make him do them quicker/better, 3 times in row, mix it up. And it sounds dumb to say it because you already know, but keep him below threshold, no matter what else happens. Keep him below threshold. Because once those stress hormones are circulating in his bloodstream, he really can't help himself. And they can take days to clear.

Hey, if the Gentle Leader helps why not use it as he begins to get the reactivity under control? Alternate days of longer walks with it, and short walks without it to play LAT (so he will take treats)?

I'm ordering a book on Tellington Touch, always looking for ways to help my amped up dog to de-stress. Sometimes we just become couch potatoes for a few days, seems to help.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

Oh yeah, forgot my gripe of the month - OFFLEASH DOGS! Does not help with reactivity. I almost HAVE to drop the leash of my dog when they "attack." She got mobbed by these 2, must be 100lbs. each, male Rottweilers the other day. There stood my little 60 lb. dog, she looked tiny in comparison, getting thoroughly sniffed over - but she got a sniff or two in too. Luckily, they all had pieces of roast pork until the owner came to get them out of the middle of the road. And that was after she passed 2 of her arch enemies behind fences very nicely and just before the house where 6 toy dogs that pop out of their doggy door barking and snarling every time we walk by. Whew!


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

This is really the problem, he is always amped up. The only time he isn't amped up is when he is sleeping. It really doesn't matter what walking device goes on him, Gentle Leader, harness, just a leash on his collar, he is already at a 10 because he is running at about an 8 to start. Just working on basic training in the house is enough to get him worked up (and my fingers bitten). It is not uncommon for me to have to "Be the Tree" several times during the course of a training session and eventually cut it short because he is losing control. I had to end our last two disc sessions because he bit on purpose (not just caught me instead of the frisbee). It is frustrating not only because he is quite frankly a bit of a jerk (he's my best friend and I adore him but he is a pain to live with) but I've never struggled with a dog like this before. He isn't exactly my first dog, I've had dogs most of my life. I trained my shelti on my own when I was 9. She was a doll, solid on and off leash with impeccable manners. I've worked with all manner of dogs while volunteering with the humane society and I've trained my own dogs and fosters. I've had issues with some before but nothing quite like this. He just seems to be running in high gear all of the time. I would love to get him into dog sports or something to burn off his energy but I don't know if he can manage it. I don't even know that it is excess energy at this point or something else. He really isn't a mean dog, he actually loves other dogs and people but he can't seem to control himself. I've been trying to work on self control with him but he can't handle basic things like "stay" and "leave it". 

goodgirl, I think I am going to invest in some really smelly treats. He has a strong stomach so I should be good to try whatever out on him. Something really smelly might hold his interest for a little while anyway. I also am going to try taking one of the Frisbees out with us. He is intensely into the frisbee, might attract his attention anyway. I will give the head halter another go too. It is funny he is decent most of the time when hubby runs with him, I think moving so fast keeps him from having time to react but he does work himself up pretty good before they leave and he has had several episodes during the run. I am with you on the loose dog thing. We have a couple of labs that are in a very poorly fenced yard, when they want they can just get out. It is an issue. They are friendly and all but I would rather not run into dogs. Hubby says they had an incident last night with a loose dog too, owner didn't seem at all concerned that her dog was running loose (had it off leash on purpose) and he didn't think it was particularly friendly.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

Have you thought about canicross? Slap a harness on a dog and just let her pull to her heart's content.


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

Hector4 said:


> Have you thought about canicross? Slap a harness on a dog and just let her pull to her heart's content.


I think I may have to do more research on this. We tried LAT but he wanted nothing to do with it. Will have to try again later. He did better with leave it tonight but you can never tell how next time will go.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

Also maybe have you thought about a treadmill?


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## parus (Apr 10, 2014)

With my now senior dog, she was the worst leash walker in the universe until about three years old, at which point she abruptly grew a brain and became nigh perfect at it despite me not doing anything differently that I am aware of. Sometimes I think it's really just a maturity issue.


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

No place for a treadmill in our house, I had considered one for myself though I'm admittedly not much of a runner. I just wanted something for days when the weather is too bad (read hot or storming, gotta love TX weather) to get out. These days with dogs we make it work anyway unless it is really storming. I was considering biking with him but I'm afraid he would pull me down he is so unpredictable, he darted under hubby's legs the other day when he saw a woman running with her dog, made him do a complete flip. Needless to say hubby wasn't impressed and I'm not that great on a bike. I used to skate with Duke when he was younger, can't keep up anymore, but again he is so unpredictable that hubby worries about him losing it and hurting one or both of us. I'm strong on skates but with wheels on my feet if he takes off I'm at a distinct disadvantage. I've thought about carting as well, it is another thing Duke used to enjoy when he was younger, would probably need different equipment for Remus since he is a bit smaller. Duke pulled the kids in a wagon but I think I would just stick with Remus pulling things around the yard for a while. 

Parus, That is what I'm afraid of. I am hopeful at the same time that we will be past this at some point but 3 years sounds so far away. Obviously we are going to just keep working and hoping.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

This might be counterintuitive, and maybe you've tried it, but...

How about cutting out the exercise? Or at least cutting way back on it. Treat him just for calmness. Use low value treats like kibble, nothing too exciting. If you can, when he's sleeping just leave a few kibbles near his nose for him to find. Let one fall from the sky when he's resting quietly. Does he have a quiet default position? If he does, you could treat him for that and build on it. ("Control Unleashed, the Puppy Version," Leslie McDevitt) It might be worth a 2 week or so trial? If you hold back part of his meals, that's tons of treat opportunities. He could find out that he LIKES being calm at least at times.

At the same time you could start with hand zen games, then leave it games with higher value treats. It would save your fingers!Then stays, or at least waits. Slow, calm treat delivery sometimes to the floor, sometimes in a closed hand that doesn't open until he's not touching it. He may decide hey, this is pretty cool, all I gotta do is lay here (or focus on Mom, or whatever) and look what happens, treats! Then the mind will (hopefully) follow the body. Just try to keep everything calm, quiet, and yes: boring. But boring with treats. Not talking to him much might help. We have a relax cue that actually seems to help when my dog's not too far gone yet. 

I read in one of Turid Rugaas' books once that left an impression; it was to the effect we don't spend enough time just laying on the couch and watching TV with our dogs!

The healthiest and cheapest high value treat I've been able to come up with is boiled chicken breast, cut into tiny pieces. I buy the huge packages on sale for $2 or $2.50/lb. and freeze. I even use the boiling water to add to kibble. One piece easily lasts us a week, so only $1 or so. And both dogs of course love chicken. Another one is hard boiled eggs, $2/doz. from a neighbor's chickens. We use them for recall practice mostly.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

I think the doggie zen sounds like good advice too. Control Unleashed is also very good.

Have you had any obedience classes? (Sorry if you mentioned it and I missed it.) A good, positive trainer might be able to give you more specific advice.

Dog sports can be good too, but you need a basic level of obedience usually to start those.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

If Remus is a basenji, then you're out of luck, b/c after a year or two, they turn into cats 

Basenjis are Very intelligent, independent dogs, so I agree with you that you may be going through an extinction burst ... or a post adolescent independence phase. I agree with the suggestions .... continue to train through it. It should get much better long before 3 years 

Also, if you can find a playmate with the same energy level (doesn't have to be the same size or same age, just equal level of energy), then let them tussle once a week ... that may help drain off some of the rebellious energy....


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

Remus is actually an American Feral Dog. His mother was picked up with a group of ferals in the South East in Carolina Dog territory. Humans are moving into the area so several rescue groups have been going in and attempting to rescue the feral colonies. His mother was pregnant when they picked them up. He is a Carolina Dog possibly mixed with some of the local dogs (I guess really Carolina Dogs are just feral dogs anyway). I am waiting to hear back from the breeder who has his mother (she works with the rescue that picked them up) who was doing genetics testing on several of them including her. He has a lot of odd habits like yodeling, and howling instead of barking (he talks to me a lot), pinching me when he is happy, communicating with his eyebrows, digging with his nose, rolling his head in smelly things (like hubby's sweaty workout clothes), stalking the other dogs and pouncing on things (sometimes the other dogs but sometimes things we don't see, he hops a lot). He is just really really intense all of the time. We have a husky/mix puppy he plays with. Our AB is just to low energy. I don't know that Freyja will stay high energy but for now they match pretty well. 

We have not done any walking in the past few days, just couldn't bring myself to do it. We have been working on basic things around the house. He is still not getting LAT, he sort of looks at me like I'm stupid then drops his eyes or walks away. I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or he just doesn't care. I'm thinking he doesn't care because I'm doing it exactly like the video. He has been doing better with Leave It though. We are only using kibble at this point so I can't say that it will transfer to "better" things. His stay is getting better as well but again only in the house with few distractions (I lock up all of the other dogs except Blue who just lays on the floor or couch). I am working on a "Bed" command (we've been at this for a while but he is still refusing to do it unless I'm holding a treat) and I'm teaching him to close the cabinet door. No real reason for the door closing except I wanted to work on something with him and it amused me. I think we may try some nosework next week, I have a bunch of plastic easter eggs and I bought some "smelly" treats.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

Wow he sounds like such a cool dog. Okay have you tried having the leash tethered to you like a buddy system. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Buddy-Sys...8&qid=1398025191&sr=8-1&keywords=buddy+system

You play the follow the leader game. You move, he moves and he sits facing you. Keep doing this until he focuses on you. Use food rewards. You might have to lure in the beginning. You would walk backwards and go fast enough so your dog is in a trot. First you might have to take 4-5 steps, depending on how coordinated you are and how well your dog responds. Keep doing this exercise until he gets it. Then slowly add distractions such as another person or a toy. Move in different directions such as sideways, but the goal is to have your dog follow in a trot and sit facing you. If your dog is highly distracted, then you need to move faster and shorten the leash. This game will help your dog in distracted situations once he understands it and once you have played it enough.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

LAT works best with his highest value treats - well, just like any new thing you're teaching does I suppose. I just got a new foster yesterday and started playing LAT with him and one of my dogs, who is dog reactive. He caught on in like 8 treats (tiny pieces of left over roast pork). And she and I play it almost daily on walks. The last foster I had took only 5 days of playing (3-4 times a day) until she and my dog could meet, by then they were dying to get together! And they became buds...

The goal of the game is to have him look at you instead of reacting toward whatever he usually reacts to. #1 is he must be at the distance where he is below threshold, but interested in the "thing," let's say other dog. Knowing his body language (eyebrows, really!) like you know his will be of great help with this. 

#2 is to use the best treat possible, tiny pieces of course so you can feed him tons. If he's hungry it will help. So you get him to that distance where he's looking and maybe even showing the earliest sign of stress. You stop. You pop a series of treats to him, deliver right to his mouth, like every 1-3 seconds, only WHILE he's looking at the other dog. Gradually slow the treat delivery to every 3-5 seconds. Then even slower. If the treats are high enough value, as you slow the treat delivery he should start looking for his treat. If he stops just to sniff the ground, that's actually OK, he's just seeking more information. You can just resume when he looks at the other dog again. If he decides to react tho, you have to increase the distance right away, it's so important to stay below threshold! Or the treats aren't good enough to trump the other dog.

#3 Then as he starts to look for the treat, you start to feed them ONLY when he's turning toward you (thus away from the dog). So it should begin to look like this: he looks at dog, turns head for a treat, looks at dog, turns head for treat. Depending how calm he is you can slow the treat delivery further, let him sniff around, walk backwards, to the side, maybe even forward and closer to the other dog. I try to keep it light and pleasant, my dog likes a little baby talk at times.

#4 You can certainly ask for a "touch" or "watch me" cue/treat at any point to help judge how much he's able to focus away from the other dog. A "sit" might be a lot to ask if he's pretty anxious, maybe if he's facing away from the other dog. At some point as you slow the treat delivery he will start to look at you for the treat instead of just turning your head. That's a great time for a jackpot!

And you want to end on a high note if at all possible. You can practice before even going out, have him look at your spouse or somebody. They can make a little sound or wave at him or something to get him to look at them at first. I must admit that I've been remiss in putting a verbal cue to LAT; I take the cue from my dog and she seems to know when she needs to play. If we're surprised by a dog or something I guess I do say "Oh look, isn't he cute!", sweet, whatever...and just start up with the treats and she starts playing the game - or do a U-turn if she can't play


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

I just wanted to up date a little. We took over a week off from walking. Hubby is still jogging him in the evenings so he is getting plenty of exercise (they run for several miles) but I wasn't working at all on LLW. I even dropped disc training because he was getting increasingly excited to the point of biting me daily. I did send him out to run with Freyja so more exercise that way (they run and wrestle in the yard, plenty of good rough housing going on). I've been focusing on training calm and stupid pet tricks in the house. I taught him "go to bed", worked some more on "touch", worked on teaching him to close a cabinet door with his nose, just dumb stuff. We also worked on down/stay (kikopup method) and leave it which he is doing better on. Mostly just worked on him learning a default calm around the house. I treated him whenever I found him just lying around being calm. Whenever Duke was outside and he would normally be prancing at the door freaking out I called him back to me and made him sit down and rewarded him. The longer he stayed quietly with me the more rewards. 

He is still failing miserably at LAT. It isn't the rewards, he just won't look. He seems very concerned/put off by the whole thing. Maybe I need to look for more videos, the one I watched had you starting with an items behind your back that you pulled out and as soon as the dog looked you clicked and treated. I don't know what it was about it but it really throws him off. He refuses to look at the item, no matter what it is. I've tried one of hubby's hats, a dog toy, a stuffed animal, a book, a pillow, nothing works. I tried having my son stand across the room and make noises at him and that didn't work either, as soon as I click and treat he starts staring at the floor which seems really odd as he usually works just fine. So I never got far enough to teach him the "look" or "look at that" cue. He has a reasonably good watch me but when he is reacting everything but what he is responding to is gone. 

Anyway, he is much calmer in the house. Not lunging at the door because one of the other dogs is outside (still loses it if I go out with one of the other dogs, training away from that will take some creativity). Today I reintroduced LLW and he did quite well. I bought "stinky treats" and I don't know if it was the treats or the other training we have done but he was on his game. We worked on sit and down as well as just walking. We needed very few penalty yards but did some turning to keep him on his toes. I did avoid the entire section that I know has dogs that lunge at their fences, I didn't want to push it. I want to get a belt to try out with him as well. Hubby wants something for hands free running with him but I'm thinking something more like canicross equipment. I don't know if I will be able to use the same belt he does or not, not sure how adjustable it will be.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

Good for you and Remus! Sounds like real progress. I read in one study that it can take as much as 9 (!) days for blood cortisol levels to return to normal after extreme stress in dogs - I find if something happens and my dog DOES go over threshold it takes a couple-three days to get over it, she's just a super sensitive delicate flower I guess! Her "tell" is a certain look in her right eye, both eyes if she's really stressed. Plus just more muscle tenseness and jumpiness. As she's reached adulthood she seems to recover faster though. Experience maybe? I kept hearing and reading everywhere that a tired dog is a good dog, but I think each dog has it's own need for exercise as an individual, regardless of age or breed. It just takes trial and error to find that balance. And it will change over time. When I first got my dog I was exercising, training, and stressing her TOO much. She left some real hematomas on me, probably out of frustration!

If your dog doesn't like the look at that game, and he's more comfortable looking at you? Maybe you can just cut out the middleman so to speak and just ask for a watch me when he first shows signs of worrying about another dog. Or at least a head turn toward you and a treat. Then as you start to get closer to the other dog and he gets to the point where he can't do a watch me anymore and won't take a treat, you would do a U-turn or something to increase the distance. Heck, maybe he would feel better walking in a different neighborhood for a while!


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

If you and your husband's waist is not too big of a difference, then both of you would be able to use the belt. The one from howling dog can adjust to very small to quite large. The belt from alpine outfitters come in two different sizes I think a small and a large and the waist sizes are listed. Just make sure to check waist sizes of belt before ordering. I am glad he's doing better. Sometimes we all need a break from training and just relax.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

If you want to try out the buddy belt thing I just use a carabiner with a short leash on my regular belt.


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## goodgirl (Jan 14, 2013)

I know you must be sick of watching videos by now, but I saw this and thought of you and Remus. At the end of the video there are links to a couple more that you might enjoy  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-L2qtD7MQ


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