Say Please!

Does your dog freak out at the sight of its leash? Does it run around and act crazy when guests arrive? This is often rehearsed behaviour that has become hardwired responses to anticipating a walk, an outing or attention from visitors. It can be remedied, but it takes consistency and time to make a dog’s behavior change 180 degrees. If you want your dog to see the leash and be still enough to get it clipped on him, teach him to sit down. If you don't want him to maul your guests, get him to sit or "say please" before he receives ANY attention. If you want him to to wait calmly before you leave the house for a walk, then teach him something incompatible with jumping around. You can't let your dog rehearse crazy making skills and expect him to behave calmly!

To begin training calm leash behaviour, bring out the leash and show it to the dog, then take a treat up to his nose and lure him into a sit position. When his butt hits the ground release the treat and reward calmly. If this takes a while, just wait it out. DO NOT get over excited, you are here to calm him down and teach him appropriate behaviours. Each time you handle the leash lure him into a sit and treat. Do not give him a command! The key is to get him to show good behavior with absolutely no verbal cue. When he starts to offer a sit or is at least calm enough to easily clip the leash to his collar, fasten the leash and repeat the exercise. You may have to do this every time you walk him...waiting it out each and every time, as not to reward him for excited and crazy behaviour by taking him out while in an unmanageable state.

Take the leash in your hand and wait for him to offer a sit. If it is taking too long gently pull up on the leash and get him to sit using a bit of leash pressure. Do this often enough that it is becoming common place for him to do this in the house. Eventually, you can take him to the door and teach him the same thing. It might be harder to get his focus when he is almost out in the “real” world with distractions, but be patient and wait or help him into a sit so that he can be rewarded. Then you can take him out to the yard and play with him a bit, whenever he comes to you for a treat encourage him to sit before he is rewarded either by petting or by treats. Again, wait it out for him to offer it, but if you have to, pull up gently on the collar and apply a bit pressure. If you pull his head up, his butt should go down.

Next get an accomplice to help you. Once he is sitting for you and assuming the dog isn't human aggressive in any way, leash the dog and get the second person to enter the yard. Don't let the other person come close until he is seated and teach him to sit and wait patiently for his treat from the guest! If the dog is really excited you may have to pull up gently on the leash until he calms down and apply a bit of leash pressure to help him. It is okay to pull him into a sit, but don't pull him back from the person, this will just make him want to pull forward more. Simply pull his head up and his butt should eventually go down. Again do not give a command, lure him into a sit position and reward the position with praise and treats. It is imperative that the “command” is nonverbal and should be the act of calming down that gets him the treat or the attention.

Plan set ups, use as many people as possible to help you. Ask friends to come to the house and ignore the dog until it settles down. Make sure you set him up to succeed by having him on a leash when they arrive. Don't give the dog any attention, good or bad, just reward when it offers a sit. This will teach the dog that it can earn the things that it wants, like attention and walks by offering good behaviours.

Tackling Leash Aggression....

Many dog owners battle with leash aggression. Fido is fine and friendly off leash, but when he restrained, has problems with frustration and fear aggression. A common misunderstanding is the one of aggression vs. frustration. Many owners don't understand that restraining a dog on a flat or choke collar or even a harness, only frustrates the animal, especially when they are struggling for access to another dog. Pulling the dog back only aids in escalating the display of frustration, which often appears to be aggression. In fact, when shaping the behaviour of guard dogs, restraint is used to amp the dog up to bring out the dogs natural defence drive. Pulling your dog back when it sees another dog actually makes the dog want to pull forward even more. Ultimately, the best way to train a dog to not aggress, is to teach it to do something else, like SIT or HEEL off in another direction.

This is an excellent article which was posted on the SPCA website:

"This is your dog. This is your dog on leash."

by Dogtime expert Colleen Safford


Leash aggression is an extremely common behavior issue faced by many dog-loving owners.

You start on the blissful journey of puppy parenthood, envisioning a future of leisurely strolling with your dog: cup of coffee and newspaper in hand, ready to settle in on a park bench, street café, or just around the neighborhood. Then reality sets in. Lovable Fido often resembles Cujo while on leash.

I feel for owners battling leash aggression. I know they scratch their heads in bewilderment, sometimes even resorting to defending sweet Fido by blurting aloud to passersby, "Really, he's very sweet. He only does this on leash!"

Here's what is going on. Your dog is probably frustrated and anxious. Very likely, he wanted to run after or gain access to whatever he saw while on the street; it could've been a squirrel, other dogs, skateboards etc.

That pesky prohibitive collar and leash however prevented your dog from gaining access to these things and over time, exuberant curiosity was replaced with frustration. Your dog needs to release that frustration and voila, the barking and lunging begins.

"I WANT IT! I NEED TO GO INVESTIGATE! I JUST NEED TO SAY HELLO! WHY CAN'T I HAVE IT?"

It is very likely that your dog's initial outbursts were met with some form of disapproval from you.

"FIDO, NO! HEY! STOP IT!"

The cycle then begins and now Fido begins to also feel anxious. He begins to think that not only do these things frustrate him, but they make Mom and Dad angry!

"HEY DOG! GET AWAY! MY DAD GETS MAD WHEN YOU ARE NEAR! GO AWAY!"

Now that we likely know the why, let's focus on how to manage the behavior.

In any case of aggression, I strongly advise working with a gentle and humane professional to guide you through this process and teach you about the importance of your timing and consistency. Seek a trainer whose methods are firming planted in reward-based training.

You need to develop a more refined replacement behavior for the lunging and barking. A dog that is quietly trotting along your side, staring into your sparkling eyes is ideal. In order to get this going, you need to be a vigilant owner. It is now your job to scout out other dogs before your dog has the opportunity.

You must also be a well prepared owner. You must always be stocked with tasty treats or your dog's favorite tug style toy.

Game plan

The very second you see a dog (before your dog has the chance to react) you quickly get Fido's attention with a happy voiced, "Fido!" Give him treats or access to his toy as you get close to and continue to pass the other dog. During this time, it's important that you remain calm, happy and refrain from tightening up on the leash. We are teaching Fido that both you and he need to relax in presence of other furry friends. Once the other dog has passed and is at a distance, the treating stops or the toy is put away.
Learning that you are the giver of all good things, your dog will become conditioned to look at you automatically when spotting another dog. This conditioning will also help improve Fido's association with other dogs.

It is very important, in kicking off this project, to be lavish in your reward giving, distributing treats every second while in sight of another dog. People often immediately retort, "My dog is going to get fat!" Not if you are a good owner and recognize that treats are incorporated into your dog's daily ration of food. Cut back on what is going into the bowl, knowing that tackling this behavior hurdle is top priority for the health and happiness of both you and your dog. It might take a bit of retraining yourself!

Over time, as your dog becomes increasingly comfortable looking at you, while ignoring other dogs, you will slowly decrease the number of treats given. If you are a good consistent trainer, by the end of this process you will be flipping one treat to your dog after you've passed the other dog and even sometimes simply offering a "good boy!"

Setting yourself up for success

1. When you are lazy, avoid routes with dogs! If you aren't going to be a good trainer, don't allow your dog to react--and thus unravel all the work you are doing. (It's like a smoker who picks up a cigarette again!)
2. Practice "Fido, look!" every chance you get, NOT just when faced with other dogs. Your dog must make eye contact with you for everything he wants in life: before you put his food dish on the floor, snap on his leash, open the door for him to go outdoors, between each toss during a game of fetch. This is your batting practice. The more you and your dog get in the batting cage, the more successful you'll be at the big game!

3. Exercise your dog. If you have a backyard, play fetch for fifteen minutes before going on a walk. Your dog will be a bit more tired, a bit more convinced that you are cool (after tossing the ball to him), and likely to free less anxious about those other dogs.

Work hard and your training will pay off. Sitting at at outdoor café without worry that your table flies out from under your plate as Fido lunges for another dog IS possible.

[NOTE: If your dog is unable to pass another dog--while being treated and without reacting--you will need to consider proximity. Establish a comfort/space threshold: approaching other dogs only to the point where your dog is comfortable, and then crossing the street or creating a visual block as you get by. Over time, you'll increase proximity. This will definitely require working with a professional.]

Colleen Safford, of New York Walk & Train and Far Fetched Acres, is one of NYC's most recognized dog trainers.

Read more about Colleen Safford in the DogTime expert center...