No Pulling!: Clicker Dog Training

[PoyitahDlsPlebes]

thank you so much now i know how to return a dog to its owner without worring it will jump on me cause its always in my neiberhood and it scares my friends cat

[Istrus]

How soon after your rescue dog has arrived in its new home do you think it can be leash trained like this on its walks?

[yangmee]

Is that too much treats?

[Buszke]

@yangmee You give as much treats as the dog needs to stay focused. In the beginning stages and new enviornements the frequency of treating is very high to keep the dog motivated. As your dog gets more confident with the behaviour, the rate of treats decreases. If you're worried your dog will get fat, just give him less dinner or breakfast.

[PleaseStayTuned]

I have an 8 month old Lab puppy who is super easy to train in all aspects except pulling. I have a front clip harness. He is wonderful in the backyard, so,so on low distraction walks and absolutely terrible in high distraction areas. I trained him to heel first and decided to train for loose lead over the last month and a half with your method to make his walks more fum for him. He now does not heel or loose lead in high distraction areas. I am not used to urban training. Any suggestions?

[PleaseStayTuned]

@PleaseStayTuned P.S. he is intact and will remain so even if we decide not to breed him, both vets we use say not to neuter until 2-3 years old, he was not nearly so unruly on leash until his hormones kicked in....lol How long does this type of training to take hold or is this just normal lab puppy behavior?

[julieschoch]

youtube.com/watch?v=WxDWML9ckj­k

How do you think Lucy is doing walking her friend?

[ljpigott]

Sorry, I wasn't being very clear. What I was trying to do was click and treat before he is spooked e.g. in the way shown in the video on dealing with distractions in walks and I have been trying to capture calmness. I know that I don't want to click and treat him when he's spooked but am not sure how to respond to him being spooked when on a walk - when he sees something and starts to pull frantically. I know the ideal would be to build up slowly but it isn't always possible.

[spellkastic]

I think you are WONDERFUL! I wish you would come out with a video, or a book, so more people will start using positive reinforcement techniques! Thank you!

[tigerlily46514]

@spellkastic i agree, but, Kikopup GENEROUSLY posting these short, easy to undrstand videos FREE on youtube are a HUGE help to wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more of us than a lengthy and maybe expensive DVD....

[Ahmenti]

There is a decided lack of assistance on youtube for training two dogs at once. You are one of the best trainers on youtube- would love if you would fill this void Kikopup! Many people don't have the time to train multiple dogs separately and its easy to focus on one dog and miss something that the other dog is doing.

Again, love your vids...thanks!

[PossumFang]

Bella, she does exactly what my Basenji Shephard mix does! He's a rescue as well.

[tgrammer320]

I really like your videos, you have great timing! Looking for clarification about one thing however, you say you do not use +P and I hear that from a lot of trainers. Is not using a leash positive punishment in itself irregardless of what type of equipment you have on the dog? Without the leash, the dog would continue to move forward, so are you not punishing that behavior by using the leash?

[tigerlily46514]

@tgrammer320 To make +P easeir to understand, simply remove the word "positive" from in front of the word "punishment". so called "positive punishment" is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENT than plain old punishment.

Hitting your dog with a stick, using that "4 quadrant" baloney, is "positive" punishment. Why don't we just drop the confusing word "positive" off of beating a dog, and simply call it punishment. Punishment is punishment, and is not neccessary in teaching dogs anything.

[ljpigott]

The only thing is I'm struggling a bit with this. I don't drive so can't drive him to somewhere really quiet for a walk and we live on a busy road. He responds well to the clicker training but if he gets spooked I just have to stop and wait until he's relaxed. I try to click treat when I see something that might spook him but I often don't know what it is or can't anticipate it e.g. a car door slamming. Once he's already spooked the clicker doesn't really work because he's too worried.

[tigerlily46514]

@ljpigott you do not want to click/treat a spooked dog.

you want to capture calm behavior, and treat THE CALM BEHAVIOR.

Find KIKOPUP's "capturing calm behavior" video.

[crazyaboutdogs123]

Ino them really cute dogs are NOT trained, my dog is 10 x hyper that that, for my puppy walking is not a option, I don't have a harness yet, but dragging full force is all he does, do you think it will still work? Hope you reply thanks!

[tarfun5959]

So if I did this with my dog it would take a while. And she would end up not getting a walk. Should i just do it for half an hour a day and then walk her with her tugging, or should she just not get a full walk until she has mastered it?

[pecoc1]

OMG... If you can teach a Basset, you can teach any dog... They are so stubborn ;)

[StLCardsGuy]

A well trained dog is such a joy.

[Emodnet]

ive always wondered: can cats be taught dog tricks? =D

[crazyaboutdogs123]

@Emodnet I have seen a video of a cat doing dog tricks so it is possible! =D

[Emodnet]

@crazyaboutdogs123 do u know the name of the video? i would like to see it =D

[crazyaboutdogs123]

@Emodnet the video is called cat does dog tricks, the persons users name is called bozackt !! =D hope this helps you find the video! the link would not work on the comments sorry,!!

[Emodnet]

@crazyaboutdogs123 thanks so much i'll go look for it now =)

[Kzinix]

@Emodnet I taught my cat to sit on my command, so I guess it is possible. And when you see a cat doing something in a movie, that cat is probably trained to do that. =)

[Emodnet]

@Kzinix makes sence, i would like to see how the did it =D

[someonewithguitar]

Hello. If the dog is not used to clicker. How long should I train the dog to know that that "click" is "right". I mean, should I click and then give treats all day? Or couple of days? Thank you!

[RedLacyTwo]

@someonewithguitar From my recent experience introducing a dog to a clicker, you will know when your dog understands that click = reward when the second you click and they're not giving you their attention, they'll snap their attention back to you as if to say "Yay! Gimme my treat!" I would maybe do this a few more times, just so you can be sure that your dog is really understanding it. To test it, click your dog from a distance, and if the dog comes to you, they understand.

[purplepeppermint1]

Thank you for this wonderful video

[SergeCWazukie]

i tried the clicker, a big no no. i was never really with the idea, its in the way. i get tired of the damn thing, im not saying right or wrong here but i really noticed that there are just some whimpy dog training styles. like walking around in in the other direction when he pulls X_x...oh god... thats a migrane on its own

[SDCmorg]

@SergeCWazukie I watched her vid and tried it on a pal's 8 yrs old big puller rottweiler. If you have the patience required, it does work a lot better than pulling the dog back or manhandling it. The rott is actually not pulling nearly as much when the pal takes her out for a walk (and she's only had 3 sessions). Being patient and willing to train dogs rather than muscling them into submitting is not whimpy. It takes more moral character to do than to just bully dogs around.

[happyjellyfish]

@SDCmorg That was very well put. (I also tried this on my rottie and she loves heeling on a leash now, she spends the whole walk wagging her bum and looking up at me like she's proud :))

[Tucson76]

it would be better if you showed a dog that actually pulls. your demo dogs are way to soft to show what to do with a arm jerker

[EpicIngrid]

i LOVE the fact that you are showing us these techniques on untrained dogs! You are the only trainer I've found here on youtube who does that. Kudos!

Thank you so much for posting these videos. You are a lifesaver! :D

[Michelle12979]

Can't remember which video included comments where you recommended a book called Scaredy Dog but I wanted to thank you so much for mentioning it. I always thought my Peke had fear aggression (reactive)...and he does...but now I have so much more information and training help for him. Her book and your videos have been a wonderful help. A trainer I hired used methods I didn't like and once I saw your clicker training videos I was inspired to try new methods that work! Keep up the great work!

[alexehilary]

very interesting videos. You can not put subtitles?

[ShibbyDude223]

This is really use full stuff, I have a St. Bernard puppy and he has been ganking me around everywhere on walks. Appreciate the advice.

[ohemmgeeASHLEY]

do you pull on the leash to get them to come if they don't listen to you say lets go ?

[dodolah]

how long should you allow your dog to sniff at the spot? I have a basset hound who normally walk on loose leash ok. But, on a certain spot (usually on wet grassy lawn), he gets really excited, sniff, sleep on it, and refused to move at all. What would be the best way to deal with this behavior?

[binot]

nice ass

[Civicblabla]

Do i have to have a "clicker" or cant i just clap my hands or some other clicking noise?

[E7W1]

@Civicblabla you could make a clicking noise with your tongue

[Gotanimallove]

Love ur videos, would love to email directly to you for more questions about dog training. I rescued a blind Aussie/Shepard mix whom I train w clicker & I rescued a chi/ mix with a broken jaw and deaf. I need a little bit help with some of it. Nan told me about you!

I'm new to this YouTube stuff ..

[ice8cream8lover8]

what could u use as a clicker . would a pen work

[bordergirlsmom]

Great tips and I LOVE using sniffing the bushes to reward, fantastic

[ninjakittyinmypants]

I like the video and the Beautiful dogs :).

The only thing I would prefer is training the dogs on a simple flat collar rather than the harness. When you're training with the clicker why would you also use a "anti pull" harness, which in itself is a management tool. It seems very unnecessary. If you train you dog to walk properly on a lead it shouldn't matter what style of collar or harness you have on.

[kikopup]

@ninjakittyinmypants There are times in training a shelter dog or a dog new to training where they WILL hit the end of the lead, and all that pressure goes onto one tiny part of the dogs trachea and spine. I do not attach leads to collars for health reasons, as well as if they hit the end of the leash hard it is like a correction or using +P (which I don't use). I do train dogs on collars for 'sports' like rally or passing a CGC test, but I wish those sports would change their rules.

[kikopup]

p.s. (you can see what harness I use in my leash walking equipment vid) but for dogs that are super pullers I will put a sensation harness on so that when I back up the dog turns towards me (without me getting blisters). There is no such thing as an anti pull harness- dogs can learn to pull against anything (gentle leaders, nails in their necks, a noose lead) I really hate gentle leaders for that, as people just let their dog pull into them and hurt their face rather than TRAINING their dog!

[ninjakittyinmypants]

@kikopup I tend to agree with you :)! Thanks for such a informative reply. I must say its really great seeing someone actually Training with a harness. Rather than just saying "Here is a anti-pull super harness that will magically stop your dog pulling!". You're right that a dog will pull through fire, I've seen dogs half choking themselves on check chains :(. Quick question, if you where to just clip the lead onto your dogs flat collars (say in a emergency), would they still loose lead walk?

[CrankyEater]

@kikopup Thanks for clarifying why you are using a harness here. I have a rescue who walks nicely on the leash until she sees another dog and feels threatened -- she hits the end of the lead incredibly hard. On a trainer's suggestion, I have been using the Gentle Leader in combination with a regular flat collar -- one leash in each hand so that I can stop that horrible "snap-around" effect you get when a dog hits the end of a Gentle Leader. Will try the harness again!

[suhaylett]

@ninjakittyinmypants A harness is better because every time a handler applies even moderate pull to the lead there is a force applied through the cervical spine with compensationary forces countering this throughout the rest of the body.

There is also the vegas nerve in the neck which  controls balance. this is only a brief description of what happens.

[ljpigott]

Thank you so much for all of your videos. Using the clicker has made me so much more aware of why my young pointer-spaniel cross rescue acts as he does. His most extreme pulling is when he is frightened - only to be expected as he doesn't seem to have been well socialised around people as a pup and I realise now that we have probably been reinforcin this fear by getting frustrated when he pulls and correcting him. Now when he pulls out of fear I try to deal with the fear first.

[scarscarwow]

@kikopup what would be a good order to train your dog like, example: sit,stay,no-barking,ect. what would be the best order?

[kikopup]

@scarscarwow depends on the dogs issues. I start most dogs with the Attention noise- see my video on the how to stop undesirable behavior. Then check out my vid - Before you start training with food-, Then I would say Handling... but then whatever issues your dog is having you would focus on those? You know?

[scarscarwow]

@kikopup i see. (: haha. i love your videos,there very good. im getting a japanese spitz. ever heard of them? (:

[suezn5]

thanks for the tips. It's very helpful to see you work with dogs that are still learning like you have done in this vid. How do you feel about using a long retractable leash and letting the dog have lots of room before it gets tight?

[claudiahoyle]

awesome another great video :D

[haylz27]

The moment I put the leash on my dog she gets over excited. I honestly have no idea how to solve this? That's just when we are inside or in the backyard.

[TheGymlovers1]

@haylz27 I've had the same problem w/ my dog. I have stairs right by the front door so every time I want 2 put the leash on I have her go on a step & sit. I make sure she is quiet when I'm putting the leash on, & if she starts barking, I take the leash off & ignore her. Then when she is quiet again, I start over. Once I successfully get the leash on I release her from the step & start walking toward the front door. She only gets to go outside if she is quiet. Hope this helps!

-Cori

[ashtoncole1]

My do is 1 1/2 yrs. old. She is a quick learner, smart & a constant pleaser but terrified of a clicker. I have tried to click, treat, click treat, but she is so scared she hides. I have to hold out my hands to show the clicker is gone, to get her to come back over to me. She isn't afraid of anything else, very social, loves the dog park, and acutally will beg to learn new tricks, but I am not sure how to train her wthout a clicker. Is there anything I can do to get her to not be afraid? 

[TheGymlovers1]

@ashtoncole1 you could try using a marker word instead of a clicker. like saying "yes!" in a high-pitched, happy voice. just something you say every time your dog does something you like and then give them a treat right after, just like you would do with a clicker. and then if you really want to reintroduce the clicker later, you could try putting something over the indent in the metal at first because that will mute the click a little and make it less scary. hope this helps!

-Cori

[minty737]

@ashtoncole1 You could also try desensitising her to the clicker. Get someone at a distance to click, and her not be afraid. Then slowly bring her closer to it. Also, try to muffle the sound a lot using thumbtack ro tape or hiding it in cloth or your hand

[chihuahuabulldog]

You are sooooo good!

[kylesproductions]

no longer njeed to watch these. my dog died yesterday.

[NormyPie]

@kylesproductions Oh Kyle I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. I hope you're able to take the time you need to grieve.

[NikolayevKirill]

That's a very important video. Thank you, I really needed it. That is great! ))

[Makoce]

My GSD works perfectly on my side, but lungest, barks, growls, snarls when she sees other dogs. She wont take treats (its fear aggression) and ignores them, she doesnt respond to prong collars or corrections, and doesnt respond to walking the other way in the opposite direction. Ive basically tried every different dog trainers suggestion on leash walking and im not getting results - suggestions? D:

[kikopup]

@Makoce get the book Scardey Dog By Ali Brown- super short and simple. Yes, the fact that your dog is not taking treats means the body has shut down blood flow to the stomach because of stress hormones- the dog is in fight or flight mode, your dog is too over threshold to do counter conditioning at that point- it would be cruel to punish a dog in that state as they can not make their bodies reabsorb stress hormones. At one point Splash was reactive to ALL dogs. Now she loves them. To...

[kikopup]

@kikopup (she had been attacked by a dog). To do this I simply gave her a 10 day break to let all the stress hormones subside- then took her to base ball fields and places with no dogs for a week. Then only walked her were we could see dogs coming for miles and be able to work and then turn away. The best thing is to find a base ball field and work with a friend who has a super calm dog that doesn't stare- to have your dog have positive experiences with other dogs at a distance first

[kikopup]

@kikopup There is some info in my barking eposode 3 video on the subject, but not enough for a whole training plan. The goal is to keep your dog underthreshold for a couple months, building and building on positive experiences with dogs where your dog feels safe and relaxed. Most GSD's are reactive as are most herding breeds, its not an abnormal behavior, its a natural one, however, because we love our dogs, we want them to feel safe, calm and happy- not on alert the whole time

[miumiuism]

@Makoce Same situation with my 2 yr old Border Collie. When she was pup, I brought her to so many places and dog runs events but on our first dog training class, she suddenly turned aggressive out of fearfulness. It was a horribly traumatic day for me and since then I've had so many injuries. =( It took 8 months of training for her to get along with people. It's difficult for me to progress on the next step with dogs since I live in a city and around where I live, people avoid us. *sighs*

[miumiuism]

@Makoce Same situation with my 2 yr old Border Collie. When she was pup, I brought her to so many places and dog runs events but on our first dog training class, she suddenly turned aggressive out of fearfulness. It was a horribly traumatic day for me and since then I've had so many injuries. =( It took 8 months of training for her to get along with people. It's difficult for me to progress on the next step with dogs since I live in a city and around where I live, people avoid us. *sighs*

[iwkapl]

love seeing different and untrained dogs in your videos!! ( but love splash, tug, and kiko too!)

[kikopup]

@iwkapl thanks! I know, I love using my own dogs in vids, but I know people want to see other dogs too :)

[kikopup]

@iwkapl thanks!

[mollybrandybillly]

sounds good i should put this into practice.

can you please do a video on a reactive dog who barks pulls and drags their owner passed houses with dogs? my rusty boy has a major issue with this. also

[kikopup]

@mollybrandybillly Watch the video I made called " Barking- Episode 3 - barking on a walk" it goes over what to do.

[tehrenberg]

Another fantastic training video Em. Wonderful having a variety of pups learning as example.

[kikopup]

@tehrenberg Loved your latest puppy video!

[azmauigirl]

Really helpful. Thanks for showing so many different dogs. Helps to see both what they are doing and then how you are responding. Thanks!

[sandiwolf1]

We've tried to teach Pixel(Border Collie) using so many methods. I hope this one works.

[kikopup]

@sandiwolf1 If this Tutorial doesnt work- One thing you could try with Pixel is having a 15 foot leash out in a field- work on clicking treating the dog next to you, then gradually shortening the leash- so the dog starts out successful with ZERO hitting the end of the leash, and then learns the concept of never hitting the end of the leash- without too much failure in the beginning

[de1dezire]

can you pls do a video on housebreaking my peekapoo is 9 weeks. she was doing great in the litter box, then when i took her walking after 3 days of getting her and having to take her to the vets, she peed outside and now she pees everyone on my floor in the house. i live in a condo building so can't keep running her outside to eliminate...she poops in the litter box but just pees everywhere now...pls help!!! i'm using the purina secondnature litter box

[kikopup]

@de1dezire Some dogs like to pee and poop in different locations, so it seems your dog no longer likes to pee where seh poops, I would get a second litter box for peeing. Also now you def have to keep your eyes glued to the pup when she is out and about, and when you cant watch her have her in a exercise pen with the litter box inside and NO carpet inside! (on linoleum etc). Also puppies don't have very good control of their bladders until only after 12 weeks or more.

[kikopup]

@kikopup also, try your hardest to prevent "mistakes" as they can learn to ONLY pee on carpet if it keeps happening!

[BekoByBeko]

I have really big problems with my 6months old Caniche.

I'm trying to teach her this stuff..giving her treats,going back when she pulls etc. But when I walk with her on the streets she's TOO excited and she pulls really hard the leash and she's trying to run. [exitement..she got it >.>] And if I stop,she'll run around in circles and jumping .-. I really don't know what to do.I wanna go take more walks with her but I can't in thse situations. Please,help? :-s

Thank you <3

[kikopup]

@BekoByBeko If you do the leash walking exercises in your house first, then in your yard, then on the street you will have more success. Also since your dog is so excitable, I would def. work on a 'settle'- my video called "how to teach your dog to lay at your feet at a cafe'. That way you can walk outside, and just stand there and WAIT, and the moment your dog calms down, and settles, you can begin the walk- otherwise you are just reinforcing your dog for being excited when you move forwards

[BekoByBeko]

@kikopup Ohh..I got it :D I'll try and tell you if it worked for me ^__^ Thank you :D

[rogersmmr]

Another fabulous video. Thank you, Emily. A fave. :-D

[HeyDuffy459]

That's uncanny. Bella looks exactly like my dog, Bowie, except Bowie has white patches on his feet. They also have their leash-pulling tendancies in common. Great video!!!

[kikopup]

@HeyDuffy459 Really? I have met 3 sibling dogs about 5 years ago that look exactly like this dog, so I thought it was uncanny too!

[Tatelina]

I love that you mentioned how a walk is meant to fulfill more needs than just exercise, because it is very true!

[kikopup]

@Tatelina Thanks! I know sometimes people forget, especially when they are late for work. Also joggers sometimes forget, because they don't want to stop jogging for their dogs to explore. Everyone is in such a rush, if they would just slow down, and take it easy, their dogs wouldnt have as many behavioral issues most likely.

[MsJuneDay]

My dog is a saint at walking next to me and heeling when I have a hot dog in my hand, but I'm having a hard time weening off the treat. She'll only do it for the reward, not make a habbit of it.

[kikopup]

@MsJuneDay What you do for that (neither dogs were interested in treats in this video) is to STOP when the dog is pulling, back up, and when the dog finally comes your way, the reward is to move forwards. Also when you do use food CLICK ONLY WHEN THE DOG IS NOT THINKING ABOUT THE FOOD. So as you are walking and the dog is on a loose leash looking forwards sniffing- CLICK- then present the food. Never when the dog is looking up at the food or looks like hes 'trying to make the food happen'

[hdsheena]

I need to make up a bunch of business cards with links to your basic videos to hand out at the dog park. Met a lady today who REALLY needs to see this video!

[Tatelina]

@hdsheena that is a great idea!

[nubianbaby219]

I have been trying to get my pitt/rottie mix to do this successfully for over a year now. She didn't respond with the clicker, but I will try again. Also, she gets extremely excited when she sees people and lunges toward them even when I have treats to attempt to distract her focus. I know she's trying to play, but my neighbors seem to get scared since she's so big.

[kikopup]

@nubianbaby219 The episode 3 on barking that I made has an exercise you can use to proof walking towards something your dog really wants to see or interact with- put a treat on the ground and then the only way the dog can get to it is if he is on a loose leash- you can do this same exercise but proof with different distractions- food, toys, a person they really like, a person with a dog- the only way they can get to the person is if they are on a loose leash (its using the premack principle)

[hunkymonkeykaine]

Excellent leash training tips Emily:). I agree, dogs need the mental stimulation of sniffing while out on a walk:).

[kikopup]

@hunkymonkeykaine Thanks!

[Adipatus]

Thank you!

[newbear95]

Wonderful tips!

[kikopup]

@newbear95  Thanks!

[billyboy638]

Thumbs up I love your videos.You rock !!!

[shortyinabox14]

Any tips on making dogs not bite the leash? I don't have much a problem with walking but it's the biting the leash that I can't seem to make my dog stop.

[kikopup]

@shortyinabox14 I was going to do a video on that- there is a small part in Dogmantics episode one where I go over that super briefly. Basically you proof it like a default leave it and then increase the criteria by waving the leash around.

However- you can put mint flavor on the leash (windergreen oil) and that can stop the dog from biting it- and you can reinforce the dog for not biting it. DO NOT however MAKE them bite it ,they can smell it and realize it wont be as reinforcing.

[kikopup]

@shortyinabox14 not sure why this didnt post but- you can also try clipping the leash to a back harness, sometimes it really works because the leash isnt dangling in the dogs face as much and tempting the dog

[respectism]

Thanks for the info. I have been following your channel for a while and it had been very useful. Do you have any tips on how to teach a puppy not to jump up on other dogs or people when we walk past them? I have been getting him to sit before I approach anyone/

[kikopup]

@respectism I have a video on jumping up. You can click and reinforce before she thinks to jump, and then if she does, simply back away from teh person or dog- so the reinforcement is removed

[cybertourniquet]

Great tips for my 2.5months German shepherd

Thank you!

[kikopup]

@cybertourniquet your welcome!