Problem:
Pulling on the lead
Hi
Shannon
I have a Dachshund who will not tolerate a choke chain
lead or show lead. She walks nicely out of the show
ring but jerks her head and performs a bit but as soon
as we are in a show ring she stops and sits down. This
results in a pulling match as the judge waits!!! What
do I do
..?
End of the Lead
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Dear
End of the Lead
The undesired behaviour of your dog is being reinforced.
You are of course not reinforcing it on purpose, but
the fact that she gets a desired result when she stops
and sits increases this behaviour and hence reinforces
it.
She
needs to be desensitised to the chain and show lead.
This can be achieved with some patience, positive association
and more patience. Did I mention patience?
You
can start quite simply by putting her show chain and
lead on just before you feed her. Do not hold the lead,
let her eat her food and as soon as she is finished
remove the chain and lead. You don't need to say anything,
as we do not want her to perceive this as a big deal.
Once
she is comfortable with this and not showing any hesitation
you can start putting the chain and lead on a short
distance from the food bowl. She will then have to walk
to the bowl dragging the lead behind her. Do not make
this too far and do not worry about picking the lead
up yet. Once she is comfortably doing this from a distance
you may pick up the end of the lead and walk with her
to the bowl. As soon as she is finished eating, the
chain and lead come off.
Do
not make a big fuss and do not assure her that "Everything
is OK". All this does is confirm to her that there
is indeed a problem. I would prefer for you to be entirely
quiet so that she can work through this problem without
distraction.
At
no point should the chain or lead be tight. It is probably
this constriction that is causing her undesired behaviour
as it makes her feel threatened.
Once
she is happily walking to her bowl with the chain and
lead on you can start holding some of her food in your
hand and walk her in the garden. A couple of steps and
she gets some food. For a non-show dog I would suggest
putting some food on the ground to aid this stage, but
the last thing we want is to get her walking on the
lead but with her nose vacuuming the ground.
In
preparation for the show it would be useful to take
her to the show grounds on non-show day and practice
this routine there. On the day of the show you may want
to withhold her breakfast and make an extra special
treat such as liver bread. This treat would only be
used for the show chain and lead routine and thus for
shows. Apply the same principles of frequent reward
and calm behaviour and in no time she'll be actively
looking for the chain and lead that are always associated
with reward.
Expect
some backsliding at your first show. She will need to
"unlearn" her bad experiences. If need be
use the show as a learning experience. It is not worth
damaging your relationship with her and ruining a potentially
promising show career by expecting a perfect performance
every single time.
You
may also want to consider a half-check or limited slip
collar. This will also change your perception of the
problem and make you more relaxed.
Good
luck and here's to all those CC's!
Best
of luck!
Shannon