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DISABILITY AND FALL PREVENTION
How I Got A Doodle To Stop Chasing Squirrels Or Anything Moving. Without Using A Shock Collar Or “NO!”
Walking a dog that lunges toward anything while on a leash can be dangerous for a disabled person.
Don-Don, my board-and-train Doodle has a long history of lunging at things while on a leash. This meant Don’s loose-leash walking education needed to be combined with teaching him to be neutral toward wildlife. I recognized that I might fall from an abrupt leash pull if Don were triggered to chase something while I was walking him.
The featured image was a screenshot from a 10-second video showing how I changed this potential outcome. I taught him a positive interrupter.
Many dog training instructors will advise handlers to teach a dog to “leave it” or “watch me” in such situations. The problem? Those are cues. All gues are reinforcement.
If I had taught Don-Don either of those phrases I would be reinforcing what he was doing immediately beforehand.
What this meant: Don wasn’t focused on me. His focus was on a squirrel. Reinforcing the behavior of being distracted meant he would repeat getting distracted. Getting distracted paid off…
