[RKDinOKC]

Good Evening.

Started doing the command performance training that worked so well with my first dog with Pepper today. Put a 20 ft leash on her and just walked around stopping often and not paying attention to Pepper. When she hits the end of the leash she catches up and walks close to me until she gets distracted again. You don't react good or bad to her being close or at the end of the leash. Just walk around and stop occasionally. When she wanders and is not paying attention you change directions so she gets yanked by being at the end of the leash. After a few sessions she will stop wandering off and will stick close paying attention to you without any commands or punishment. In fact, by the end of our first session Pepper was picking up and carrying the slack part of the leash while staying next to me.

When she gets consistent I will switch to her 6 ft leash and work on keeping her on my left side the same way. No yelling "no" or praising. Just walking, stopping, and changing directions. She just learns if she walks in the right place she doesn't have problems with the leash. After she starts staying to the left you start with the command heel as you start, and train her to sit (no command) when you stop.

After sit is automatic you work on stay and come while using the 6ft leash.

After she gets the 6ft leash down, you attach a 20ft cord to her instead of a leash. You just let it drag and step on it if she wanders off. As she does the straying less and less, you cut the cord shorter and shorter until there is no cord at all. Then you have a dog like my first dog that stays right beside you paying attention to you without a leash no matter where you go or what distractions there are.

Tried this with Camber. She never stopped doing her own thing and would just keep banging and pulling on the end of the long leash choking herself. She won. after 3 months I eventually gave up. That's what makes an alpha dog an alpha dog, they do their own thing no matter what.