 Walking my Malinois
#325518 - 04/04/2011 08:45 AM |
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Hi, thanks to the prong collar my 10-month old Malinois is much easier to go walkies with. I've had the prong since a few days so it'll need quite a bit more training. I bought this collar because of the advice on this site which is really marvellous and for which my heartfelt thanks!
He doesn't pull the lead any more now (except when he sees a chicken or one of our cats or a rabbit or whatever, but that's getting better as well), but someone told me that with a Malinois one HAS TO get him te walk besides you or behind you, or he'll think he's the boss.
So I walk around in circles or turn 90 degrees at times to teach him that I lead and he should follow. Luckily we have a huge garden to train in or people would think I'm drunk 
The question is, how essential is it he does indeed not get ahead and stays besides or behind me at all times?
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Lieve Peten ]
#325519 - 04/04/2011 08:53 AM |
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Hi Lieve,
It doesn't matter if you have a Mal or a chihuahua - any dog pulling on a leash, out in front of the owner establishes himself as the leader of the pack.
Is there a reason you prefer to not train your dog to heal or walk on a loose leash at your side?
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Barbara Schuler ]
#325521 - 04/04/2011 09:17 AM |
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Lieve, I think you're doing it exactly right. Keep up the good work. At 10 months of age, this pup (like all of them, no matter the breed) is testing his limits. With more practice, it will get easier.
I don't enforce a strict "heel" with any of my dogs--but a loose leash is non-negotiable. If the dog gets to the end of the leash (making the leash go tight)--stop walking. As soon as he provides a bit of slack, the walk continues. The "crazy walking" that you are doing is also a great way to teach this.
Short answer--yes, teach him to walk nicely. It's worth the effort now for a lifetime of pleasant walks in the future.
Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon |
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Barbara Schuler ]
#325522 - 04/04/2011 09:17 AM |
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Well he doesn't really pull his leash any more, except when he sees someone he wants to play with, something our chickens don't really appreciate The cats don't mind. Mind you, he doesn't bite the chickens... luckily he's not agressive, just playfull still, or silly. So I correct him when he tries to take off.
But he does walk ahead of me, which I'm trying to correct by coercing him rather than correcting him. Personally I don't mind he's ahead, since that way I can keep an eye on him and can see when he reacts to the other occupants of our garden. The only reason I want him beside me is because it's the general consensus a dog should not be ahead because he's not the leader.
On the one hand I don't want him to be like a robot, only moving in the way I want him to, on the other hand he should be partly a robot for his own safety...
So how severe should I be in getting him to walk beside me? Because it'll be easier to get it right from the start.
Until now he mostly ran loose in 'his' garden (part fenced off)
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Lieve Peten ]
#325529 - 04/04/2011 09:29 AM |
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His exact position doesn't matter--I assume you're not teaching him to heal for competition. So, he's your dog living in your world; you set the rules.
Rather than just allowing him to do what he wants and going with it---try imagining what "perfect" behavior would be of him--for you. If walking slightly ahead but not pulling is what you want--then teach and reinforce that.
If you'd rather him walk by your side, teach and reinforce that.
It's okay for him to understand TWO different ways to walk also. Maybe sometimes you put him on a longer line and let him have some freedom to explore....and other times when he's on a short leash and prong collar, you expect nice by-your-side walking.
It's up to you. But you must be 100% consistent. Every time you let him get away with whatever "rule" you've decided is the rule in your world...he learns that you don't mean what you say. And that's never a good road to go down.
Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon |
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Tracy Collins ]
#325531 - 04/04/2011 09:32 AM |
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Right, it sounds like I'll have to continue my I-walk-like-a-drunk act
Actually I started with the heel command in the house, between the furniture, which probably looked even more silly. But I wanted him to know what I meant when I said "heel" before using it outside the house. With the furniture around he had little choice but to follow me... And with little distraction he did "heel". When we go outside and I say "heel" he does come, but that lasts only a few seconds. I must make sure first he understands the difference between "heel" and "come". The rest is only a matter of patience, of course.
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Tracy Collins ]
#325532 - 04/04/2011 09:36 AM |
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Like Tracy, I don't have a formal, competition heel, but trained a nice walking at my side. One thing to keep in mind that if your pup is out ahead of you and DOES decide to go after the chickens or cats, it is going to be more difficult to correct or interrupt that process than if he was at your side. Obviously, what ever works best for you is good, I just wouldn't want my dogs pulling me anywhere.
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Tracy Collins ]
#325533 - 04/04/2011 09:38 AM |
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That's a good idea Tracy, long line and he can run loose and with the prong collar he can't. Yes, that's what I'll do. When he wears the prong he'll have to walk beside me. I'm not going to use his long leash for a while until he gets that right.
Hopefully when I put his long leash back on, on his regular collar, he'll also refrain from pulling. But I doubt it - at least not at first.
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Barbara Schuler ]
#325535 - 04/04/2011 09:43 AM |
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Well it was because of the pulling that I got the prong collar, and after using it in the last 2 days and finding it effective, I thought I should get it exactly right from the start.
Thanks for the help, both of you!
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Re: Walking my Malinois
[Re: Lieve Peten ]
#325539 - 04/04/2011 09:53 AM |
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Loc: Lanexa Virginia
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Right, it sounds like I'll have to continue my I-walk-like-a-drunk act
Actually I started with the heel command in the house, between the furniture, which probably looked even more silly. But I wanted him to know what I meant when I said "heel" before using it outside the house. With the furniture around he had little choice but to follow me... And with little distraction he did "heel". When we go outside and I say "heel" he does come, but that lasts only a few seconds. I must make sure first he understands the difference between "heel" and "come". The rest is only a matter of patience, of course.
If you have a wall outside (I used our double garage doors) that might be a place to begin training the heel outside. Put the dog between you and the wall/fence and take a few steps with the dog in position - and reward. Take a few more steps and reward. The idea is to teach his THIS is where good things happen. Don't even worry about using a command yet - just reward him in the position you want him to walk. After doing this a while, add the command. Then begin doing this away from the wall, again, just a few steps at a time and reward. Then you'll begin adding distance and distractions. Having a treat bag is very beneficial! This is shown on one of the free streaming videos I watched recently - I'll try find and post thaqt for you.
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