How can I get my pup to stop playing so much on walks?

[Hays]

Hayley has been doing very well with leash walking! She sits at every corner, she listens to most of our commands and we carry treats with us often so when she does something good like walking on our left side nicely, or sits and stays while a car passes, we reward her....but over the last week in particular (and we hear this stage is the toddler stage for kids), she picks up every stone, and starts biting our pant legs while on the walk.....we STOP and wait until she sits and than start over again .... but it continues...and she isn't listening as well as last week to our "leave it" commands. Any suggestions

[lindamarie]

A stern LET'S GO and a tug on the leash usually works. Don't give her the time to play. Keep her moving and correct when she misbehaves.

[Moe]

Have you tried using a clicker. I think it works great for everything.

My puppy had a habit of biting my pants legs and the leash. Before we went out I would spray bitter apple on the leash and on my pants. It took about 3 bites to realize it taste terrible.

[Hays]

awesome!! so the bitter apple works and doesn't stain your pants? I will defenitely try it. No, we haven't tried the clicker...is it too late to start? She is 14 weeks old. Not sure if my husband will want to get into that or not. How difficult are they to use?

[Brigadigit]

The clicker is a great training tool. I never had any luck with Bitter Apple, my doodle of course, liked it, haha. She's 14 weeks so she is still learning and testing her limits with you. Let her sniff around but when she starts misbehaving, continue on the walk. Also, if the walks and training during them are very long, she might be getting bored. Puppies attention span for a training session isn't long.

[Moe]

I don't think it is ever too late to start. The clicker marks the exact behavior, you reward them after. If you are giving treats or petting the dog to praise for good behavior you can't do it at the exact second the dog is exhibiting the behavior. For example if the dog is walking nicely you have to stop to pet them or give them a treat so the dog can get confused and think they get treats for stopping. With the clicker you click to mark the exact behavior the reward can come after. There is a fantastic getting

started kit

started kit

from Karen Pryor, it is so easy to follow.

There are a ton of youtube videos on how to use a clicker to train your dog. Right now I'm working on this one:

Teaching the perfect stay

Teaching the perfect stay

My puppy is only 4 months old so we are going slowly. Stay is hard... It would be easier to teach mine to be underfoot all the time.

So far bitter apple has never stained anything I have sprayed it on. It doesn't really have a smell either. If your dog likes bitter apple there is another one available - I forget the name but you can find it right next to the bitter apple at the pet store.

[Ace's Place]

I can add that age is a factor too. If you keep on the training - being consistent - but also reading when they've had enough since your dog is young - eventually you will notice they just seem to "get it" more with age. Ace is a little over a year now and can hold a sit/stay, I don't even have to say leave it much (I used to sound like a recording with that one), and his leash walking is a thousand percent better than when he was a few months old. We really think our expectations for that were off-base (too high) for when he was so young. So just keep with it and you'll see progression as she starts to learn more and find her way around in this big human world.....have fun!!

[Hays]

Thank you everyone for your input! Hayley is just 14 weeks so I realize it's going to take time...but over the last few days, she has been wonderful and hasn't tried to get my feet or pants at all! Very proud of her..and my husband and I are being very consistent.

[Brigadigit]

Originally Posted by Hays

Thank you everyone for your input! Hayley is just 14 weeks so I realize it's going to take time...but over the last few days, she has been wonderful and hasn't tried to get my feet or pants at all! Very proud of her..and my husband and I are being very consistent.

Amazing to hear!! Yes, you will see time and consistency are your friend. When you look back when she's a little older, you'll realize what a wonderful dog she has grown up into to!

[Hays]

She is defenitely growing up to be a great dog! Our trainer says we are so spoiled with her! She far exceeds everyone else in her class!!! And she is the youngest of them all!

[Hays]

Also, how do I get a picture of my Hayley on here? I do have a couple showing of her but no one else can see them and she isn't showing up on my posts...??