Sniffing

I utterly accept that dogs love to sniff and that the walk is for Molly's pleasure as well as my own. But it is taking too blooming long. She has to sniff every lamppost, gatepost, wall, patch of wee burnt weed that we come across.

When I tell her 'leave" or "close" (the word I use instead of heel) she keeps on a sniffing. Eventually my patience runs out and I give the lead a tug. I do reward her when she does leave the perfume promptly and also after I have 'encouraged' her to leave.

I don't feel it is right pulling on her lead, but to have things to do even if all she has to do when we get home is flop down somewhere comfy. I would appreciate comments.

Interestingly, this has only been bad over the last couple of weeks. I changed her from a head collar to a harness a couple of weeks ago. Wether this is germane, or wether I didn't really notice it before is anyone's guess.

I live in an old market town where, until relatively recently, the cattle market was held in the town. As you can imagine we have some very fragrant old walls, and the message leavers are L O N G gone

 

So your "leave" and "close" cues just aren't proofed against good smells, that's all. I'd just go back to basics.

Do some training around a place you know there's a smell she wants to get to. Start at a good far distance and walk past with a chirpy "leave it!" or "close". C&T when she does. Gradually decrease the distance. Use really tasty treats or a game she loves as a reward.

The fact you no longer have control over her head may be making it easier for her to reach for smells so you're noticing the behaviour more. I can't think why else a switch to a harness would make a difference, unless the pressure of the straps was actually inhibiting her sense of smell? Either way, I don't think it's a reason to consider switching back just for this.

 

Makes sense Fiona. I was thinking of upping the treat value. Whatever next, caviar

I wouldn't put her back on a head collar. It served its purpose as it kept everybody (including her) safe whilst I was training her. I kept meaning to change to a harness, but never got round to it. She is so much happier on the harness, no trying to rub it off on every patch of grass and no longer shoving her head between my legs as she tried to rub it off on me. It was a matter of time before I went flying.

 

I think the change from headcollar to harness may be a bit like training your heelwork without a lead. You can't indavertently use the lead to physically put them where you want. our heelwork goes downhill amongst great smells.....you just have to proof it as snowbunny has described above. I also think this is where I ask do I want to let my dog make choices comes in. Try to pick a time when you're not in a rush to train this so you can wait as long as it takes for her to make the right choice which you then reward massively.

The other thing I think is relevant is that the sniffing is normal dog behaviour. Riley and I do two things.....go training and go for a walk. Training requires concentration and obedience(I'm trying not to laugh as he's a shocker for marking but that's my fault) and going for a walk he does at his pace sniffing as much or as little as he wants. If he wants to sniff more we go slower and not as far. A walk doesn't tire him out in a physical sense, he could probably walk for 30 minutes or three hours and be no more or less tired but the sniffing and furtling about is good for him. It stimulates his senses and his brain. I think I read in Helen Phillips book that her and her dog had completely different ideas about what makes a good walk and that's why she likes training so much because it's fun they have together with the same goal. That changed my perception of what Riley's walks are for.

Good luck

 

Haha! I'm sure mine would love some caviar, although disgustingly smelly tripe sticks seem to be the ultimate at the moment. Starting at a distance, I don't think it needs to be jackpot level every time, although if she does come away from something particularly good then push the boat out!

I think you also need to be careful with your cue here, because it's very easy to muddy it. Training set-ups are one thing, but you also have to manage regular walks until she is proofed, so if you're using the same cue in both scenarios, you're going to weaken it.

I'm sure others will be along soon with different approaches, too

 

What is Molly doing when she starts to have a sniff? Presumably walking on a loose lead and allowed to sniff. So you are moving from a loose lead to "close". Will she do this instantly, and without hesitation in all circumstances apart from when her nose is in an interesting smell? If not, you have work to do before she will do this with her nose in a smell. You can start in your kitchen with a bowl of food on the floor as a distraction.

I think "leave" is a difficult one to train once the dog has what it wants (the sniff) as it's in the middle of self rewarding. Have you actually trained that, or just "do not approach something you want"?