Teaching “Let’s go!” for Reactive Dogs (Part 2)

Last week, we started to build a “Let’s go” behavior on cue. The idea is that your dog will turn and move with you, without you having to tug on the leash.

In the first steps of this training, you worked indoors. This week, we’re moving outside- but not onto the sidewalk yet!  You’ll be working in your backyard. If you don’t have a backyard, find the quietest outdoor space you can manage.  If you live in a city, this might involve driving to another part of town, or even outside of town. 

You’ll need a few supplies for this training.  In addition to your dog and her leash and harness, you’ll want some tempting food or toy distractions. 

In the accompanying video, we suggest approaching no closer than 10 feet of the distraction at first. Even this might be too close for your dog! Your dog shouldn’t be hitting the end of the leash in an attempt to get to the food or toy. If that’s happening often, make the exercise easier. You can make the distraction steps easier by using less tempting distractions (think kibble instead of steak), or by staying much farther away from the distraction. Or both! 

Practice the steps shown here, if your dog has aced the steps in Part 1.  Next week we’ll have the next steps available: