how to get a dog to release a bite

 - [Host] In this video, I'm going to show you how to teach your dog, Slam sit, to walk calmly on a loose leash even around tough distractions, like other dogs. I'm Ken Steepe and welcome back to McCann Dogs. 

What to do if a dog is biting you and won't let go?

(guitar music) (dog barking) - The two thing that are really important when it comes to training any dog are clarity (pop) and consistency (pop). So to make it really clear to Rad what my expectation is for him to walk on a loose leash, I need to make sure that the clip of his leash is hanging down. 

How do you get a pitbull to release its bite?

(ding) That really shows that there is no tension on his leash.

 This is the only time that I'll reward him. I'll never reward him when that clip is up or that leash is tight because I don't want to create any confusion for him.

So that it's really apparent that when he's on a loose leash is when he's being rewarded. So that little hack is a good one for you to keep in mind. 

Say attention to the clip of the leash.

 And only reward your dog when that clip is hanging down. Now another trick that you can use is using a barrier to keep your dog in at your side. For those dogs that love to swing out or maybe they lurch out to the end of their leash away from you, pick a barrier. 

It could be a hallway in your house. Or maybe it's an exterior wall or maybe you set up a bunch of chairs in a row so that your dog has to stay in a little bit closer to you. For those of you with the smaller dogs, this is really going to create a clear line.

A clear path for them to maintain that position.

For those of you guys with the bigger dogs, this is going to be a lot easier because it's easier for you to maintain their position. Now I've chose Hippy Shake to make it more challenging for me and to give you a better example of how well this can work. So to set ourselves up for this exercise, I've got a few treats already in my hand.

 And I've counted the treats. So I've got three treats. As I'm walking along this wall, I'm gonna reward Hippy twice and save that last treat. With that last treat I'm actually gonna lure Hippy into a sitting position.So at no time am I rewarding her for being out of position.

 And I'm also not allowing her to make a choice to charge ahead of me when I run out of treats.I'm making it really clear that when I ask her to let's go, (pop) which is going to be our heeling term, that it means stay in at my side until I release you. Ready to give this a try? Let's go. Good girl.

 See I'm really careful about where I'm rewarding her, making sure she's on all fours, and with my last treat, I'll place her into a sit, I'll wait 'til she puts a paw down. Good girl, yes, good girl.

You see I kind of waited her out a little bit. I wanted to make sure that she understood that she was only going to be rewarded with all four feet on the floor.Now, once you've had some success with your dog walking against that barrier, you can up the challenge for them a little bit.

 I have laid down some jump bars, but at home you could use a couple of leashes, or maybe it's a chalk line on the driveway, or a piece of rope or whatever. 

The reality here is that this definitive line is going to help you see that position as much as it is for your dog. So, once you've had some success with some barrier walking, you can give this a try, with a little line on the floor.

So we're going to practice this the exact same way as the last time. 

I have three treats in my hand. Now if you're using four or five treats, if your dog's being more successful, whatever the number is it doesn't really matter, but just keep in mind, when you're walking with your dog, when you're working on this maintaining position at your side, save the last treat for that beautiful sit in at your side.

Let's give this a try. 

Okay, let's go. I'll reward her in at my side, two treats. I've got my last treat ready.

 I'm going to lure her into a sit. Wait 'til all four are on the floor, yes. Good girl. She did a really nice job moving into that sitting position. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy when it comes to teaching our dogs to walk calmly on a loose leash.

 If your dog really wants to go somewhere, for example, Rad really wants to go over to the agility arena, which is something that we do every night, and I... Easy buddy, easy buddy. Stop pulling, stop pulling, easy.

 Then once I get over to the arena, the first thing I do is take him off leash so that he can play some agility, then you're not being very clear about your expectations for your dog. 

But identify this as a training opportunity, so if you have a dog that loves to walk up to the park, and then they get to play once they're up there, maybe you walk up toward the park for 25 feet, and once they start pulling, you turn 180 degrees around and reward your dog for walking away from the park on a loose leash.

It's really important that you're not accidentally rewarding them for the behavior that you're trying so desperately to get rid of. 

Now one of the toughest challenges you may face is another dog or another person when you're on your walks, and trying to get your dog to walk calmly on a loose leash. Now, the key here is to be proactive, (ding) rather than reactive (buzzer), rather than waiting to see what your dog does when you encounter those people or that other dog, you need to be proactive.Give them something to pay attention to you for. 

I'm going to reward Slim in this exercise. We're going to get Kell and Funky just to sit off to the side. And I'm going to reward Slim copiously as we pass by that tough distraction and eventually we're going to work our way up to a point where we're walking dog to dog. We're passing one another and Slam has built enough value in paying attention to me when we go past those tough distractions that he only wants to pay attention to me.

So you're gonna' get your spouse, or your friend, or maybe it's a neighbor with a dog and this is how you're going to practice this exercise. Get them to stand still with their dog. It's a little bit less distracting, if your dog really loves to meet and greet other people and other dogs. But as we pass by them and as you pass by that tough distraction, feed your dog.

Let's go Slam.And really keep them focused on you. Good, let's go, good boy. We're making it a lot less interesting to check out those other dogs and those other distractions as we walk by by being proactive, by giving Slam something, so that he pays attention to us rather than that distraction. (upbeat music) So the next way we're going to challenge our dogs is by walking them by one another. 

But you can see we've got the dogs on the outside of us. We're going to make it a little bit easier and a little bit more likely for them to be successful by keeping them on the outside as we pass.So let's give this a try. Let's go, good boy, let's go. Good, good job, buddy, sit. It just lessens that distraction a little bit. But it adds a little bit of challenge to the exercise. 

And finally we're going to try it walking dog to dog. Now this is going to be really tough for some of your dogs at home. So make sure you pull out those really valuable rewards, and you really are proactive about rewarding them before they get next to that dog that's passing. Ready to give it a try, Slam?Let's go. 

Lots of rewards, especially as Funky passes by, keep Slam's attention directly on me. Good boy. And we'll stop with a sit. Now if you have a dog who is just completely beside himself as these tough distractions go by and they're not even paying attention to the food, then often working them in a stationary position can be really helpful.

You need to find a distance that you can be successful. Here Slam, get in. As that tough distraction goes by. This is a great exercise to teach your dog a little bit of emotional control. Now if you're looking for more training for your specific dog in your specific situation, then we actually have an online dog training program called "My Dog Can" (ding).

And I'll post a link to that "My Dog Can" program in the description below.

Now if this is your first time on the channel and you consider your dog a member of the family, then make sure you hit that subscribe button. We publish new videos every single week to help you have a well behaved four legged family member. 

You see that video beside us? That's actually a video that YouTube thinks you're gonna' want to watch next from our channel.

 On that note, I'm Ken. This is Grand Slam. Happy training. Bye for now. (pop techno music).