04/02/2026
(Dogs name changed for client privacy)
I started walking Sandy in 2024. I want to clarify that I'm not yet a certified behaviourist but I wanted to help the family after a life change, and take on some more training experience.
Just a year ago Sandy would have been considered difficult and disobedient. She pulled on the leash a lot, and got very jumpy around passers by.
We tried a few classic leash training techniques (turning around, stopping the walk, etc) but nothing really stuck, she would often get frustrated and confused and wouldn't focus on the task at hand.
I'm sure many cockerpoo owners can relate, as they are incredibly high energy and arousal dogs.
After a while of trial and error, but also much research and revision of the four quadrants, we started getting somewhere.
You see, Sandy wasn't responding to reinforcement because she needed to regulate first. I did this by letting her blow off steam in an empty field for 10 minutes before continuing her walks. Then, we assessed her strengths and motivations. She always knew a sit really well, and her motivation for pulling was often to sniff something out of reach. Combining this, we could use counderconditioning and redirection to get a more pleasant walking experience.
For example, when we are walking Sandy and suddenly she is trying to reach an area to sniff, we say "sit" -> "wait"-> "yes" -> *reward*
Eventually we've managed to remove the food reward and wittle the command down to "sit"-> *walk closer to dog* -> "yes" -> *the dog can continue walking*
Today I was amazed at how good she was, like a completely different dog. She's not 100%, but we are getting somewhere.
