How I train my dog to walk politely on a leash?

Question

just for him to walk in front of or next to me on the leash..

Answer 1

I have trained my bullmastiff and boxer to walk next to me.

1. I use a harness and not the colar when walking my dog.

2. I hold the leash with my right hand have my arm behind my back, and toward my left side, this allows the dog to walk next to you.

I found the following on this website:

http://mysite.verizon.net/pawsitiveresults/looseleashwalking.html

3. When your dog pulls on leash and gets to continue walking, he is being rewarded for pulling.

4. You have to teach your dog that pulling is not rewarded and gets him nowhere and not pulling always gets rewarded. For all your dog knows, hauling you around is the only way to get anywhere!



You will need plenty of time to practice this exercise. For a while, you’ll need to think of walks as training sessions not actually a way to get anywhere. Until your dog is good at not pulling, you’ll need to drive him to the park (or anywhere else you go) instead of walking him there. If he’s allowed to pull between sessions, it’ll slow your progress.



- Clip on your dog’s leash and start walking. As soon as your dog starts pulling STOP walking and stand still. Do not start walking again until the leash is slack. You can encourage your dog to come to you if that helps. As soon as the tension in the leash eases, start walking. If your dog pulls again, stop and wait for the leash to loosen. It is a lot of stop and go at first, but if you are consistent your dog will learn that forward motion only occurs when the leash is slack.



- If your dog won’t come to you when you stop, you can make kissy sounds or tap your leg. If that doesn’t work, turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. This will force your dog to turn towards you and the leash will be loose at least until he passes you. If your dog begins pulling again, stop and encourage him to come to you and/or walk in the opposite direction.



- ANY pulling your dog is allowed to do between training sessions will greatly slow your progress. If you really have to go somewhere and don’t have time to practice loose leash walking, you can encourage your dog to stay with you using treats or a favorite toy held at his eye level. If you have a small dog, it might just be easier to carry him.

good luck!

Answer 2

While I'm not against prong collars, this is not a good use for them (irritation behind the ears will cause a dog to pull harder and the collars are designed for a wrist flick to get the dog's attention, not to dig into it's neck. One can train a dog to stop pulling by stopping until the pulling stops and changing directions when he pulls. To prevent pulling, while training, keep changing directions routinely - he will be forced to watch you to see where you are heading. For barking, divert his attention by giving him a command at something he is good at like sit and praise. Start training at home until he seems to understand then go to a place with some action to train with distractions. Praise anytime the lead is loose. Like all training, it'll take some time but the lack of these sorts of hassles while walking makes it worth the effort.

As per Gentle Leaders, they do help stop pulling but they do not train the dog not to pull (ie, if you someday need to leash to his collar, he will likely pull)

Answer 3

There is a collar you can get at the pet store called The Gentle Leader. It will stop pulling, walking off, jumping up, whatever you don't want your dog to do. It's very gentle and in no way can he pull or go off in his own direction. You won't even have to correct a lot with it, they just naturally have to follow along where you lead :) DO take your dog with you when you buy it though. It has to fit properly for it to work. Here's a link so you can see what the collar is like

http://www.gentleleader.com/pages.cfm?id=19

Answer 4

Sunny 27, has the best answer. I've had lots of dogs over the years and have never had a problem with pulling. My best advice is to walk them lots. If there use to walking, and they love you, they are not going to pull. Talk to them praise them and love them, by no means get a choking collar, you'll never get them to walk nice for you without wearing one. Besides its cruel. Tire them out at first, they'll learn quickly what going for a walk is all about.

Answer 5

Choke collar!

That's what we all use in obedience class.

When you put it on make sure it shaped like a "P" with the longer end to the left. That way it will release properly. Double check by putting it on your wrist first.

Answer 6

prong collars work well. they look loke they have spikes, but if you know how they work, it isn't mean. I think it's the safest type of collar. they are fairly cheap, and worth the price this link lists everything you need to know.
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/prong.html

Answer 7

just do a quick search and you will find tons