Dog Training: Walking on a Leash

Dogs don’t naturally know how to behave when walking on a leash. This takes some training for them to master, especially if your dogs tend to pull while you’re out and about. Find out how you can get your dogs to learn how to walk on a leash, so that your walks will be safer and more pleasant.

Start Slowly

Don’t expect your dogs to learn how to behave properly on a leash all at once or even within a few days. It can take time for them to figure out the appropriate way to act, so make sure that you stay patient. Keep walks short at first while you work on teaching your dogs how to walk calmly on a leash without pulling. You can gradually make your walks longer and longer as they learn.

Offer Rewards

One way to get your dogs to stop pulling and stay near you is to offer them a reward for good behavior. Dogs pull on leashes when they get excited and want to go exploring. To stop this, you can offer them something even more tempting. Bring their favorite treats along for your walks, or offer small pieces of boiled chicken as an enticing reward. Doing this teaches dogs that something good happens when they act a certain way, such as staying near you on the leash rather than pulling. You can use a verbal command, such as “stop” or “stay,” if your dogs start pulling, then reward them if they follow it. Over time, you can phase out the rewards as your dogs walk with little to no pulling.

Stop and Stay

Another way to get dogs to stop pulling on leashes is to make it unrewarding for them. As soon as they pull, stop in your tracks and stand still. Call your dogs to you, and begin walking again when they come over to you. When you do this, your dogs learn that they’re not going to get what they want by pulling. Instead, they’ll learn to stay near you, so that their walks won’t keep being interrupted.

DGF offers lots of dog training classes to meet your needs at every level of a dog’s ability. Sign Up for a training class today.

This article was originally published at https://www.dogonefunchicago.com/dog-training/dog-training-walking-on-a-leash/