How to Teach Your Dog to Walk Nicely On a Leash

As a pet lover, bringing a dog home is not the technical bit. Beyond enjoying the love, attention, and loyalty of your dog, you have to deal with the work that comes with owning a pet. All dog owners start by worrying about tweaking the behaviour of their dog. Most dogs are naturally aggressive, which is not the kind of attribute that anyone would want to invite into their space.

Along with training your dog on how to behave around people and within your household, there is more that you need to do. You have to prepare him for dog walks. Walking your dog every while you can is great for their health and bonding, but unless he is well trained, it can be a problem. Most dog owners take their dogs on a walk while on a leach, but they have to be trained for this to be effective. Here are some tips on how you can teach your dog to walk properly on a leash:

Get an appropriate dog collar and leash

The very first step for this training to have a suitable dog collar. Dogs differ when it comes to the girth of their neck region, which should be a factor you consider before buying a dog collar and a leash. Consider a material that is comfortable for your dog, without exerting a lot of pressure on his neck. Remember, most dogs will pull away from the leash. If the leash is not strong enough, then you will lose control of the whole session. Further, if the collar is uncomfortable, you will end up hurting your dog.

Bring toys and treats into the picture

Teaching your dog a new trick will not just require patience. You need to reinforce the behaviour with treats and toys. You will find that some indestructible dog toys for pit bulls are very effective for the training session. However, be careful to only throw in the treat as a reward for good behaviour. As for the toy, use it to keep your dog at ease and allow him some break in between the training.

Keep the training session short

You do not want to be the dog owner that puts your dog through several hours of training and several miles of walking. Start with short distances, preferably around familiar environments, to ensure your dog is calm throughout. It helps to take short breaks in between the training.

Let him walk by your side

Again, you want to make your dog be at ease and very calm through the training. For this reason, teach him to walk by your side. It is traditional to have a dog walk on the left side. However, this will not be easy. Often, your dog will waver back and forth and go round in circles. This can be very disturbing and out both of you at risk of an accident.

To reinforce this behaviour, ensure you start teaching him with a short leach. This makes sure that he cannot stray too far from you, or go around in circles. Also, use treats to lure him on your side and mark behaviour with a reward.

Practice Makes Perfect

If it is taking too long to get your dog in tune with walking by your side on a leash, breathe a little. Everything gets better with practice. Keep repeating the same techniques over and over again. The idea is to always exercise some form of control, without being too hard on your dog.

Conclusion

Your dog can learn a lot in a very short time, depending on how great of a teacher you are. The most important thing to remember in leash training is that your dog is your friend and not your servant. Walking on a leash, therefore, should be fun and not overwhelming.

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