Why Put Your Dog On a Leash?

As a responsible pet owner you should never allow your dog to run free, or even be off leash while you walk together. If you have not considered the many reasons why your dog should be on a leash than consider these reasons..

1) Dogs who are off the leash may cause injury to a person.

This does not necessarily mean that your dog has bitten someone. Injuries to people can come in other forms. What if your dog scares an elderly person and they fall down? What if your dog knocks a small child Read more

Dog Leash Training: Dog Pulling on Leash

Your daily walk in the park has turned into a battle. You and your dog are constantly engaging in tug of war. Other dogs can walk nicely on a leash, why not yours? Perhaps it’s time to start looking at some dog leash training methods and put an end to the nonsense once and for all.

Many owners find that their dog behaves really well at obedience class but the minute he goes out for a walk he turns into a demon. Maybe it is not the dog who changes but you. Is it possible that during training sessions you treat the animal one way and another when he is out for his daily walk? Or maybe you treat the animal one way and your partner or children treat him another. If so, your poor dog is receiving mixed signals.

Training is not going to involve just you and the dog but everyone who has to walk the dog. Consistency and patience are the keys to training any animal. And this means that all the people who walk the dog must follow the same procedures with the animal, all the time. And you must all use the same commands.

Once everybody has agreed to work together, you can start to look at the dog’s behaviour. If he likes to pull it is probably because he has learned that if he pulls he gets to go where he wants. Simply put, he is getting rewarded for pulling on his leash. You have to teach him immediately that dog leash pulling does not get rewarded.

The moment that your pet decides to pull on the leash STOP. Do not move. Do not pull on the leash. When your dog eases up on the leash take a step. If the pulling starts again stop. Once you have puppy focused on you, begin to move. Puppy will soon realise that if the leash is tight nobody goes anywhere.

As your puppy learns this concept, be sure to offer lots of praise and rewards. When the puppy turns to you to find out why there is no movement you might try backing up a step. Reward the puppy as he returns to you. A great way to get your dog to stay focused on you is to alter direction. Try not to walk in a straight line. Walk backwards; make sharp turns, both left and right. Be sure that at no time do you pull on the leash. Instead Stop. Remain frozen in place until the tension on the leash eases up.

You may not get far on your first few tries but if you are consistent you will see results. Remember that everyone who walks the dog must practice this technique, all the time. This is not always easy to do. There are times when you are in a hurry and taking the time to stop is annoying but remain unremitting.

These lessons are extremely important. You do not want to rely on choke collars or halties to get your dog to behave. You want the dog to stay close to you because it is the best place to be. Training collars are just that, for training. You want your dog to behave even when you are not doing a training session. You want to have control of your dog at all times.

If you remain persistent with your dog leash training exercises you will be surprised at how soon your walks become a joy instead of a chore.

Dog Leash Training: Training a Dog To Heel

Any dog owner who has a pet that can correctly ‘heel’ will no doubt be able to tell you all the unseen benefits of this behavior. A dog that can perform this skill is a very well mannered and disciplined pet. This is an animal that will not jump on people or approach them without his owner’s consent. He will not go near other animals, or urinate in unwanted places nor will he eat any of that nasty trash laying around.

Training a dog to heel is not a difficult task. But it is going to require that you be consistent and patient. Training dogs to heel correctly involves a number of things. Having the dog sit at your side until you are Read more

Dog Leash Training - Getting Your Puppy Used to The Leash.

Once you have picked out a proper leash you will probably want to start training your puppy to walk with it attached. This is not a difficult thing to do and you should begin your training as soon as possible. Not just for you, but to make sure that puppy doesn’t get into danger. The last thing you want is puppy running on the road or eating something dangerous.

Start by getting the new family member comfortable with his collar. Put it on him when he is in the house playing. Be sure that the collar fits correctly. Your dog may try rolling or pawing to try to get it off. Being able to put two fingers between his neck and the collar is usually a good measure. Watch to make sure that he cant get it off. Some dogs are real escape artists. Try and keep him distracted, and give lots of praise. Make it a positive experience.

The next step is to attach the leash. A short, light leash is the best to start with. Let the puppy smell it and get used to it. Allow him to drag it around the house. He will soon loose interest in it. Make sure that you do not leave the animal alone with his leash dragging.

Once you have gotten him used to the leash, pick it up. Remember, this is not a game of tug of war. If your puppy starts to pull, STOP. Do not move. Call the dog and get him to focus on you. Do not pull back on the leash but don’t move. Once you have the puppies attention continue moving. Keep treats handy during this stage and give lots of praise as the dog follows you around the house.

If your puppy decides to sit down, don’t start yanking on him. Call his name and reward him when he comes to you. If you have to get down to his level and have a treat or toy handy. Keeps these initial session short and fun. There should be no pulling done either by you or the dog. If he starts pulling, stop. Call his back and praise. You want him to learn that walking with a loose leash close to you is when he gets rewarded.

Training the Family as Well as the Dog

You have added a new member to the family, a bouncing little puppy, congratulations. Now that he is home it is up to you as an owner to start training him. But before you can even start house training a dog you have to train the rest of the family. This is especially important if you have young children in the house. Puppy training can be relatively easy but everyone in the family must work together.

In order for your puppy to learn anything he has to be given clear, precise and consistent commands. This applies to everyone in the house including the children. You will also have to get everybody in the family to treat the dog the same way. You will probably find it harder to train the human members of the family than the dog.  Read more

Puppy Leash Training - Getting Started

So it’s time to start leash training the new puppy.  But before you begin you should make sure that you have the right dog equipment for training.

The first thing you are going to need to begin dog leash training is a proper collar for your dog. Before going out and buying a choke or pinch collar see how well your dog adjusts to simply using his everyday collar during training sessions. Some larger dogs or difficult to train dogs may require a gentle leader, haltie or choke collar for training but, you may find out that this is not the case with your pet. One thing to remember is that you should never leave a training collar on your pet when you are not around. Always be sure that you put their regular collar back on when the training session is over. Read more

Leash Training Made Easy

Spring is here and that means nicer weather and more opportunities for taking your dog for walks. If your dog walks amount to a jog in the park for your dog with you in tow, this article is for you!

Change Your Direction

Abruptly changing the direction you’re heading in may be enough distraction to make your dog understand that he needs to follow you. Every time your dog begins to run or walk ahead of you, quickly turn around and begin walking the other way. When he obeys and returns to your side, be sure to follow up with praise and/or a small dog treat. Its pointless to scold your dog, catching him off guard and redirecting his attention is far more effective.

Your first couple of walks may actually be just a few steps, back and forth. Don’t get discouraged, repeat the process as many times as necessary until your dog understands what you want him to do. The goal is to have your dog following you, and paying attention to the direction you’re headed in. Be generous with your praise and rewards and repeat this process several times. Your dog will slowly give up the tug of war game he’s been playing with your.

If you already have a dog training collar that offers both positive and negative tone reinforcement, now would be a great opportunity to use it.

Always Be Consistent

Now that you’ve made up your mind to leash train your dog, always be consistent. Be consistent in your application of rules so as not to confuse your dog. Treat your leash walking exercises as you would any other obedience training session.

Initially its best if you stick to familiar places, like your backyard or driveway, to practice your new leash training skills. After your dog has mastered his new leash walking skills, you can experiment with longer walks in unfamiliar places.

Keep Up the Good Work

As with all dog training, teaching your dog to walk properly on a leash is an ongoing process. It’s not something your dog will probably “get” in just one session. Even after your dog has learned what is expected, you’ll still want to reinforce the behavior by occasionally using the distraction technique given above.

Be lavish with your praise! Dogs instinctively want to please their owner and love being rewarded and praised for obeying. Be generous with your praise and offer rewards when your dog is doing the right thing; he will be encouraged to continue payinging attention to you.