Are you tired of being tugged around by your pup on walks?
We completely understand that no two dogs are the same and the reason for them misbehaving on walks can be very different, these tips may not help every dog in their daily life but we hope this will help some of you.
These are just little tips that may help you on your walks. However, understanding the reason why your dog is misbehaving or not having good walks is key to helping them in the future.
1. Teach them who's boss from the start:
One of the most important things you can do to train your dog to respect you on walks is to establish yourself as the alpha from the beginning.
This means being consistent with commands, not caving in when they pull and making sure they know that you are the one in charge.
A good trick is to only say a command once. If you start repeating the command 3/4 times at once they will start to only listen on the 3rd or 4th command, rather than the first.
A very important part of walks with your dog is teaching them that they are going out on a walk to spend quality time with you. This may seem obvious but if your dog is constantly looking or seeking other dogs, people or surrounding areas, then you know that you're not their priority on walks.
From a young age, make walks fun with you and your puppy. Enjoy every second with them on walks and make yourself more interesting and enjoyable than anybody or anything else around. This will help in the long run.
Ways to make walks more enjoyable for your pup:
1. Bring a toy on walks.
2. Play with them on walks, don't just walk them.
3. Sit down and spend quality time relaxing with them on walks.
4. Reward them for good behaviour with treats.
5. Train them while on walks, this can be normal commands eg. sit, stay, paw, down.
6. Play tug-of-war with them on walks.
7. If you're into running, take your dog on your runs.
These are just some ideas that can make you your dog's no.1 priority on walks. The more fun they have with you on walks, the less they will bother with their surroundings and other people or dogs.
2. Be consistent with commands:
Whenever you give your dog a command, make sure you follow through every single time.
This means if you tell them to sit, they need to sit - no matter what's going on around them.
Dogs respond best to consistency, so if they know that they will always be rewarded for obeying a command, they will be much more likely to do so.
3. Don't give in when they pull:
It can be tempting to give in and let your dog lead the way when they start pulling on the lead, but this will only reinforce the behaviour.
Instead, whenever they start pulling, stop walking and make them sit until they calm down.
Once they're calm you can resume walking but be consistent with your commands!
If your dog doesn't stop pulling when you walk, do not pull them backwards this will only make them pull forwards harder, instead pull them to the side and then give the command to sit.
Just remember to be consistent with commands and never give in when they start pulling - soon enough, they'll learn that you're the one in charge.
Enjoy those lovely walks with your well-behaved pup!
- CanineCraftsUK