How do I teach my dog to walk properly?

Question

Inside the house I am always the alpha. Mac, my border collie/mix, listens when I tell him something, and understands boundaries.

On a walk, it's another story.

-He doesn't pull on the leash vigorously, but he will make attempts to gain ground ahead of me.
-He's easily distracted by birds, people, and other dogs. Whenever he sees them, he goes into an 'excited' (but unfriendly) mode and will bark or lunge towards them.
-He's constantly in a tracking mode, as well. His head stays low to the ground, and he pays me no attention.

I always go out the door and down the stairs first, and he follows.

I use a harness, and physically use my arms and the leash to keep his body beside me or behind me. (I don't think I can keep this up, though. My arms get sore from his tugging, and it's not enjoyable to walk at all. It's become more of a chore!)

How do I get my dog to follow ME, instead of him thinking he's the leader? How do I get him to pay attention during a walk, and not constantly worry about where he's going to 'go' next?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Here are a few suggestions:

Using a harness can trigger the pulling instinct so switch to a regular collar and leash, make sure the collar is well up on the neck so you have good control of his head.

Do not keep walking if he is pulling too much, just stop make him sit or turn the other way so his pulling does not result in him getting to what he was after. He will learn that pulling achieves nothing for him.

Obedience classes are always great for young dogs and the Owner as well as you learn how quickly you need to correct inappropriate behaviour.

Practice in the house and yard.

Play a good game game of fetch the tennis ball, to tire him out a little before the walk, he will be more responsive to your training if you can drain some extra energy before you start.

If I am working with a dog and leash work, I always have a handful of tasty treats to reward the behaviour I do want from them, BC are super smart he will get it quickly, it just takes more patience on your part.



Hope this helped and good luck!

Answer 2

don't use a harness (unless the dog is suffering a collapsed trachea or something.)



use a flat collar, a martingale collar (if he's a collar slipper) or a nylon slip collar (the round kind is my favorite)



i use a combination of the Koehler (Kohler Jr., not Sr.... i'm not mean!!) method of leash training, and what i call STOP.



walk in a straight line. when the dog gets ahead of you and starts to pull, STOP.

when the leash is loose again, continue to walk.

do this consistently, and the dog will learn that pulling (even a little!) gets him nowhere.



when he sees something and gets distracted, turn around and walk the other way really fast. don't always turn the same way, you want to surprise him. don't be worried whether or not he hits the end of the leash- be prepared for it though.

do this consistently. reward the dog when he watches you, and turns with you.

teach alternate behaviors. when he sees a person, have him lie down for a belly rub or something. when he sees a bird, have him do a trick for a cookie.



if you do all these things consistently, the dog will learn to pay attention to you (after all, he doesn't know where you're going to walk next, and you've got cookies for following!) and he'll learn that people mean belly rubs, and birds mean cookies.

Answer 3

I have always trained my dogs with a choker collar - but wait to hear me out not a chain choker. I only use the nylon chokers that is strickly a nylon collar with 2 metal ringes and a nylon collar loop between the rings. This loop has the ring you attach the leash to. When this is put over the head it is to be just tight enough to get it on. Then when you pull the collar it will tighten up but only a certain amount as to not choke the dog as the chain chokers do.

By having this you walk the dog by your side never behind you. Always have the dog walk beside you and when he pulls you do short tugs on the leash to get the dogs attention and then stop walking to get his full attention. Start walking again, if he pulls again then tug the leash again with short tugs and see if he corrects himself, if not stop again and start over. You will probably spend one to two days doing nothing but tugging and stopping until he starts to learn. Then eventually you can just barely tug the leash and the dog should stop and correct his behavior. It does take time. You could even get a clicker and click it for everytime he does something wrong (like chasing after birds and such) but depending upon the size of the dog you may not have the extra hand. I always used a snake sound - Sssst. Real quick when my dogs were doing incorect behavior and now whatever they are doing I just Ssst and they stop and look at me. It all takes time. After your dog is walking with this corrective behavior then go back to his halter. The tugging on the leash should still have its effects.



Check out my "Pet Pages" on Examiner.com for other pet related articles. I will have a set of training articles coming soon on siting, stay, shake, walking, stay and some others.

Answer 4

What he is doing is normal. I use words like "with me" when my dog tries to move ahead. I will come to a complete stop and say with me, until he comes back to my side, I do not move. In the beginning a 1 hour walk took an hour & 30 min. But it works now, whenever he tries to get ahead I say "with me" and without having to stop he moves back into the proper position (no pulling!).



Mine is still a puppy so he gets excited too when other dogs start to come by - what works for us is as the other dogs are approaching, I put him in a sit / wait. I also make sure that the other dog is across the street. It has stopped any barking or pulling! Even if the other dog is barking and pulling. Plus - I'm not struggling to hold him at all - its a simple sit/wait.



As for the tracking - what works for us is moving away from the grass, we walk in the street. I only allow him on the grass at a light pole to do his business or if we are moving off the street for a car.



Good luck - these methods work for me, maybe they can for you.

Answer 5

I use a metal poker collar. I used to think they were mean and would hurt the dog, but that isn't true. It works wonderful with my dog and even when she sees me pull it out she gets excited because she knows it means were going for a walk. When we get ready to go for a walk I make her sit and wait at the door until I put her collar and leash on and I go out the door first. On the walk if she starts to deviate from walking (seeing other animals, people, cars, smells, etc.) I make sure to lightly tug on her leash and bring her out of her excitement or distracted mode. It works really great for me and my dog walks amazing on a leash now!

Answer 6

Hi! I hope I can help. First, let's forget about the whole "alpha" thing. Recent research has made great headway into debunking that myth. (Take a look at the new book Animals Make Us Human) Your dog wants to be out the door first because that's where all the cool stuff is. He wants to be in front of you on a walk because everything awesome and new is ahead of him and he can't wait to get there (a great philosophy on life, I think) Anyways, you have to be more interesting that anything out there. Is your dog food motivated or toy motivated? Cut up some chicken or warmed hot dog very tiny and start by working on leash in your house since that is where is the best. Start with him at your side and walk a step, dispensing a tiny bit of food where he is at your side, walk a few more steps and treat him at the spot you would like him to stay. Once he's paying attention and staying there, move outside, maybe up and down your driveway, treat him at your side. If he moves out in front of you, immediately freeze, when he turns to look at you, show him the treat and get him back into position and reward. Take it slow and dispense lots of treats and praise (you may want to cut back on his food if you're giving him lots of treats) You want him to learn that being near you is a good place to be! Watch this video, it's a great example and good demo www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx03aCuJVg8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eapdt%2Ecom%2Fm%2Fdefault%2Easpx&feature=player_embedded

Good luck!

Answer 7

Oh yes.....this is definitely a behavioral issue. Your dog gets excited on just about everything he sees. He needs to be desensitized to all of the commotion and that will take lots of time and training. Hire a dog trainer and let them show you the proper techniques to get your dog under your control. As you use these techniques, over time, your dog WILL behave in these situations. Best of luck.

Answer 8

You need to put him through obedience training. He needs to learn what you expect of him & you are not doing your corrections right so he can learn.



If you join an obedience class they will teach you how to teach your dog & you go home & practice what you have learned. The classes are once a week for 6 to 8 weeks. You will learn all the basic obedience & can go on to advanced obedience classes.



You do need help & you need to learn how to train him.



You can google 'puppy obedience' 'puppy training' 'obedience training'