Teaching Your Dog to Walk with Manners

The results of a recent Saturday Survey on our doggies.com blog indicated that a few of you have dogs who walk with perfect manners, some even without a leash.  For the rest of us, here are some strategies you can use which will lead to more enjoyable walks for both of you.

Why is a loose leash important?

It’s not unheard of for large dogs to lunge so hard against their leashes that their walkers actually end up physically injured.  Scraped hands and knees, separated shoulders, and broken wrists are common dog-walking injuries.

Aside from the potential damage to the walker, the dog may also be injured by pulling too hard on the leash.  Small dogs in particular are prone to damaging their throats by pulling constantly against their collars.  And for brachycephalic dogs like pugs, the damage can even be fatal.

Last, but not least, if your dog walks nicely on a loose leash, you are much more likely to take more frequent walks.  This enhances your relationship with your dog and can improve both your dog’s health and your own.

If you have a new puppy, it is best to start lessons early and reinforce them often.  Here are some tips for teaching your puppy good leash manners.

Proper leash technique

Think of the leash only as a tool of last resort to keep your dog from running away from you or into the street.  It shouldn’t be used for either one of you to drag the other around.  Rather, good training and your dog’s enjoyment of your company should be the primary ways in which you keep your dog by your side.

When held properly, the leash should drape loosely from your hands to the dog’s collar.  Typically, the dog is positioned on your left side, his or her body near your knee (or ankle or hip, depending on the dog’s height relative to yours).  Although the dog need not stay right by your side, you don’t want him or her wandering more than about 2 – 3 feet away, and you definitely don’t want the dog to pull you.

The leash should pass loosely through your left hand and be held firmly in your right.  The function of the left hand is only to keep the leash from working its way under the dog’s legs.  The right hand takes up any slack in the leash to keep your dog properly positioned close to your leg.

If the dog starts to get ahead of you, but before he or she gets to the end of the slack in the leash, turn around and begin walking in the opposite direction while making a kissy sound with your mouth.  The dog will turn around to see what you are doing, and will soon catch up with you, and you can reposition the dog where he or she belongs.

If the dog runs too fast for you to get turned around, simply stop walking.  Your dog shouldn’t be able to walk more than about a foot or two before he or she is out of room.  Tell the dog “no” firmly, and gently tug him or her back to a sitting position by your left leg.  Begin again.

It won’t take very long for the dog to figure out where you think his or her proper position is for walking.  When the dog does it right for a few steps, stop and give a treat and some lavish praise to reinforce the lesson.

Gradually lengthen the distance the dog must walk in the proper position before you stop for reinforcement via praise and a treat.  As the dog gets it, begin to give treats only randomly so he or she never knows when they are coming.

It’s best to keep the treats in a pocket or fanny pack on your right hip so the dog cannot see them coming.  Give the treats to the dog right by your left knee, thus reinforcing the fact that you want the dog to stay in that vicinity.

If your dog does well most of the time, but charges after squirrels, other dogs, or small children, try to anticipate problems before they arise.  If you see the object of his or her affection first, get a treat out of your pocket and try to lead your dog after the treat at your customary walking pace.  Use the treat as a lure to keep the dog more interested in behaving than in chasing.  Make sure to give the dog lots of praise when he or she is able to resist the urge to charge after potential prey.

Check out this article from Colorado’s Dumb Friends League for more informative tips on loose leash walking.

Teaching your dog to heel

Loose leash walking is fine for most occasions, but in the show ring or even if you want better control over your dog, you may want to use the stricter, “heel” command.

Start with your dog in a sitting position on your left side.  With a gentle tug upward on the leash, use your best no-nonsense voice to say your dog’s name, then say “heel”.  Begin walking forward at a comfortable pace.  Follow the techniques given above, but with closer attention to how your dog is positioned.  The dog’s shoulder should stay within 6 inches of your left leg.

A few tips

If your dog is too rambunctious to even get started with this method, try playing with the dog first to tire him or her out.  The dog will be much more inclined to obey your lead if walking at your pace isn’t the only exercise he or she will get each day.  Your dog likely wants to walk much more quickly than you do – after all, they have four legs to propel them rather than just the two we rely on.  Let the dog get some energy out before you expect the dog to be able to focus on what you want.

If you have a small dog who may be injured by the pressure of a collar, consider using a harness or halter for walks.  You will still need to teach the dog some manners, but you won’t run the risk of damaging any throat structures by pulling a collar against the soft tissues of the neck.

Even large dogs can benefit from these halters and harnesses.  Some people use a choke collar or a prong collar to control the dog, but these methods are primarily used to cause pain to induce the dog to behave.  Using positive methods such as those described here will allow you to teach the same lesson.  It may take a little longer for your dog to learn, but the lesson will be more strongly imprinted if the dog learns using positive rather than painful methods.

Most dogs will wear a harness without much aversion.  The idea of the harness is that it makes it harder for the dog to pull against the leash because pressure on the leash results in his chest being pulled back to you.  Similarly, when a dog pulls on a halter, the pressure points his or her head in your direction, and where the head goes the body must follow.  However, many dogs dislike the halter.  You will spend a lot of time just getting your dog used to the halter before you can even begin walking.

To acclimate your dog to the halter, let the dog sniff it for awhile and reward the dog with treats for coming near it.  After awhile, put the halter over the dog’s head and leave it hanging from his or her neck, again giving treats for tolerating it.  Next, position the halter around the dog’s muzzle, but don’t tighten it.  Give treats if the dog doesn’t immediately wrestle it off.  Continue until the dog is able to wear the halter without a fuss.  Although this sounds like a quick process, the training described in this paragraph should be conducted over a number of sessions.  Depending on how quickly your dog accepts each step, it may take weeks or even months to get the dog to associate wearing the halter with a pleasurable experience such as receiving treats.  When the dog finally does accept the halter, only then should you consider taking the dog out to walk in it.