He Walks Like A Drunken Monkey..

[Guest HeatherLee]

Everyone else with Greyhounds seems to remark how great they are on a leash, how lovely it is that they stay right by your side, etc.. My hound does NOT do this. I expect it's to compensate for his great manners on just about anything else. but I'd really like to:

 

#1 teach him to walk in a straight line, on one side, preferably by my side or at least not directly in front of me.

#2 work on impulse control on walks. He has serious ADD on walks and darts from smell to smell and side to side.

 

I've gotten used to it, but I'd like to start exercising with him more (jogging or skating) and not tripping over him and injuring us both would be really awesome.

Edited March 26, 2015 by HeatherLee

[a_daerr]

What length leash are you using? And do you let him do a lot of 'stop and sniffs' on the walks?

[Time4ANap]

I give Rocket free-reign to stop, wander and sniff on about the first half to three quarters of our walking route. Once we pass a certain point, he knows that it's time to walk a straight path without stops to go back home. If you can find a portion of the walking route that is "his time" to let him sniff and wander, then pick up the pace at the same spot each day, he might figure it out. Hounds are pretty good at figuring out a routine.

[Guest normaandburrell]

I have Iceman in obedience classes and the instructors suggest the following to teach the dog to heel correctly:

1. Have a time when the dog is expected to walk quietly beside you and a time that he is allowed to sniff and wander.

2. Make the two times distinct by a command like "heel" for walking quietly and "okay", or "go sniff" for wandering behavior.

You can also have him wear a special collar or a bandanna when he is expected to heel and say "ready" or "attention" when it is time to heel.

Take the collar or bandanna off and say "okay" or some other release word when he is allowed to wander.

3. Have him heel along a fence where he is forced to walk in a straight line beside you (he needs to be between you and the fence).

4. Reward him promptly for correct behavior and correct him with "no" or "fix it" when he is not doing it right. (I carry hot dog pieces for Iceman.)

5. Teach the "watch me" command to get your dog to pay more attention to you and less to the exciting things around him. You reward him when he looks at you.

(We are still working on that one!)

[XTRAWLD]

Mine do too, they both do, I think they all do to be honest! Wait till you try to run with them and it's all going great and then boom he cuts across and down you go! That's a lot of fun!

 

I do the "half your time, half serious time" rule as well. They are free to sniff where they want the first half of the walk, and to encourage the "we gotta walk now" part, I will actually take them away from grassy areas and smells (I walk on a deserted road) and off we go so they get some good exercise.

 

To encourage walking at your side, keep the leash short and have his neck near your body, not ahead of you. If he pulls a slight tug with verbal command "heel" and he'll get the hang of it. You'll find they have a natural pace, as anyone would. I walk rather quickly and it's a perfect pace for them to walk at and be engaged to move forward. If they doddle, it allows more opportunity to sniff and stop and be curious.

 

Keep in mind they are naturally curious to smell pee mail. How often do they really get to go outside their walls if you really think about it. We have a lot of things to distract us so walks are great experiences for them and they want to enjoy being out there, since they don't get to as often as we do. In a way we take it for granted, because we're off always doing out thing, so when do they get to enjoy theirs? Try the half and half rule.

Edited March 26, 2015 by XTRAWLD

[Feisty49]

Yah, short leash. I keep Annie's leash length at 2', with the other 4' in my hands. If he's able to walk in front of you, the leash is extended too much. Just like teaching a real kid to say please and thank you -- it takes 10,000 consistent reminders -- it will take consistency and time to make your boy do exactly what you want.

 

I think that most of us who say our dogs walk great have had them for a while. Annie wasn't difficult to walk but she did have to learn that walking means mostly being at my side and not pulling. It also means not planting, but that's another topic. Annie has favorite places to sniff and that's fine, but if she lingers too long, I remind her it's not a walk unless we're walking, and give a gentle tug.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Feisty49

[Remolacha]

I let mine wander, stop and sniff, all that for the first part of the walk. I figure the walk is both exercise for them and me, and metal stimulation/entertainment for them, so they should get to set the pace and do what they want for the first part. Once we turn for home, I expect them to walk beside me (one on each side) at a pretty steady pace. I do allow some stop and sniff, but no wandering. It's not perfect, see my post from a couple of weeks ago when I tripped over them and did a face plant . Mostly it's Conner, who has only been with me a couple of month, so he is still learning. Time and consistency are your keys

 

(I am going to start telling Conner to stop walking like a drunken monkey )

[GeorgeofNE]

Well, get to it! Any book on basic dog training will teach heel. The key is to pick a technique and stick with it.

 

They don't just learn that automatically. My George was HORRIBLE on a leash when I first got him, but it didn't take to long for him to realize that whoever the pushover who had been leading him was GONE and never coming back!

 

Buck was pretty good on a leash, until he got scared. Then he did what you'd expect a scared little kid to do. But once he is exposed to something a few times, he relaxes.

[scullysmum]

Firstly, thanks for making me laugh with your title......I too have one that walks like a drunken monkey....but when I jog with him he is fine, maybe he's afraid I will trip him up

[rascalsmom]

Phoebe tends to go from side to side, following her nose. It's kind of frustrating but I know it's my fault. She was better when I first got her but then she seemed to discover that I'd let her stop to sniff....

 

Sometimes I think it was easier when I had three greyhounds. Even though they all liked to stop and sniff (well not Ruby so much) they all knew their "spot" and didn't go from side to side that much. Buddy was on my right side. Ruby and Rascal were on the left with Ruby right next to me.

 

And no, I'm not getting another dog so Phoebe stays on one side.

[silverfish]

They'll be all over the place if you let them.

 

I take the view that it's their walk and they can stop and sniff if they like - especially as they are old. But I do insist that if they are going to cross from one side to the other, they do it behind me, not in front of me. And I let them know when it's time to move on if they take too long. If you choose a command for that and never let them get away with dawdling once you have given that command, they soon learn.

 

DH wants to know why it is that Sid behaves better with me. I tell him it's because he doesn't take charge.

[sobesmom]

Yeah - the myth is that all greys walk perfect on-leash. It's a myth. Many do. Many don't. I do "squares walking" with my fosters that aren't "good walkers". I also do it occasionally with my headstrong grey of many years in my home when she wants to get squirely on walks. Sets her right again. It's not perfect "trainer" walking - but it gets them into a reasonable heel. Which is all I care about. I've posted about it before, so PM me if you'd like details.

 

I don't care about "perfect by the book" at my house. I care about going for a walk and having dogs in control, and we all have a nice time.