Walking On A Leash

[Guest makalataylor]

Goodmorning!

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting my Molly to walk better on a leash? She is a puller, and will cut you off quite a bit? Not a big deal when I am walking her alone but I sometimes have to take my two year old and when walking with him and her I get tangled up between them and don't want any of us to get her, or worse...her get loose.

 

This is my only complaint with her, otherwise she is spectacular

 

Thanks!

[Feisty49]

You'll get good advice here, but I have a couple of questions and how I taught Annie.

 

Do you allow Molly to walk all the way out on her leash? Do you keep her close to you for better leverage? Have you attempted to teach her "heel," or whatever word you prefer? When I first adopted Annie, she too liked to be out there and pulling. Our trainer told me, "You're giving her too much freedom at this point. You're the human. She's the dog. She needs to learn." Here are a few things she told me to do. Hold her close, right next to my knee/thigh. If she pulls, stop and when she's calm, start walking very slowly, using the word heel and immediately give a treat! When she starts pulling again, stop, and repeat. Give small, yummy treats the second you start walking and she's not yet pulling, along with the word heel.

 

It took a while, but Annie learned to stay close to me and not pull, though once in a while, she'll pull, and I immediately rein her back in, stop and walk verrrryyy slowly saying "heel" and giving treats. I don't mind if she's out there on the leash a few feet, as long as she's not pulling or wandering around others' lawns.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Feisty49

[Houndtime]

There is a lead with a handle in the middle. I am not sure what it is called; maybe a traffic lead. You can hold your dog closer to you with it. I bought mine from GEM. I think it was $10 or $12. We use it for Odin as he pulls sometimes.

[rsieg]

What I did with Logan is that as soon as he tried to pull ahead I would stop and wait until he stopped pulling. Do it again until he pulls, stop and wait, and so on. He figured it out pretty quick. As far as weaving back and forth he seemed to stop that on his own.

 

What I did with Max is, I got him at 10 years old and he was already leash-trained :-)

[Guest makalataylor]

I've had her about two weeks, so haven't worked really with leash training...I sometimes let her go far out when she pottys but try to keep her as close as I can. She doesn't excitedly pull, but she doesn't like to be outside, she'd much rather get back to the apartment.

 

The back and forth in front of me is the biggest challenge because even if she is close to me then she will cut right in front and trip me.

 

I will try to treats with "heel" and see if that helps!

[Fruitycake]

You can train a dog to stay on a certain side of you, even without 'heel' training. Choose which side you would prefer she stay on, and when she tries to switch sides, try body blocking her (leg in the way) and pull the leash back toward the side you want her on. You can work on it in the house, too. And you may have luck giving her treats when she's staying on the correct side and pairing the leg-and-leash correction with a verbal direction like 'stay right' (or left, whichever). It certainly won't be instantaneous, but if you use it consistently she will begin to understand it as a direction/command and you won't need to physically correct her as much until she's reliable. Then, if you want to let her cross, you can turn your body to give her access but stay on the correct side of you.

 

It does help if you can walk where the 'good sniffs' are (more) consistently on the side you want her to stay on, as difficult as that may be. Our boy has always peed to his right, which means that we almost always go counter clockwise around blocks, and keep the boulevard (easement/grassy strip between sidewalk and road) on the right. It doesn't help much when yards have retaining walls or fences right next to the sidewalk, but he heaves a sigh and looks longingly at them and sometimes I'll stop and tell him to go ahead and do his sniffing. As soon as we're walking again he goes back to his side, though.

[cleptogrey]

to make life easier how about classes? obedience school, not petco classes, there are listings under APDT(american pet dog training association if the initial do not work) and clubs with good schools registered with the AKC.

you have a toddler in tow and that's difficult enough. basic skills taught are heel, sit, down, stay, come, that will make life much easier. as to a leash, make sure it's comfortable and something that you can grip onto with out having to wrap it around your hand . personally i hate the 1.5" nylon leads that are out there, they cut your hand, slip and are either too stiff or too soft. a good 1" cotton(all cotton) 6ft webbed leash or leather can last for decades and they are easy to grip and affordable.

i have 2 of these, in perfect shape and 14 years old, i just oil them https://www.cherrybrook.com/leather-brothers-braided-leather-twist-leads/

one of the 8 year old cotton webbed leashes got nibbled last weekend, otherwise they last and last, just throw them in the machine https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-6-Feet-Cotton-Training-Black/dp/B000Y909NA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470681693&sr=8-1&keywords=6+ft+cotton+training+leash

 

i wouldn't start looking into a harness,just make sure the martingale is tight enough(2 fingers in-between the two rings when the loop is pulled taught, and it should be under the ears/top of the neck) . some direct training, easy to grip leash and practice time. then you will say to yourself, "wow, this is so much easier than a toddler!"

 

enjoy both and remember to have fun! p.s. crayons digest very well, i'm sure your pup will be coloring along side your own skin kid. they all ingest their quota of crayons when there's a kid in the house!

[GeorgeofNE]

You leash train a greyhound the same way you would any dog.

 

Fruitycake described my basic method. I don't insist my dog walk at heel, but I refuse to allow crossing in front or back. Every time my dog tries it, I physically prevent it, put them back on the side I want, and say "this side." No exceptions, or they don't figure it out!

 

I pick, as my potty walking street, a street where the sidewalk is where I would naturally walk, and the left side is wooded area suitable for a dog to relieve himself in. That way he is where he needs to be AND where I want him anyway!

 

The turn around is when I get the most work in--because the dog wants to sniff and such, but this is about TRAINING him, not giving him a good time, so I don't allow it.

 

I use the left as my proper side because it's traditional, that's what I learned as a child from my Dad, and heck--you have to pick one side or the other, so why not the traditional side?

 

George was a beast to train. My whole body hurt for the first two weeks. Hip checking him back into place wasn't easy!

 

Buck was terrified when I got him, so he clung to my side anyway. He trained himself! Piece of cake!

[EllenEveBaz]

I agree with any of the training methods mentioned above, but there's also some tools that may help, especially when you have your toddler along. Here's one example, a Gentle Leader harness: https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-premier-gentle-leader-quick/dp/52187?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=PetSafe&utm_term=&gclid=COnO_4TQwc4CFc0lgQodv14Kzw

 

I used this with a dog who started getting snarky to other dogs and sometimes unknown humans on walks when he suddenly became an only dog at the age of 11. Evidently he felt insecure without his sister. The Gentle Leader worked instantly and well. But what he really needed was me to take charge. Once I did that, we didn't need the Gentle Leader.