Dog owners know the challenge of leash training. Your dog might react to other dogs, pull on the leash, or be scared to go for a walk. Before heading out the door with your dog, check out some helpful tips to make the walk smoother without putting your dog through strict training routines.
So you want to go for a walk with your dog or puppy, but they are pulling on the leash the entire time, or even worse, lunging at other dogs or people you pass by. All you wanted was to go for a nice walk with your dog. Is that too much to ask?
To put it bluntly, yes.
Let me explain.
It's not the walk that is the problem, it's the stimuli you encounter on the walk. For some dogs, it's the fact that they have their flight response revoked by the leash, which can cause anxiety (and reactivity). Each bit of stimuli they encounter during the walk costs a little bit of "money" out of what I call the Piloting Piggy Bank.
Piloting your dog is the act of covering those charges.
For example, walking by all of the leaves on the ground may cost a 5-year-old dog 5 cents to walk by. It's so inexpensive that "paying" for it is rather simple for you, and you may not even realize you're doing it.
However, those same leaves are about $3,185.00 for a 5-month-old puppy.
That's per leaf.
All dog behavior is comprised of 2 ingredients: impulse control and anxiety levels. That older dog has more impulse control (or at least capability) than a young puppy does. And those leaves are so exciting for a new pup. Hence, the cost to calmly Pilot your puppy past that pile of leaves is a lot more than for a seasoned older dog.
Similarly, siblings from the same litter can react differently to walking by a strange dog. One may glance nonchalantly at other dogs walking by, without much thought to their existence. However, his sister may have a lot to say about the situation, resulting in lunging, barking, and other aggressive-looking behaviors.
What's the difference? Impulse control does play a part in this, but anxiety drives the dog's reactive behavior. One dog has decided that the strange dog is of no consequence. The other has determined strange dogs are indeed a threat.
Which dog is right? Both. Neither. Or rather, it doesn't matter.
Who has a harder time managing their anxiety is the better question. Anxiety is fear of the unknown, and the only way to manage your dog's anxiety is to "answer" their questions. "Is that other dog going to hurt us?" "Can I play with that leaf?" Each requires an answer from you, and the cost of the answer is individual to each dog.
Each time you successfully Pilot your dog through a situation involving impulse control and/or anxiety, you get that Piloting money. That money builds and grows, making each situation easier and easier.
Think of Piloting money as the amount of trust your dog has in your answers. (Learn more about Piloting and dog behavior here.)
It can take some time to build it up. And some things require a lot more trust than others. So what do you do in the meantime?
Tip #1 - Stop Going For Walks With Your Dog
You heard me. You want to walk with your dog.
Well, I want a pony.
But what we want, and what is reasonable for our current situation, are two different things.
Your wants will never usurp another's needs. Namely, your dog needs to develop impulse control and lessen their anxiety in a safer environment. And as of now, walks are devolving into a battle pretty quickly, with your dog ending up overwhelmed and you becoming frustrated.
So stop. Just for now. Trust me, you'll get there, but slow down and take a break.
Tip #2 - Help Your Dog's Impulse Control
As I just mentioned, behavior is based on anxiety and impulse control. Start working towards building your dog's impulse control in easier, more manageable situations.
Your dog isn't giving you a hard time. Your dog is having a hard time.
Simple things like working on your dog not jumping, barking, or stealing food from the counter all build impulse control, and that impulse control helps on the walks as well.
Tip #3 - Build Trust with Your Dog
Trust is what happens when you say you're going to do something and you follow through. Trust isn't something that you can time, or decide how long it should take before your dog trusts you.
A well-behaved dog starts with trust, and trust isn't something you can buy outright. You rent it, and rent is due every day.
Not sure what trust looks like with a dog? Ask yourself these questions:
Is pain or dominance a dog training method?
Do you avoid negating your dog's unsavory behaviors because you're afraid they won't like you?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, there is a trust issue. Dominance and trust are never equal.
If you are using force or painful methods for training your dog, you are not allowing them a safe place for mistakes to be made. The people I trust would never hurt me, or try to make me "obedient". However, I follow their counsel on quite a few matters because I trust them.
"Only your mother tells you when your face is dirty." If your dog is exhibiting negative behaviors, be trustworthy enough to let them know by giving them a gentle negative. It doesn't make you mean, it makes you mom.
Tip #4 - Hold the Leash Properly
Okay, this is a simple fix. Hear me out.
You're holding the leash incorrectly.
Right now you're probably holding the leash with your thumb closest to the dog-end of the leash. By holding the leash like that, it's easier for your dog to pull forward, but also easier for you to pull back with as much force as possible.
And then you tell me your dog "chokes himself".
Um, both of you are pulling, though, so it's a mutual choking.
Give (potentially) rapid tugs on the leash, not constant pressure. Think of the tippy-tap-tap of Morse Code.
To do that efficiently, make sure that your thumb is farthest away from the dog end of the leash, and closer to the handle or loop. And then shorten the leash. No, shorter. Little more. There you go.
Don't do this.
Do this instead.
When your arm is right down by your side, there should be a little bit of slack on the leash, but not much. To give those Morse Code tugs, you need to have a shorter leash, otherwise you'll look like the Statue of Liberty, with your arm straight up in the air.
Check out the leash training video below, and you'll see what I mean.
Tip #5 - Exorcise Your Dog
Okay, sorry, spellcheck was off. I mean exercise.
Same concepts, though. There's an evil spirit lurking in your dog that's causing some odd, unsavory, and downright bad behavior. How do you deal with it?
Grab your crucifix, get a bottle of holy water, and let's exercise this demon.
Think about it: most people walk their dogs to exercise them. But the demon is already there. You need to exercise your dog so you can walk them.
What does that look like in my house?
Well, my Arwen is 3 now, and even though she's a Border(line Personality Disorder) Collie, she's got a decent amount of impulse control, so I actually can walk her pretty easily even if she hasn't gotten proper exercise prior to our walk.
My Hazel, on the other hand, is nutters.
Hazel is a 1 year old Aussie, so she has the impulse control of a toddler with a Redbull on Christmas morning. In other words, she's still trusting me to help guide her through difficult situations that require a lot of impulse control.
That means if I want a peaceful walk with Hazel, I have to take some energy off the top first. We play with a flirt pole for about 10 minutes first, or she'll go on the treadmill at a moderate speed for 7 minutes straight, maybe even a game of fetch (up the stairs) for about 10 minutes.
The short answer is that it's up to me to set my dog up for success. If I want a walk that consists of more than non-stop battles and negatives, I have to prep for it (at least for now). Will this always be true? Most likely not, but my beloved Sparta required just a couple of minutes of agility before a walk for the first 5 years of her life. And if that's what she needed to succeed, then that's what she'll get.
So remember that a pleasant walk with your dog means setting your dog up for a win. Hyper dogs rarely make wise choices in general, but never at the end of a leash.
Conclusion: Leash Training vs. Walking Your Dog
Leash training and going for a walk are two different things. It's okay if you're still leash training. But if your dog is struggling during walks, or you find yourself dreading your daily jaunt, take a step back; a little more leash training may be in order.
Most dog owners are confused about how to work with their dog’s behaviors, so we created a dog training method focused on simple and effective techniques based on trust, because every dog deserves to be the Best Dog Ever.
If you feel it's time you worked with a professional dog trainer who focuses on behavior and training, find out more about our services in the Greater Cleveland Area here.
Canine behavioral coaching is also available for those outside the Northeast Ohio area. Check out our coaching packages here.
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