Tips for Teaching Your Dog to Walk on a Leash

One of the things I remember vividly about training Wanda was our first walks together. She was only about 2.5 pounds when we got her, so she was a bitty thing; but, boy could she tug! To this day, she is a stubborn little pup, and training was no exception. She’s the sweetest little girl, and she really does aim to please, but when she doesn’t want to do something, that’s it.

She’s really good at walking on the leash now, but it took some growing pains for us to get to that point. I’m glad we’re here though, because it’s no fun going for walks with an unruly dog. It’s even worse when you have a big dog that drags you around the block. In that case, it’s more like the dog is walking you than the other way around.

Here are a few tips that I found helpful when teaching Wanda to walk nicely on the leash:

1. Use a short leash. The more freedom you give them, the less they’re going to understand the concepts you’re trying to teach. Use a short leash at first, and as your dog gets better, you can lengthen it a bit more.

2. Be the leader. This is a rule that most owners don’t know about. In order to show that you’re the leader of the pack, you must walk in front of or beside the dog at all times. Allowing him or her to lead, puts you in the submissive position.

3. Get into a routine. Dogs respond very well to routine. If you walk your dog at a certain time every day, it will better understand and follow the walking routine you’re trying to instill. Also, in the beginning, follow the same exact path every day. After the dog gets used to it, you can venture off to other places.

4. Try to avoid other animals. Don’t take your dog to a popular dog park when you’re first teaching it to walk on the leash. You can’t control whether other animals are around, but you should take the dog somewhere that distraction is inevitable. After you both get the basics down, then you can see how your dog acts around distractions.