Dog Training on a Lead

You wouldn’t think that walking your dog on a lead would be difficult but many dogs make going for a walk an unpleasant experience. They pull and drag their owners down the street; they get them tangled up in the lead; they lunge at passing dogs. It’s not fun to take a dog like that for a walk. Dog training on a lead should be a pleasant, relaxing experience for dog and owner and not result in a trip to the chiropractor.

The essence of training your dog on a lead is the Heel command. If you have a puppy you can begin some basic work by putting a collar and lead on your puppy and letting him lead you around as you lightly hold the leash. If you have a friend with a well-trained dog you can go for a little walk around a fenced yard and let the puppy get a look at some good lead behavior. Puppies are inclined to follow an adult dog so this kind of modeling behavior can pay dividends. With your puppy on the lead you can also teach him to sit when you stop walking — which is what happens when your dog heels later on.

Whether you teach your dog to heel yourself or sign up for an obedience class you will need a good collar for your dog and a lead. You begin by walking forward with your dog on your left side at your knee. When you stop walking pull on the collar/lead as necessary to stop your dog’s forward motion. It’s best to work in a quiet area where there are few distractions so your dog will be more likely to pay attention to you. When your dog stops either tell him to sit if he already knows that command or help put him in a sitting position, or reward him as soon as he sits. When he is stopped and sitting, praise him lavishly and reward him with treats. (Most dogs respond very enthusiastically to treats with this exercise.) Then you can start walking again saying, “Heel.” Repeat. And repeat. Most dogs catch on very quickly. It can even be boring for some dogs. But you do need to repeat the exercise enough so that your dog fully understands that this is the proper way to walk on a lead.

You can try walking in circles to make things more interesting; or walking in more interesting places. Eventually you will be walking in places with more distractions where your dog may be tempted to go faster, pull you, leave your side, and forget his heel work. When that happens you should bring him back and repeat the exercises from where he began to lose focus. This is what can make dog training on a lead interesting for both you and your dog.

There definately some level of boredom that can heeling can build up when training for the heel (dogs have dropped out of obedience school over it), break up your practice with play breaks and do other things to keep your dog’s interest. The worst thing in training is boring your dog so try to keep it fun and interesting for him even when the lessons are as simple as training him to walk on a lead.

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