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My 3 month old bulldog will pull back on the leash and not want to walk. I will pull him gently and bribe him food and eventually ten minutes into walk he is fine and walking perfectly. Any suggestions how to get him to start walking smoothly as I hate to pull on the leash
OK make walking fun... lots of praise and treats.introduce the dog with the leash and act really excited then they will normally get excited too... they like to have fun with there owner.. I had trouble with my dog in the beginning and now she loves it:)
Just make it fun with praise and treats:) then they should be fun for them
I'm sorry, but acting excited is the absolute worst thing you can do. No treats or praise either. Sorry to say. A walk is not fun time. By getting him excited, you are just playing games with him, and he is not going to take the walker seriously. It will only confuse him, and will not teach him what is expected of him. He needs a packleader, and unless the humans take that role, the dog will, and that is why he is not walking when it's expected of him. This isn't mean, and is in fact the very opposite of mean. A dog needs rules, boundaries, and limitations. He in fact wants to know what is expected, but he won't figure that out unless he's taught, and unless he has a packleader.Quote:
Originally Posted by raysprofile
Think of it this way. Think of a dog that is with their "dog pack." The mother doesn't look at her puppies when she's getting to leave the den to go out to walk, and jump all around and say C'mon kids, lets go for a walk!. C'mon buddy let's go... C'mon... I'll get you some food if you listen to mommy?! NO... the mother just gets up and goes, and the puppies follow. She's the packleader, they know it, and they follow her lead, because their mother has taught them. They aren't born with this knowledge. They have to be taught by their human packleader, just as their mother would teach them as they got older. The human has to pick up where their mother left off, in order for them to be stable pets.
Hi Barrzy,
First, how do you approach him to walk? What kind of a leash are you using, and when he does start to walk, is he ahead of you or beside you? How do you leave the house when you go?
I am using a 6 foot lead with a normal nylon collar. When he leaves the house he walks slow and seems to be not into walking. He walks out to the end of the driveway and then won't go any further as he just pulls back on the leash. I try to pull him a bit but I am not going keep pulling him as I would not want to harm my dog. I will then pick him up and carry him around the corner where he can't see his home and then he will walk fine. He is on the left and a little behind me. I wonder if he is just scared of leaving the home.
Your leash is much much too long. He needs a short lead, kept right by your side. First you need to be calm and assertive before even starting your walk. Make sure you are relaxed, and not thinking in your mind that... oh here we go again, I know what he's going to do! This is self defeating, because he is going to feel that energy from you. Think of the leash as a lightening rod. Your energy goes right through the leash to him.
When you are getting ready to go for your walk, don't talk to him. Matter of factly, walk up to him, put his leash on, and go. Never let him go out the door ahead of you. He needs to be either behind you or right beside you. Have the collar positioned so that when his leash is on, the leash is at the top of the neck. Keep the leash between you short, but relaxed.
Watch his body language, and before he even gets a chance to stop, give the leash a very quick tug to the side, and give a sharp but calm command, like a sharp hey, or shht. Every time it looks like he's going to stop, tug to the side again, and just go. Make sure you check yourself to make sure you are calm and relaxed every time you do this. Just keep the focus on moving forward.
Don't let him stop and sniff, this is exercise not explore time. Again, watch him and you should be able to tell if he's getting ready to put up a fuss. Just give him that tug and correction, and keep moving. Make it a brisk walk, so it drains his energy. And never ever pick him up and carry him. It's not the house, it's him trying to control you. You need to take that control away, and be the packleader.
I'll see if I can find you a video to show you how it's done, so it makes more sense.
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