Tips On Leash Training Your Dog

The city is a busy place, and if you live in an apartment or condo you likely will be going for a lot of walks with your dog. 🐕🏙️

All that hustle and bustle can be distracting for your pup and can cause your walks to be wrought with leash pulling. Teaching your dog how to properly walk on a leash is something that will benefit you (and your arm), your dog, and the people around you.

Here are some tips to help teach your dog to have good leash manners on those busy streets:

1. Start before it all begins. If you expect your dog to walk controlled on a leash, they need to be in that state beforehand. If your dog is bouncing around, doing circles and jumping at the door, there’s less of a chance that they will be able to calm down when that leash is clipped on. Stand still with your leash at your side until they have all four feet on the floor. Don’t clip the leash until they have calmed down and can stand in front of you. Don’t open the door until this happens either.
2. Choose what method works for you AND your dog: there are many methods of leash training out there: some are reward based and some are more disciplinary. Do your research and find what fits your duo.
3. Utilize head halters. Products such as gentle leaders are a fabulous tool to help your dog learn to walk on a leash. It utilizes pressure points on the head and nose to reduce pulling and is something that your dog can easily get used to and is great for dogs that can’t have pressure on their throats for medical reasons. You DO need to do some training with these products though for them to be effective.
4. DON’T make your leash training your dog’s main source of exercise. These sessions should be short and concise to keep your dogs attention. It doesn’t give your dog enough time to release their energy (which is what we DON’T want on a leash walk), so make sure to set aside a separate time for off-leash play/running/etc. This will also help your dog relax on their leash walks since they don’t have excess built up energy.
5. Walk at a quick pace. Going for a brisk walk with your dog will decrease the chance of them catching a whiff of a delicious smell or getting distracted by something. It also reduces the likelihood of them wanting to stop and eliminate on everything in sight!

Keep training fun!

Your dog thrives on interaction with you and this is a great opportunity to bond and learn something new together. If you get frustrated or things just aren’t going great one day, take a break and try again another time. ❤️