When I first got my dog, he used to drag me from tree to tree to sniff and pee at his leisure. And since the street we lived on has trees every ten feet, walks were not fun for me. After several years of reading and trying various gadgets, leashes, and training methods, I’m happy to report that a few of them worked. The dog now heels by my side for the start of the walk, or we sit down until he calms down. (Playing ball beforehand really helps, too. It works out the extra energy.) When he gets in front of me (the leader), I pull for a second on the choke chain. After walking for 2/3rds of the walk, I say “OK” and he gets to sniff and pee to his heart’s delight. If he passes me, I move the leash up and down so it makes noise and startles him, he apologizes by wagging or clopping with his tongue (“really, I was just kidding…you are in charge”) and then I pull him back around and behind me again. I have to lead, and its darn hard to do that when you’re behind the dog!
Other Things I Do That Helps Me Be the Leader:
The people in the house eat first, then the dog. This always happens among wild dogs: the leader eats before the subordinates. It enforces dog hierarchy. He sits when I give him his food, and waits. When I say “OK,” he’s released to go eat.
I approach his bowl to bring him better treats, like chicken, so he always welcomes me at his bowl. (If you have a dog that is guarding his food, you’ll have to work up to this. See the books I recommend for how to do it, especially Dog Training in 10 Minutes (below). Also check that you’re giving him enough food. At first when we got our dog, he wasn’t getting enough, and we didn’t know it. The dog food bags recommend a wide range of food. The poor dog was hungry!
Other Ways To Reinforce We’re in Charge:
The dog waits for all the people to go through the door first, and then he goes. He knows the command “wait” that he learned on our walks. He learned to wait while I was tidying up his waste from the neighbor’s lawns. If he goes through the door before us, I call him back, praise him warmly, tell him “wait!”, and then I go through the door, and then he is called to “Come” or “OK” to release him from Sit/Stay.
You might think this last one is silly, but it’s really not. Imagine holding a five month old baby on outside step with no railing. You open the door, and the dog runs past you (hitting you) or worse, through your legs, in his rush to get outside. This is in spite of having a dog door! You see why it’s important? It’s still important now with young kids moving slowly down the stairs.
Work That Dog
Tired dogs are good dogs. Dogs in the wild are lead by their leader for about 10 hours a day. The average city dog is lucky if he gets 20-30 minutes, right? (And we wonder why city dogs have problems!) I try to play ball with him before I leave to help relax him before a separation. Walks (and poops off his turf) help him be less aggressive. He gets to know what’s going on outside the neighborhood this way. I try to play ball with him daily for at least 20-30 minutes. Walking him, too, is even better. It relaxes the dog, and helps reinforce that I’m the leader. Really, the more the better. (I’m feeling a little guilt here, I better get outside with that squeeky toy …)
Books I Highly Recommend:
Any book by Carol Lea Bejamin. She’s a wonderful author and her books produce results. I especially liked “Dog Training in 10 Minutes and “Dog Problems. With her books, my dog was able to learn to bark on command, sit, stay and heel, and wait to let us go through doors first. The bark on command (Speak) is required before teaching them to stop barking. (We’re still working on that one.)
Cesar Milan’s book “Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems. In spite of the TV show hype (The Dog Whisperer), his methods work. If you read the book, know that you can skip to chapter seven. Here’s the info you’ll miss: how he got started, and all emotion from the owner is weak energy, and thus bad for the dog’s image of you as leader. Ready to go on? Good. I used his methods for training on the walk, and they really work. The dog heels pretty darn well now, and enjoys smelling everything when it’s time to do that, too.
Things that Didn’t Work for Me:
The Gentle Leader leash. The dog kept opening and closing his mouth to loosen the strap over his mouth. People backed away from him on the street because they didn’t know what he was doing!
The other contraption that fit over the dogs mouth, so the leash was close to their face. It looks like a muzzle, with many strap parts.
Pinch collars – That thing looks terrible. I tried it once on my leg, through jeans, and granted, iti didn’t hurt. But I really think it might on his skin. I wanted to give everything else a try first.
Talking too much. The dog doesn’t understand English.
Too much love and affection, especially when the dog demands it (comes to you often).
I hope these tips and recommended books help you to train your dog to be a better friend and companion. If you enjoyed this post, please read about our road trip with our dog, across seven states.
