Leash Training a Dog

Nanà, our late lurcher had been the companion of innumerable walks and horse rides, maid of honor at our marriage.

She had taught my children to walk, supporting them patiently while they were clutching at her coat.

To do all this she never needed any training to speak of, she seemed to be able to intuitively understand what was expected from her. Even walking nicely at my side came natural to her.

So, when our new whippet pup replaced her in my daily walks, I had the shock of discovering that leash training a dog could be a necessity.

Every few paces he would firmly sit down and refuse to move, making me turn back, kneel down and call him in an exhausting caricature of a stroll.

After a month, my whippet had effectively trained me to walk like a lunatic.

At that point I decided to take in my hands the style of our walks, I bought a training collar and got ready for some firm training.

To my surprise as soon as I put on the puppy the new collar, he immediately got the idea and without further ado started walking at my side like any well mannered whippet is supposed to do.

In case you are not so lucky and things don't go so smoothly with your pet, here are a few suggestions to leash training a dog in few easy steps.

If your puppy freezes in place, entice him with food. When he complies praise and reward. He will soon learn that following you has its rewards.

In case your dog lounges forward, don’t use the traditional training method of letting him pull ahead and then snap him back.

It is not fair to punish your dog if you haven’t shown him first what to do. Instead, give your whippet pup a few training sessions first.

Step 2

Place him at your side (in obedience classes the “heel” is performed on the left side) and while you walk talk to him. If necessary keep his attention with food treats. Reward when he keeps the “heel” position at your side.

Step 3

If your dog still ignores all your efforts, practice turns and change of directions. This will keep his attention and force him to stay a little further back in relation to your position.

When the training session is over, don’t forget to give your whippet puppy the release word (generally “OK”) and let him sniff around at his leisure as a well deserved reward.

Watch this video if you are more of a visual learner.

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