Good leash manners are essential to raising a well-mannered dog – nothing is worse then a dog that jumps on people, bites on the leash, refuses to walk, pulls (although we cover ‘heeling’ next week in a separate session), or just generally acts like a goof! Walking is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, not a struggle for domination between you and your dog!

Your pup now knows ‘sit’ and ‘stay’. He also knows the ‘eh, eh, eh’ noise that is so darn handy if you are like me and do not like saying ‘no’ for a minor behavioral adjustment.

It is easiest to practice this in the backyard where there are limited distractions and it is easy to walk in a circle. Have your dog in a ‘sit’ on your left. Always step off with the same foot so that he learns the visual cue of walking as well as the verbal. With that in mind, step off and say ‘Fido, walk’ at the same time. He may need a gentle tug on his leash as well since this is a new command but normally dogs will follow when their owner steps out. Give him a ‘good boy, good walk’ if he behaves himself or an ‘eh, eh, eh’ if he starts to get goofy.

If he really gets goofy, it is best to stop and let him get control of himself once again. Tell him ‘Fido, stop…sit’ and reward him mightily when he does it. Then start off again. You want to get to the point where you can walk a short ways with him behaving himself for the most part. He does not have to be in a perfect ‘heel’ at this point – we are only looking for manners at this point, the ‘heel’ will come next week.

Once he has ‘walk’ and ‘stop/sit’ figured out, begin doing 90 degree and 180 degree turns. It is easier for dogs to foresee the left turn as you are turning into him whereas a right turn means you are turning away. If you want, you can teach him ‘Fido, left!’ and ‘Fido, right!’ as you work with him – training your dog in directions is actually darn handy commands to have in life!

Every turn or two, get him to ‘stop/sit’ and then start off again. If he starts to do anything goofy – jump around, pull, grab his leash, etc and not stopping with the ‘eh, eh, eh’ noise – put him immediately into a ‘stop/sit’. Use the ‘look’ and ‘touch’ commands when he is seated to get his attention back on training.

Do not forget to keep the sessions short and exciting! It is hard to always be on top of the world when training him but better that then to lose his interest in the training sessions because of being too stern. And remember to continue the training in the real world! Once he has these basic concepts down, use them when out for walks and around distractions. He will quickly begin to understand what it is you want of him and soon you will have an enjoyable walking companion!