Is there anything as wonderful as a walk with your dog?! Out exploring the world together as a team, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine – or more often the rain! Free exercise, the great outdoors, wonderful scenery and your best friend to share it all with you.
BUT…
It doesn’t always work out as planned.
Your dog is getting strong, dragging you all over the place and almost choking himself! He is impossible to walk next to the buggy or with the children. He is completely distracted and ignores you when out of the house. He is obsessed with picking things up from the floor and sometimes even eating them – and yes I am referring to horse poo! He runs and hides when you get the lead out or jumps all over you in excitement!
And if you let him off lead to get rid of some of that energy he disappears into the distance. Or worse, he finds something to chase, like rabbits or even sheep. And all of a sudden this becomes a very dangerous mistake.
Dogs aren’t born knowing how to walk nicely on a lead, and the big wide world is a distracting place! Buggies and prams can be tricky things not trip over! He loves exploring different tastes and textures with his mouth, no matter how inappropriate it seems to us! And how can we expect them to come back to us when off-lead when there are so many other choices out there! And the adrenaline of the chase is such a huge rush!
No-one wants dog walks to be hard work or a chore, but without the right training sadly they can become just that. Owners may dread walk time or avoid it completely, stopping exercising their dog altogether. Dogs that would benefit from an off lead explore are restricted to short lead walks. You may have wasted lots of money trying different training aids like headcollars and harnesses but these haven’t helped at all and your dog hates them!
We use reward based training and a holistic approach to your dogs routine to make sure that walking nicely on the lead and being around you is the best thing yet!
With careful planning and commitment we can help you to teach your dog how to walk nicely on a loose lead and to come back to you when you call, ignoring all of those other tempting distractions. Get in touch to see how we can turn your walk nightmares into a dream come true!
Related Training Course
Dog Training Walks
In our experience as dog trainers there are few issues that can be solved with a quick fix! Never is this truer than on walks with our dogs! Through many years of dog walking and dog training for various clients we have seen a real need for on walk training, so we have come up with our dog training walks!
Related Helpsheet
How to Teach Heel (or nice walking on a lead!!)
One of the main problems dog owners have is difficulties with their dogs walking on the lead. Dogs learn at a very young age that when they go on walks they pull, so it can take a lot of work…
But don’t just take our word for it! Read these case studies and references from two Contented Canines and their happy owners!
Typical to his combination of breeds, Albert is a bouncy and excitable Springador (Labrador crossed with Springer Spaniel). His owner Pat was finding him difficult on walks where his endless energy resulted in pulling on the lead and unreliable recall. We put together a plan to help him focus this energy on something more appropriate then set to work with the walks!
Luna is a mixed breed from a rescue. As an adult rescue dog she hadn’t been taught what to do out and about on walks by her previous owners. Her owner Jo got in touch with me to learn how to teach her to walk nicely on walks around distractions and to come back when called.
Ronnie is a very special boy who had a horrible start to life. Luckily he now lives with a family who absolutely dote on him. The bond between Ronnie and his owners was an incredible one, and they were a really special family to work with.
