Nothing puts a smile on your face more than coming home to your Labrador after a long day of work. Their tail wags non-stop and you can almost see them smiling. However, when you head out the door, your beloved pup quickly turns from an angelic canine companion to a Labrador from hell. They pull you in every direction, desperate to sniff and investigate everything. You can’t blame them for this, they’re just naturally inquisitive, especially after spending most of the day stuck in the house. However, when you have kids and shopping to deal with too, a pulling Labrador becomes challenging.
That’s why training your Labrador to walk beside you calmly could save you considerable stress when you open that door. It also means you can go back to enjoying those relaxing strolls in the sun. This sort of training will also increase your control in other areas of their life, making it easier to stamp out other bad habits.
Training your Labrador to walk beside you isn’t always a walk in the park. As you would expect, most dogs are eager to get their grubby paws on everything around them. So training will require considerable patience on your behalf. You’ll also need to use strict obedience commands to bring them under control. Alongside training, treats, toys and any number of other incentives may be needed to help motivate your dog.
Your job will be easiest if your Labrador is just a puppy. They will be smaller so you can physically correct their behavior with less hassle. They should also be at their most receptive, so you could see results in just a couple of weeks. But if your Labrador is older and always had their own way, then you may need a couple of months. Continue with training to the end and leaving the house with your Lab will be stress-free from start to finish.
You’ll need a few different bits for training. A short training leash will be the main requirement. You may also want to use a body harness. If your Labrador is big and strong then the body harness will increase your control while reducing the strain on their neck.
You will also need some mouth-watering treats or their favorite food broken into small chunks. You can train when you’re out on your daily walk, so you don’t need to set aside additional time.
Once you have all of the above, just bring patience and some walking shoes, then work can begin!
Walking is a struggle, general commands, she can be aggressive
Hello, start with training Molly to heel on walks. She is a keen and smart breed who loves a job to do. She'll do well learning to heel: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel. Work on her basic obedience daily (start with 5-10 minutes a day): https://wagwalking.com/training/obedience-train-a-whippet. Use rewards for incentive and to give Molly the desire to succeed. Is she aggressive to you? Or to dogs? To teach her respect with you, have her "sit" before every event. Sit before meals, sit before she gets her leash on for a walk, sit before a treat, sit before playtime, etc. For aggression toward dogs, use the Passing Approach Method here as a start: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs. Enroll her in obedience classes (it will further help her to respect you) for socialization with people and dogs. Good luck!
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