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Dogs and their mood swings!
Pulling a dog in the middle of the route is embarrassing, right?
None of us want to pick a huge dog in our arms while coming back home after a walk.
All of us want to walk our dogs because of the obvious health benefits. The walk is essential for them to cope with behavioral issues and tendencies. But parent says that it gets difficult and even impossible for us to walk dogs without their interest.
First of all, understand the fact that nothing is impossible when it’s about training dogs. Attention is an owner's magical stick to deal with dogs.
It’s no surprise that dogs are hungry for our attention. So why not use this point in our favor! Serve your dog with tons of attention and make them learn desired behaviors.
Don’t give up!
We are here with a detailed guide for the sake of your help. Following the guide will make it easy to train your dog to walk with you without throwing tantrums.
All you have to do is to gather the necessary dog accessories to walk your dog. Note that don't approach the online sites or companies to purchase dog accessories. Most of these are selling wrong products without evening knowing about the breed and age of pups. Such sites present wrong information because they don't care about the health of your dog. All they want is to cash your problems just by showing attractive pictures.
Getting authentic information is another way to show your love for dogs. Approaching an authentic source of information is highly appreciated. We are here to offer you the right ways. Currently, we recommend you to seek help from our FREE EBOOK Walk your dog like a pro. It is one of our preferences when it’s about some dog-related issue.
The reasons your dog stops on walks
So you're walking your dog down the street or in the park and suddenly he stops.
That's annoying for you as a dog parent. The dog experts at Proud Dog Parents think it's important that you get to know your dog. Therefore, you should first ask yourself what is the reason that your dog stops walking.
From our experience we learn that this can be one of the reasons that your dog stops walking.
1. Your dog is experiencing stress or is afraid. For example to loud noises or because of a traumatic experience.
2. He wants to stay outside and realizes that the walk will soon come to an end. Dogs just like to be outside.
3. Your dog is hungry and has once found or been given food. Dogs simply remember when they get food.
4. Overtiredness. Your dog is tired and wants to take a break. Often you can tell by his non verbal communication that he is over tired.
5. Your dog needs social contact with other dogs.
6. He has pain in his body. Over time, dogs can get sore from walking. Pain often makes a dog stop walking.
How to stop your dog from pulling the leash?
So how do you get your dog to stop? ;)
1. Train your dog to walk on a leash
Firstly, train your dog to walk on a leash. In this way, you can make your dog without stopping in the middle of the route.
For this purpose, keep your pup's favorite treat in hand. Serve your dog with a treat when it keeps walking on a leash. In this way, your dog will understand the way of achieving a reward from you.
Please don't provide a treat when the dog pulls the leash; it may interpret it wrong. Dog associate the situations with your behavior, so you must be careful in your actions.
Have a firm grip over the positive reinforcement and reward so your dog will feel motivated.
Try the same procedure in the absence of treatment; if your dog is walking on a leash, it reflects the successful training. But, if your dog is still stubborn and not walking on a leash, then follow the process again.
2. Reduce social anxiety in your dog
There is a possibility that your dog is suffering from social anxiety, which forces it to stop walking. Notice the related signs of social anxiety and try reducing it. For this purpose, walk your dog on some quiet and calm route.
Most of the time, it’s not the lack of training but the route that makes your dog stressed during walks. According to our EBook, keep changing the path or time of walk to reduce stress in your dogs.
3. Teach about verbal cues
Verbal cues make the training easy for you and as well as for your pup. Offering treat along with cues is the key point.
Say a specific word in an upbeat tone to grab your dog's attention, and then offer a treat once your dog starts to follow instructions.
For walk training, use the cue "keep walking" along with reward. Let your dog understand the way of getting a treat by you.
4. Short walking route
Last but not least, keeping the route short is another way of reducing walking stress in pups. Maybe your dog gets tired in the middle of the route, due to which it pulls the leash and wants you to pick him up.
Our EBook is highly recommending walking your dog on a shorter route to keep it active. In this way, your dog will not get tired, and it will keep walking on a leash.
Or, keep your dog’s age, size, and breed, and health issues in mind while selecting a route to walk.
It’s time to shortlist some questions to cover more details under the same topic.
How do I train my dog to walk beside me?
It's super fun to teach your dog new things. Several techniques have been developed to get your dog to walk calmly beside you. With these 4 simple tips you can easily get your dog to walk beside you.
Tip 1: reward your dog when he walks beside you. Be consistent so that he associates his walking behavior with a positive stimulus.
Tip 2: Call out his name as soon as he stops walking beside you.
Tip 3: As soon as the dog is walking properly beside you, reward him. Pull the leash a little tighter. As soon as the dog continues to walk in the correct manner, let the leash loosen a bit.
Tip 4: Keep eye contact with him and speak in a clear tone to him. Correct him every time and be consistent.
FAQs related to dog’s walk
Q1. Why does my dog stop walking in the middle of the route?
There is a wide range of things to consider which cause your dog to stop walking. Sometimes, it's the bad selection of walking routes. Some health issues or pain forces your dog to stop. Social anxiety can be another reason within the list.
Q2. How to convince my dog to walk properly?
A blend of treat with your attention is the key to teach a new lesson to your darling pup. We expect consistency along with calm behavior when it’s about training your dog. Note that don't force your dog, and don't be strict as an owner because the dog may get aggressive or stress.
Q3. Is it possible to train my dog to walk on a leash?
Yes, it’s possible and even easy to train your dog to walk on a leash. By following proper ways and tips, you can teach this lesson even without the help of the third person. It’s just about some variations into your current routine, nothing special.
Q4. My dog freezes while walking
If your dog doesn't want to walk any further and he freezes, then you need to give him his confidence back. Confidence is the only way to get him to walk again. Make sure he walks the same route often so he gets used to the walk.
Q5. My dog keeps stopping to sniff on walks
If you dog keeps sniffing it often means he smells other dogs. Make sure you can entice him to eat a treat. You must teach your dog that sniffing is good, but that he does not do this continuously. So teach him each time with clear body language and voice that he should not sniff.
To wrap it up
Tolerating dog behavior is a major part of a Proud Dog Parent. Dogs are all about throwing tantrums and mood swings. All acceptable but not the “stopping in the middle of walk." This makes the walk stressful for you and as well as for your pup. Therefore, we need to train our dogs to walk properly. For this purpose, all you have to do is to read the guide till the end and follow the instructions. Reading the manual will make you realize that all of the methods are much easy to follow. According to our EBook, you don’t have to hire a professional because dogs are easy to handle at home.
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