Do you want a dog to walk calmly by your side?

Are you worried about your dog's behavior when it is on a leash?

Then you are going to need to do some leash collar training!

There are many ways to train dogs, and they may all have their merits, but you need to finds ones that suit you, your dog, and any involved family members. 

Any training plan you adopt should build a bond between the owner and the doggy. It should teach the pet a learned positive behavior, which enriches the dogs' and humans' lives. Each time the training strengthens the bond, it makes the next activity, you attempt much more manageable because it trusts you more. 

The training should be done in a manner that doesn't cause the dog any stress or unhappiness. 

You have bought the dog to provide love and fun in your home, not to make it feel scared and vulnerable.

Leash & Collar Training

So your new puppy is ready to go outside, or maybe you have just adopted an adult rescue dog, and you are unsure how it has been allowed to go on walks before. 

Learning a dog to walk with a lead and collar is likely to be one of the most essential and useful dogs training techniques you will have to master. 

We will look at other training types in other articles, such as reward training and positive reinforcement. 

Ideally, you may prefer to have your dog walk with you off the lead, but you want to walk them, there are always going to be times when you have to walk them on lead. There are seemingly ever-increasing times when you see signs like "dog must be kept on a leash."

As with any training style, the method of training and likelihood of success will be determined to how good your plan is, how well to execute that plan, the dog's personality, temperament, and breed. Due to selective breeding, some dogs have a higher level of intelligence, ability, and wiliness to learn. 

Let's shop

It would help if you bought a collar and lead that suits the dog, and I don't mean what color matches their pretty eyes, haha. For example, whippets require unique collars like the Martingale style, because they have relatively wide necks but thin pointy heads. Also, a greyhound should not be on an extendable/retractable lead because they are big, healthy, and can build up much speed in a short space. So they can snap the leash pretty quickly.

Start slow

A puppy or an adult rescue could be unsure of you, the collar, and the lead. Let them get used to wearing a collar in the house, and have the leash laid out to sniff. You do not want them to get anxious about everything you bring out the collar and leash.

Starting position

When you get the collar and leash out, your dog will know they are going out somewhere. So they may be overly excited, bark and jump, or maybe it will be timid and try to hide. So adopt a pattern of behavior that calms them down or relaxes them. For example, you may stand by the door, with the lead and collar by your side. Then ask the dog to come and sit next to you before putting them on.

Good behavior

In the training time, reward the dog with good behavior when you give a command like "heel," and the dog walks to heel. Then you give it a treat or click. The aim of the training should be to go further and longer between providing the instructions.

Bad behavior

If the dog is pulling, not paying attention, or is aggressive with other dogs. Then it would help if you corrected the behavior every time. Consistency is critical here, which makes it easier for the dog to learn. For example, a short, firm but not aggressive NO or STOP command and giving a little tug of the lead, then stand still, go back to the starting position, and begin again.

The leash training aims to learn how to behave in the desired way, even if it would prefer to run off and sniff every lamppost. 

Regardless of the leash, collar, or methods you use to reward good behavior or correct bad behavior. The aim is always to give the dogs the boundaries needed to live a happy and safe life. It is not about you forcing your will on a dog. It is about building trust. When you ask the dog to do something, the dog recognizes that there must be a good reason behind it. 

A well-trained dog should be able to respond to your commands in all situations, and it will only do this if you have built a trusting relationship with it. A collar and leash are tools to get you to that point in a dog's life. 

If you notice, working dogs like police dogs, mountain rescue dogs, or guide dogs, they are equally as well behaved on a leash or off-leash. They know how to behave in any given circumstance and are always eager to respond to any given command. 

This is what you should be aiming for.