Want your dog’s attention on walks?
Do you wish your dog paid more attention to you while walking on leash?
Do you see other people’s dogs walking at their side, looking happily up towards their people and wish this could be your story?
Whether your dog is a puppy, an elder, shy or confident, here are some tips to increase connection & focus and improve your relationship with your dog on walks:
I’ts ok (& often great) to sniff
Are your dog’s sniffing needs on a walk being met? While it can be helpful to have a dog heel and focus on you sometimes on a walk, I don’t recommend attempting this all the time on every walk. Being able to sniff on a walk is key for a dog’s well being. Sniffing provides mental stimulation and enrichment, and can even lower a dog’s heart rate and help to de-stress.
Reward in position
Want your dog to walk at your side? Reinforce your dog for walking next to you. Deliver food to your dog when they are in the position you’d like them to be in, and be generous. Make being at your side a delightful place to be for your dog. You might hand the treat directly to your dog’s mouth or play “catch” and toss it to them to catch while you’re walking. For dogs who love to play tug or with a ball, you can also use tug or catching a ball as a reinforcer for walking at your side.
Use hand targeting
If you’re not already using hand targeting on walks, I encourage you to try with your dog. For many dogs I work with, hand targeting is a fun, low-stress way to ask a dog to move in a particular direction or position their body where you’d like. Teach hand targeting stationary first, then practice hand targets in motion.
Play environmental games
If the environment is distracting, scary or very exciting to your dog, it can be helpful to teach your dog skills for engaging with you and the environment. Training your dog to put paws up, hop all the way up onto, and do tricks on items around you can be transformative. For example, when I am walking a dog who has big feelings about fast cars zooming by, I feed treats for doing a paws up on a hydrant while we wait to cross the street.
Increase your dog’s focus to you on walks in a way that’s fun for both you and your dog. I hope these strategies are helpful for engaging your dog and changing leash walking behavior!
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