If you are an owner of a pit bull and would like to teach it how to walk
beside you with a loose leash then this is the article for you. As long
as you follow these simple procedures you should soon enjoy your walks
with your beloved animal.
First Steps In Training
Before you start your training for the day it is best if you allow your
pit bull to release some of its energy. Let your playful puppy run and
play in a safe and secure place, for instance your fenced back yard,
until it is a little bit tired. This will ensure that you will have a
more successful training.
At first you will want to start the training in an area that has very
few distractions. You want your dogs full attention so eliminating as
many distractions as possible will be beneficial. Your backyard may be
the best place to start the training. The first thing you will do is
have your dog sit down. Then you will clip on the lead. You will then
start to walk while holding the lead in one hand and a few treats in the
other. When your puppy walks up beside you, click if you are using a
clicker, and give a treat. Always make sure that your hand giving the
treat is at your side or a little behind you as you give the treat to
your animal. Start walking again and wait for your dog to come up beside
you again, as before, click and give a treat. Repeat this process over
and over. By repeating this process over and over you are teaching your
dog that if it walks beside you it will receive a treat. This is great
incentive for your animal to want to walk beside you.
If you are walking and your pit bull decides to walk in front of you,
you should turn abruptly around and start walking the other way. This
will then make it so that the dog is behind you again instead of in
front of you. When he is at your side again, click and give a treat.
Always be consistent in this process, never allow your pet to walk in
front of you. Always turn around if he gets even one step ahead of you.
While using this training process, you will gradually increase the
number of steps that you take before you reward your dog with a treat.
This is a great way to teach your pit bull to walk beside you, not in
front of you, and all you are using is positive reinforcement. You are
simply turning around if he gets in front of you, not getting mad and
enforcing some sort of punishment. This teaches your dog that it is
rewarding to walk beside you, not in front of you. Once you are able to
walk with your animal for about 10-15 minutes with the leash being loose
the entire time, you are ready to start adding distractions to the area
that you are training.
Adding Distractions
Don't be surprised if the first few times that you take your animal out
for a walk with more distractions that he will find it hard to focus
only on you. This is okay because it is part of the training. The goal
is to have your dog walking beside you at all times with the leash loose
no matter where you are, but you can't reach that goal if you don't
give your dog distractions to learn this lesson with.
There are two reasons why your animal may suddenly rush ahead of you.
You must decide which reason your dog has lunged forward, and then
follow these simple steps according to the situation. The first reason
that your pit bull may run ahead of you would be out of pure excitement.
The second reason would be that it is trying to reach a specific
destination. An example of this would include another dog, a person, a
bush, or a tree.
If your animal races ahead out of pure excitement you should simply stop
walking. Do not take one more step. Just stand there and hold your
ground until your animal returns to your side and the leash is loose
again. After your animal is at your side again you can start walking
again, following the same process of clicking and giving a treat when
your dog is at your side.
If your puppy races ahead because he is trying to reach a specific
destination, you should immediately turn and walk 5-10 steps in the
other direction. This will teach your animal that as long as the leash
is loose, you will walk towards whatever your dog is trying to reach.
However, if the leash tightens because he raced ahead, he will
ultimately end up further away from the destination that he wanted to
reach.
The main thing for you to remember is that you have to be steady and
consistent. Never take a step if the leash is tight. Always reward your
animal for walking by your side. As long as you are consistent in this
process you should have no problem training your pit bull puppy. If your
pit bull already has the bad habit of pulling while walking, then this
process will unteach him that habit. It will take more work, but you can
train it to walk by your side with the leash loose.
