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Old October 2nd, 2006, 02:37 PM
sdmorge sdmorge is offline
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Puppy crossing back and forth on leash?

I took him for a walk yesterday - and he's really good on a leash - he doesn't pull and stays relatively close to me (within 10 feet). It's a new yard/neighborhood for him so he's wanting to smell everything. He comes when I ask him to, however he will walk back and forth in front (and behind me).

what is the best way to keep him from doing this?

thanks!
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Old October 2nd, 2006, 10:02 PM
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Lissa Lissa is offline
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I am not the best person to respond since I let Dodger do this within reason - I think its his walk and don't like to put too many limitations on him BUT it is annoying and sometimes unsafe when your dog does it all the time.

You have a few options - you can teach him to target your hand so he follows it naturally when you ask him to. Choose which side you want him to walk on and reward him whenever he happens to be in the position. Put a command to one or both sides - I use "heel" for my left side and "side" for my right.
Whenever your dog tries to walk in front of you, I would circle into him and then have him target your hand to get him back into position then praise and reward. When he tries to cross behind you, I would shorten the leash and not move until he comes back around to the appropriate side. Dogs will learn things faster if you let them figure out what you want from them on your own BUT sometimes we don't have time to wait, so if need be, encourage him to come back around with your hand and reward. Hopefully your dog has a favorite toy - a tugging one would be best, if you carry that and use it as a reward for walking on the right side you should have a pretty attentive companion that won't trip you up when he feels like it! You are asking your dog for extra self-control so it might take time, he is used to self-rewarding which is what you need to stop him from doing in order to extinguish this behaviour!
GOOD LUCK!
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Old October 7th, 2006, 12:51 AM
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OntarioGreys OntarioGreys is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdmorge
I took him for a walk yesterday - and he's really good on a leash - he doesn't pull and stays relatively close to me (within 10 feet). It's a new yard/neighborhood for him so he's wanting to smell everything. He comes when I ask him to, however he will walk back and forth in front (and behind me).

what is the best way to keep him from doing this?

thanks!
By teaching him to heel and that needs to be on a short leash, once he has had all his vaccinations good idea for puppy obedience classes to begin
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