Dear Miss Behavin’: Our dog gets very excited when we go to take him for a walk. He is jumpy and pulling on the leash before we get out the front door and this way for a good portion of the walk, making the walk unpleasant. Is there something we can do so that we enjoy taking him for a walk again?
This is a great question! There are a couple things that come to mind that can help make the walk more pleasurable for you and hopefully be able to get him out more often.
You will want to first work on having him leave the house calmly, not his current aroused state. You can do this by having him sit to have his collar and leash put on him. If he gets over the top excited you can ask for a sit to see if that helps calm him, otherwise I may take the leash off and go sit down a few minutes until he calms down and then try again. Over time and with consistency he will get the idea he needs to be calm to leave for his walk.
On your walk you will practice your loose leash walking skills and be patient to wait your dog out if needed. If I’m working with a dog that gets too far ahead, I like to ask them to come back to my side and offer a sit before we take off again. With the repetition of this ‘boring’ behavior most dogs get the idea to not pull ahead and stick by your side, of course a high rate of reinforcement always helps!
If you are still having problems with your dog becoming over aroused, I suggest that you schedule a 1:1 Consultation with one of our behaviorists to work on the problem with you and your dog. We are currently offering both virtual and live consult sessions.