Leash Training English Bulldogs

It’s surprising how many people are daily teaching their dogs to be the leader during the afternoon walk. How you walk your English bulldog is very important in establishing pack leadership, particular when the bulldog breeds are famous for being stubborn!

If you watch a pack of wolves in the wild, you’ll see that the leader always decides when and where the pack is going, and the rest of the wolves follow behind. None of them would even dare consider trying to walk in front of the leader. They know that’s not allowed. Your bulldog should always walk at your side or behind you, never ahead of you.

This is a vital lesson for every dog, even if you want your bulldog to be a guardian or protector.

It’s absolutely necessary that they take their cues from you and don’t act on their own. They should be relaxed and calm, watching your body language for the correct response for every situation.

If you are calm and relaxed, they know that there is no danger and they can be calm and relaxed. If you suddenly become tense or frightened, they will know to be wary. If you are attacked or threatened, they will respond by defending you.
Using these lessons will strengthen the bond between you and your pet making them a better dog in every situation. You will not have to fear them biting or attacking another dog or person, because they will see from your body language that there is no threat so they must remain calm also. Yet if there is an emergency they will understand the difference in your body language and respond accordingly.

Bulldog breeds absolutely require stabile pack leadership or they will be confused and unsure of how they should respond in new or different situations, often resulting in poor or even fatal mistakes!

Practice:

Using your training collar and a good leash take your bulldog out for a walk by placing him at your side and commanding “heel!”. Step forward and allow your bulldog to follow you. Imagine that there is a wall from your legs extending out sideways in front of your bulldog. His shoulder should never go ahead of this wall.

The lead should always be held long and slack unless you are correcting the bulldog. If your dog attempts to surge past you immediately snap the leash towards your leg, the leg closest to the dog, and correct him with a loud forceful “BAH!” or “TCHT!”, and loosen the lead again. It should be one quick motion. The leash pulls him off balance, while a loud vocal correction explains his error, and the leash is released showing him that he is now once more in the correct position.

Watch his body language to see where his thoughts are. If his head is in a low relaxed position and his tail swinging low behind him, he’s learning. Particularly observe his ears and watch to see if one or both of them flicks back to check on your position every few seconds. That’s an excellent sign that he is recognizing you as leader and taking care not to move too far ahead!

If his head and tail abruptly jerk upwards towards another dog or other distraction, immediately correct him and snap him sideways, back into position. He should be paying attention to you and watching you for cues, not watching other dogs.

This does not mean that you should ignore the other dogs. Always be aware of who and what is around you. As pack leader it is your job to protect your dog from non-pack members, including stray dogs or dogs whose owners think its “cute” to walk their dog right up to someone else’s dog without permission.