Bichon doesn't wanna walk away from us.

jerome · 05-21-2008, 07:02 AM

Hi!

As mentioned in my introduction thread, we bought a bichon for my girlfriend which is her mother's too.

It's 4 months old and we took it for, which was probably, its 1st walk.
We had it on leash but it keeps walking between our legs, we have to shoot out our arm to keep it away from us to avoid stepping on it.
We never had dogs before.

Any ideas on how to educate it?

britishbandit · 05-21-2008, 07:23 AM

Keep going out for walks.

It's not uncommon for puppies to do this. Going for a walk for the first time can be a bit scary for them, a big world out there they've never seen before. The more he/she gets out, the less this should happen. Just don't praise/pet/reward your dog for needing to be "under your feet".

If keeping your arm stretched out prevents him/her from doing that, keep doing it for now.

jerome · 05-21-2008, 08:40 AM

Hi and thanks for the quick response.

Quote:

If keeping your arm stretched out prevents him/her from doing that, keep doing it for now.

A bit of exercises for me too, lol.

TooneyDogs · 05-21-2008, 03:46 PM

Another technique that you can use for this...a 'hard' leash. Basically, it's a long wooden dowel with a clip on the end for attaching to the collar. The other thing you can use is a length of small PVC pipe and slide the leash through it.
Because it's a 'hard' leash you can keep the puppy exactly where you want him/her on your walks.

jerome · 05-22-2008, 04:49 AM

Excellent suggestion TooneyDogs, thanks.

Lovin'Dawgs · 05-22-2008, 05:35 AM

Also remember to stop from time to time and reassure him/her, patting on the head, and talk to it quite a bit right off. Now is a good time to start embedding commands to him/her as well. Whenever he is in the right place for "heel" be sure to say "heel, good boy(girl)" and when you stop and he sits say "sit, good boy (girl)." Starting to get that dialog early on can be so beneficial later when it starts to really matter.