How to Walk Your Boxer
06 Jun 2009
Whenever I take Mickey and Dixie out for a walk, I always get compliments on how well they walk with me and how me, being such a tiny-framed person, can walk 2 boxers that, put together, weigh well over my entire body weight. I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t easy at first and it took a lot of work and discipline on both my, and the dog’s part.
As you have probably already figured out, Boxers LOVE going for walks. They will take any opportunity to get out and explore their surroundings. It’s a wonderful trait that boxers have inherited and it’s one that I love to encourage. But, it becomes a problem when it feels like your boxer is walking you and not vice-versa. There is nothing that discourages me more than an unruly boxer.
Here was my main problem. Whenever my husband and I would take our boxers out for a walk, they would walk perfectly with him and would be the charming picture of a Westminster dog. But, when he handed them over to me, all chaos erupted. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t control our boxers. Whether I was walking them individually or together, there was no structure during our walks. I started getting more and more frustrated and soon my walks with the dogs got to be less and less since I was finding them less enjoyable. I knew there had to be a way to get them to walk with me as well as they did with their “daddy.”
My salvation arrived one day when we were walking the dogs through our development and met a man whose job was to train dogs for the military and police. He walked two Pitt Bulls together everyday that looked like they themselves went through basic training. It was amazing how well behaved these dogs were. After speaking with him for a while, he agreed to give us some pointers to help with our dogs.
A few days later when we met with this man, he gave me 2 crucial pointers that have made all the difference. They type of collar you use and the attention you require from your dog. Let’s talk about the first point. The type of collar he recommends is called a prong collar. (See picture at the right) If you look at it, it looks like a medieval torture device, but when used appropriately will be your saving grace. You take the collar and turn it “inside out” so that the prongs are on the outside and slide it over your dogs head, flip the collar prong side in,attach the leash and you’re good to go. It works like a typical “metal choke collar.” I put the collar on Mickey and at first, he knew it was something new and he didn’t like it at all! He was jumping around and tugging excessively. Mickey only needed one or two strong corrections with his prong collar and he has never left my side since. We have both Mickey and Dixie on this collar every time we go out for a walk, there is actually slack in the leash and we all have a lot more fun.
Now, lets look at the second pointer-the attention you require from your dog. Your dog’s attention should be on you at all times when you are walking them. Not on the squirrel running across the street, not on the dog crossing your path a block away, not on the neighborhood kids playing basketball on the end of the alley. Accomplishing this goal was much easier than I though it would be. When I was working with both Mickey and Dixie (individually) along with their prong collar, I learned a very simple trick. Start walking with your dog on your left side and walk in a straight line. When your dog’s interested starts getting distracted, make a very sharp and sudden 90 degree turn to either the right or left while giving a slight snap on the prong collar and continue walking. This will automatically grab the dogs attention back on you and force them to change direction. Continue to walk in a straight line again, and make another sudden 90 degree turn when necessary. You need to keep your dog very close to you in order for this to work. This is a good lesson to practice in an open area, even if your dog isn’t distracted by an outside force. After doing a few turns, you will notice that the dog will start looking up to you occasionally because they want to be prepared for your next “surprise turn.”
I still do this exercise with my dogs. The only modification I have made to it is right before I change directions with the dog I give them a verbal cue to let them know that I am changing directions. This grabs their attention immediately and they are ready to go where I want them to go. After I worked with both dogs individually, I started working with them together. We still followed all the same rules. Now, we can all go outside together and enjoy our walks. At least I know that I am FINALLY walking them, not vice-versa.
7 Responses
2009 Jul 06
Hi. I like the way you write. Will you post some more articles?
2010 Jun 25
thx for the advice my male boxer is sweet and protative and strong so it is very hard to walk him i tryed this he reacted very well wich i would expect because he was a show dog but got dumped. thx again,
Alley
2010 Jun 25
Thanks Alley,
I’m glad it worked out for you! It was really tough getting Mickey to walk correctly for a while. I’m glad these tips were helpful to you! Good luck and have fun with your big baby!
2011 Feb 16
Thanks for the advice…I defiantly need to get a prong collar, my boxer Ali always tends to walk us instead of us walking her. Will try this tips next time we take her out, cant wait!
2011 Feb 17
Good luck!! Let me know how everything works out. I look forward to hearing good things!! Happy walking!
2011 Jul 17
Hey,
i have a 5 month old Boxer Puppy, Willis. I have had him for a little under 2 months now and i have recently started the serious training process. I looked online and asked 10’s of people who i can go to. I actually found help in a K-9 Police Officer i am friends with. The first training session went very well! Willis actually listens to “stay” now! However, the next day when i went to walk him, he was back to his antics. Im using just the plain smoothed out choker collar for now since he is so young.
What can i do for when he tries to bite the leash or jump on me and run off? I know my friend say to call/text him, but i feel like i am inconveniencing him. And he taught me EXACTLY what you just wrote about the changing directions and grabbing ther attention that you learned from you friend.
Any other tips…..??
Kimmie, NJ
2011 Jul 17
Kimmie,
Thank you for your question. We actually had this same problem when we were teaching Dixie, our youngest, to walk. She would always be bouncing around as a puppy. She was so excited for her walk. The trick we used was very effective for us and hopefully, you will get some positive results as well.
We would start our walk, and would continue walking until she started getting excited and jumping around. As soon as she started jumping, we would IMMEDIATELY stop walking and stand in one spot and give a quick unexpected tug on the leash that was attached to her choke prong collar while very sternly telling her “NO.” The shock of the tug on the collar and the immediate stop stunned Dixie and she stopped immediately. We would also make her sit. (A good way to make her sit if she was excited was to hold the leash almost vertical so she had no choice but to sit straight down if she didn’t want to feel additional pull from the collar) She would look up at us with her sad eyes since she knew that she disappointed us. (One great thing about Boxers, is that they are very easy to train and love to please people). She was not allowed to walk until she was completely still and calm. After she managed that (it only takes a few seconds) we would start walking again. Every time she would act up, we would immediately stop, tug, say no, and make her sit. It only took a few times because 1) Dixie did not like having to stop her walk, 2) She didn’t like being “yelled” at, and 3) she didn’t like the discomfort of the prong choke collar every time she jumped around.
The hardest part about training a dog for some people is to take on the dominant role. A dog will always try to get away with what they can, and if they know they can get away with something with “mommy” and not “daddy” they will use that to their advantage and will milk it every time. You need to make sure that YOU are the one in control at all times and that YOU are the decision maker. Willis should feel like it is a PRIVILEGE to go on a walk with you and not a RIGHT. He must learn to be on his best behavior at all times if he is to receive the reward of being on a walk.
Also, with that being said, you said that Willis is 5 months old. I feel, that at that age, that Willis might be ready for a prong choke collar. It really does work wonders, and Willis will only pull until he feels uncomfortable. When we trained Dixie on her prong collar, she didn’t like it AT ALL and was REALLY jumping around. She only needed 2 quick tugs on the prong collar to feel what the collar was really capable of, and she NEVER jumped around again. I strongly suggest you get one for Willis. I know the results will be great. Having a prong collar is also a beneficial tool to use if you aren’t a strong person, like most women are. You can walk your dog without the constant fear of having to have your arm ripped out of socket.
I would really like to hear how Willis is doing in the future. Please let me know if you tried any of these tips and how they worked for you. Good luck with Willis. I know he will do a great job since he will want to please you. Keep me updated!