The number of people keeping a pet dog is higher than ever right now and this has caused a large number of people to reach out month in and month out with the various problems they are having with their dogs.
One thing that many people have been asking recently is how to stop a dog from walking under your feet be it in your home or when out walking your dog.
Not only can this be a potential risk to your dog if you step on it but it can also be a potential risk to you if you miss your footing and trip or twist your ankle.
Due to this, we have decided to publish this article going over the various ways that you can try to stop your dog from walking under your feet.
For the most part though, you will usually get quicker and more reliable results with a professional dog trainer from your local area.
This is due to most people not staying consistent with their training with their dog preventing steady progress from being achieved.
How To Stop A Dog From Walking Under Your Feet!
Here is our short list of things that you can try to stop your dog from walking under your feet:-
- Stay Consistent With Training!
- Use Positive Reinforcement!
- Use Verbal Commands!
- Put Your Dog In Its Crate If It Doesn’t Listen!
- Use A Short Leash!
- Use A Harness Instead Of A Collar!
- Go To Obedience Classes!
- Consider Getting A Second Dog!
- Try A Professional Trainer!
Ideally, you will be trying to implement as many of these as possible with your dog to help cement the desired behavior as much as possible.
The more of the things from the list above that you are able to do, the quicker your results may be.
Stay Consistent With Training!
The most important thing that you can do when trying to stop your dog from walking under your feet is to stay consistent with the training.
This means that if you are trying to stop your dog from walking under your feet, you need to keep at it and not give up until your dog has learned the desired behavior.
The best way to stay consistent is to have regular and short sessions with your dog where you focus on teaching it the desired behavior.
You may have to put your dog in a situation where it is more likely to try and walk under your feet for this to work though.
For example, you may have to take your dog for a walk rather than lay on the couch watching TV to present a training opportunity.
Use Positive Reinforcement!
Another thing that you can do to try to stop your dog from walking under your feet is to use positive reinforcement when it does what you want it to do.
This means rewarding your dog with treats, petting, or verbal praise when it listens to you and does not walk under your feet.
You should try to do this as often as possible so that your dog associates the desired behavior with a positive experience.
Most people new to keeping a dog often overlook just how big of an effect simple things like treats, petting, and verbal praise can have on your dog’s training sessions.
Use Verbal Commands!
In addition to using positive reinforcement, you should also use verbal commands when trying to stop your dog from walking under your feet.
The most common verbal command used for this is “no” but you can also use other commands such as “sit” or “stay”.
You should try to use the verbal command that you are most comfortable with and that you think will work best for your dog.
This means don’t use the verbal command of “no” for multiple things that you want to discourage your dog from doing as it causes confusion.
For example, if you use the verbal command “no” to stop your dog barking when someone knocks on your door, use the verbal command “away” for when your dog tries to walk under your feet.
Although this sounds simple, so many people use the same verbal command for multiple things and it confuses the dog with what it is actually doing wrong.
Put Your Dog In Its Crate If It Doesn’t Listen!
If your dog is walking under your feet around the home and not paying attention to its training, give it a time out in its crate.
This will help to teach your dog that it needs to listen to you and not walk under your feet if it wants to be out of its crate and able to be near you.
It is important to only put your dog in its crate for short periods of time though as you don’t want it to associate its crate with punishment.
Use A Short Leash!
A short leash offers far more control over your dog when out for a walk and will make it easier to discourage the behavior you are trying to train out of your dog.
In some cases, if your dog only walks under your feet while out on its walks, you may find that switching over to a short leash may be enough to prevent the dog from walking under your feet while out walking.
If your dog does try to walk under your feet you simply apply pressure on the leash to pull back and remove your dog from the area of your feet while giving it the verbal command you use.
Use A Harness Instead Of A Collar!
If you are finding that your dog is constantly trying to walk under your feet while out on walks, you may want to consider using a harness instead of a collar.
This will help to distribute the pressure more evenly over your dog’s body and make it more difficult for your dog to pull away from you while walking.
It is important to find a harness that fits your dog properly though as an ill-fitting harness can actually cause more problems than it solves.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you can fit two fingers underneath the straps of the harness at any given point.
This will help to ensure that the harness is not too loose or too tight on your dog.
Using a harness instead of a collar helps with the short leash pull back strategy that we covered earlier in the article too by removing the need to put pressure on your dog’s neck.
Go To Obedience Classes!
If you are finding that you are struggling to train your dog not to walk under your feet, you may want to consider signing up for obedience classes.
Obedience classes can help to teach you how to better train your dog as well as give you and your dog a chance to socialize with other people and dogs.
In most cases, obedience classes are relatively inexpensive and can be a great way to bond with your dog while learning how to train it more effectively.
Consider Getting A Second Dog!
If you are finding that your dog is constantly walking under your feet and you are struggling to train it out of the behavior, you may want to consider getting a second dog.
In many cases, a second dog can help to keep your first dog occupied and less likely to walk under your feet.
A second dog can also help to provide companionship for your first dog and give it someone to play with and socialize with.
Try A Professional Trainer!
If you have tried all of the above and you are still struggling to train your dog not to walk under your feet, you may want to consider hiring a professional trainer.
A professional trainer can help to assess the situation and come up with a training plan that is tailored specifically for your dog.
Hiring a professional trainer can be expensive but in some cases, it may be the best option for you and your dog.
