If you want to make walking your Corgi more enjoyable, you’re going to need plenty of treats, a lot of patience, and to make sure you remain consistent. It won’t happen overnight, but with training and time, you’ll have a stellar walker quickly.
You know what’s frustrating? My Corgis not walking nicely on the leash. It drives me a little mad, and I spent so much time getting flustered and overwhelmed when they were younger. All they did was pull, and walking them felt more like a chore instead of being relaxing. That’s not how walks are supposed to be, and I was at my wit’s end.
But I changed all of that. I turned my dogs around and turned them into star citizens who walk beautifully beside me most of the time. Going from walking badly 100% of the time to walking nicely 99% of the time has been a dream. Now, I want to share my success with all of you. Because we all deserve to have fantastic and enjoyable dog walks with our Corgi!
Let’s get into the tips to make your dog walks more fun!
Key Takeaways:
- Corgis are smart dogs, and they pick up commands quickly
- My Corgi was a real pain when I was trying to get him to heel properly
- Consistency is key when teaching them to walk nicely and heel
- Positive reinforcement will always be the way forward with Corgis
- Make room for playtime and fun on your walk once they’re off the leash
- Always let them stop and sniff – this is their walk, not yours
How to Make Walking Your Corgi More Enjoyable
My Corgi was a living nightmare to walk on the leash. All of them were. They pulled everywhere, they wanted to see everything and lunged at anything that moved. I was frustrated and felt as though I couldn’t even walk in the local park because they were so badly behaved. I understood the excitement, but people don’t appreciate lunging dogs – even small ones.
Something had to change, so I decided to take my Corgis out for a walk one at a time. It meant they weren’t distracted by each other, which gave me a better chance of being listened to. We all know how bad they are for egging each other on. My training was simple for each of my Corgis, but it took more patience than I thought I could ever have.
Patience makes perfect
Every time my Corgi pulled, we would turn around and start heading back home. Dogs know when they’re on the way back, and he was immediately confused and upset by what was happening. It would usually make him heel because the excitement was gone, so I would praise him with a “good heel”, give him a treat, and turn back around.
We would keep heading to the park as long as he was heeling, and I praised him on his “good heel” regularly while also offering treats. The second he would pull or lunge and something, I turned around and headed back home again. Did it take an hour to get to the park? Yes. But consistency is vital with any form of dog training.
I did this every day for a solid week with each of my Corgis on their walks. It took up almost all of my free time, but I could see progress being made. Once we reached the end of the second week, they were practically perfect as they trotted alongside me. The only issue we had left was the lunging. The lunging was all out of excitement, but it’s not a good habit.
The power of a clicker and high-value treats
What I did was grab a clicker and some seriously high-value treats. We’re talking the good cheese and sausage chunks. With those in my pocket, the method for stopping lunging was simple: He lunges, I click, he is distracted, he gets praise and a treat for stopping the bad behavior. After all, yelling only ever makes this kind of action worse.
I would let him look at the person or dog he was interested in for no more than three seconds on occasions he didn’t lunge before using the clicker to redirect his attention and offering him praise and a treat. When he did lunge, the clicker was used immediately to the same effect. Now, it didn’t work every time, but it was effective most of the time.
After another couple of weeks of using the clicker, he was perfect. He walked beside me like a proud and happy little Corgi who didn’t feel the need to pull or lunge. Now, nothing is ever 100%, so I still carry the clicker and treats, but the 1% of the time he is a little naughty beats him being a demon 100% of the time. He really did become the best dog ever.
Tips for Making Your Walk More Fun
Now, once your Corgi becomes a well-behaved dog like mine did (and that goes for all of mine), there are some things you can do to make your walk more fun. Yes, having them heel and stop lunging makes the walk more enjoyable for both of you, but there is more to your walk in the park than that.
The first thing is to never prevent them from sniffing. This is their time, the one part of the day they ask for, and the way they interact with the world is through scent. Let them investigate what the other dogs have been saying and read their ‘weemail’ to get the latest gossip. Don’t pull them when they want to stop and sniff; this is how they relax.
Secondly, when your dog is off-leash, take the time to play games with them and allow them to say hello to other dogs. Grab a ball or a frisbee for some fetch, run alongside them in a game of chase, or play tug with a rope toy. Interacting with them makes the walk so much more fun for you both. I love running into the sea with my Corgis.
If you don’t have a reactive Corgi, giving them the chance to play with other dogs is really good for them. They are social animals, and while saying hello is fine, if the other dog wants to play and the owner is okay with it… let them. Let them run around, chase each other, and enjoy the kind of games only dogs can. Remember, this is their time. Not yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Corgis Pull on the Leash Naturally?
All dogs pull on the leash naturally, and that includes Corgis. They get excited; they want to get to their destination, and the thrill of the walk gets the better of them. All they want is to run ahead and be free, and can we blame them? It’s natural for them to pull, and this is why we have to train them to walk nicely beside us.
Are Corgis Easy to Train?
Corgis are very stubborn, which means they are not always easy to train. You have to be prepared to put a lot of effort into working with them to figure out the best and most effective methods. Patience, positive reinforcement, and plenty of treats will be needed to get the results you want. Once you have that nailed, they are fairly easy to train.
Is There a Certain Leash Corgis Need?
No, you don’t need a certain leash to walk a Corgi. Any leash will do, but I recommend getting one that is thick and sturdy so you can keep a good grip on it. Rope leashes can burn your hands, and plastic-coated ones can be difficult to hold properly. Similarly, chain leashes are much harder to keep a firm grasp on and can easily slip through your fingers.
Should Corgis Wear a Collar or a Harness?
While collars are acceptable, a harness is the better choice for a Corgi. This is because there is a lot less pressure on their neck as it gets evenly distributed across their chest instead. Harnesses offer you more control when walking, and they also provide something much easier to grab if your pup ends up getting into mischief on their walk.
Final Thoughts
There you have it – that’s how I went from being stressed all the time while walking my Corgi to feeling confident and relaxed every walk. It’s not always going to be the easiest journey (we all know how smart and stubborn these dogs are), but we can do our best to make it that way. All you need is a little patience and more treats than you can count.
Teaching your dog to walk on the leash and make your walk more enjoyable isn’t always simple. There is no shame in asking a professional dog trainer for help if you need it. They can show you little tricks you might not have thought of before, and they can also show you how to get on your Corgi’s level. We all need help sometimes.
Your information is so very helpful. I am a first time Corgi owner I had basset hounds most of the time.
She is only 9 weeks, It would not let me post her picture
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Laverna. I would love to see your gorgeous Corgi! You can reply to the newsletter with a photo if you like?