Take a dog leash in your right hand, a dog treat in the left one. Your English Bulldog should stay from the left side. Make 4-5 steps and stop. Bulldog likely will run forward. Show it the treat and when it will come up to you, make it sit down at your left leg. Praise your Bully, give a command "Walk" and repeat these actions once again. If you choose short dog leash for English Bulldog training, the dog won't understand why it's praised because the leash will make it to do everything right at once. If Bulldog leash is too long, the dog will constantly lose attention and will do everything with a delay. The ideal length of English Bulldog lead is from 1.5 to 2 meters.
This Bulldog training method has two main points:
1. Make no more than 6-7 steps at a time.
2. Always treat the Bulldog folding your hand to a knee.
Make it clear for the dog that it should come up to your left leg every time when you stop and only then it will be treated. For 3-4th time your English Bulldog saves its time and efforts and stops going out of your leg.
Now we change a bit the rules of our "game". Bully has already understood that it would get the treat at your leg, but the dog needs to make it clear what action is encouraged and what – not. Now, when you has been stopped, if Bulldog is to the right, behind or in front of you, bait the dog with a treat and make it sit down at your left leg. If the dog has already stood at your left leg, treat and praise it at once. Don't forget to give a command "Heel" when you start moving and then in 3-4 repeats (several steps – treat several steps – treat) to tell "Walk", to give the dog to catch a break, to play with Bulldog. You can do all this without the leash if you're at home or on a pen.
The next stage is special exercises. Your English Bulldog can learn them for 2-3 lessons, but it will repeat them for the whole life as soon as you see that the dog forgot something of became less obedient.
1. Start English Bulldog training with walking the line. For the beginning, stay in such a way so that a fence or a wall will be aside from the dog. Thus you'll help your Bully to walk the line and not to get out of the way. Bulldog should move together with you. The dog has to understand this because it's more naturally for your Bully to follow or to walk in front of you.
Here is your actions sequence: call your dog by name, make one step slowly, stop. Bulldog sat down, got a praise and treat. Repeat once again. Praise, treat and play with your English Bulldog, tell "Walk" as soon as it has come up and went together with you. Then come back again to this exercise.
2. English Bulldog should slow down and speed up the walk when you change the pace. Make several quick and long steps, treat the dog when it catches up with you, than stop and do this again, praise and treat Bulldog when it sits down. Run a bit, treat the dog as soon as it's near your knee, then stop, praise and treat your Bully after it has sat down. Then run a bit again and make your steps very short suddenly. Dogs continue running forward as a rule. Stop, show a delicious piece to your English Bulldog, bait it to your knee, make it sit down and treat the dog. Make few short steps. You'll see that too slow speed is as difficult for Bulldog as too fast. The dog should be taught to them both. Repeat this exercise while your English Bulldog and you are in a good mood. Bulldogs take this as a funny game as usual. If your Bully became too active and has started grasping you for legs and hands, barking and jumping on you, say "Walk". Keep the dog on a short leash till it calms down. Don't unfasten the lead not to encourage its behavior and not to interrupt the training with such games. But don't continue training in such a manner because you'll certainly forbid your Bulldog to behave like a hooligan and punishment is denied during Bulldog training.
3. Teach your English Bulldog to be concentrated on you. When the dog is concentrated on you, it's rather easier to train it. Make 2 steps, stop, Bulldog has sat down at your leg, give it 1 piece of dog treat. Then thrust another one treat and move it from its nose to your face and back. Give the treat to the dog. Repeat this action in 3-5-3-6-3 steps so that English Bulldog to remember that at the end of each walk under the "Heel" command it should look at you. Let your Bully rest and repeat everything from the beginning. Now you demand from the dog to look at you at the start and at the end of the walk.
Finally, if English Bulldog throws back its head during the walk, put your hand down to the dog's chest (to avoid jumping) and treat Bully. You can teach your English Bulldog to look at you constantly during the walk along with you in time. It's very convenient for sport, but not for daily walks, when there are rocks and holes on the road. That's why Bulldog trainers teach the dogs two similar commands: "At the Trail" or something like this for sports and competitions, "Heel" for daily life. However, if you want your Bulldog to behave itself good during the walk or while travelling, it should be taught to look at you often, not to lose concentration, whatever command you use.
4. Turning right. You walked on the straight up to now. Let's begin turning right. Start always with one step to make English Bulldog turn right more easily without losing the speed and running ahead. Choose the place to be convenient for watching your movements (you can draw the line on the ground). You should turn round and not to back out of Bulldog. So you stand still and your Bully sits at your leg. Turn right standing where you are. Wait. If the dog guessed to stand up and to sit at your leg at a new place, praise, treat and play with it. If no – bait the dog with the treat and make it sit at your leg again. Repeat the exercise 1-2 times and walk a bit on the straight. Repeat again the same turnings. Finish the exercise when English Bulldog will stand up and sit at your leg 3 times in a row. Praise the dog and leave the exercise till the next time if your Bulldog can't do it for a long time.
5. Turning left. These turnings are better to do in motion unlike turnings right. Start turning left from your right leg lifting it a bit higher and making the step longer. English Bulldog will take this movement as a signal for turning left very soon. Then you can walk as usual but still start turning left from your right leg. It's not necessarily, but more convenient for you and for Bully too. Take the line you drew, turn left towards the dog and continue walking. Treat your Bully holding the hand at your knee when it will catch up with you. Usually, Bulldogs start running around, getting out of the way, being slow, to let you go first or, vice versa, running forward. Just walk until English Bulldog is in the right place again and then praise the dog. Even the clumsiest dog will understand where to turn in 3-4 repeats. Then you stop, praise and treat your English Bulldog.
You can turn staying the ground when English Bulldog will turn left for 5-7 times with you without losing its speed and standing the pace. Put your right foot in front of the dog's paws, then put the left one, pushing a bit Bulldog's shoulder with your knee. It will stand up and you'll make the dog sit down in the needed position with the help of Bulldog treat. There is no need to repeat turnings staying on the ground for too long. It's better to spend 3 minutes and to make several lessons than to do the exercise for 10 minutes during one lesson.
6. Eights. When English Bulldog turns right and left well, put two rocks on the ground at the distance of 3-5 meters and make eights around them. Stop and praise your Bully from time to time. It may be difficult for Bulldog to make eights even if it makes turns ideally. Be patient and give your dog some time to deal with its legs. Don't overdo with exercises so that your Bulldog didn't lose interest to training. Make the exercise more complicated gradually by moving the rocks closer to each other.
7. 15 minutes for "Heel" command. Now, when you have already learned all the 6 exercises, you can divide training from compulsory command running in any situation. When you do exercise with your English Bulldog, you never punish or scold the dog. But it should run the command "Heel" as well in daily life as during training. Choose the way along quite streets for 5-7 min. and walk your English Bulldog on the leash telling the command "Heel" at first. The dog is forbidden to smell the bushes and to be distracted. If the dog is abstracted, repeat the command "Heel" and pull the leash slightly. The main point is not to stop and continue moving as if it's vitally important. As soon as Bulldog became again concentrated and it walked several meters not bad, stop, praise, treat your Bully and attract its attention to your face, then tell "Heel" again and go ahead.
The next day your way will last for 10 min. Gradually you increase the time of the walk to 15 min. depending of your Bulldog's readiness. Then you should vary the surrounding. Choose more crowded places with buses, shops, crossroads and traffic lights. In 3-4 weeks you can walk your English Bulldog without treats, but you still demand obedience from the dog. Don't give an easy time to the Bulldog, otherwise you'll embarrass the dog. It shouldn't stop, smell anything, muzzle the other dogs or sit down when you had stopped. Don't forget to continue English Bulldog training and do all these exercises. Regular exercising (15 min. for "Heel" command) will make your English Bulldog"s life happier because it be able to go with you wherever you want.
The most useful tools for English Bulldog training, click on the pictures!
