Do you often find yourself stressed and hanging onto the lead tightly during dog walks because your dog pulls on the lead? At All Positive Dog Services, we've heard this concern from countless dog owners, regardless of breed or age. In this blog we guide you on how to stop your dog from pulling on the lead in 5 easy to understand steps.
Why does my dog pull on the lead?
You are not alone if your dog pulls on the lead, as this is a common problem for a lot of dog owners. Your dog may pull on the lead through excitement, curiosity, fear, arousal, lack of training or any combination of those.
Why teaching your dog to stop pulling on the lead is important
If your dog is pulling on the lead, dragging you from one distraction to another this can turn your enjoyable walks into a frustrating and exhausting experience. Teaching your dog to walk on the lead without pulling allows you both to enjoy the time together, without the worry of being pulled over, knocking someone else over or upsetting other dogs.
Teach your dog to stop pulling on the lead in 5 steps
To stop your dog pulling on the lead and initiate successful loose lead walking, follow these 5 steps:
Teach eye contact & focus This behaviour fosters focus, makes it easier to divert their attention from distractions, and is a "mutually exclusive behaviour" - a fancy way of saying that a dog can't give eye contact and pull on the lead at the same time. Check out how to teach eye contact and focus using The Up & Down Game here
Get the right equipment We advocate for a Y-front harness as it offers unrestricted movement, allowing your dog to walk naturally without discomfort (unlike flat-strap harnesses) and pairing this with a 2 metre rubberised lead which are non-slip and lightweight in design
Teach a marker word See our video on how to do this here
Ask your dog to focus on you & add distance Once you have steps 1-3 in place, ask your dog to focus on you when you can see a situation developing where they may about to pull on the lead and, if possible, add distance between you and the distraction so it reduces the likelihood of it occurring. Over time, you can work on reducing the distance between you and potential distractions
Practice and be consistent with the training If you have a set back, just take the training back a step or go back to a less distracting environment and build it up again
Get Help & Support
If you would like support to master the above steps, stop your dog pulling on the lead and master loose lead walking, All Positive Dog Services offer one to one training as well as a comprehensive 4-week loose lead master class
Of course, where there are more complex issues in play, such as anxiety and reactive behaviour, you may need to work together with your dog and a trainer to address the underlying behavioural issues first - All Positive Dog Services offer Behaviour Consultations to help owners understand and begin to work on modifying behaviour.