Dogs That Pull
We've all seen people being dragged down the street by their dogs, it is a familiar sight in North London and one that I have fallen victim to in the past with some of my own dogs.
However it really doesn't have to be that way and with some simple training and consistency even the most ardent pullers can become absolute joys to walk.
It's always best to start training early on in a dog's life but this isn't always possible especially if you adopt a rescue dog but training can be successfully done at any age.
The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is an absolute myth.
Pulling on the lead can be a rewarding experience for a dog and the more something is allowed to go on, the more the behaviour is reinforced in the dogs mind.
Dogs pull for all sorts of reasons; to sniff the ground, to look for food, to go and say hello to another dog, to greet a person or simply to get to the park as quickly as possible.
If the pulling is rewarded then he knows that pulling just works.
There's a simple technique that one can use to let the dog know that pulling just won't get him anywhere.
It's best to start off doing these at home, then in the garden (if you have one) and then on dog walks.
There's less distraction inside so you're more likely to get a better result.
The first one is to have a handful of treats in your pocket (perhaps some of his dried kibble) and gesture the dog to your side.
If he comes to you then immediately treat, do this a few times and then take a step away from him.
Ask him to come to you again and treat when he does make sure you treat.
Do this over and over increasing the amount of steps you take until you can walk several steps in a row with him following you.
Once you've achieved this, put your dog on the lead and walk several steps forward.
Hopefully now he'll be paying more attention to you and not trying to rush ahead.
If he does pull or even slightly tightens the leash then stop dead in your tracks and wait for the leash to slacken.
As soon as he does, praise and treat.
You can then move this outside and repeat the process.
You do have to have a zero tolerance approach to pulling and must be consistent otherwise you will be sending him mixed messages and he will not learn what you want.
If you do this for about 5 minutes a day he will get the hang of it in time.
Now you may be thinking this is all very well but what do you do in the meantime.
Well there are several excellent products on the market to help with pulling and they are highly recommended.
You can either use them as a temporary tool whilst you're trying to retrain your dog or just go over to them full time.
The two types that I want to make you aware of are the head-collar and harness.
A head collar is worn around the dogs head and this attaches to the lead.
It works on the principal that when the dogs pulls, the collar tightens around the muzzle which in turn causes the dog to back off from pulling.
Another advantage is that it gives you complete control over the dogs head which is useful for dogs who are reactive.
There are several on the market including the Gentle Leader, but the one I have used myself and can really recommend is the Dogmatic.
An alternative to the head collar is the harness but I'm not talking about a regular harness.
I'm talking about a harness that has a ring on the front rather than the back.
The difference between the two is that if a dog pulls on a conventional harness it just encourages them to pull more as this was what they were created for.
By having a ring on the front it means that when the dog pulls it actually pulls the dog towards you which can pull them off balance.
Not dissimilar to the head collar the harness can also tighten around the dogs body which in turn causes them to back off.
Again there are several on the market but the one I like the most is the Premier Easy Walk Harness which I have used many times and have found can have an instant effect.
I hope you may look into these products a little further as they can really make a difference and allow you to walk your dog nicely rather than your dog walking you.
However it really doesn't have to be that way and with some simple training and consistency even the most ardent pullers can become absolute joys to walk.
It's always best to start training early on in a dog's life but this isn't always possible especially if you adopt a rescue dog but training can be successfully done at any age.
The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is an absolute myth.
Pulling on the lead can be a rewarding experience for a dog and the more something is allowed to go on, the more the behaviour is reinforced in the dogs mind.
Dogs pull for all sorts of reasons; to sniff the ground, to look for food, to go and say hello to another dog, to greet a person or simply to get to the park as quickly as possible.
If the pulling is rewarded then he knows that pulling just works.
There's a simple technique that one can use to let the dog know that pulling just won't get him anywhere.
It's best to start off doing these at home, then in the garden (if you have one) and then on dog walks.
There's less distraction inside so you're more likely to get a better result.
The first one is to have a handful of treats in your pocket (perhaps some of his dried kibble) and gesture the dog to your side.
If he comes to you then immediately treat, do this a few times and then take a step away from him.
Ask him to come to you again and treat when he does make sure you treat.
Do this over and over increasing the amount of steps you take until you can walk several steps in a row with him following you.
Once you've achieved this, put your dog on the lead and walk several steps forward.
Hopefully now he'll be paying more attention to you and not trying to rush ahead.
If he does pull or even slightly tightens the leash then stop dead in your tracks and wait for the leash to slacken.
As soon as he does, praise and treat.
You can then move this outside and repeat the process.
You do have to have a zero tolerance approach to pulling and must be consistent otherwise you will be sending him mixed messages and he will not learn what you want.
If you do this for about 5 minutes a day he will get the hang of it in time.
Now you may be thinking this is all very well but what do you do in the meantime.
Well there are several excellent products on the market to help with pulling and they are highly recommended.
You can either use them as a temporary tool whilst you're trying to retrain your dog or just go over to them full time.
The two types that I want to make you aware of are the head-collar and harness.
A head collar is worn around the dogs head and this attaches to the lead.
It works on the principal that when the dogs pulls, the collar tightens around the muzzle which in turn causes the dog to back off from pulling.
Another advantage is that it gives you complete control over the dogs head which is useful for dogs who are reactive.
There are several on the market including the Gentle Leader, but the one I have used myself and can really recommend is the Dogmatic.
An alternative to the head collar is the harness but I'm not talking about a regular harness.
I'm talking about a harness that has a ring on the front rather than the back.
The difference between the two is that if a dog pulls on a conventional harness it just encourages them to pull more as this was what they were created for.
By having a ring on the front it means that when the dog pulls it actually pulls the dog towards you which can pull them off balance.
Not dissimilar to the head collar the harness can also tighten around the dogs body which in turn causes them to back off.
Again there are several on the market but the one I like the most is the Premier Easy Walk Harness which I have used many times and have found can have an instant effect.
I hope you may look into these products a little further as they can really make a difference and allow you to walk your dog nicely rather than your dog walking you.
Source...