Why does my dog pull on the lead and how can I stop this?

Why does my dog pull on the lead and how can I stop this? For a dog, going for walks is exciting and fun. They get to meet other dogs, chase balls and send and read all those lovely pee-mails. They also get to come back to their beloved houses beds and food bowls. It’s no wonder then that your dog wants to get there and often back as quickly as possible. One way your dog can achieve this is by pulling you along on the end of a lead with you shouting “heal” at the top of your voice and if by pulling it gets to go forwards then pulling is what it will do next time. So every time you allow it to pull you are reinforcing that behaviour. What your dog is not doing is pulling because it wants to show you who is the boss by trying to lead the pack (see last blog). 

So to stop your dog pulling only ever allow it to go forwards when it is not pulling “simples” as that meercat says on the TV advert. Stand still and wait until your dog had stopped pulling and when the lead is loose walk forwards again. Use a good length of lead and do not wrap it around your wrist or keep it overly short. Of course your dog will pull again so you repeat this many times until it learns that pulling the lead tight does not achieve anything. Do not pull your dog back. If you keep pulling your dog back (known as checking ) all your dog will learn is that to go forwards it has to pull, be pulled back and then pull again and you will probably spend the next 14 years having your arms pulled out of your sockets. After a few sessions your bright dog will quickly learn that the best way to get you to go forwards is to not to tighten and pull on its lead. All you have to use is a good length of lead and a wide normal collar. You should not need any fancy collars or halters and definitely no choke chains or worse shock collars. These quick fixes may make the dog stop pulling as it is physically restrained but may not teach the dog to stop pulling because it wants to.  With a little patience and great timing you will end up with a dog that no longer pulls and who walks nicely on a loose lead and be the envy of the park.

Enjoy your walk. Rosie Barclay BSc (Hons) MPhil CCAB (APBC Full member) www.rosiebarclay.com