Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at
8:48 am
All dogs have an innate urge to pull on the leash. Life with your dog will become much easier and rewarding with obedience training, in particular training to stop leash pulling on your dog walks. Obedience training addresses the spectrum of canine behavior, teaching the dog to respond to commands. Most dogs who go through a class in obedience training turn out to be well behaved and will listen to your commands and shouldn't do things such as chewing and barking for no reason. If you want your pooch to be well behaved and obedient, you should enroll him in a obedience training class as soon as you can.
However, there are some basics that you can implement as soon as you begin taking your young dog on walks. Here are some tips that will help in developing good dog walking habits.
Be Unpredictable
Making quick and abrupt turns in the opposite direction anytime your dog starts to get ahead of you will teach him to pay attention to where you're going. Praise him lavishly when he returns to your side and even reward with a small treat if your dog is food motivated. The idea is to stop the pulling before it even starts by catching him off guard. Be calm, no need to scold him, he'll figure it out.
GET THE SPORN HARNESS
In order to make leash training simpler for you, we highly recommend that you obtain the Sporn Pull Stop Halter Leash. If your dog is a hard puller, the Sporn Halter, in our experience, will immediately end uncontrollable tugging.
You may have to turn around forty times in the first session and barely make it half way down the driveway, but don't worry, it will get better the more you practice. Many dogs catch on quickly to this game and start to watch their owner closely to see what they'll do next. A dog that's paying attention to you isn't pulling on the leash.
Set The Rules
And stick to them! Decide once and for all that you will not allow him to pull and then react anytime he tries to move ahead of you. This means you'll have to be watching him closely during the first couple sessions. Allowing him to pull sometimes but not all the time will only confuse your dog. Look at your next couple walks as training experiences, not exercise. Once your dog gets the hang of it then you can start to plan on moving past the driveway.
Practice, Distract, and Practice Some More
Teaching good leash walking skills is an ongoing process. You may always need to 'be unpredictable' every once in a while even after your dog understands what you expect. Keep him on his toes and keep practicing. Don't be stingy with the praise, let him know when he's doing the right thing and you'll start to see more of that behavior.
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