Stop Leash Pulling in 3 unexpected ways

What dog doesn’t pull on leash.  From an early age, your dog learns that to get to the good stuff, they need to drag you over to it.  Walking nicely on leash becomes especially challenging when your puppy enters adolescence.  Now rather than wanting to stay close to you, they want to wander and explore, and the leash is preventing that from happening!

If you do an internet search on this subject, 23.1 million results show up.  You are not alone!  Pulling on leash is a common challenge for dog owners and for their dogs.

You have probably tried a variety of different strategies to get your dog to walk nicely.  Some work, some don’t.  At this point, you may have given up and are now hoping that perhaps your dog will outgrow the behaviour!

They won’t.  Dogs get better at what they practice every day. 

But, in defense of your dog, let’s face it, it isn’t easy to be walked on leash.

• Dogs have an opposition reflex.  They feel pressure and it is a reflexive action to pull against that pressure. 
• You walk so much slower than your dog.  How would you like to be tethered to a toddler and have to walk at the toddler’s pace twice a day, every day.  Not likely!
• Outside is exciting!  So much to smell, so much to explore. Dogs spend much of their day in the house or in the yard and when they finally get to go outside, they are restrained by the leash and must walk with you even when your agenda and goal for the walk is different from theirs. 

There are many good reasons for your dog to be on leash and they are related to the busy world we live in and the expectations that society places on our dogs.  You need to be able to walk your dog on leash to:

• Meet the ‘leash requirement’ laws
• Prevent your dog from running up to other people and dogs
•  Keep your dog safe along roads and highways

When your dog pulls on leash, your dog isn’t being difficult they are just being a dog.

It is possible to change the picture.  Having a dog who will walk on leash without pulling makes walks more enjoyable for both of you.  When your dog is skilled up to walk nicely on leash, they will have the opportunity for longer walks and for walks in a wider variety of locations.

Your dog’s brain is going to give an outcome whenever you put them on leash.  You keep hoping that ‘maybe this time’, my dog won’t pull me down the street but without skilling up your dog, the outcome is never going to change.  

Three strategies that can change how your dog walks on leash

Change the equipment.  While you are teaching your dog to walk nicely on a leash, you will need a way to communicate when you are training and when they can pull.  A subtle change in the equipment changes the picture for your dog.  When you are ready to practice walking nicely on leash, change the equipment your dog wears or change where you clip the leash on your existing equipment.  Continue to walk your dog as usual on the old equipment and grow the loose leash walking skills on the new equipment.  Over time, you will use the new equipment more often and eventually the old equipment will no longer be needed as your dog will have learned to walk nicely with you.

Grow the three skills needed to walk nicely on leash. 

• Calmness
• Value for proximity to you
• Disengagement

Change how the walk starts.  When you step out the door, is your dog’s brain in the moment?  How can you tell?  If your dog goes through the front door like the start of the Kentucky Derby, their brain is definitely not in the moment.  It is already down the street and around the corner overflowing with excitement about what they are going to experience.  If your dog steps through the threshold, checks in with you and can respond to you, their brain is in the moment, they are engaged with you, and they are ready to walk with you.

Implement the three strategies to grow loose leash walking

Now that you know what the three strategies are, here is how to put them into practice.

Change the equipment.  If you usually walk on a collar, purchase a harness.  When you are going for a walk, use the collar.  While you are growing their leash walking skills, use the harness.  If you already use the harness and it has two points of attachment, use the front clip for walks, and the back clip when teaching loose leash walking.  If your harness has only one clip, use the harness for walking, and the collar for training loose leash walking….you get the idea.

Grow the three skills needed to walk nicely on leash.  These games will help to grow the skills needed for walking nicely on leash.  Put on your ‘new’ leash walking equipment and practice the games in the house, then outside in the yard, and finally start to incorporate them on your walk including at the start.

• Grow calmness.  A calm dog is a dog who can make good decisions.  The skill of Pattern Walking (walking a Figure 8, Zig Zag, or Circle) will teach your dog to moderate their arousal.  If the arousal comes down, their ability to engage and respond to you increases.
• Grow value for proximity to you. A good portion of loose leash walking is growing a dog that wants to be near you.  If your dog values proximity to you, they will be more likely to stay close.  The Orientation Gameis a fun way to grow this skill.
• Disengagement.  Check Me Out Circle Game.  This is a great game to grow both disengagement from the environment and value for being close to you.  By sending your dog away when they come in close to you, you build drive and desire to check you out rather than the environment.  You can play this game both on-leash and off-leash.

Change how the walk starts.  Use the start of the walk to get your dog’s brain into the moment and engaged with you.  For some dogs, the start of the walk will be inside the house at the front door, for others, it could be just outside the front door, or at the gate.  You know at what point your dog becomes so excited they can’t focus on you! 

Incorporate the calmness, proximity, and disengagement games into the start of your walk along with these two additional games:

• Food scatter.  Take a few steps backward, scatter a few treats (you will need something really tasty in the beginning).  Sniffing for the food will help to bring your dog’s arousal down.  Repeat a few times until your dog is readily following you as your step backward and eagerly hunting for the food you scatter on the ground.
• Paws on an Object.  Teach your dog to put their front paws on an object.  If you use something light, you can take it with you on your walk.  You can also use objects in the environment such as cement barricades, tree stumps, logs on the ground, benches, anything your dog can comfortably put their feet on.

Practice the games off-leash in the house.  Once your dog is ready, then practice in the house with the leash on, then practice outside in a quiet environment with the leash on.  When your dog is responding, start to incorporate the games into the start of your walk.

If your dog is struggling to focus on you at the start of your walk, either skip the walk and play the games at home, or set the equipment picture to “it’s okay to pull” and do a short walk instead.

Conclusion

Growing the skill of loose leash walking will improve your relationship and make walks more enjoyable for both of you. 

• Changing your walking equipment, will give you a fresh starting point.
• Growing calmness, value for proximity, and disengagement will help grow engagement with you. 
• Getting your dog’s brain, ‘in-the-moment’ will set the tone of the walk.

Together these skills will help you grow leash walking your friends will envy even if you have the most determined puller!

Reference:

Adapted from a variety of teachings by Dr. Tom Mitchel, and Absolute Dogs.

Additional Resources:

To learn from Dr. Mitchell, check out:

Apple Podcast 

Spotify

The following courses will help you grow amazing loose leash walking skills by using the power of games-based training!

In-Person and Online:

90 Days to a Well-Behaved Dog.  Shift from struggling to get your dog to listen to having a dog that happily responds the first time you ask even around distractions.  Along with basic obedience, this course focuses on recall and loose leash walking.  

Loose Leash Walking.Focus on growing your dog’s leash walking skills with this six-week class.

Online only:

Absolute Dog’s mini course “Stop Pulling”.  As an AbsoluteDOGS Pro Dog Parter I’m super excited to share their Stop Pulling!  mini-course.  The course is £27 or approx. $50 CDN.  Jump into the Stop Pulling mini-course!