Stop Your Dog From Pulling On The Leash – Expert Finally Discloses Secret Method
This is such a common problem and sometimes quite entertaining, especially if you see a youngster being pulled along by a strong dog. Or even a grown up being pulled for that matter. But you love walking your dog and it’s really not a joke if he won’t listen to your commands. To stop your dog from pulling on the leash you need to know a few tricks.
The reason why dogs pull at their leash is quite simple really, they love chasing things and if they see a cat, then there is no stopping them. They also get very excited with the idea of actually walking with you and can’t contain themselves and hence they walk fast.
Start training your dog at an early age as to avoid bad behavior when it’s time for his walks. Use an all weather harness as these will not choke your dog when you train. It is advisable to always use a harness and not a collar and chain. It really does cause harm to the dog’s throat.
It is best to commence with training indoors and in the house where there are no distractions. You need undivided attention from your dog. He will not need his harness and leash right away because you are first going to teach him to follow you on your command. Firstly, hold out the palm of your hand and place a small object in the center. Let your dog see this and let him touch it with his nose when you say the command word “touch”. Once you get him to touch the object with his nose, then walk away for a few steps and let him follow you. Hold the object at a height which is comfortable for him to touch with his nose. He must now follow you and touch the object with his nose and stay behind you every time you walk further. Give lots of confirming hugs or rubs as he will now identify what you want from you. This will take a few lessons with lots of patience and love from your side.
Do take into consideration that you are teaching your dog a completely new and strange behavior and it will take a while before he gets what you want from him. Persevere and you will be rewarded as well.
Secondly, put his harness around his body and clip on the leash. Take him outside into the garden and repeat the program exactly like you did indoors. Now there are more distractions and he has to only listen to your voice. Teach him to walk next to you or behind you even if he hears sounds and picks up scents. Remember the touching of the object with his nose still plays a big role in his lesson. Even bigger role is your treat and confirmation that you are happy.
When he is ready take him out of your yard and onto the sidewalk or to a park. If he still needs some more training then you can do this there as well. To stop your dog from pulling on the leash is easy and there will be no more running after your dog, as he will now be well trained and an envy for other dog walkers.
Author Remco van Reenen helps people to train their dog and on his website hondentraining.nu you can find all sorts of tips. You can also get all sort of tools to help you with dog training in the section puppycursus