If your dog pulls you down the street every time you go for a walk, you’re not alone. Leash pulling is one of the most common problems dog owners struggle with.
The good news is that most dogs pull simply because they’ve learned that pulling works. Every time they pull forward and we follow them, the dog learns that pulling gets them where they want to go.
In this lesson, I’m going to show you two simple concepts that can dramatically improve your leash walking and help your dog learn to walk calmly beside you.
If you’d like a full step-by-step training plan that walks you through these exercises in detail, you can also check out my Loose Leash Walking Course Inside the Canine Essentials Program where I demonstrate the exact drills I use with clients to stop leash pulling and teach dogs to walk nicely on the leash.
Instead of constantly correcting your dog, we’re going to teach them:
Once a dog understands these two ideas, leash walking becomes much easier.
The first thing we want to teach the dog is the correct walking position.
For most people, this means the dog walking beside them instead of out in front pulling on the leash.
When the dog is on my left side, I like their shoulder to be roughly even with my pant seam. You can choose the exact position that works best for you, but the key is that the dog learns to stay beside you instead of forging ahead.
There are two techniques that work really well for teaching this position.
Technique #1: Left Circles
One of the easiest ways to teach a dog the correct walking position is by doing small circles.
If the dog is on your left side, you turn left in a small circle. If you prefer your dog on the right side, you would turn right instead.
These turns help guide the dog back into position whenever they begin moving ahead of you.
You’ll also notice something important when the dog is in the correct position.
The leash becomes loose.
That loose leash tells the dog they are exactly where you want them to be.
The second technique is a quick backward step.
Any time the dog forges ahead of me, I immediately step backward.
This interrupts the forward movement and brings the dog back into the correct walking position.
Once the dog returns beside me and the leash becomes loose again, we move forward.
Over time the dog learns something very simple.
Walking beside you keeps the walk moving forward.
Pulling ahead stops the walk.
The second concept is just as important as teaching position.
Dogs need to learn that when they feel pressure on the leash, the correct response is to move away from the pressure.
Unfortunately, many dogs have learned the opposite.
They feel leash pressure and try to pull harder.
This usually happens because the owner follows the dog while the leash is tight. From the dog’s perspective, pulling worked because it got them where they wanted to go.
So we simply change that rule.
When the leash becomes tight, forward movement stops.
If the dog hits the end of the leash and starts pulling, I hold my ground.
I don’t follow the dog.
Eventually the dog will shift their weight or take a step back.
The moment the dog backs off the pressure and the leash becomes loose, the pressure disappears.
This teaches the dog an important lesson.
Backing off leash pressure turns the pressure off.
Pulling into the pressure does not work.
One of the biggest mistakes people make during leash training is walking with a tight leash.
If the leash is tight and you continue walking forward, you are accidentally teaching the dog to pull.
Instead, the leash should stay loose most of the time.
If the dog tightens the leash, we pause and allow the dog to figure out how to release that pressure.
For example, if I toss food into the grass and the dog tries to pull me toward it, I hold my ground.
I don’t move toward the food while the leash is tight.
When the dog backs off the pressure and the leash becomes loose again, we can move forward.
The dog learns that releasing pressure is what allows them to move.
Another helpful skill during leash training is teaching your dog to stop when you stop.
When you come to a stop, the dog should learn to stop beside you instead of continuing to move forward.
When the dog stops nicely with you, you can reward that behavior.
In my training session I gave the dog a small piece of cheese when he stopped correctly.
Rewards help reinforce the behaviors we want to see more often.
When you first start working on leash walking, it’s helpful to give your dog short breaks during training.
Leash training requires a lot of focus from the dog.
Working in short training sessions with small breaks in between often leads to better results.
If you have a strong puller, changing equipment can sometimes help you gain better control.
In this session I switched to a limited slip training collar made by Starmark.
For some dogs this provides clearer communication compared to certain harnesses.
However, equipment alone will not fix leash pulling.
The real improvement comes from teaching the dog the two concepts we discussed earlier.
In this training session you saw a dog go from pulling hard on the leash to walking nicely beside me in about ten minutes.
But that does not mean the dog is fully leash trained.
The next time I walk that dog, it will likely try pulling again.
What will change is how quickly the dog remembers the rules.
The first session might take ten minutes.
The next session might take five minutes.
After a few days it might only take a minute or two.
Training improves through repetition and consistency.
If your dog has been pulling on the leash for a long time, it will take a little time to change that habit.
Remember the two key concepts.
First, teach the dog where you want them to walk by using left circles and quick back steps.
Second, teach the dog to back off leash pressure instead of pulling through it.
If you stay consistent with these techniques, you will start to see dramatic improvements in your walks.
Before long, your dog will learn that the easiest place to walk is right beside you.
If you need additional help, you can enroll in my Canine Essentials Program where I cover all of the training skills and concepts every dog will benefit from.
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