There are many reasons why your dog may pull on the leash, for example:
- The leash is a limit to his movements : Walking with a limit to his movements does not come naturally and can be overwhelming for many dogs.
- Pain: Asking a quadruped to walk at the pace of a biped can even be painful.
- It wants to get away from us: dogs tend to separate from the group to relieve themselves and are guided on the walk by smells that give them information about their environment and other dogs. These odors can be at points where the leash does not reach. There may be a specific objective that your dog wants to achieve, and that is why he pulls on the leash.
- Learning: many dogs on their first walks learn that if they pull on the leash, in the face of specific objectives, we kindly bring them closer to where they want to go. This teaches them that to get where they want, they have to tell us by shooting, or they learn to shoot to get there.
- For an emotional issue: badly managed intense emotions can make your dog pull the leash. What does a dog feel when tied up?
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- You want to get to the park to play with your friends as soon as possible.
- Anxiety or frustration at not being able to vent their prey-chasing instincts, for example, if they smell or see a rabbit or cat.
- Frustration of not being able to greet other dogs, other people or start playing.
- Fear and tendency to run away pulling on the leash.
How to correct a dog that pulls on the leash?
The first thing is to equip
Every dog is different. Although there is a group of general tools and protocols that we can learn, we must then attend to their individual application. There are management elements that are useless under any circumstances. These are all tools and methodologies that inflict physical or emotional pain on our dog.
- The best options that are legal:
- Wide, padded collar
- Harness that allows free movement.
- Light soft or rubberized nylon strap of 2 meters minimum
- Balls of a prize or I think that he likes it, but that it does not drive him so crazy that he forgets everything else.
How to train a dog to walk on a leash?
And once equipped, the fun begins
Science has shown that a contained brain always learns better. Here are three fun practical exercises you can do with your dog to get him to stop pulling on the leash.
3 practical exercises to stop your dog from pulling on the leash
- Wherever you want, but with rules: for this exercise you do not need to use prizes or food for your dog. Simply allow your dog to walk relaxed on a 2-3 meter leash and accompany him wherever he wants to go. Of course, there is only one rule, and that is, that you do not put tension on the strap. If it does, you immediately stop and turn 180 degrees. That is, if he pulls the leash, you change the direction of the march, so that he loses ground with respect to the place where he wants to go.
- Disconnect from the environment and pay attention to me: it is important that when you go out with your dog for a walk and it is tied to the leash, you do not become a mere “taxi driver or driver” who walks behind at the rhythm that your dog violates.
It is important to strengthen emotional ties with our dog every day, and the walk is the ideal time for it. We know that when we look deeply with our dog, we both secrete a hormone responsible for bonding us even more, oxytocin.
If during the walk, you call your dog by his name and he does not turn his head to look at you, he is clearly on to something else.
To increase the bond with your dog and walk together and not in line, try to do some practical and fun exercise with your dog during the walk. Play with him, or praise him socially when he just pays attention to you.
You can use a small ball of their feed, or a prize that is not too juicy. We do not want him to forget the environment to connect with the ham instead of with you.
- Learn to walk by my side: training the exercise of “along” with your dog can be useful for him to learn to walk at your pace. This exercise consists of teaching the dog to walk next to our leg. Get him to follow a treat he likes against your knee as you say the word together. Once you advance a few steps in a straight line, congratulate him and give him the prize.
With a little daily practice, you will see how the walk on a leash with your dog improves.