How To Stop Your Dog From Pulling On The Leash

It's never too early to train your dog to stop pulling on the leash. It’s no fun to have a dog that you can’t walk because he pulls you everywhere. It may be fun for him, but it is exhausting for you. A nice stroll in the park becomes a nightmare when you cannot control your dog and have a relaxing walk.

Your dog has been pulling on the leash since he can remember, and he doesn’t know otherwise. The key factors for success are rewarding the appropriate behavior and avoiding the inappropriate. Your goal is to get your dog to want a treat more than he wants to pull you! Using a clicker and lots of treats as a reward:

• Your dog will begin to pull immediately. Plant your feet in the ground and stop walking. Wait for the leash to go slack, give a treat as a reward and try walking again.

• Walk quickly and turn constantly which will cause your dog to pay more attention to you since he doesn't know where you are going to go. The more often you change direction the more he has to stay focused on you.

• After you become accustomed to walking quickly and turning often, watch for the moment when your dog turns to follow you, click and treat when he catches up to you.

• You might want to stop walking for a couple of seconds after clicking to let your dog understand what he did right. Make sure that the treats are highly motivating to help keep his attention focused on you.

• Always begin practicing something new in a distraction free environment. Next, progress to including more distractions once your dog begins to understand and perform what it is expected of him.

Remember that your dog is not going to be a perfect walker overnight. Training your dog to walk nicely on a leash is going to take patience and repetition. Keep trying and don’t get frustrated, soon you will both be walking happily through the park, without everyone looking and laughing at you.

Next article: Dog Harnesses For Training and Traveling In A Car

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