Helping Your dog not to pull

Nobody wants a dog to pull. There are a lot of suggestions around on how to get to easy walking and stop a dog from pulling but which ways are the most effective? And what would your dog like you to know about pulling?

Videos I posted on how to walk a dog and helping your dog not to pull on leash received a lot of attention, comments and questions—we all want to do this the right way for our dogs. Good for them (and for us). Here’s more on the theory and technique as an answer to one of the questions received:

Frania, I watched the video and only wish that my 4 year old, black, solidly built 37 pound Cocker Spaniel was as docile on leash. I think he has some field spaniel in his bloodline as he's bigger than any other Cocker's I've seen. He's stubborn, meanders, pulls, doubles back and will spend 15 minutes smelling a blade of grass. If I'm not paying attention, he'll pull my arm out of the socket if a squirrel runs by !! :-) Other than that, he's affectionate, playful and a good dog without a mean bone in his body. Any ideas? -Barry

Hi Barry, Ahh, do not be deceived, Daisy is very much the "ever-eager-to- experience-the-world-now" spaniel dog as well. We have just been working on how to train dog manners to human liking longer. Your spaniel is interested in spaniel dog preoccupations, how very dog like. Dogs pull mostly because they've got four legs and can get to where they want to go way before we do. And taking a sniff around and chasing squirrels are where they want to go. I remember something Ian Dunbar once said about pulling that I think works here. Dunbar talks about making an agreement with his dogs that they could sniff as long as they like as long as they did not pull him to do it --fabulous, allowing for a companion dog's natural behaviors and desires and ours in the same sentence.

That sniffing is so very important to your dog --just think of how much they have traded off in their co-evolutionary processes with us, including all that eye-to-eye visual communication, which is how we mainly process information, as opposed to how they mainly process information, through smell. That blade of grass means the world in those 15 minutes to your spaniel. And the squirrel? Divine fun to run after a prey animal, not The Wall Street Journal or the Internet but then again those appeal mostly to humans.

On to my ideas on easier walking for the both of you: work on being more in tune with what you want from each other and when you want it. This is training, communicating to your dog what you expect from them in a way they can understand, tempered with humane consideration which allows for their wants and needs.

Remember, that pulling back on your dog's forward movement or in general, is one sure way to get your dog to pull back. They have to do just that to stay upright. This is the concept of "oppositional reflex" at work. You can see it when you see a dog straining to go forward and they are held back from a collar or a back clip harness - the dog's front legs lift off the ground and they need to pull forward to maintain equilibrium. We can see this with our own bodies, if we are pushed against from the front of the back, we move in opposition to stay upright. More on why a front clip harness is best for this reason and others follows.

For that pulling forward to meet another dog? You know that dance you can do, when you hesitate - is the dog friendly? Boy or girl? Should you let them say hi? No doubt, all the while you consider the what-to-do part, your dog is straining vigorously to go forward while you pull backwards. And that hesitancy and stress you are feeling is travelling right down the leash adding to the frenzy. Far better in this scenario to decide on yes or no to the greeting once you size up the oncoming dog and owner and letting it happen straight away. Or not. When it was a go for me (having a female dog and knowing cross gender encounters are typically smoother), I would ask three questions as we approached before stopping: "Can they say hi? Girl or Boy? Friendly?" If I thought it better not to greet the other dog I would step around my dog so I was the buffer between both dogs and just keep walking. Either way, pulling is not needed by your dog.

Please avoid equipment that controls through pain to communicate a need to a dog. Shock collars (or "training" or "e" collars), choke collars, prong collars and head halters all fit here. They will control a dog from pulling by electric shock, constricting the neck, applying direct pressure with small painful points or apply uncomfortable pressure to the highly sensitive eye and muzzle area and severely inhibit natural behaviors. Prove this to yourself- watch the next dog choking against their collar or pawing at or with subdued, cowed demeanor on a head halter (for more on head halters please see Suzanne Clothier’s excellent piece) or the dog pulling on a prong because the pain and inevitable physical damage being done to the neck and back is now the price of being able to go forward. So much more sense to stop the pulling as a handler from your technique on the other end of the leash. Do put your dog in a halter with a front clip attachment instead. A good "no pull" kind of harness is a wonderful thing as they guide your dog's movements without putting pressure on and causing damage to neck, trachea and back. Small or flat faced dogs, in particular should never be walked without a harness.

To develop and work on an easy-walking-no-pulling technique start walking your dog on a 6 foot leash (no extend a leashes please, they can be dangerous and will actually encourage pulling) in the house. Remember to consider the dog in this, talk to them to engage their attention and show your interest in them. Ask for your to stay next to you, use a verbal cue, like "with me". And, please, do use treats (the small easy to eat on the go kind) to engage your dog and keep it meaningful and rewarding for them. With a mid size dog keeping a treat at your outside thigh and level with your dog's head will keep them positively glued to you, remember to give the treat every few steps). For smaller dogs, bend down to offer that treat every few steps. Remember to mark "good with me!" or other cue every time you treat. After some calm and easy walking sessions you can also try attaching a lead to your belt at home so the dog is attached to you and you can both get used to moving well together. The lead should be long enough to allow the dog to lie down comfortably next to you and short enough so that you are aware of the dog‘s movements.

Keep your training fun and to five minutes. You are more likely to do it if you break it down into easier to accomplish segments time wise. Practice the red light green light technique. Make sure add plenty of verbal praise at a green light. Your dog will be better able to key in on the verbal at home without outside distractions. And always end on a good note, even if it is a "thank you!" and a treat.

Remember to always set your dog up for success by asking for what you want first and allowing for a response. For instance, if you want to get up from your desk, let your dog know where you are both going. Say “Rover, let’s go get a drink of water” and wait for Rover to respond. Rover may not know what each word means but he probably knows “let’s go” and he definitely knows what your body language is for “let’s go”. OK, so now that you have worked on paying better attention to each other and walking at home try it outside. Start practicing your red light green light technique at the beginning of your walk before you get too close to the highlights of the walk. (No fair to practice this if your dog needs to relieve himself first so do let your dog pee or poo first, pay attention to body posture and let that happen without correction.)

Allow for easy walking by letting your dog sniff along the way. When you approach what is uber attractive and prompts more than sniffing, try and see it before your dog does, keeping proactive and setting him up for success, by either releasing him from the training session, if it is to say hi to a friend or passing the pet store with a phrase that redirects the movement "let's say hi to Rover", "let's go pet store" or whatever other word you use to say "all done with training for now" before the pulling temptation to get there right now presents itself.

Do let him sniff that grass forever- it’s so much what the walk is for. When the squirrel runs by, give him the way not to run after it by seeing it before he does and call his name to get his attention and move off in the opposite direction. Pace can be your friend here or circling to move forward as long as you can do this in a smooth and fluid movement without jerking or pulling on him. Try also offering an alternative behavior like a few moments of tug or a special squeaky toy that your dog likes (offered specially for these occasions). Those alternatives in the place of squirrels and the like have to be just "as good as" and treats do not often make the cut. The squeak of a special toy, a ball, tug toy or what appeals to the dog you know are key to offer here instead. Keep making sure you are talking to him at all times, again, this will ensure that you are engaged in what he is doing and will keep him aware of you.

All this is to say, that this is about training. which takes much time, communication, consideration, practice and effort on our part to get those four footed dog bodies which go much faster than our own to move with us.

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