Is your dog pulling on the leash practically pulling your arms out of their sockets?  I see people walking their dogs, no their dogs are walking them, the dog pulling them all the way.  If you let a dog pull on the leash he will think that is what he is supposed to do and keep doing it.

So how do you stop this behavior?  First of all if your dog is grown, it might take some time. Ingrained habits take longer to unlearn.  If you have more patience than your dog you will eventually be able to train your dog.  The key is to be more stubborn, more determined than your dog.  And know what to do along the way.

If pulling is something you don’t like, then don’t tolerate it even for a second.  If your dog is pulling forward, either stop, or quickly turn a different way and say “this way” to get the dog going in a different direction. As he turns there will be a brief moment of slack in the leash. You can tell your dog “that’s right” as this happens.

Now that you are headed in a different direction and your dog starts pulling again, quickly turn a different direction and say in a calm but affirmative voice “this way” and your dog will follow. Give an affirmative “that’s right” when there is slack.  If you can make this seem like a game for your dog, he will start paying attention to you and begin watching you to see if you are going to change direction.

To improve the conditions for you and your dog, giving him a longer time of good behavior and you more time to see what is coming and correct him before he hits the end of the leash ( which could be micro seconds on a six foot leash) use a long line.  The long line will give you time to call out a change of direction before he gets to the end of the leash.

There is a whole lot more to be gained and more training available with a long line.  Some dog trainers specialize in the use of a long line. Whatever method you use to teach your dog to stop pulling on the leash, make sure that you never let your dog do it in the first place, then he’ll never be reinforced for doing something you find unpleasant.

John Spieser is the master of The Long Line Dog Training Method. Get his free audio where he talks about how he uses the long line with dogs and puppies. This will work with your neck strong dog or puppy if you stay consistent.

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Does your dog pulling on the leash on walks frustrate you and make you wish you didn’t have to walk your dog?   Did your dog come to you as an adult from a shelter?  Then it is likely that you never had the chance to train the dog properly from the start, when he was a puppy. 

 If you got your dog as a puppy and didn’t train him properly, it’s likely you never knew the right way to train your dog.  Don’t worry. Old dogs can learn new tricks as long as you are willing to put the time in to train your dog the right way.

A dog pulling on a leash should never be tolerated.  Once you have let a dog pull on the leash you’ve effectively trained him that pulling is OK.  So every time you are walking your dog and he’s pulling, you’re saying to the dog this is what I expect. And the bad behavior gets reinforced.

Training a dog can be frustrating unless you have the right attitude.  Patience is required.  Standing in one spot and not moving forward while your dog pulls on the leash is perfectly acceptable.  Don’t reward your dog by moving forward when your dog is doing something you don’t approve of. 

Keep a positive attitude and realize this is what is required right now.  Once your dog learns how to walk without pulling on the leash your walks can resume.  And you’ll be much happier.  The sooner you don’t give in to your dog’s bad behavior, the sooner he will have no desire to keep it up.  It won’t get him anywhere, he’ll figure out a new way to get what he wants, on your terms.  Remember, dogs are smart.

When walking a dog on a leash, any tension in the leash is a sign that you need to address the dog with either a command or correction or both, carefully timed.  One difficulty with using a short leash is that you don’t have much time to give a verbal command before the dog reaches the end of a short leash.  It’s no wonder that so many dogs pull on a leash.  The owners don’t have time to correct them.

Another reason dogs don’t get trained well is that when they are puppies, well meaning but uninformed adults let small children take the new puppy on a walk.  With absolutely no dog training skills a kid basically drags a young puppy around on the leash teaching the dog that this is what it’s supposed to be like.  There is always supposed to be tension on my neck.

This is so unfair to the puppy. The puppy is getting nothing positive out of this experience and just ends up learning how to irritate its owners every time it goes for a much needed walk. 

One technique that is very useful in training a dog to walk on a leash is by using a long line.  The long line dog training method allows you time to give a verbal correction or command to your dog before he reaches the end of the leash.   This technique is extremely useful when you need to make changes to an adult dog’s behavior.   An adult dog may run a lot faster than a puppy and get to the end of the leash or line quicker than a small puppy.

Training your dog properly to walk on a leash is something you need to do as a responsible pet owner.  Dogs need to learn how to behave from humans if they want to survive in a human world. 

You can learn about the long line dog training method and stop your dog  pulling on the leash.   You and your dog will walk in harmony after you learn the simple method discussed in this free audio.

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