Tips to Stop Excited Dogs From Pulling on the Leash

By: David Codr

Published Date: January 23, 2018

Bagel Snoopy and Duke - Tips to Stop Excited Dogs From Pulling on the Leash

For this Omaha dog training session we worked with Bagel (left, an 11-month-old Staffordshire Mix), Snoopy (center, a 2-year-old Beagle) and Duke (2-year-old Beagle); teaching the Beagles to behave on walks and stop pulling on the leash.

I could immediately tell that Snoopy was the more insecure of the dogs. This was puzzling for the guardians as they said Snoopy was usually the bossy one with Duke. But Duke takes a subordinate position which often causes other dogs to adopt a more dominant position.

But just because Snoopy was dominant to Duke does not mean he felt the same confidence when it came to humans. This insecurity is certainly a contributing factor as the most reactive dogs are usually the most lacking of confidence.

When I sat down with the guardians I went over how important a healthy leadership structure is as well as ways to achieve it. I showed them how to add structure to petting the dogs, how to introduce rules and enforce them to help the dogs see the humans had things under control. I also discussed the shock collar Bagel was wearing. His guardian mentioned it was only for communication so I made sure to show him a number of ways to talk to his dog that do not require a shock collar.

One of the main issues the humans had was the dogs pulling on the leash on walks. This behavior had made walking the dogs an unpleasant experience which resulted in less walks for the dogs. I know we needed to do some leash training to help the dogs behave better on walks.

To help train the dogs to stop pulling on the leash I spent several minutes going over dog training tips to help the dogs stay calm and under control for the walk.

Taking your time during the leashing process (stopping anytime the dogs move in front or get too excited) is half the battle when teaching a dog leash manners.

I also recommended the guardians bring along a stash of tasty treats on walks and stop periodically to ask the dog to sit and reward it for doing so. Doing this regularly for a week or so will cause the dogs to start looking up at the handler in anticipation of the next treat. This way the dog is watching the human instead of paying attention to everything but the handler.

By the end of the session, the dogs were looking to the humans for guidance and leadership and the humans were already using many of the tips and suggestions I shared with them.

We wrapped up this in home dog training session by showing a roadmap to success video you can check out below.

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This post was written by: David Codr