Loose Leash Training Tips Help a Pair of Santa Monica Dogs Stop Pulling on the Leash

For this Santa Monica dog training session we taught 2 dogs (7 month old Golden Retriever Lab mix Blue and 3 year-old Golden Retriever Ellie) to listen to their guardian and stop pulling on the leash.

The dogs like to jump up on guests so I called ahead to set up a technique I like to use to stop dogs from jumping up when excited. We practiced with one dog at a time and when we finished, both dogs were calmer than they usually are when guests visit.

A lack of control was a theme of this in home dog behavior session. While the dogs were pretty happy go lucky, a lack of rules and structure had confused them into thinking they had the same level of authority as their guardian. But if a dog sees you as a peer, then listening to you becomes optional.

I shared tips on how to flip the leader follower dynamic through adding rules, enforcing them consistently, rewarding desired behaviors when the dogs offer them (passive training) and how to boost the dog’s respect for the guardian by asking them to do some small task before petting them (petting with a purpose).

Next we headed outside so I could show the guardian how to stop the dogs from pulling on the leash. Dogs pull on the lead for many reasons, but a lack of control is usually associated with all of them. You can get some free tips on how to stop dogs from pulling on the leash in the video below.

This kind of loose leash training is so effective because the dog gets to practice walking next to the human in an easy situation and gets a reward for desired actions and behavior like returning to the human when they get to the end of the leash. With practice, the dog pays attention closer and gets into a habit of walking next to the human without putting tension on the leash.

If the guardians practice this exercise before walks as well as by themselves, the dogs will start paying more attention to the handler instead of everything else on walks. It will take some practice, but I have helped hundreds of dogs stop pulling on the leash with this easy positive dog training approach.

To help the guardian remember all the dog behavior secrets I shared with her during this in home dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video that you can watch below.

My camera ran out of space or I talk too long so my phone stopped recording half way thorough. We pick things back up in the video below.