Tips and Tricks to Get Two Dogs to Stop Pulling on the Leash

By: Sam Kanouse

Published Date: January 4, 2018

CharlieGinger - Tips and Tricks to Get Two Dogs to Stop Pulling on the Leash

In this Omaha dog training session we worked with Charlie, a three-year-old Cavaton, and Ginger, an eight-year-old Labrador, to help them stop pulling on the leash and greet guests with confidence.

After I arrived at the house I learned that Ginger had become more fearful of new people coming into the home as she got older. After I put the camera down from our greeting I had her guardian put her on a leash and bring her further away from me. This was to teach Ginger that she could get away from me safely and I wouldn’t follow her. This was the first step in building trust with her. As I chatted with her guardians Ginger could move about freely on her six foot leash while she relaxed and got used to my company. Over time when she showed signs of trusting that I was in the home her guardian followed Ginger over to me allowing her to decide when she was ready to greet me. By the end of the session she was licking my hand and we were becoming pals!

One of the other main dog behavior concerns that the guardians had was leash pulling. To help them enjoy their walks with their dogs I taught them our Structure Walk exercise, which you can watch below.

As you can see in the video, this is not meant to hurt or harm Charlie. We are making a very gentle tug on the leash directly upwards so we don’t get him to pull back on the leash. This is more like a swaddle for a baby by wrapping the leash around his body. As an interesting fact dogs don’t have shoulder sockets so their shoulder stays in place all by muscle! So the leash is going around the strongest part of their body, making it safe and easy for them to move about freely.

By the end of the session Ginger was warming up to me and seeking attention and affection and Charlie was learning how to respect rules and boundaries and walking calmly on the leash. To keep up with this good behavior the guardians will want to educate their guests on their new strategy to help Ginger initiate contact with strangers. We wrapped up this dog behavior training session with Charlie and Ginger’s Roadmap to Success video, which you can watch below.

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This post was written by: Sam Kanouse