Tips to Stop a Dog From Pulling on the Leash

For this LA dog training session we helped 1 year-old Chihuahua mix Will, sharing tips to stop a dog from pulling on the leash.

Will is a little bit of an anxious dog, so I met him outside and used a few Dog Behaviorist tricks to make sure I made a good first impression. His guardian commented on how surprised she was that he relaxed with me so quickly and didn’t protest when we entered his home. I reccommend she repeat this greeting method for future guest visits. Even better, invite friends who havent met Will so she can practice without the pressure of a real guest.

After going over how to use marker words and a couple of loading exercises, we got started on training a dog to walk with a loose leash.

How to Stop a Dog From Pulling on the Leash

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The number one mistake people make when trying to teach a dog to stop pulling on the leash is doing so on an actual walk. This really sets the dog up to fail with all of the distractions and things to pull to that reward pulling behavior. Instead we worked inside the home for the entirety of these loose leash walking tips. This is the best way to train a dog to stop pulling on the leash. As the dog develops the skillset, you want to gradaully move to more and more distracitng environments (MDE’s), but only once the dog can perform the skill consistently a few times in a row.

If you want to stop your dog froom pulling your arm out of the socket, you deffinately want to check out the free positive dog training video on loose leash training below.

It was great to see how quickly Will got these exercises to stop a dog from pulling on the leash. It was equally enjoyable to see how much of a kick his guardian got out of his progress. These loose leash walking secrets are actually pretty easy to do. Its importnat to note that this was a much longer practice session than I normally would do, but I wanted to share these loose leash walking exercises all at once so the guardian knows what to do.

If you want to teach your dog to stay next to you on walks, its a process, just like any other skill. It takes time and practice. But we developed this program for the real world. By that, I mean we have stacked these exercises in order that complement each other so one thing makes the next easier and more effective. We ask our clients to practice these simple exercises to stop a dog from pulling on a leash 3+ times a day in short, 5 minute practice sessions EVERY DAY for 4 weeks.

These loose leash walking secrets are easy to do, and that’s the point. The secret to stopping a dog from pulling on the leash is short, successful practice sessions that are repeated often and daily. This helps these tips go into your dog’s long term memory easier. Cramming 3, 5-minte practice sessions spread throughout the day into one long 15 minute session is nowhere as effective.

This process usually takes 3-4 weeks but varies by dog. Now its important to understand that training a dog to walk with a loose leash does not mean a reactive dog wont pull on the leash if startled or sees something its fearful or reactive to. In those cases, the best course of action is to plan ahead and get your dog father away from the thing before it reacts. Once it does, the only remaining course of action is to increase the distance until the dog can feel safe or secure.

I suggested the guardian set up a follow up session in a few weeks so we can work on Will’s reactive behavior once he has learned to walk with a loose leash. Im excited to hear about Will’s progress over the next couple of weeks.