Pulling on a leash

Pulling human on a leash is not easy. Humans are usually slow, heavy and somewhat stubborn. Plus they rarely have any interest in sniffing that doggo in front of us, let alone a BUNNY RABBIT! THERE! LOOOK! I NEED TO BE THERE… uh, uth… it’s gone. C’mon human!

Few ideas how to get the human calm down and take us places.

Stop and wait

Just like that. Human stops and waits. No pulling back, no jerking.

Every smart doggo will eventually get tired hanging on that leash. My neck health is more important.

Also why are we not moving? Lets check back and see what is that human doing - is she distracted and not paying full attention on me?

Alright I’ll give her a slack, step back a bit - less tension on the neck this way.

Turn around, redirect

I leave in the moment! If I see it and it’s close enough, I definitiely wants to get it. Now!! Are we getting close to something exciting? Let’s get closer, hooman!

I also can get easily distracted, by… can you guess… my favourite treat! Get human to get that treat out of their pocketses and let’s do a U-turn on the spot. (Your human may feel weird at first doing you turn on the street, that’s ok - practice makes perfect).

Ok, turned? Let’s walk few steps. Get to some distance where I can enjoy my treat uninterrupted.

Stay positive, make it a game. As soon as my ears are up, that’s the good time to act. Especially if approaching other dog friend, let the human forward and let them think they are leading (they like to feel important; plus you will be more relaxed - we are not trying to protect human, we feel it’s the other way around).

Get your human repeat many times in different situations. Playfully shuffle back or aside. Learn them that corner of the street, tree in the park or the doorr of that shop are completely different situations (and each deserve their own treat).

Sources

• The Language of Dogs By Justin Silver and David Donnenfeld Library Link
• Imagine life with a well-behaved dog by Julie A. Bjelland Library Link