What can I do when my dog pulls the leash?

One of the big problems for many dog handlers is not knowing what to do when their dog pulls the leash. However, the question here is that we make a reverse reading (very human, and not very doglike) of the situation: we ask ourselves what can I do when the dog pulls? instead of why does my dog pull the leash?

The answer is simple: your dog pulls the leash because it works and it has been learnt that pulling, during walks, is synonymous with getting what it wants. To the main question, however, there are also two answers. What can you do? You can stop or change direction. I will explain this in more detail below.

Three situations where dogs often pull the leash

It's a very simple association, really. I will give you three examples:

#1. The dog wants to get to a park and pulls desperately: you let them do it and you arrive at the park this way and with your shoulder half dislocated.

#2. You meet some friends or family, the dog wants to go and say hello and pulls; to avoid the situation, you get it as close as possible to you and you encourage that behaviour.

#3. The dog perceives a stimulus (the smell of a wee, a flower, another dog, whatever) and pulls on the leash (and you) until it reaches it.

Your dog pulls the leash, because it pulls the leash: how redundant!

Consider this: what does your dog really understand in all these situations? “I’m pulling at my own will” and, as you know, as a behaviour is repeated (reinforced) it becomes more difficult to change. That's the case with dogs and people, isn't it?

Although, for many dog handlers, structuring a walk and preventing your dog from pulling the leash is very difficult, there are only two ways to do it: consistency (well, and maybe a little extra patience) and show the dog that this behaviour isn't working.

If it pulls the leash, the dog will not reach the park, people or another dog, etc. When the dog walks without pulling, it will reach all places faster and, little by little, he or she will feel that this is the way: not pulling is synonymous with reaching and reaching faster, never the other way around.

As the dog stops trying this behaviour because it doesn't get what it wants, it will start collaborating with us. It is true that, during the first walks, we will have to stop a hundred or two hundred times, but if we are constant and do not allow the dog to "take us" or achieve anything by pulling, by Premack's law (which says: when two responses are linked, the one that is more likely to occur positively reinforces another one that is less likely) we structure a calm and controlled walk.

Extra tips to prevent your dog from pulling the leash

Of course, we can take into account some extra exercises and tips that will help speed up and see results sooner. How:

#1. Use straps at least 2 meters long: if we become obsessed with teaching the dog to walk on a very short leash we will only succeed in stressing ourselves and, above all, the animal, because the margin for it not to pull is minimal.

#2. Practice some obedience, mental stimulation and keep an enriched space at home. All this will help the dog to maintain adequate cortisol levels and be more balanced, resulting in less nervous and impulsive outbursts.

#3. Encourage the dog's tracking instinct, both in leash and non-leash exercises to spread that behaviour. A very useful exercise here is the changes of direction during the walk.

#4. Congratulate the dog when it is doing well! At first, we can reward good behaviour every few steps; little by little, we will withdraw most of the awards and reward them with our words and by petting them.

In any case, as with other educational guidelines, it is very important to remember that we are not working for immediate results, but rather building a strong structure that dogs will assimilate due to their innate desire to collaborate and to strengthen correct behaviour.

Javier Ruiz, dog trainer on Dogventura and environmental educator for the UB. Copywriter and author of: On How Animals Live and Die.