Ava Williams
You can see them on almost every walk: dogs constantly pulling or tugging on the leash. The cause of the dog pulling the leash is often a lack of exercise, a lack of training, or the fact that you don’t spend enough time with your dog.
Causes of Pulling
Lack of exercise: The need for exercise is often underestimated by dog owners. Most dog breeds need several hours of exercise each day. It should also be possible to run and let off steam.
Lack of training: Often a dog has never learned that it shouldn’t pull on the leash or how to behave properly when going for a walk. During a normal walk, the leash should hang loosely, this rule must be taught to the dog in consistent training. After all, normal locomotion for dogs is more of a brisk trot – for larger dogs, human walking speed is simply too slow.
In this way, the dog learns to walk easily on a leash
Of course, it is no fun for the dog either to constantly feel pressure and to be pulled on the collar. This can even lead to respiratory and back damage, says the managing director of the Pfotenhilfe association. It takes a lot of work to get your dog used to pulling on the leash. Bringing a few treats with you on a walk can speed up the learning process.
Although the constant pulling is also uncomfortable for your dog, it does it because it achieves its goal: it can, for example, sniff the desired place or greet a playmate. As long as he is successful with this behavior, he will not stop pulling on the leash. It is therefore important to make it clear to the dog that this behavior will not achieve anything. On the contrary!
The most important trick: As soon as the leash is too tight, you simply stop, lure the dog to you and then continue the walk. In this way, the dog learns that it can only achieve its goal – namely getting ahead – if the leash is loose.