Pulling on the lead

This is one of the most common questions I get asked and often people have already tried a few gadgets like a halti to help the situation but it just doesn't work. 

I am going to suggest 2  things to stop doing, 3 things to start doing and point to the mindset issue that I see most often prevents people from achieving success in this area.  

What to stop doing? 

• Stop trying to train your dog to walk to heel when you are already on the walk and it's not working.
• Stop saying the word heel (or equivalent word) over and over again hoping they understand what you want of them. 

It's ok to laugh out loud when you realise that you have innocently been making life harder for yourself and training your dog to do whatever it does when you say heel by repeating it regularly alongside the thing you don't want them to do! For me anyway I had to laugh or I would have cried... 

Now let's start where you are at with your dog and go at their pace. 

3 things to start doing

• When you get the lead out observe your dog.  What are they doing? bouncing around? running away and hiding? or something else?  it doesn't really matter unless they are calm and looking to you for the next step, you don't need to do anything else.  
•  Now wait calmly and quietly making no eye contact.  Any eye contact at this point will only increase the time you have to wait. 
• Once calm you can start the process of helping your dog to want to walk beside you in calm relaxed way. 

The process: 

It's called Stop, Start and Change Direction. If your dog pulls one way, Stop and wait till the lead loosens and they are focusing on you, and then start again in a different direction. repeat, repeat repeat. 

Top tip: start in the safety of your home, then once they get the hang of it you can move to the garden, street, park, etc. 

The mindset issue that will trip you up every time is worded beautifully by one of my amazing readers:

" I know perseverance is key; I really need him to start walking properly as I like to take him to nice places to walk."

That right there is the problem, how can you possibly persevere with anything when you have placed that kind of pressure on yourself.  As long as it looks to you that you need your dog to do anything the energy you are bringing to the situation is stressful and urgent and your super sensitive dog will pick up on this immediately and start to take charge of the situation either by pulling you to get there first or hiding to not leave the safety of home at all. 

The most important piece of advice I was ever given regarding this is as follows:

There are other alternatives to walking in order to exercise, spend time with and bond with your dog.

• If it's nice places you want to go to, in the short term you could go without your dog while you give them space and time to learn how to walk on a lead in a relaxed way
• If it's exercise you are concerned about you can exercise your dog in many other way that's just your walk. Get creative!

I hope this helps to get you started to help your dog to stop pulling on the lead or stopping and not moving while on a walk. If anything resonates and you would like find out if you are the right fit for my programme 4 simple solutions to a well behaved dog with life time access, message me and we can arrange a free 30 minute call. My e-mail is [email protected]

Peaceful paws always. 

Julie x