“If only Sophie didn’t pull so much”, wailed Maddy, “we could do so much more. But I hate taking her out. It’s just such a nasty experience.”
We hear this so often. Pulling dogs makes walks unpleasant.
Why do dogs pull? As always, there are a few reasons.
1) Dogs have twice as many legs as we do. So, they ALL walk faster than us – even the tiniest chihuahua can stride out at quite a pace – and the bigger the dog the bigger the problem. Any dog bigger than very small (which is most dogs) will naturally walk faster than most humans can walk comfortably.
2) Does might pull to get to something, or to get away from something. A dog who generally walks nicely by your side may well pull to get to a favourite friend you meet in the street. Or your dog might pull hard to get past a noisy building site before walking nicely again.
3) But the main reason is: Your dog pulls because it works. Pulling gets him to where he wants to go faster. Your dog knows all your routines, so he’ll get worked up as you get ready to go out, then as soon as you turn in a certain direction he’ll recognise exactly where you’re going on today’s walk – and he’ll pull to get there.
When your dog pulls, it’s a natural reaction for you to pull back – so your dog pulls harder – so you pull harder back – and it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
And of course, there are the dreaded distractions. On quiet streets with no-one else about, perhaps your dog will walk nicely by your side, but as soon as it gets busier it all goes to pot.
Kirstie, our March challenge winner (well done Kirstie!) said this about her Challenge 10 Make sure your dog walks nicely on lead:
“Loose lead walks on the pavement are getting more successful. When we bring her to somewhere really exciting loose lead is more difficult. You have to prepare to use loads of treats and “putting the brakes on” When she gets bored of all the stopping, she walks nicely on the lead.”
Enjoy your walks and keep training,
Carol