How Understanding Why Dogs Pull on the Leash Helps You Fix It

If your dog pulls, you’re in good company. With few exceptions, just about every dog pulls on the leash before they learn not to. A harmful cycle is created: they pull, it makes you walk them less because it’s not enjoyable, they get less exercise and exposure, then when they do get to walk, they are even more unmanageable.

It can feel like a tough cycle to break, but with the right strategy every dog can learn and it turns the downward spiral of frustration into an upward spiral of joy, exercise, and bonding.

Why dogs pull (Spoiler alert, it’s not disobedience)

No dog pulls to deliberately go against what you want. Walking is exciting and can be very distracting, especially smells! All dogs (but especially sled breeds) have an opposition reflex which causes them to instinctively lean against pressure. Most dogs are also constantly reinforced for pulling. You might say, “Hey Amit, nuh uh! I have never given my dog a treat for pulling!” But I’m not talking about treats, I’m talking about other natural rewards. Dog pulls, they get closer to the thing they want to smell. Dog pulls, it increases your pace. Dog pulls, they get to meet another dog. Pulling works out for them often. In the absence of clear guidance, it actually makes a lot of sense that they do it.

Your frustration is understandable

It’s very frustrating. Especially when you know how bad it looks and that it’s your responsibility to exercise your dog but they are just making it as difficult as possible. Please know that your frustration is completely understandable, but also that a big part of making this work is being able to put your frustration to the side. You haven’t tried (or haven’t followed through with) an effective strategy yet. And an effective strategy is procedural, not emotional. Don’t let frustration influence your actions while working on this problem. Easy to say! But you can do it. Acknowledge your frustration, take a breath, and set it aside.

Before you develop your strategy, know your expectations and lock them in

In our classes we teach what we call “Loose-Leash Walking” which has only one very simple rule. The dog may not create tension on the leash. That’s it. They can go behind you, sniff around, go in front of you, or do a tap dance. Anything but add tension to the leash. Having a simple expectation like this makes things easy! And if this sounds like a dream, lock it in your mind. But now is the time to really think about what you want from your dog on a walk. We have two dogs and they are expected to each stay on their own side and not pass in front of us in addition to not pulling. This prevents leash juggling and tangling. It’s a bit higher level of training, but nothing outside the reach of the average dog owner.

Decide your expectations. Know them clearly inside your own head. Because if you don’t know what your expectations are, your dog has no hope of figuring this out.

Your end of the leash

Every dog is different, and that can make developing a strategy for your particular dog challenging if you aren’t an experienced dog trainer. But there are things you can do no matter your dog’s age, breed, or size. And the biggest thing is to relax your arm. This is something you practically have to train yourself to do. A lot of the people we see dealing with dogs who pull are creating half of the tension themselves. The instinct is to reel your dog in like a fish on a line. I’ve even seen people dangle their dog’s front legs off the ground. It’s a human instinct that you need to actively overcome. Relax your arm. Shoulders down, hand down, leash loose! You personally should not be the cause of any tension on the leash. This sounds super obvious, but you will catch yourself tensing up or reeling in over and over again.

Master this and your dog will have so many more opportunities to succeed.

Let’s talk strategy

You probably read the last section and thought, yea that makes sense but how am I supposed to do that? How is my arm supposed to be relaxed when my dog is like a train engine lurching forward non-stop? If I don’t reel my dog in when they’re pulling, how is the leash supposed to become loose again?

We want to snap or give a jerk on the leash when the dog gets just to the end of it before it gets tight. Like a poke on their shoulder to say, don’t go that far away. This can be accompanied by turning and going in the opposite direction thus putting the dog behind you in a follower position instead of a leader position. Keep going back and forth until your dog looks at you and not where it wants to go. This will take practice and consistency and if you end up spending your whole walk going back and forth in front of your house, that is better than your dog rehearsing that unwanted pulling behavior.

The nuances of your particular dog

The leash pop is where your individual strategy needs to come in. Some dogs are shy enough that they just need one gentle, well-timed pop to get the picture. Other larger stronger dogs might need several firm corrections before they will even consider giving you a half a thought. Going too soft with a bulldozer dog or too strong with a shy dog won’t do you any good, and this is where it’s great to bring in a trainer to show you what’s just right for your dog. Not just to get guidance on what to look for and how to react, but to watch your dog walk nicely with the trainer, and have that moment of realization that your dog actually can do this!

Join a Workshop

You can schedule a private lesson to address leash pulling. This way you have a trainer’s undivided attention and you can choose a time that works for you. But if that’s a little outside your budget, we host Loose-Leash Walking Workshops. These workshops present a unique opportunity to work your dog through this challenge under trainer supervision while others around you work on the same thing. Their presence challenges your dog and your presence challenges them. By the end we are all walking peacefully. It’s very satisfying!

Join our Free Pack Walks

Our pack walks are excellent opportunities to expose your on-leash dog to distractions and practicing walking. Normalizing the company of other dogs and distractions is huge when training your dog to relax around them. We do them every month and you can see the schedule here. You don’t have to be an existing customer to join and it’s always free!