Civil Pooch - Positive Dog Training by John Buginas, San Francisco Bay Area

If you use a retractable leash, be warned that these leashes can teach a dog to pull.

Why?

A retractable leash extends when a dog pulls. The dog learns that if it pulls, it gets to go where it wants to go. Dogs do what works!

This is the perfect way to teach a dog to pull! They get exactly what they want by pulling. If a dog gets what it wants by doing something, it will keep doing what works. Dogs do what works.

Retractable leashes teach a dog, and, you, that a tight leash is normal. They also can be a bit of a danger to some dogs. When your dog is on a retractable leash, body posture is forced into a stiff position that signals to other dogs that your dog is a threat. It is also IMPOSSIBLE to control a dog at the end of a long, taught leash; the leash can get tangled in people's and dog's legs.

The retractable leash, or any tight leash, can be a hazard when your dog approaches a dog that has issues with other dogs.

You CAN teach a dog to not pull on leash, but you will have to use a normal, 6 foot leash to teach this. And use the retractable leash only when you don't care if the dog pulls. Most dogs can learn the difference between the retractable leash and the standard leash.

How can you stop a dog from pulling?

You need to teach a dog two things:

• Pulling does NOT work 
• Staying at your side is a good place to be.

This can be done by applying several approaches.

Use a four to six foot leash for all of these approaches. You can use a flat collar or anti-pull collar, such as a martingale, Gentle Leader brand head harness or Sensation anti-harness. If you use a harness, make sure you use one that fastens in front and not on the top.

Make sure you hold the leash at a constant length, about three feet long for most dogs. You want the dog to have enough room to move around a bit. Keep the leash looped in your hand so that the length between your dog and your hand stays constant. A constant length will tell your dog how far they can wander and will make teaching easy by providing a clear message.

For safety, hold your leash at your belt buckle or belly button. Keep your arms at your side. If you let your arm go up or stick out, your dog can injure you or pull you over.

First, stop/go walking.

Every time your dog starts to pull, simply stop. As soon as your dog pays attention to you or the leash loosens for ANY REASON, start moving forward.

Second, reward being next to you

The second part of teaching this is to reward your dog for being in place next to you. You can do this by saying 'Heel' and providing a treat every time the dog appears next to you at your left pant seam. You can call the dog into position by patting your leg. Be sure to pair the treat with praise.

As you move forward, reward every time the dog appears next to your leg.

To make things harder and firm up the learning, you can reward a dog every other step, then every  then every three steps and so forth, until you are walking an entire block or more without any rewarding.

If your dog lunges wildly and jumps

You can consider trying a 'crazy walk'. Walking as fast as you can, change directions every few feet, randomly. Walk five steps, turn left. Then walk 10 steps and turn right. Keep varying the number of steps an distance. Your dog will soon learn that he MUST pay attention to you to go anywhere.

Try it off leash!

The BEST way to teach your dog to stay next to you is to teach your dog OFF LEASH or attached to a LONG LINE.

Start in a safe area, such as a large room or backyard. Have several treats in your hand and start walking around randomly. When your dog starts paying attention to you, reward. When your dog gets in place next to your left side, praise and reward. Continue walking, changing direction every so often. Keep rewarding when ever your dog shows up at your left side.

Your dog is learning to CHOOSE to be in heel position.

Training has nothing to do with a leash. You can teach most obedience skills off leash faster than on leash. Using leash can interfere with learning -- if you pull and tug your dog into position or yank their collar if they do the wrong thing.

Live in the San Francisco East Bay Area?

Contact Civil Pooch for private training. We can help you learn to walk your difficult dog.

Licensed, insured. Run by professional trainer, John Buginas, CPDT, CTC.