| By Joyce Barker
Objective
To teach the adult dog to not pull on a lead.
Equipment
Dog treats, or good dried food,
lots of patience, remember as in all dog training to make
progress slowly.
Suitable lead.
Step One
Have lots of treats readily available and your dog on
its lead.
Summary:
Have lots of treats available for the activity.
Sit or stand near your puppy. The keyword
for this activity is just the puppy's name. Use a treat
and re-enforce with the attention to his name every time.
Never use the puppies name in a negative way and punish
the dog for some other misdemeanor. There is no advantage
to using aversion therapy when training puppies to understand
their name. The key to immediate success is happy rewarding
use of the puppies name at all times.
Step Two
Keep the lead loose at all times. If you see your puppy
starting to forge ahead, abruptly reverse directions so
that puppy finds himself suddenly behind or beside you
instead of forging in front of you. Don't wait until the
puppy is clear at the other end of the lead, pulling ahead
before you take action. The lead should always remain
loose except for that one split second it takes when you're
reversing direction. Do not drag your puppy back to your
side. Use a quick tug, then immediately release so the
lead is slack again. If it doesn't all happen in a split
second, it's taking too long and your puppy will not learn
to walk nicely on lead.
Instead of correcting your dog after he
is already pulling, do not give him the opportunity to
pull. If he never pulls, he will never learn to pull.
You must correct him BEFORE he pulls!
Practice now before your pup learns to pull.
Since your pup is unable to walk the streets yet, begin
teaching him to walk around your house and yard. He should
be taught not to pull before hitting the streets.
Step Three
If you cannot correct the puppy in time, do not reward
his pulling by letting him continue on his way. Better
to slowly just turn around and go the other way, or stop
in your tracks and say, "We are not going one inch further
until you stop pulling." Then wait, it may take 30 seconds;
it may take 20 minutes. Do not move until your puppy is
in control. Now you can start over and give the correction
before he starts pulling again. If again you are too late
in your correction, start again.
Summary
Use an appropriate lead that is easy for you to handle.
The lead should be appropriate for your breed of dog,
never use a choke chain. Try to train your puppy good
manners on his lead before he gets into the habit of pulling.
Do not yank and pull on your puppy's throat and neck.
Use a soft, adjustable, non- restrictive harness.
As soon as your pup learns leash manners,
you can switch to a regular collar for walking. Do not
leave the harness on your dog unattended. Use it only
while you are practicing. Joyce Barker - www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk
About the Author
Joyce Barker is a member of the British Institute of Professional
Dog Trainers. She has over 25 years worth of dog training
experience. She is the owner of www.dogtraininginfo.co.uk
a company dedicated to promoting positive dog training
methods.
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