YOU, yes YOU because you have trained your dog to pull on the lead.
When new puppy owners take home their new puppy they have very little knowledge or understanding of the fact that everything they do with that pup is going to have a lasting effect on that dogs behaviour, manners and training.
We put the lead on them for the first time and we let them take us for a walk, maybe around the house, or the garden - Teaching them to pull.
We take them out after their vaccinations and let them explore!! Which is basically a process of them pulling on the lead to get to a sniff or smell, which is then rewarding for them (they got what they wanted) by pulling you to it, through see the misguided thought that they are exploring the world - Teaching them to pull.
Then we get to puppy classes and allow them to pull towards other people (who make a fuss of them) and other puppies (who they think will want to play with them) they get to the target by pulling you and this are again rewarded - Teaching them to pull
When out and about they pull towards other dogs, people smells, and they are successful in their aims - Because you have taught them to pull
We take the squirty cheese or other means of culinary bribery, in the vain hope that it will work in the real world (because after all it worked in the hall during training) …….. but it doesn't. We might have taught them to chase the cheese at the local puppy classes, but with real life distractions they couldn't give a stuff if it's brie or cheddar.
So how do we get our dogs to walk on a loose lead and not pull? Here are a few ways:-
Don't use food to train it
Don't allow them to pull you towards anything
Ditch the bloody harnesses
Get rid of the damn flexi leads
Find a trainer that can actually get you what you want without food!
Is your dog pulling on the lead ? Are you fed up with plying it with food, only for it to put the proverbial two fingers up when you havent got it and they have something better to chase / do ?
Then you need to speak to us……. Breckland Dog Training!
