PULLING ON THE LEAD – OUTBOUND JOURNEY

The problem you are having is that your dog pulls on the journey out of the house or car and does not pull at all on the return journey. To solve this problem, you must follow the steps set out below:

Stage One
For three days, several times each day:

· Attach your dog’s lead to his collar and have some small pieces of his daily food allowance either in your pocket or in a small bag. The walk begins when you attach the lead.

· Begin by standing still, insisting that your dog stands without exerting any pressure on the lead.

· If your dog puts any pressure at all on the lead then STAND STILL! Use your lead to insist that your dog returns to a position alongside you and stands on a slack lead.

· Avoid using any commands (talking to your dog can in fact be reinforcing the pulling behavior) What you are trying to do is draw attention to the fact that only maintaining a slack lead will result in any rewards.

· When your dog has remained next to you for around ten seconds, praise well with your voice for at least ten seconds before moving forward.

· For every ten paces that you walk and your dog does not exert any pressure on the lead, stop, praise and give a piece of food.

The first day that you try this you may not get very far but you should see a dramatic decrease in pulling behavior over a period of two or three days.
 

Stage Two
From now on when you walk your dog:

· Before taking your dog out for a walk, put some food treats and one or two favorite toys in your pocket. These must be concealed and not shown to your dog before the walk starts.

· If your dog exerts any pressure on the lead, STAND STLL. Use the lead to insist that your dog returns to a position alongside you. After a period of at least ten seconds, praise with your voice before walking forward once again.

· If your dog is trying to pull you towards something or someone then repeat the above procedure. This time return to the point where the dog started pulling before standing still. As you get closer to the attraction, your dogs desire to pull will get stronger so you must insist he is returns to the original starting position before he is allowed to try the approach once more. You can, at your discretion allow your dog to meet up with the attraction only when he has walked correctly.

· When you are walking along and your dog is not pulling suddenly stop and produce one of the rewards that you are carrying with you. Try to vary the type of reward given, the frequency it is given and the amount that is given for the correct walking behavior.

Remember that once your dog had learned the correct walking behavior, you must teach him to generalize. The more unpredictable you are in where you walk him, and the type, frequency and amount of rewards that he gets, the more consistent that behavior will become.

If you find this program helpful, please make a donation to the Pasadena Humane Society. You can donate online or mail a check made out to PHS to:

BEST Training
Pasadena Humane Society
361 S. Raymond Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105