Polite leash walking 101
It’s entirely possible to teach your dog to walk politely without pulling.
But do you really need to? Read on!
It seems simple, doesn’t it? You’ve brought home a new puppy or dog and head out for a walk only to find your them pulling in all directions, seemingly at once. Here’s why:
3 reasons dogs pull on leash
Dogs (mostly) have four legs as opposed to our two, so naturally move faster than we do.
They usually have no control over when they can go out, get exercise, and explore, so they’re super-excited to do so whenever they get a chance. You’ve probably noticed that the excitement starts when you go anywhere near their leash. Trainers like me call this “hydraulic behavior.” The dog’s interest in going out is inversely proportional to the last time he engaged in the behavior — so if you took your dog out every 1/2 hour rather than twice a day, he’d likely not get as supercharged. Note: I’m not suggesting you go out every 1/2 hour!
A dog’s sense of smell (olfactory system) is much more complex and developed than ours. It’s hypothesized to be up to 10 million times as sensitive as a human's in certain specialized breeds. So it’s no wonder they’re out the door raring to follow their noses, pulling us along in the process.
Sniffing is shown by researchers to be an activity that dogs deeply enjoy — it’s a preferred activity — and can also be quite tiring as processing scent is great brain-work!
Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College and author of the book Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell (a fabulous read) firmly believes that the #1 thing we can do for our dogs’ welfare is to let them sniff.
Polite walking can be as easy as a gear switch
Front-clip harnesses can significantly reduce pulling by turning your dog around when she pulls ahead. Head halters, sometimes called head collars, are similar to horse halters in that pulling results in the dog being turned around. I most often recommend head halters only when the dog is able to pull their guardian down or injure them by pulling too hard. Dogs need to be desensitized to wearing a head halter, in a similar way they learn to comfortably wear a muzzle.
Another reason a dog may pull is that they’re afraid of what’s in the environment and are trying to chase it away. If your dog is fearful on walks, consult with a credentialed, rewards-based trainer for a different approach. A gear switch alone will not help a fearful or anxious dog.
Our dog Daisy is wearing both her head collar (around her nose) and her no-pull harness, which gives us options when on a walk.
Dogs need to get used to wearing a head collar in very easy, brief training sessions. Most head collars come with video tutorials.
Polite walking pro tips
If you do decide your dog needs some help with leash manners, it will take the right gear, patience, a training plan, and — you got it — plenty of food rewards.
The strongest behaviors are taught at increasing levels of difficulty and distraction so this may seem counter-intuitive, but practice inside first. Give your dog time to learn that walking without pulling is super-rewarding without the distraction and excitement of The Outside World.
Once your dog has aced inside polite walking, practice in a slightly more exciting environment: A backyard, porch, or at the end of the walk, when your dog has had her fill of being outside.
Bring the Best Treats Ever on a walk and reward your dog whenever she looks at you with a cheery “Yes!” and a treat.
My top tip: Reframe your expectations — let them sniff and explore
I encourage most clients, even city dwellers, to use a long (10’ - 20’) leash to let their dog roam and explore when on a walk. Trainers like me call these explorations “sniffaris.” It may take some practice on your part to wrangle that long leash into a short one, but don’t use a retractable leash, which doesn’t let you pull it back quickly enough in an emergency. With a little practice you can reduce a 20’ leash down to a 4’ one in a few moments, far easier than trying to reel in a pulling dog on a retractable leash.
Clients and I then work together on exercises such as rewarding our dogs for giving us attention, ignoring stuff they find outside, and coming back to us to touch our hands when needed. It all works together for safer long-leash sniff walks.
In the video below, our dog Petey is enjoying a sniffari on a 15’ leash. We have the luxury of living in a rural area and so I can let him dig to his heart’s content (never allowing him to unearth a critter, of course). He roams and sniffs the entire time, while the leash will keep him safe at our side when needed.