Does your dog pull?

Walking a dog that drags you down the street is not very fun. Unfortunately, most of the dogs I see in training class have pulling problems. The dogs probably learned from an early age that pulling works.

Why do dogs pull?
Dogs pull because they usually don't know any better. They learn at an early age that when they pull, the owner follows and they get to their destination. It is an easy enough mistake to commit since most people don't want to rain on their puppy's parade. Other reasons dogs pull include a desire to explore, high prey drive, fear, or excitement. The more a dog practices his pulling skills, the better he gets at it and the harder it becomes to teach him not to pull.

Early Intervention
For puppies, it is easiest to teach the pup not to pull at all from the start! There are numerous methods on how to do this. First I would recommend the pup gets used to the equipment with zero pressure. That means letting him wear a collar or harness with no leash attached for at least a week. Then attach the leash and let the puppy drag it around the house without you on the other end. He needs to get used to the sensation of something clipped to him and not fear it. Next is where you have options on how to teach him to walk nicely.
Option #1: attach puppy to leash and sit down on the couch with clicker and treats (or use marker word in lieu of a clicker). When the puppy exhibits zero tension, click and treat. Continue this process for 5 minutes daily for a few days before attempting to stand in place, then take a few steps and gradually progress to walking. This doesn't teach the dog where the right position is for walking at your side (heeling), but it does teach the dog that lack of tension gets rewarded.
Option #2: without a leash (or with), lure the puppy to your heel side and click and treat like crazy! Then ignore the puppy and lure again. After a few times, puppy should not want to leave your side or will rush to your heel side when you pat your leg. Gradually you will reward for one step of heeling, then two, then three and so forth.

Option#3 Teach puppy to target an object like a spatula or wooden spoon and use that as a guide for where he needs to be.

Management Techniques
There are a number of things you can do that is borderline "training," so I call it management instead. These techniques apply to any dog that has a pulling issue no matter their age, and I myself use these techniques when my trained dogs need them.

1. The Stop and Go: your dog pulls, you stop, then you go, then stop if it happens again and repeat. Pros: this teaches your dog that he will not get anywhere if he pulls. Cons: this is a very tedious exercise and will not teach your dog to walk nicely if this is the only technique you use. Also, hounds or any dog motivated by scent will happily entertain themselves while you stop, so they do not truly see that stopping is not fun.

Owner is stopped, yet Beagle is STILL pulling!

2. The Round and Round we Go: your dog pulls, you turn together and do a circle. This is very reminiscent of what people do when a horse pulls them. Pros: works great for dogs that get pleasure from stopping and works well for dogs that can't quite sit still and relax. Cons: will make you dizzy! Also, use alone will not teach your dog how to heel.

3. Taking back ground: your dog pulls, you take back the feet he pulled you. I use this technique the most with my dogs. In fact, I will take back the ground they took and have them sit, do a watch, get recomposed, then walk again. My dogs are herding dogs and we used to herd livestock weekly for almost 4 years (off and on). When they see things like geese, ducks and livestock animals, they admittedly get excited and pull. Pros: sends a clear message to the dog. Cons: can be pretty time consuming and difficult if your dog can't sit or watch you when asked.

Training
Option#2 and #3 in the puppy section, is what I would recommend for adult dogs that pull as well. I generally have owners not lure, but start their dog in the correct position with proper leash holding, picking which side and rewarding the dog for standing there nicely. Then we do one step, two, three, and progress more quickly to only rewarding every five steps, or ten etc. It is important that owners choose a clear word, and only use that word (heel, close, side, follow) when their dog is actually heeling nicely or when starting the exercise. I can't tell you how many times I hear people around the neighborhood saying "heel, heel, heel," like some sort of mantra. I will confess, that I used to do that with Miss Lucy myself. It is an easy trap to fall into. What are you supposed to do when your dog STOPS heeling though?

First assess why/what happened. Did you not reward at a high enough rate? Was your dog suddenly distracted? Did your session last too long?

I personally use a non-reward marker word such as "ah-ah" or "whoops" (not NO!) when my dog slips up which gets him back to my side and thinking again. Then I up my reward rate for the next 30 seconds or so. My heel would start like this: Lucy is sitting on my left side, I say "heel" and we move forward together. I reward every 20 feet with "good heel" and a treat. If she pulls, I say "ah-ah" and wait for her to get back with me while I stand still. If she does not get back with me, I would have her sit, re-focus her and start again with "heel."

Training Tools
For some dogs/owners the above may not be enough to get the dog started on proper walking because she has gone on pulling for far too long. Many trainers may say that no dog ever needs a tool and while that may be true for a trainer or someone with a ton of time on their hands, there are circumstances where a tool is very handy.
1. The dog is very large and stronger than the owner.
2. The dog has pulled for so long that she can't even get in the proper position to begin with.
3. The dog is not food motivated and has zero interest in working for the owner.
4. The owner wants to jump start teaching the dog to heel and will wean the dog off the tool eventually.
5. The owner doesn't mind if the dog is on a tool forever.

No-Pull Harnesses
There are several types of no-pull harnesses. There is the Easy Walk, by Premier, and a plethora of similar ones (Sensation, Halti Harness, Weiss Walky) and there is the Yuppy Puppy no-pull harness and similar ones. They have two very different designs as one clips in the front and the other from the back. The front clip harness (shown below), actually pivots your dog back to your side when he pulls. I find that owners of dogs over 6 months prefer this harness over the other type because it allows more control. It does have a few cons though: it can rub on the armpits, the sizing can be difficult for certain shaped dogs and it ONLY works in the heel position. If the dog is in front of you, and tension happens on the leash, your dog can do a nasty face plant.

The Yuppy Puppy harness tends to be more popular for younger dogs since it works in any position (in front, on the heel side, behind the owner). This device works by creating a sensation of tightness under the armpit when the dog pulls. The harness has a nice fleece lining, so it does not cause any abrasions, however, some dogs could really care less about this device.

Head Collars
Head collars like Gentle Leaders, Halti, Canny Collar, are devices that go around the dog's muzzle (much like a horse). The idea is that where the nose goes, the body follows. I have a pretty negative opinion about these. Many vets are now finding they cause neck damage and can cause damage to the eyes if it rides up and permanent hair loss from rubbing. Most dogs do not take to these right away and most owners are too lazy to counter-condition their dogs to like it. Also if the dog has any potential to re-direct excitement or aggression, that pulls the dog's teeth right into the owner's leg (I have seen it happen twice!). The nose loop devices are really only appropriate for calm dogs that need a reminder and if that is their demeanor then why bother with a device at all??

Scars on the nose from a Gentle Leader.

Neck Devices
Neck devices include regular collars, martingales, choke chains and pinch collars. Regular collars of course are not a tool designed for pullers, but are essential for hanging an ID tag on your dog. Martingale collars are a limited slip collar that disperses the pressure to the back of the neck. My dogs wear martingales. Without it, Lucy coughs and coughs with any minimal pressure on a regular collar. I recommend these for mild pullers.

Martingale collar. Notice how it pulls from the back.

I don't recommend choke chains EVER! They can cause severe trachea damage, cause a dog to pass out, and really aren't that effective. Many of us have seen an older lab or other breed on a choke chain pulling away. Makes me wonder why people go out and buy them.

There was a time that I would sometimes have a client use a pinch collar. There are more humane than a choke chain since they don't compress the air-way, and there are rubber caps available for the metal variety so the dog is not getting sticked by the collar, but getting pinched. My opinion now: these are never appropriate for reactive dogs, shy dogs, dogs under a year of age, senior dogs, small dogs etc. To me, there is only a very very small group of dogs that MAY use a pinch collar. A large rambunctious golden retriever that is 2 years old, friendly as can be, has zero training and is owned by a pregnant lady that tried all the other devices and is now faced with letting the dog waste away in the backyard because she can't walk him or take him to the pound. For that situation, I wouldn't judge her for using a pinch collar. For any other able bodied person that wants to take the time to train their dog, DON'T USE IT! It can cause skin damage, it can cause emotional damage. It really isn't training the dog to walk correctly either and your relationship with your dog is suddenly about the dog listening only out of avoidance of pain of the collar.

Now that I am off my soapbox..........

All of these devices will not teach your dog to walk nicely. You must couple training with management and devices (sometimes), to make it all mesh together. Having a dog that knows how to heel is important if you wish to take her anywhere. Your dog doesn't have to heel all the time when walking, In fact, my dogs heel, release to walk ahead, I tell them "steady" if they pull while in front. We have a system. They heel out of the house, run off leash on the trails, come when asked, heel when asked, and heel on the way back home. I would probably have them heel on a busy sidewalk, in a store or in a city square. Whereas, I would let them walk in front (nicely!) on a paved trail, at an on-leash park, around the neighborhood sometimes.

As always, comments are welcome! Please let me know if you have any questions on how to implement any of the training suggestions.