Tips To Prevent The Dog From Jerking During The Walk
It is not strange to see a dog pulling his owner as if he were walking the latter, instead of the other way around. Maybe it happened to you too. Despite numerous attempts to prevent this, there seems to be no way for your dog to change this attitude while walking.
Today we give you the definitive solution to this problem. Follow our advice and you will see that everything will fall into place: you will be walking your dog, and not the other way around.
Leash and harness suitable for a good walk
It is an essential condition if we want the walk with our dog to be pleasant. He should feel comfortable wearing appropriate accessories. But how to choose them?
It doesn’t mean that using the right accessories will take away your dog’s bad habit of tugging when walking together, but it will prevent your pet, and you too, from getting hurt as it learns to behave better.
It is highly advisable to choose a harness rather than a leash that only surrounds the animal’s neck. The harness wraps around the chest and is more suitable for tugging, as the dog will not be injured. There are also anti-shooting harnesses that avoid sensing when the dog is pulling.
Also, to avoid hurting yourself, choose a leash with a padded handle that will protect your hands whenever the dog tugs.
Why does the dog tug on a walk?
Dogs that pull on the leash do so for the following reasons:
- Excitement. Any dog likes to go out on the street and go for a walk, which causes them a high level of arousal. One way to remedy this is to walk the dog frequently and, if not possible, take him for long walks so that he realizes he has plenty of time to calm his frenzy. Such arousal should pass after 10 to 15 minutes on the street.
- Stress or anxiety. If your dog pulls on the leash during walks, maybe he is just showing the anxiety or stress he is feeling. If after 15 minutes on the street your dog continues to pull, take him to the vet, it is likely that he is suffering from nervousness.
- Accumulated energy. For some dogs it is more difficult than for others to use up all the energy they have accumulated. If you suspect this is the case for your dog, check how much food he eats and avoid giving him more than he should. Long walks will be necessary during which to allow the dog to run and release adrenaline.
What should the walk with your dog be like?
Your dog has two needs: the physiological ones and that of being educated by you. You must understand that you cannot combine both, otherwise the animal will go crazy.
For this reason, the first few minutes of the walk will be needed for your pet to do his business, so you won’t have to try to calm him down, make him walk beside you or make him follow your orders. It would be a serious mistake.
When the animal has already “discharged”, then you can start giving orders not to shoot, walk alongside you and understand that you are taking it for a walk and not vice versa.
Teach him to walk beside you
To keep your dog at your side during walks, do the following:
- You have to choose a sound or word with which the dog can understand that you want him to walk next to you.
- Give him rewards. Use the chosen word or sound and when your dog comes, give him a cookie. Don’t give him time to leave and do it again, about ten or fifteen times. This way, the animal will become familiar with the word or sound you have chosen.
- Walk slowly while repeating the word over and over so that the animal does not walk away.
- Use a biscuit as a bait so that the animal follows it as you repeat the word or sound you have chosen as an order over and over.
- Be patient. Don’t expect your dog to obey you all the time or throughout the walk, he will need to do this for several consecutive days before he gets used to it.
