What techniques do you use when your pet pulls on the leash?

For the most part chacha is easy to walk however there are times when it seems she has more energy and she pulls me to the direction she wants to go. When she does this I usually pick up the pace so her focus is on keeping up instead of investigating one thing or another. What techniques do you use when your pet wants to walk you instead of the other way around?

 

I have no such problem in our recent dog as he does not want to go out.
I used to have a dog that tries to lead me to different direction and what I did is to put her at my back not in my front. It was said that it is better to walk a dog beside you so that the dog will not lead the way.

 

I feel that it's Homer who is walking me, we always go wherever he wants because he pulls on the leash with all his strength. And I must add that he is pretty strong even though he is so smallSometimes, when I really want to come home, I throw him sticks in the direction of our house.

 

I have two methods. I tug on the leash lightly, just a small, quick correction. Usually, that is enough to get Misha back in line. Sometimes she is persistent. I feel like we're running a race rather than walking. In that case, I do the quick turns and walk the other direction. I'll do it a few times until she gets the idea.

It is amazing how hard a 10 lb. dog can pull. I have arthritis in my feet, so walking isn't easy. We both have to be walking together.

Though she still pulls sometimes, I do seemed to have cured her of crossing over. By that I mean, I walk her on my left side, but she would cross over in front of me to smell the grass, bushes, etc. We tripped over each other many times. I just realized that she hasn't done this in some time.

Not nearly as bad as my brother's dog who would walk circles around you. It was a Doberman. She was very protective. She would actually walk a circle around you as you walked forward. I remember walking her once. I had no idea she did this. It was kid of funny.

 

If my dog starts pulling, I give his leash a "pop" (he wears a pinch collar) and then I put him into a heel. That makes him focus on what I am doing and he knows it's not free time anymore, it's time to focus on me and walk properly.

 

Some dogs will pull so much with a normal collar that they will start to choke or start coughing. They can all be trained to walk to heel, it just takes patience. One of my favourite items for constantly pulling dogs is the "Halti", it's a muzzle type collar, although quite soft. The lead connection hangs down one side of the face. When first used most dogs hate them but they do work. With the lead being clipped on one side of the face as soon as the dog pulls the face is pulled round and they basically make themselves go round in a circle. With normal lead training and the use of a halti they usually learn quite quickly.

 

When Mishka pulls on her lead I tend to stop and wait to she realises she is not going anywhere. She generally settles enough before we move off again.

 

I tried this method with Homer a few times in the past but it didn't work. He would pull and pull. Then he sits and when we move off, he instantly starts pulling again. When he wants to go somewhere, nothing can stop him I guess
Maybe the "Halti" would help, but I haven't seen it in stores here, where I live.

 

I also use the stop method. We've gotten down a "wait" command. The pups normally turn around like "What are we waiting for pops!?". We tried to get them to sit, but they refuse to sit on concrete, weird pups.

 

My rat terrier used to be kept in my relative's yard as her guard dog, so he's not used to being walked and when I walk him and he tries to walk me, I pick him up because he's a 10 pound dog. When he calms down, I put him down and we keep walking. I've never had a dog before and this dog is not used to being an indoor pet so we're both figuring it out.

 

Congratulations on your first dog. There certainly will be some figuring out especially if the dog was owned by someone else.Dogs have different temperaments sometimes even in the same breed. A bit like kids in a family. All different and requiring their own needs and disciplines.

 

Thank you. If I'm being honest, I think it's kind of cruel that my elderly relative had a 10 pound rat terrier living outside in a doghouse and being used as a guard dog. She also never used to pet him too much because she didn't want him to become spoiled and not be effective as a guard dog.

Let's just say this dog quickly adapted to being held, and petted and living indoors and he's sleeping in bed with my daughter right now. I'm a cat person. But as an animal lover, I couldn't turn my back on a small, yappy dog in need of a home.

 

It seems rather cruel to me too, my Homer has never spent a night outside the house. But the most important is that you took care of the terrier, I'm sure that he is very happy now

 

Maybe it's because of the way he was raised, but sometimes the rat terrier is a little aloof. He doesn't jump all over me and lick my face like dogs on TV.
But I will say that he wants to be in whatever room I'm in.
If I'm working at my desk ,he'll sit by my feet. If I'm in the kitchen, he'll sit in the kitchen. If I go to bed, he climbs into bed with me.
I guess that's his unique way of showing that he likes us.

 

Well, every dog is different, they're like people. Maybe it's his way of showing you that he loves you If he didn't like your company, he wouldn't follow you everywhere.
My Homer doesn't jump all over me either.

 

That makes me feel better. I don't have a lot of experience with dogs. I guess this little guy is just reserved and doesn't fawn all over people like the dogs on TV.

 

Well, my Homer bites me quite often but I know that he loves me in his own special way, lol
Dogs don't need much to be happy. Feed him, pet him and play with him and you'll become his favorite person in the entire world