Pulling is a common behaviour that dogs will engage in while on walks. After all there are so many interesting things to smell and so many interesting sights to see. Dogs just want to take it all in as fast as they can; and if you let them they will pull you wherever they want to go.
This pulling quickly becomes a problem for dog owners as a strong dog that pulls also puts pressure on the dog owner’s wrist, hand, elbow and shoulder. This can be a constant pressure on the owner’s limbs or it can be a strong sudden pull as the dog tries to dart off in a particular direction. This is a problem because instead of the dog owner walking the dog, the dog is actually walking the owner where it wants to go. Sometimes during these sudden pulls, dogs get loose and chase whatever is in their sight-line. Owners can lose control of the dog’s leash and the dog may dart off into the street, into traffic where accidents can happen. For happy and safe walks, dog owners need be the leader at all times. The dog needs to listen to its owner and go where the human leads it and not the other way around.
In order to deal with this problem, many tools have been created to help you walk your dog. Choke chains, prong collars and harnesses are 3 common tools that dog owners use when they have walking issues. A choke chain is a metal chain with two larger metal loops on both ends. When placed around the dog’s neck, and attached to a leash a slight jerk will often stop a dog from pulling. A prong collar is a full metal collar with prongs that dig into the dog’s skin when it pulls. Note** At West End Dog we never use prong collars while walking dogs. A harness is a contraption that fits onto a dog’s neck and body and offers the dog-walker more control over a pulling dog. West End dog does recommend harnesses for small dogs as the pressure on a small dog’s neck from a collar can damage it’s trachea. All of these tools can be very effective at getting your dog to stop pulling. It is HIGHLY recommended that you bring your dog to have it fitted when purchasing any of these collars or harnesses and also to get a demonstration from a competent professional before you use these tools when walking your dog.
However, if you train your dog not to pull, you’ll never need to use these tools (or become dependent upon them) in the first place. Teaching a dog not to pull requires obedience training which is recommended for ALL dogs anyway. A dog needs to know its place in the family and should always listen to its owners. That means no pulling on walks, no aggression of any kind toward other humans or other dogs and obeying basic commands 100% of the time. Group obedience training is a perfect setting to help achieve this. There your dog will learn that no matter what goes on, it must listen to its owner. Dogs are pack animals and the humans should always be the leaders of the pack. Dogs rarely challenge a clearly defined leader and so when you are walking with your dog and it tries to pull all you should need to say is the word ‘heel’ and it should walk according to your pace and stop pulling.
Whichever method you choose to help control your dog on a walk, remember to also let dogs be dogs. Let them loose in a safe closed off environment to run around and get some exercise. Although we want them to walk nicely on dog-walks, they also need some type of more vigorous exercise to burn off steam, help keep their bodies in good shape and of course have fun!
West End Dog 