Way Too Excited About Walks!!

[Trixie]

Hi ,

Im just wondering if anyone has any advice on a dog that pulls and pulls and pulls on walks? 'cause my dog pulls a lot. Even though shes not a big dog, she pulls very hard. Walking her is actually starting to get really hard because she pulls so hard. Sometimes, she pulls so hard, she even chokes herself. . Im trying to solve the pulling problem by walking and then stopping, then walking, then stopping (so she would look to me and follow me/ my movements) but unfortunately, its not working! She just looks ahead, and wen she gets the chance, tries to pull again!

So, If anyone has any advice for me, It'll be much appreciated

[Trixie]

Does anyone have any advice for me, about my problem?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Annie]

I had a similar problem, but instead of stopping I suddenly changed directions. I combined this with lots of treats or sometimes her favourite ball toy in my pocket. Everytime she pulled ( and at the beginning that was continuously!) I would suddenly change the direction, dragging her with me. It is important that you have no other distractions such as other dogs etc. When she caught up to me I would slip her a treat down low on my left thigh ( her walking side). I tried to make it as fun as possible as though I was making a dance and always used an excited tone, implying that if she stuck with me something fun might happen! Sometimes we would stop and throw her ball a bit.She got the idea really quickly, and slowly I was able to introduce more distractions, however I still sometimes still need to change directions ( much to the amusement of my walking friend!)
Stopping is also OK if you then ask her to sit and possibly stay or down as well, but I think this may become boring for a dog who is keen to go for a walk....I tried to make our walks as though it didn´t matter where we went...it was going to be fun!
It´s important that when you begin your walk that you get a good, long eye contact with your dog. You are saying...'you and me buddy...we´re going to stick together...and have a great time...we´re a team..' I believe a dog does this with other dogs when going off on an adventure, and after doing this consistently with my dog, I felt she was much more aware of me and happy to please...
Hope something helps.
Annie

[Trixie]

Thanks so much Annie!

Im going to try it.