I was dog-sitting this weekend and it has put me back in the mind of dogs and training. I remember, once while I was in Korea, I saw this lady on the street and she was being dragged mercilessly by her golden retriever. I stopped her and I said, "I hate to bother you, but would you like to learn how to teach your dog to stop dragging you" a wave of relief passed over her face, "YES PLEASE!" she said desperately. I took the leash and explained to her what I'm going to explain to you now.

There are many reasons why walks are fun for dogs, the most compelling of which is getting somewhere. Your dog is also motivated by interesting smells, fast moving objects and pulling, but what it boils down to is that if your dog is not moving, the walk is not a walk. Additionally, whatever you practice with your dog is what your dog will learn. So how does this apply to training your dog not to pull?

Well, what you do is you start off walking with your dog. If your dog gets ahead of you and especially when it starts pulling, turn around and go the opposite way. Your dog is flexible, they'll turn around with you get ahead of you and your job is to turn the other way. After about three or four (or forty) repetitions, you dog will start to get the picture: we go when the lady on the end of the leash is AHEAD of me, we stop when I'm ahead. They will start watching you, start watching your hips to see if your slowing down or speeding up and now, you've got a leash trained dog.

It's really that magical. You might look weird, but after all your neighbors realize what your doing, the whole block will be doing it. I spent five minutes with this stranger's golden retriever and the dog was walking like the most patient animal you have ever seen in your life. I did the same thing with a 130lb Saint Bernard at a shelter, once. No one wanted to walk him because he habitually dislocated your shoulder. After a half an hour of walking like a moron, he was patiently following me around the shelter. I have walked pit mixes, Rottweilers, miniature dachshunds, schnauzers, poodles, corgi mixes all with exactly the same results. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

I like that dude in the first video.
» Zanzibar on 2013-03-27 07:31:51

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