Help! My Dog Pulls!

By far, one of the most commonly asked questions I get asked by dog owners is, "My dog always pulls. What can I do?" There is always a pleading tone to their voice and I wish to myself that I had an easy and instant fix to give them. However, like people, dogs have their own free will to contend with, and changing a set behavior is not something that will change overnight. Sure you see Caesar fix people's dogs in about 20 minutes flat on his TV show, but what you don't see is the creative editing and the weeks of follow up work that is required by the dogs' owners.

Getting your dog stop pulling on their leash is a bad habit that needs to be broken and replaced with a better habit. A bad habit like quitting smoking, or changing a bad eating habit can be difficult for humans to overcome, so if you approach leash training with the same patience and understanding your chances of success with your pooch will be that much greater. The following 10 steps are all methods that I employ with any dog, big or small, and I have had great results. Now you can too!


1. Be Consistent!
Odds are your dog has had the bad habit of pulling on their leash for awhile. Breaking that bad habit is going to take awhile, and in the meantime you need to create the good habit of being consistent with your leash training! The more you get out there on a regular basis, the quicker your dog will learn. Set aside a good amount of time to leash train so that you are not rushed and won’t try to cut corners. Don’t have high expectations for a nice, long walk in the beginning stages.

2. Start the Walk in a Calm State
If your dog is in an excited frame of mind before you even get out the door, you have already lost the battle for control. Make your dog sit nicely while you put on the leash and wait as long as it takes for them to settle down.

3. Play/Fetch before Training
If your pooch is just so darn excited and won’t settle down for you, try playing before the walk. Don’t wear them out completely, but a dog that has blown off some of that extra energy is more receptive to you, and calmer.

4. Put 'Er in Reverse
So you’re out on your walk and you’re getting dragged along. Stop it. No really. Physically stop and become an immovable statue. When your dog realizes that you are no longer moving forward, call them back to you and reward them if they do. Only then can you move forward. If they keep pulling, you keep stopping and calling them to heal. This puts you in control of the walk. After awhile when your dog has made the connection that pull = stop, you can simply slow down your pace as a reminder for them to stop pulling.


5. Pinpoint the Reason for Pulling
Your dog pulls because they are getting a reward for it. Whether it is squirrels, other dogs, being just plain excited, or simply getting to where they want to go, your dog pulls because you let them. Recognizing your dog’s triggers can help you realize when you need to take precautions. Which brings us to:

6. Use Distraction
Your dog sights in on one of their pulling triggers and you can see them thinking about lunging forward. Cut this behavior off at the bud. Make them sit and realign to your command. I find that distraction works the best. Call your dog’s name, or even put your body in the line of sight of their trigger. Move forward only when your dog has relaxed.

7. Different Techniques for Different Dogs
Just like humans, dogs have vastly differing personalities and learning styles. What may work for one dog may not work for another. I think some training collars and halters can be good training aids, but they should not become a crutch. Just because a Gentle Leader may stop your dog from pulling, it does not mean that you should quit reinforcing good leash habits. If both you and your pooch do the homework, you should eventually be able to walk with a good ol’ leash.

8. Flexi Leashes
In my opinion retractable leashes are not the best for learning how to walk on a leash. They give your dog all of the control of the walk because they can go wherever they like for yards of leash at a time. So while you train, go back to a traditional length of about 4 to 6 feet.

9. Chill Out...
Don’t forget that your dog is an expert at reading your emotions, and will mirror them. If you stay calm, collected and upbeat, your dog will be much more receptive to learning.

10. And Have Fun!
This won't happen in a day, so if you find that you or your dog are starting to get too stressed out by training, stop for the day. There’s always tomorrow. Don’t forget to reward your pooch often with lots of love and positive affirmations. After all, going for a walk together should be fun!

Newbie

Over the last few months 5K9 has gotten a few new regulars. Unfortunately I never run with my large camera and my sad camera phone is not up to catching the quicker, bigger dogs. But our newest little hound is a very distinguished old gentleman who sat nice a pretty for the price a chin rub - Mr. Rudy.

Welcome to the pack, Rudy!

Dog Party This Saturday!

Hey Everybody! Come join the 5K9 crew at Traverse City's new dog park's Grand Opening this Saturday, October 27th from noon until 3! Leeloo and I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and ready to meet new furry faces. So come see us!

Our New CFO

I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for perusing the sweet furry faces of Petfinder, and though we were officially NOT looking for a new dog, something about this one stopped me in my tracks.

Maggie, now Leeloo, was a dead ringer for Fergus back when he was younger and browner. The fact that she had been left in a roadside ditch and found by road crew workers broke my heart. I showed her picture to my husband, Rick, and in that moment I think our resolve was sunk. Three days later, Leeloo was officially a part of our pack.

So now we have this little lump guarding Old Man Fergus and protecting the estate. And we are quite smitten with her.

I am also officially banned from Petfinder, but boy does it feel good to have given somebody deserving a second chance!

Rain & Onyx

Today was a cool rainy day with Rain and Onyx. The both of them are always rearing to go for their runs! This week their total mileage is 7.28 miles including last Friday's run.

I also need to get a better phone so I can take better pictures on the go.

My Senior Dog

This is Fergus.



He is very small but mighty. And we love him. After 14 years, he is just about the most perfect dog one could have. He meanders around our back yard content to not run off. He barks the fat stray cats out of our garden. He is tolerably patient with our young daughter. He is perfectly snuggable. Unfortunately, he is also very old.



Fergus started out just like any other puppy, he was bitey and defiant. So often you would be supervising his outdoor time, to turn your back for a fraction of a second and he would be a quarter mile down the road. Who knew such tiny little legs could hustle like that?! We learned very quickly to never trust his sense of adventure. And yet one day he matured and was happy to sun himself in the backyard. I can look out our kitchen window and see him, eyes closed, nose up sniffing and the breeze blowing his wispy ears.



Fergus has traveled thousands of miles with me, and for a portion of his life he was a tiny mountain dog. He would bound up and down the giant boulders with the same enthusiasm as his larger buddies - he just needed an occasional boost up! Whoever said small dogs were only meant for laps never took their small dog to the great outdoors, because let me tell ya, they love it out there. I've had to pick burs out of his ears and tail just as much as a large dog. All the while he'd have that happy dog face from a good day of running around.

 

Our fluffernutter is past his prime, but he still wags his tail the minute he realizes you're home (the poor guy can't hear so well anymore). You have to loud-talk to him and carefully enunciate your words because he is going quite deaf. Large sweeping hand gestures help as he's going blind too. We don't mind though. We know our days with him are becoming quite limited. He has a heart problem, and more and more his days are being taken over by a wheezing cough. The medication is slowly beginning to not work, and all of us are starting to feel the quiet dread of the inevitable. I catch all of us - my husband, my daughter and myself - giving Fergus just a little bit more lovins now. Someone sneaks him a bite of their fatty steak trimmings. Someone lingers just a little longer while giving him a goodbye pat for the day. Or, letting him sunbathe for 5 minutes longer on their lunch break. All of us have been indulging ourselves and our little hound just a little more.

I can't say that I am expert on how to get over the loss of a pet because, really, who is? I just wanted to take a moment to share just how much one 6 lb. ball of fluff takes up so much space in our lives over here. His day is fast in coming, and even though we are prepared, we won't truly be ready for it. I don't think anyone can be. I want all of you to go hug your hounds and love them up just a little extra today!



I know I'll be sneaking Fergus an extra treat tonight, along with his heart pills. Then I might scratch his ears until we both fall asleep on the couch. It will be worth it.

Learning Curve, or How I Became a Pack Leader

One thing I see among dog owners that have well-behaved dogs, is that they have a good sense of leadership about them. Not unlike parenting, they know when to say, "No," and they provide a constant but gentle reminder of who's boss. So often, I see people out on the sidewalk struggling with their dog, and often they just laugh off the bad behavior as a result of their dog being so big or just strong-willed.

I learned the art of subtlety with my dog Maya. Now let me explain something here; Maya was nor ordinary dog. She was mostly wolf. I'm not entirely sure how she ended up in our family, but I do know it has something to do with my mom's inability to say no to a furry face in need. Maya was less than a year old and she was rescued from an abusive home where a rolled-up newspaper was the punishment du jour.  Consequently, Maya had some issues. (Aside from being just plain wolfy.)

If anyone is going to learn how to be a good pack leader, it would be by having a wolf in your pack.

Actions Speak Louder than Words
Really. You can say so much to a dog without even opening you mouth. In fact, most of the time it was pointless to direct Maya with word commands. Dogs are extremely observant. Therefore, we need to be too. They read your body language and attitude long before you even start to communicate with them. This may seem painfully obvious, but it's something we should remind ourselves of often. I was only twelve or thirteen when Maya came into my life, and she would push me around constantly. We acted more like arguing siblings than as human and companion. And for a good reason - to Maya, I was her sibling. It took me forever to figure out that I needed to carry myself as the dominant half of our relationship, and to not let her push me around. I didn't physically push back, because I didn't need to. I would look her in the eye and calmly assert my authority until she backed down. Dogs are the same way. They know when they've done something bad if you simply say their name in a deep voice and stare them down. It doesn't take much for a dog to feel/smell/see what's on your mind.

You'll Never Be Banned from the Pack
Because of Maya's previous abuse, she was extremely tentative to join our little family. She never really did learn to fully trust men, but in her later years she was less skittish. I guess there are some traumas you can't outgrow. With patience, she finally came around and accepted us as her pack. And once she was one of us, she would howl and jump with joy at the sight of you. Being in a pack is the ultimate family bond you can have. As a result, I will always treat any family dog that way. They didn't choose you from the shelter, you chose them. Consequently, you need to always remember that you are their pack leader and that they will always look to you for guidance. A naughty dog is just like a 3-year-old with a temper-tantrum. They can't express their frustration with words and it's really just a dog's way of saying that you aren't doing your job properly! Their love for you is unconditional, so they can handle you being both stern with the rules and lovey snuggles the rest of the time.

Sometimes You Just Need to Run
Running with dogs is kind of the whole point of this blog, but it is a major point. With Maya being mostly wolf, it was in her DNA to run. I would take her for long runs through the woods and on the beaches. I would tire long before she was even came close to being winded. I'd peter out to a slow walk, and Maya would just look at me like, "Are you kidding me?" In the wild wolves run to survive, and though dogs are distant relatives, it's also in them to need to run. I know people think runners are kind of crazy to do what we do, but I think humans have that ingrained need to run too. For me, a good run brings a sense of calm with it. My brain can turn off for awhile and relax into the rhythm of things. I'm calmer after a run, not because I burned off extra calories, but because my inner pieces have kind of re-aligned. If I can reap the benefits of a long run, just imagine what it's like for a dog.

I know nothing I've said here that is ground-breaking news, but it is something that I learned from experience. There are so many great books out there that go into greater depth on how to be a good dog owner/trainer/leader. It's definitely not a coincidence that Cesar Millan stresses being a good pack leader!

I don't endorse having a wolf as a pet. Ever. They are the ultimate free spirit and deserve to live in the wild that way. However, I owe a great debt to my time with Maya. The things I learned from her have enriched my time with our current dog, Fergus. Though he is a tiny, hairy chihuahua, his instincts are much the same. So for him, I have become a good pack leader and in return he is an awesome little dog.