One of the most common problems people have with their dogs is pulling on the leash. There are many reasons why this can occur, and quite often it is nothing more than excitement on the dogs part. If this is the case, allowing the dog a few minutes to simmer down before taking it on his/her walk can often stop it.
Once again, the dogs pack mentality can come to play with the dog assuming leadership over its owner as the leader of the pack. This comes back to the basics of dog training where the dog must be aware of who the master is.
Failure to get this basic dog training technique under control can lead to all sorts of problems, particularly if the dog gets off the leash. In the presence of other dogs, and sometimes young children this problem becomes pronounced.
One of the basics of dog training is for the owner to establish him or herself as the leader of the pack otherwise no training can be effective.
Once this has been established you can start the process of getting your dog to walk calmly beside you with or without a leash. And that process can only start if you are able to get your dog to sit calmly while you put the leash around its neck. That is the very first step of training your dog to walk without pulling in its leash.
Once you succeed in that task, you can move on to the next step where you can get your dog to walk beside you without a leash and be assured that he/she won't run away.
And from there you will not be one of those people where the dog is taking them for a walk.
Stop Your Dog Jumping on People
Dog Quote: They have dog food for constipated dogs. If your dog is constipated, why screw up a good thing? Stay indoors and let 'em bloat! ....David Letterman
Jumping on People
No matter how much we might enjoy our pet jumping up to greet us, there are many people who dislike having a strange dog coming up and jumping on them. For many people it can be a frightening experience as not everyone is a dog lover.
Besides that, many people just don't want dirty paw marks over their clothing.
It can also create major problems if a large dog were to jump up on a child or an elderly person.
Dogs will generally jump up on people because they are overly excited and pleased to see them - even if that person is a stranger.
Many people inadvertently encourage this behavior by rewarding the dog with attention after the dog has jumped up on them. The dog then seeks similar reward from other people whether they like it or not.
This is detrimental to the proper training of the dog and all members of the family must realize that they're doing more harm than good by encouraging their dog to jump up on people.
Consistency is important in all forms of dog training, where members of the dog's family will need to exercise discipline and accept that training will be all the more difficult if the dog is allowed to continue with this behavior.
Failure to do so will lead to confusion with the pet not knowing what is right or wrong.
An alternative to having your dog jump up on you and other people is to teach it to sit and lift it's paw when greeting you for a handshake or similar tricks where the dog will be rewarded with attention.
Initially pets don't like to be held by anything; exception can be when they are being fed they will allow to be held against. If they are held by force, they will retaliate by biting, spinning, clawing or jumping. One of the reasons can be that because they weren't used to such kind of affection, this alien action will actually scare them. Another reason can be because of the lack of trust; they won't let a stranger hold them.
During this period of time it would also be difficult to put leash on the pet. They will be very restless and will try to get away. Adding to this, they will be quite young and playful. They will look at the harness as a hanging toy and will play with it. And even if the owner is successful in leashing his pet, there will be more challenges waiting ahead. When the animal feels the tug of the leash, it will jump, try to bite the leash or claw it, roll over its back, etc. In the beginning, the animal can feel short of breath, at such times, the animal should be given a break from walking. He should be also shown affection by patting its back or stroking its fur. It helps the pet to accept things more easily and early.
With the progress of time, the number of breaks will decrease so will the struggle with the leash. But actually holding the animal in the arms will take a longer time than him getting trained to the leash. For this the pet should be lapped and held regularly. During the whole process, the owner can get bruises on his arms a lot. A prevention that can be taken is that the pet can be wrapped in a blanket and then held in the arms. The owner should let go till the animal completely until it calms down. After that it should be patted on its
Frequent fondling and lapping of the animal should be done when it is young and small in size as the task will become almost impossible once it starts getting bigger. But once this initial bond is formed the next step would be to actually hold the animal when it is wearing the leash. Again there will be struggle, as the situation will be completely different. The pet should not be held tight by the hands, instead the leash should be held very near to the harness. After the animal gets tired and calms down, he should be released. By this the animal will learn that the only way of getting released is by holding still. After sometime, the pet won't struggle at all, when being held in arms wearing the leash. The time period of holding the pet can then be increased slowly.
Leash training is very essential part of overall pet discipline. Also, since the animals have the natural instinct of roaming freely in the wild, they need to be taken out on regular walks, in order to maintain their physical balance. And when pets meet other strangers on the street, it should be trained not to get anxious. Also leash training helps in ensuring that the pet is not lost or stolen when you take it for a walk or to market.
Both Michael Copper & Dora Redman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Michael Copper has sinced written about articles on various topics from . I'm an online publisher of web content and blogs pertaining to the needs and wants of the public. I'm also a business coach, and my coaching web can be found at