Tugging dog?

Question

Every time I take my excitable pup outside she wants to run at full speed and she tugs at the end of the leash like a fish on a line. I was very patient with her and I laughed and told her to calm down when she was smaller. Now that she's bigger she's gotten quite a bit of strength and it's harder to hold her back and it's starting to hurt my hand trying to keep from flapping in the wind behind her as she runs into the area that I walk her. What's a good training method to get her to stop tugging on the leash?

Answer 1

Bummer.. you absolutely should have started training her when she was a puppy..
Without taking her to doggie training classes for help, I would say the only way to set her straight would be tug back on the leash when she starts pulling you. Pull her instead.. first though buy a harness not a leash and collar, you could hurt her neck using only a leash and collar. A harness will give you more control.
When she pulls you, pull her back and say NO, make her stop, make her understand she is to walk with you, not try and turn you into a kite.
Carry dog cookies with you on your walk, and when she starts to get it reward her.. praise her often.. then if she gets full of herself and starts to run.. PULL HER BACK< say NO and make her sit for a minute.
This will of course take time, but believe me it's worth it.
My dog used to do the same thing, I did as I am telling you, and within weeks we were all good.. now 2 years later all is well.
Good Luck

Answer 2

Check out cesar millan, the dog whisperer! I learned so much from watching his videos and reading his book. Basically, the reason your dog is pulling is that outside of the house she is claiming dominence. I got a pinch collar for my puppy and will not let her get off the short leash until she is able to pay attention to me. If you don't believe in pinch collars (which I was hesitant about using at first), put it around your calf or thigh and give it a tug. It pinches, but it doesn't hurt, break the skin, or even bruise.

My dog was trained by a 12 year old before we got her, and using Cesar's methods, within a month, she now listens, doesn't bark, is okay to be home alone, walks well on a leash (most of the time), doesn't try to be dominent as much, and has stopped begging for food.

Answer 3

I would take your puppy to a Dog behavior (obedience) school. Once a puppy learns a bad habit then it is extremely hard to later break that puppy (who has grown into a young adult dog) of that habit.Puppies are like children and they test you to see what they can get by with. It is not that they are being mean or that they want to frustrate you but rather they are learning new things each day and want to explore their surroundings to the fullest, thus the tugging on the leash.

You could buy a choke collar so when the dog tugs on its leash it will slightly "choke" the dog. However,I do not prefer this type of collar myself and do not use them on our 4 dogs.If you cannot afford to take the dog to an obedience training school, by a DVD about training the dog yourself. They are relatively inexpensive and you will see the methods demonstrated first-hand of what to do and not to do with your dog. You can do it, trust me I have been there too!

Answer 4

Get your baby a choke chain and use it! If you don't train her now ,when she gets older she won't understand,and nobody likes an uncontrollable dog-let alone she turn out to be a liability for you!!! Good luck and take care!