Quite often, inexperienced dog breeders, unwittingly, develop the puppy's bad habit of pulling the owner along with them. This greatly spoils the attitude towards the dog, often turning joint walks into a real torture for the owner. It is much easier to disaccustom a dog to pull the leash than to teach it to “walk alongside”. This skill is quite simple to bring to the norm of behavior.
Instructions
Step 1
Before you start training, you need to accustom your dog to a "strict" collar for 3-5 days. Such a collar should fit snugly, but at the same time somewhat more loosely, compared to a conventional soft collar (four fingers should go under it).
Step 2
It is best to practice with your dog in a secluded area, in a small area where you can move in any direction. First, take a leash 3-5 meters long, start moving. As soon as the dog starts to pull the leash and drag you along, say the name of the dog (in a calm voice, but with an inviting intonation) and make several short but sharp jerks. In this case, it is necessary to greatly slow down your movement almost to a stop. Then change direction.
Step 3
By changing the direction of travel, you must ensure that the dog follows you. This can be done with a series of gentle jerks that will force the pet to follow the trainer. Remember to stop jerking immediately when the dog stops pulling on the leash. In addition, it is very important to praise the dog, in the event that he comes up to you on his own, give him a treat. This exercise must be repeated at least 5 times in a row. For example, at first you can go straight after walking a few meters, turn right, walk another 3-5 meters, and so on.
Step 4
At this stage, it is important to get the dog to follow you. The signal for this will be the pronunciation of her nickname. During training, it is extremely important to maintain a positive emotional background, for this you need to constantly talk with the dog.
Step 5
At the next stage, you can no longer pronounce the dog's nickname, that is, if the dog starts to pull the leash, then you just make a few jerks. The impact on the dog should stop when the dog stops dragging the owner. Remember to praise and reward your pet with a treat.
Step 6
In the second step, you explain your requirements to the dog. They should mean for her the following: "If you do not pull me along, then you will be fine, they will not pull you, but will give you a treat and praise." The problem is that training a dog with a strict collar does not mean that the pet will obey you when you put on a regular soft collar. To do this, you need to go to the next stage.
Step 7
Fasten two leashes to your dog: one for a "soft" collar, the other for a "strict" collar. Now, when the dog tries to pull you with him, first make a jerk for the “soft” leash, and then after one second for the “strict” one. After several workouts, it is necessary to increase the interval to 3-5 seconds, while increasing the strength of the jerks.
Step 8
With each workout, it is necessary to increase the strength of the jerks, but at the same time reduce their number. Also, if at the first stage you constantly changed the trajectory, then at the last stage rectilinear movement prevails. Remember that at first one training session should last only 5-7 minutes, but there should be several such sessions during the entire walk. You can gradually increase the time to 30-40 minutes.
Step 9
At the end of the workout, change the leash to “soft” and give the command “Forward”. For a dog, it should mean that after that it can pull you along. This will allow her to rest and discharge.
