Stop Tugging!

Gracie tugs on the leash whenever she first starts her walk or sees something of extreme interest (rabbits, squirrels, moving cars, other dogs, et cetera). In a previous post, I mentioned the Wacky Walkr leash. It is very effective. I like to use it whenever we go on little outings.

I do not use it on our daily walks, though. Why? Well, I am lazy. I like having long, leisurely walks where we can spend time with each other. I do not want to spend the entire walk fighting with her.

Last weekend, we watched “It’s Me or the Dog” on Animal Planet. Victoria Stilwell is the trainer on the show. On this particular episode, she was addressing issues a family had with their pit bull. One of the issues was tugging on the leash during a walk.

Whenever the dog tugged, she recommended stopping the dog and retreating a few steps in the opposite direction. Then, turn and restart the walk. If the dog tugs again, repeat the process. The idea is to reward the dog for positive behavior (no tugging) by continuing the walk (positive reward).

On our next walk, I tried the trick with Gracie. She is a very smart dog. It only took two tries for her to figure it out. I like this approach much better for our daily walks. You might try it with your dog if you too are trying to stop the tug of war.

Rescue Mommy