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I’d like to look at a few products available in stores that can help you while you are retraining your dog to walk without pulling. None of these products work miracles; you still need to train your pet to walk on a loose leash, but these products can be useful in training particularly stubborn dogs.

Standard Harnesses

Contrary to popular belief, standard harnesses do not curb leash pulling. They are really just an alternative to a collar. Some dogs will benefit from a harness, especially those that tend to slip their collars, breeds that have short noses, and breeds that are more prone to suffer collapsed tracheas from pulling (such as small breeds). I’ve actually found harnesses make it easier for some dogs to pull, because they are not pulling against their windpipe and gasping for air. You can still teach your dog to walk on a loose leash using a standard harness, but it will not serve as a ‘helper’ for the training. Read More »

A simple search on Google for “leash pulling” brings up a lot of different products that claim to end the days of your dog dragging you around the block. Could it really be that simple? A collar/harness/leash attachment/doo-dad can solve one of the most prolific dog behavior problems all for only $19.95?

Well, I really don’t think it is that simple. A search for any common dog behavior issue will bring up a lot of ‘miracle products’ that claim to end bad behavior with a single swipe of your credit card. The truth is, these products are really just cashing in on our desire for instant gratification without all the work. If dog training were easy, everyone would have a well-behaved dog walking by their side without pulling, lunging or barking excessively who brings you your slippers to you when you ask, without de-stuffing them first. Read More »

Isn’t using treats to train your dog just bribing them? Are you setting yourself up for failure in the future when you don’t have a treat in your pocket?

If used improperly, treats can become bribes and you can set yourself to have a dog that will ‘only work for treats’. This isn’t the optimal behavior we’re looking for with obedience training.  There’s a trick to using treats in training!  Read More »

Often, as I am observing owners and their dogs I notice that the owners ask for a particular behavior several times before the dog offers it. For example, you ask Fido to sit. He doesn’t immediately sit, so you say it again, “sit”, only to again repeat yourself until Fido actually sits. In such cases, what he has learned is that the command is not just “sit”, but he thinks it is “sit sit sit, Fido, sit”. We’re often frustrated by his apparent lack of obedience, wondering why the dog is choosing not to listen to us. In reality, he’s just plain confused. Without a clear-taught command, he doesn’t know what you are asking him to do! Read More »