Calming Donut Dog Bed

Going for walks is supposed to be a fun activity, and it is frequently the most exciting part of your dog's or puppy's day! It's natural for your dog to have a lot of energy and want to go places faster than you. To avoid being pulled over, it's critical that you teach your dog to walk calmly, loose-lead walking, and to stop pulling on the lead.

Owners have frequently unintentionally taught them that if they pull, they get to move forward, which is exactly what they want! We've been rewarding them for misbehaving. Taking just one step forward while the lead is being pulled sends a clear signal to your dog that pulling is effective.

Your dog notices a distraction before you do, and they've forgotten about you and want to go play with it. If you have a puppy, this could just be a leaf in the wind! This could be a squirrel, another dog, a runner, a cyclist, etc. for an older dog.

Patience and consistency are the key to training your puppy or older dog, and it will be well worth it when you're out on a relaxing, calm walk with your best friend!

Select an appropriate lead and harness for your dog. We strongly advise using our Walk your dog with love harness, which has a front attachment and essentially helps to steer the dog back to your side if they pull.

Introduce the new harness to them gradually, especially if they are a puppy:

1. Allow them to sniff it and give them a treat (repeat again and again)

2. Gently place it over their nose and give them a treat (repeat)

3. Wrap it around their shoulders and give them a treat (repeat)

4. Close it with a clip and give them a treat (repeat)

Repeat these stages - it's not uncommon to spend 5-10 minutes on each, and not always at the same time.

Stop - If your dog decides the harness is a chew toy, stop the activity, walk away, and restart when they are in a better mood, repeating step 1 several times.

Patience is required; just keep repeating until they are comfortable with the harness.

If you're having trouble getting your puppy to stop chewing on the harness or lead, bitter apple spray may help. It's a safe, bad-tasting solution for reducing the fun of chewing on their lead or harness.

Teach your dog that being close to you and looking at you equals treats!

Find a quiet place with few distractions, such as your garden, and reward your dog for simply sitting or standing next to you.
To begin, make sure you have high-value treats that your dog enjoys; these are frequently strong-smelling!

Begin moving and rewarding your dog when he joins you. You can "mark" their behaviour with a clicker or a simple "yes" and immediately reward them with a treat. You want them to associate "yes" with a treat so that they will look up at you ready to receive!

Continue moving and treating in small amounts; you can gradually reduce the treating, and some dogs respond simply to their owners' praise ("yes").
Increase the distance between distractions on your walks and see if your dog can stay focused on you and your treats instead of wanting to play with a dog 20 metres away! Our resources section contains suggestions for focus games.

If your dog pulls because he smells, sees, or hears something. You must stand firm and not give them an inch. Ideally, you would have detected the distraction before them and could have turned them away, put them in a sit-watch, find-it game, or whatever works best for your dog.

You can't move forward with them if you've lost their attention and they're pulling. Instead, you must select the appropriate action:

Wait them out; if they're just trying to get to a lamppost to sniff, they'll probably get bored, and as soon as the lead goes slack, "click" or "yes" and reward, and they should come to your side for the treat.

Distract them; by saying "ready" in an excited voice, which is often the precursor to a fun game, such as throwing food for them to catch, depending on their training. If they have been trained to leave things, you could try "leave-it."

Lure them away; for puppies or stubborn dogs, get their favourite treat under their nose and lead them back to your side, marking and rewarding their behaviour when they return.

Emergency measures; you may need to place yourself between your dog and the distraction or simply move them away from it. It is not uncommon for other dog-walkers to simply let their dog say "hello" to yours, even if it is detrimental to your dog's training. If you can get yourself crouched in front of your dog while keeping the lead tight until you're in a position to distract them, this may work.

Alternatively, you can perform an emergency turn by bringing your hand all the way down the lead to where it connects to the harness, bending down, and turning purposefully in the desired direction; your dog should follow. Please keep in mind that this is not violently "tugging" your dog, but rather using your body and body language to show your dog which direction you and they need to move!

Consistency is the key to success; we often believe you must be more stubborn than your dog! They will learn, which could take weeks, months, or even years in Ziggy's case. Ziggy can still be distracted by a nice smelling lamppost or dog within 5 metres of him.