By Sally Bradbury
There are several methods detailed in this guide. Some written and some visual. Choose a method you feel will work for your dog.
Remember to keep your training sessions very short and fun. Several two-minute training sessions throughout the day will be much more beneficial than one long one. Not having an on lead walk will be better than one where your dog pulls some of the time. So, if you can, drive to somewhere where your dog can have a good run around until he has learnt his new walking skills.
Start the training in the house, then the back garden, then the front garden, then the front garden with the gate open, then through the gate and back again, then to the lamppost and back. Only move on when the previous stage is nailed. Go back a stage if the training regresses.
Every time you attach his lead, it must be training.
We recommend a harness with a Y-shaped front and two points of attachment, chest and back, with a double-ended lead. This will turn your dog comfortably if he does pull, without causing any pain or damage to the neck.
Examples of such harnesses are:
- Perfect Fit
- Ruffwear Front Range
- TTouch
- Mekuti
- Dog Copenhagen
For the practiced puller, by using a harness with two points of attachment and a double-ended lead, you can have two walking modes:
- Training when the lead is attached chest and back
- Following scents with the lead attached to the back D ring only
Training mode will be in very short bursts of 20 seconds or less initially, and built up. To change from sniffing mode to training mode, wait for a break in sniffing when you can get his attention, and call him back for another short training burst.