By Sarah Groves - qualified dog trainer and puppy training specialist Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot
So you're walking your dog down the street and someone is walking towards you - you start to dread this very scenario because you just know what's about to happen.
Your dog spots the person, becomes alert, starts wagging that tail, pulling towards them and before we know it, you're being dragged down the road for your dog to say HI!
You try to move your dog along by pulling them away, calling them, telling them 'no', but nothing seems to stop this - even treats don't work - people are just TOO EXCITING!
Does this sound familiar to you?
If you're feeling embarrassed, worried and concerned about this behaviour, then you're certainly not alone!
Pulling on the lead towards other dogs and people is one of the biggest challenges that most dog owners that I see face, especially as puppies hit adolescence and become more aware of the exciting opportunities that the world can offer!
Why does my dog pull towards people?
There's usually two answers to this -
Either your dog is SUPER EXCITED to see people or SCARED and this is a coping mechanism and a fear response.
But today, we are going to talk through the steps you can put into place to help with this behaviour when we are dealing with an overly excited dog, because fear related behaviours can be much more complex!
How do I get my dog to stop pulling towards exciting things on a walk?
There's no magic wand that can stop this instantly, and no quick fix - it all boils down to training and taking the time to teach your dog what it is that you want them to do in these situations instead.
This takes time, repitition and lots of practice!
So here are some skills that would benefit you to reduce this behaviour and finally get on track to being able to have nicer and more relxing walks - drama free!
1) Walking on a loose lead with no distractions
If your dog is struggling to walk on a loose lead with no distractions, then it will be a million times harder to get them to walk and focus when there are distractions.
Start teaching this at home and then start to build in different quiet spaces.
2) Focus on or off lead
Being able to grab your dogs attention and get them to focus on you is an important skill - focus is the building blocks to communication. Once your dog is able to focus on you, it will be much easier to then build more skills from there.
3) Lets go/this way (changing directions)
A valuable skill which will come in handy in many situations is to be able to move your dog away from distractions or be able to change directions with you when you say 'Lets go!'
4) Lie down and observe the environment
The ability to just sit or lie down and relax in all sorts of environments is a skill that is often forgotton about - and sometimes it can be assumed that once a dog knows how to lie down, that they will do it everywhere. Your dog will need to learn this in many different environments and situations before it becomes a natural habit.
5) 'Look to say please'
This teaches your dog that if they want something, that they need to look at you first. This helps with preventing them from impulsively getting something that they want, giving you some time to move them away from the thing that they want, or tell them that they are ok to have it.
TOP TIPS AND ADVICE!
Training a dog is never super easy - you will have days where your dog is doing a great job, and then days where it feels like nothing is going right - this is normal so don't beat yourself up if you or your dog is having an 'off' day!
Real life happens - in an ideal world, we would want to teach these skills in a low distraction setting and 'set your dog up for success' by avoiding situations where they are going to continue to practice and rehearse the unwanted behaviours. HOWEVER real life isn't this perfect - do what you can do!
Not sure how to train all of these skills?
That's ok because knowing how to train a dog is something that needs to be learned - this is where dog trainers like myself come into play!
ARE YOU THE OWNER OF A PUPPY OR TEENAGE DOG AND LIVE IN OR AROUND SWANSEA, NEATH OR PORT TALBOT?
Living outside of these areas and need puppy training advice from an expert??
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