If you’ve landed here because your dog pulls on the lead despite trying everything, first of all, you’re not alone.
Loose lead walking is one of the most common reasons people contact me for help. In fact, alongside recall, it’s probably one of the most requested training topics I teach.
After training dogs for 14 years and walking over 5,000 dogs, I’ve learned one very important lesson:
Dogs don’t all pull for the same reason.
That’s why the same training method doesn’t work for every dog.
Before we even think about teaching loose lead walking, we need to understand why your dog is pulling in the first place.
The Simplest Reason…
Let’s start with the obvious.
Dogs simply walk faster than we do.
Your natural walking pace and your dog’s natural walking pace may be completely different.
Likewise, if you have an elderly dog who naturally walks more slowly but you’re constantly rushing, you’re also going to end up in conflict.
Sometimes pulling isn’t a training problem at all—it’s simply two individuals trying to travel at different speeds.
Personality Matters
Is your dog confident?
Or are they worried about the outside world?
Some nervous dogs actually pull towards home, not away from it.
These dogs often rush through walks because they simply want to get back to where they feel safe. I’ve even worked with dogs who refuse to toilet on walks altogether, preferring to wait until they’re back in their own garden.
Teaching loose lead walking without addressing their confidence is unlikely to solve the real issue.
Is Your Dog Reacting to Their Environment?
Lead reactive dogs often appear to be pulling simply because they’re desperate to avoid—or reach—something.
Perhaps your local road walks have become associated with unpredictable dogs appearing around corners.
Maybe every walk feels stressful.
In these situations, pulling is often a symptom rather than the problem itself.
If we don’t address the emotions driving the behaviour, we’re unlikely to see lasting improvement.
Breed Matters More Than You Think
One of the first things I ask owners is:
“What was your dog originally bred to do?”
The answer often tells us a lot.
A Spaniel was bred to work several feet ahead of the handler, searching independently through cover. Persistence is literally part of the breed.
So if you simply add a different lead or collar and expect that instinct to disappear, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
Likewise, livestock guardian breeds or guarding breeds can become increasingly frustrated if they’re physically restrained. Restricting movement often creates more tension rather than less.
Understanding breed tendencies doesn’t mean accepting pulling forever.
It simply helps us understand where we’re starting from.
Exercise and Motivation
Think about your walk from your dog’s perspective.
If this is the only exciting part of their day, why wouldn’t they be desperate to get outside?
If every walk ends with a game of fetch or off-lead freedom in the park, then reaching the park becomes incredibly rewarding.
Your dog isn’t pulling because they’re being naughty.
They’re pulling because they’re highly motivated to reach something they love.
Sometimes simply changing the structure of the walk, varying where reinforcement happens, or increasing opportunities to sniff and explore can reduce this urgency.
Sometimes It’s the Owner-Dog Match
This is something that often gets overlooked.
I regularly adapt training for:
- Smaller owners with large, powerful dogs.
- Elderly owners.
- Owners with disabilities.
- Owners recovering from injury.
Training isn’t about forcing one person to copy another.
It’s about finding practical solutions that work for both ends of the lead.
Age Makes a Huge Difference
Puppies stop every few seconds.
Teenagers forget everything they appeared to know.
Entire males suddenly want to investigate every scent left behind by an in-season female within a two-mile radius.
This isn’t your dog deliberately ignoring you.
It’s development.
Teenage dogs, in particular, have so much happening hormonally that their attention span can disappear overnight.
Rather than expecting perfect loose lead walking, we often need to change the environment, shorten sessions, and make success easier to achieve.
Adjust your expectations according to your dog’s age.
Learned History
Every dog arrives with their own experiences.
Some have learned that pulling gets them where they want to go.
Others may have previously experienced harsh handling and now pull sideways away from pressure.
Sometimes the equipment itself is part of the problem.
Poorly fitted harnesses, uncomfortable collars, pain, or insufficient time spent conditioning equipment can all affect how dogs move on lead.
This is why I always encourage owners to look at the individual dog in front of them rather than assuming every dog is pulling for the same reason.
The Environment Is Your Biggest Reinforcer
This is probably the biggest reason loose lead walking takes longer than many people expect.
The environment is incredibly rewarding.
Grass smells.
People appear.
Dogs move.
Squirrels run.
Cars pass.
Everything competes with you.
Loose lead walking isn’t something we teach once in the kitchen and expect to work everywhere.
It’s a life skill.
That means we need to practise it in lots of different places.
Start in environments your dog can currently cope with.
Practise little and often.
Gradually increase distractions, duration and difficulty.
This is what trainers mean when they talk about “proofing” a behaviour.
So… Where Do You Start?
The first step isn’t buying another training lead or trying another quick fix.
The first step is asking yourself:
Why is my dog pulling?
Once you understand the motivation, you can begin teaching the behaviour you’d like to see instead.
And yes…
Spoiler alert…
It has a lot to do with repetition, good technique, and setting both you and your dog up to succeed.
My Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing I’d like you to take away from this article, it’s this:
Stop looking at the pulling and start looking at the motivation behind it.
Dogs pull for many different reasons.
Fear.
Excitement.
Breed instincts.
Hormones.
Frustration.
Past experiences.
Or simply because pulling has worked really well for them in the past.
Once we understand why, we can start building a realistic training plan that works for the individual dog in front of us.
Because loose lead walking isn’t about stopping your dog from pulling.
It’s about teaching them that staying connected to you is worth choosing, wherever you are.
Does any of these scenarios sound familiar?
I’d love to know which one best describes your dog.
And if you’d like some extra help, my 1-2-1 training sessions are designed to help you understand why your dog pulls before showing you exactly how to build calm, enjoyable walks together.
To get started you can fill in my training and behaviour questionnaire here About Town Pets Training & Behaviour Questionnaire
And if you found this article helpful check out my previous puppy & teen dog related blogs covering the most popular topics in training and behaviour here Group training vs 1-2-1 training
Before you go – do you want to learn how to use the rule of five when training? Grab my free resource by signing up to my newsletter and get in straight in your inbox Sign Up To My Newsletter Here
Love from your friendly neighbourhood dog trainer and behaviourist.
Sara x
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