Leash training a dog, is effectively achieved by teaching him one simple fact-
Instead, walking properly next to us, is the quickest way to get to his destination.
To teach this lesson, it is important NOT to reward our dog for pulling.
Do not let our dog drag us along, and do not pet or give him any affection while he is pulling. Teach him to walk on a loose leash first, before attempting to walk him close to us in a heel position.
Here are some leash training techniques:
1. Red-Light, Green-Light
A simple way to leash train a dog and teach him not to pull, is to …
- Stop walking when the leash is taut, and
- Start moving again when the leash is loose.
We do not even need to say anything to our dog. Through our actions, he will figure out the rules of the game.
When we stop, some dogs may decide to roam around and smell whatever is available in the environment. To stop this, I usually shorten the leash and bring my dog in next to me. This does a better job at limiting his freedom, which makes this technique more effective.
In addition, I only start moving again after my dog does a Sit next to me. I use a shorter lead in the beginning, then slowly lengthen it if my dog walks nicely, and without pulling. By changing the length of the lead, we can control the amount of freedom our dog has, and further motivate him not to pull.
Initially, we may need to stop very frequently, so be ready for really short walks. However, it is important to be patient and absolutely consistent with the stop rule. Otherwise, our dog will learn that if he pulls enough times, we will give-in and let him go wherever he wants. This encourages him to pull more in the future.
2. 180 Degree Turn
Depending on the age and temperament of our dog, frequent hard stops may cause him to get frustrated. Too much pent-up frustration can make a dog act out in other ways, for example, he may resort to leash biting.
If we are training an easily frustrated or excitable dog, it may be more effective to use the 180-turn technique.
As soon as our dog starts to pull, quickly turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. In this way, the dog can release his pent-up energy, because he is still doing something physical – walking. At the same time, he learns that when he pulls, he just gets farther away from his desired destination.
If our dog walks properly on a loose leash for a few seconds, we can mark him for his good behavior (Good), turn back, and resume our walk. If he starts pulling again, it is fine to walk back and forth on the same stretch of ground until he learns not to pull.
3. Hand Targeting
Start by training the dog to target our hand at home.
First, I put some dog treats in my hand, and make sure my dog knows that it is there. Then, I put my hand close to his muzzle and say Nose. As soon as my dog touches my hand with his nose, I mark him (Yes) and treat him. I repeat this exercise until I am confident that he has learned the command.
Next, I move a few steps away, put my hand out in the same gesture, and say Nose. When he moves toward me and touches my hand, I mark the behavior (Yes) and treat. I keep repeating this inside the house, then continue the exercise in the backyard.
Once we are comfortable doing this in the backyard, we can try using this technique outside.
If the dog pulls, non-mark him (Uh-oh), get him to do a Sit, re-target him on our hand, and continue the leash training session.
In this way, our dog learns that pulling is inappropriate, and walking close to us will get him affection and treats. We can treat less often, and slowly phase out the treats altogether, once our dog learns to walk calmly by our side.
4. Collar Correction/ Leash Correction/ Leash Jerk
The most common aversive technique for leash training a dog, is to perform collar corrections (also called leash corrections or leash jerks).
A collar correction must be a quick jerk of the leash. There is only tension for an extremely short amount of time (a quarter-second or less), and then the leash should be loose again. Most people tend to do tugs rather than jerks, which will do little in training the dog.
Tugs may actually exacerbate the situation, because it places continuous tension on the leash. This tension may cause the dog to get tense and frustrated.
We must also be properly positioned for the collar correction, so that the force is always to the side rather than directly back. Jerking to the back may encourage the dog to lunge forward to oppose the force, thus causing him to pull even more.
To work well in leash training, collar corrections must be executed with the proper force, proper timing, and proper redirection. This is necessary so that the dog learns that pulling is wrong, without becoming afraid of his surroundings, or distrustful of his owner.
If not properly implemented, a collar correction may backfire and cause additional behavioral problems including dog aggression.
Only use collar corrections as a last resort. Only use collar corrections under the direction of an experienced professional trainer.
How to Stop Dog Pulling
Some dogs and some dog breeds will pull more than others. For example, I have two Siberian Huskies, and they both pull more than my Shiba Inu, because Huskies are bred to pull. However, by starting training early and being very consistent, even Huskies can be trained to walk at a measured pace by our side.
In the beginning, I leash train my dog in the backyard, where there are very few distractions. Once my dog is comfortable walking there without pulling, I move on to more quiet areas of the neighborhood. Another alternative is to walk during off-peak hours, where there are fewer people and dogs around.
By carefully choosing our training environments, we can set our dog up for success, and help build his confidence. Once he is comfortable walking in a given area, we can slowly increase the level of distraction.
Before we know it, we will be enjoying a wonderful neighborhood walk with our dog! 😀
Hi,
I have a 2 year old bischon/bassett mix and he is terrible when it comes to walking. My father-in-law will walk him and our 7 year old pitt in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon if me and my husband can’t. Sadly we live in an apartment with no yard due to us living on the 2nd floor. My father-in-law lets the dogs do as they please when he walks them and I can’t seem to break him of that! The pitt walks very well with not having any training (stays next to you, knows when to walk and when not to, so on and so forth). How can I get my young pup to walk correctly with my situation? Looking forward to some responses =)
Yeah, my Sibes especially need a lot of consistency in their walking. If I let them pull sometimes, then they will keep trying to pull even more. From their point of view, if they try and try, they will ultimately get rewarded with a “special pull time”.
However, if pulling always results in a stop or worse, turning back, then the behavior becomes unrewarding, and they will be discouraged from performing it.
I try to be very consistent with them, and I get everybody else to follow the same walk rules as well.
Hi there! I have a 6 year old american pitbull i just rescued from the shelter. He’s a sweetie but when i try correcting him when pulling (60lbs of muscle isn’t fun and he’ll just tug forever at the end of a standstill leash-) he gets extreamly scared and shy and although he stops pulling he then just mopes and doesn’t want to go for walks. All i do is give him a firm “NO” and immediately his tail goes between his legs, he sits, and his head goes low. I don’t know his history but he’s not food motivated(takes yoguhrt just to get himto to eat) any help at all would be appreciated for my big softie.
Hmmm, it is possible that he associates the word “No” with previous bad events. One possibility is to try using a different and softer no-mark.
With my Husky Shania, I sometimes use the “Shhhh” sound to get her to calm down. If she is pulling too strongly, I hold her chest so that she doesn’t hurt herself, and this also indicates that I want her to stop pulling. As soon as she stops pulling, I mark the behavior (Good) and reward her well for it. This shows her that not-pulling gets her many rewards, but when she pulls, I stop walking and we just stand still.
How is he with commands? Sometimes, asking for a simple alternative command can help, e.g. Sit. This gets the dog to do something else instead of pull and gives us another opportunity to reward our dog and help build his confidence. Positive obedience training is also a good way to bond with our dog and gain his trust.
Another possibility is use a consistent hand gesture to mark or no-mark a behavior. Dog’s are great at reading body language, so they can quickly learn to recognize visual cues.
Hi I have just got an 8week old so Siberian husky what age should I lesh train her from she is doing well with potty training. I have an 7month old baby and misty is really protective of her is this normal husky behaviour thankyou
Congratulations on your baby and new Sibe puppy! How exciting!
In terms of leash training, I start by first getting my puppy comfortable with the collar and leash. I start this very early on, almost as soon as I bring puppy home.
Once my puppy is comfortable wearing a collar and leash, I start leash training her in my backyard. It is quiet in the backyard and there are no distractions, so it is a good place to start. I *do not* walk puppy outside until after she has received all of her vaccination shots.
When we start going for outside walks, I first go to a quiet, low distraction place in the neighborhood. Once we start to make progress, I slowly increase the environmental challenge. By starting small and going slowly, puppy has positive walking experiences, enjoys her time outside, and gains confidence.
What does Misty do? Both my Sibes are not very protective of their people. They like greeting everyone, like getting attention and tummy rubs, and love getting cookies. My Shiba Inu has a stronger guard instinct, but I teach him that I will protect him and take care of things, so that all he has to do is alert me when he feels threatened.
Hugs to baby and puppy!
Hi thankyou for you advice on leash training misty howls when are baby crys and wants to sleep near her she likes sleeping under her baby bouncy chair I also have a 4 year old child and misty dos not do that with her but dos like playing chase and fetch with her she is neaver aggressive towards the baby or use she loves giving kisses n having a tummy rub x x
Hi! I just wanted to share something we learned about our shiba oliver recently…. he will do anything for a harmonica!! we brought it on a few walks and while people may look at you funny oliver will behave and stay right with you!!!!! we’ll see how long it lasts. In the meantime, here’s a video of him in action with the harmonica!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udl5LHaXcfM&feature=g-all-u
Hahaha! This video is awesome!
Do you have a video with him on a walk with the harmonica? It is really interesting that the tones serve as a reward! How long have you been doing this? Does he respond better if you keep changing the tones or if you keep to the same tones?
Very interesting!
Hi,
I have the opposite of problem of most people. My shiba doesn’t pull all that bad, but when I redirect him or head in a direction that he is not interested in he just lies down. He is very stubborn and I usually have to pick him up and carry him for a little while before he will start walking on his own again. Any suggestions? Also, treats do not seem to be enough to motivate him to get up he just lies there until I carry him.
Thanks in advance
Hello Allen,
Yeah Sephy used to do the same thing. Usually I just lift up his chest area so that he is on his front legs, then I just move along at a fast clip. No stops for a while after this.
If he keeps doing that, I stop him from lying down. In the beginning, I used a harness during leash training so he doesn’t choke himself while pulling forward or backward.
Sometimes, I would scrape my shoe on the concrete. Sephy does not like the noise and usually gets up. Other sound aversion techniques, e.g. shaking a can of pennies may also work. The problem with this, as is the case with most aversive techniques, is that the dog can quickly get habituated to it, which would then reduce its effectiveness. Therefore I only do this very occasionally.
When Sephy walks well, then I reward him by giving him more freedom (longer lead), letting him stop more, as well as sit and watch people.
Hi I had gotten my Siberian Husky Puppy a little over a month ago he’s 4 months old. I’m still trying to train him to not pull on the leash while taking him out for a walk he’s getting better little by little. But my main problem at this moment is that he likes to nip a lot. He also likes to try and put his mouth over our hands and bite down (not bite to hurt though) .. Is this due to him teething he already lost 3 teeth. Can you please help me out here? Your website is very helpful THANK YOU!
Hello Josephine,
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy!
In terms of biting, it is normal puppy behavior. Puppies are infinitely curious, like to play, and as you say, can also be teething. This all leads to greater mouthiness. Some things that helped with my dogs-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. Redirecting my dog onto something acceptable to bite on. This teaches a puppy what is ok to bite on, and what is not-ok. I always reward with affection and a game when they redirect onto the toy.
3. Giving my dog an alternative command.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
Big hugs to your Sibe puppy.
Hello,
First off, thanks for maintaining this blog. I’m a new Husky owner and am finding it very helpful.
I’ve been trying to use techniques 1 and 2 above. How long should training sessions be? And, on average how many days do Husky’s normally take to learn not to pull?
My dog is approximately a year and half old. Also, if someone else is walking the dog outside of my training and letting the dog pull, how much does that work against my training efforts?
Thanks again!
Hello Gabe,
Congratulations on your new Husky.
In terms of leash training, it depends on the dog, frequency of training, consistency, and execution of the technique. In the beginning I only walked Lara for about 15-30 minutes, but we did that several times per day. That worked best for us because any more, and we would both start getting frustrated and grumpy. 😀 But this would depend on both you and your Husky.
When Lara got better with walking, we didn’t have to stop as often, so I slowly increased the length of our walks.
It is best if everyone follows the same rules and same training techniques. When we are inconsistent, the dog may get confused as to what is the desired behavior. For example, if he gets to pull sometimes but not at other times, he will likely keep trying to pull because in his mind, the next time may be when he gets to pull successfully.
That is why consistency is so important in dog training. With consistency, we communicate more clearly to our dog so that he does not become stressed and confused. Here is a bit more on what I do while obedience training my dogs.
Thanks for the reply!
I think we are making some progress especially when I compare the first walk to our recent walks. The dog still pulls but not as much.
I work with him almost every night for at least 30 minutes. I don’t know if my technique is correct, but I’m trying. I have been using a choke chain, but purchased a Halti harness because the lady at the pet store said it was the way to go. My dog hates it. I’ve used it only once for about 25 minutes so I really can’t tell if it is effective. What is your opinion of that type of harness for leash training purposes?
Thanks again!
Glad to hear that he is making progress. Huskies do like to pull since they have been bred to do so, but they are also very clever and will learn what behaviors will get them the best results. 😀
In terms of collars, I use the Premier martingale collar with a 6 foot leash while training my dogs to walk. I use the martingale collar for its no-slip properties and not for collar corrections.
Choke chains and prong collars are primarily used to apply stronger leash corrections. When I stopped using leash corrections, I switched to using a flat collar, and then later a martingale collar.
My Sibe also dislikes wearing the head halti. She would often stop walking and just plop down in protest. I only used the halti really early on during high-excitement park visits (only use the halti with a regular leash and *not* a flexi leash, which can cause damage to the dog). At the same time though, I continued with lower-excitement leash training exercises around the neighborhood, with my martingale collar. Once my Sibe improved on the leash, I stopped using the halti.
Here is more on leash training equipment, including my experiences with the head halti.
My husband and I recently adopted a lovely stray from Tennessee from a rescue organization — we think she’s some sort of hound dog, and about 15 months old. We’ve had her for approximately two months. As she’s gotten more comfortable with us, she’s also gotten more “sniffy.” Our twice-daily walks have become something of a chore, since it sometimes seems like she wants to sniff something every three feet — a tree, the corner of a building, an apparently featureless patch of sidewalk. She’ll also sometimes stop walking entirely, which I assume means she’s afraid of something (though there’s usually nothing obvious we can see, like a dog or a person). When she walks on a leash, she walks beautifully — at our knee with a loose leash. She only occasionally pulls, mostly when she’s eager to meet a new dog. So that’s not the problem — what can we do to get her to speed up? Does she need more stimulation at home? She has plenty of toys and bones, and I usually give her food in a Twist-and-Treat or a stuffed Kong each day. We also usually play tug-of-war or fetch with her in the evenings. Is she just being a dog?
Sounds like she is a scent hound, which means that it is in her DNA to follow her nose.
One thing that may help is to do scent training with her. She would probably really enjoy that, it would give her an outlet for her tracking skills, and it would also put some structure around the activity. This Wikipedia page has some good scent training tips –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_rescue_dog
It is probably also possible to use scent to help her speed up during walks – maybe with Find-It or Fetch games integrated into the walk especially with a scent enhanced toy. Note though that scent hounds *will* follow their nose often to the exclusion of everything else – so it is usually best to keep them on-leash when there are roads or other possible dangers in the vicinity.
I have a gentle, submissive, wonderful Australian Shepherd. My neighbor has a female shiba inu. We have a shared drive way with my house against the driveway. My neighbor walks her dog down the driveway past my house on a daily basis. My dog is often laying just outside my front door or in the yard. Three times over the last 2 weeks or so, her dog has attacked my Aussie. The shiba was on a retractable leash and lunged, actually biting my wonderful dog (no true injury these times, yet). Now my dog is terrified of hers and runs to our door crying to be let in whenever she sees it. She can’t enjoy her own yard anymore. My husband asked her to use her front door and sidwalk rather than the driveway since this route would avoid our front door and prevent our dog from being injured. She says she will not change her habit of using the driveway.
I feel that her dog is too aggressive to be allowed such leeway – it is poorly trained in general. Any thoughts or suggestions of how to deal with this frustrating issue. I want my dog to be able to play outside without fear or injury.
Hello Jessica,
This is a difficult issue to deal with because it is more of a human issue rather than a dog issue.
One possibility is to talk to your neighbor and see if she is willing to do desensitization exercises using rewards and distance with your dog. This way will be more challenging because it requires a fair amount of time and patience in dealing with both people and dogs. However, it will ultimately help both dogs coexist together more peacefully.
Another possibility is to try and convince your neighbor to use a regular 6 foot leash. Flexi-leashes really should only be used for dogs that are very well trained. However, understandably so, people will be very sensitive about the upbringing and temperament of their dog. This option will also require a lot of communication skills, time, and effort.
Another possibility is to report the bite incidents to Animal Care and Control. However, this will only escalate the matter. In my experience, getting into it with the neighbor becomes very unpleasant, very quickly. In the end, everyone walks away unhappy, and the situation ends up being worse than it was before.
http://shibashake.com/dog/off-leash-neighborhood-dogs
Hi!
First of all I want to say thank you for creating this extremely valuable resource! As new parents to a Shiba Inu we are constantly coming to read your articles and have really benefited from all of your helpful tips and tricks–Shibas can be a real handful but they are worth it!
I have a question about the type of collar we are using on our Kuma. He is a 9 month old Shiba and at first he was an absolute angel on the walk. We had tried a harness but all that happens is that he pulls so hard he stands up. Next we moved to a regular collar that we could put up higher on the neck. This worked well but continued to slip down his neck. Finally we have graduated to a slip choke chain. However, I really don’t feel this is doing him any good— Kuma still pulls like crazy and the chain is very difficult to keep high on the neck. We are considering getting an Illusion collar because he seems to respond well when the collar manages to sit high on the neck.
We are at the end of our leash (pardon the bad pun!) and I would love to have your imput or suggestions. You always seem to take the dog’s best interest at heart 🙂
Thanks so much for your advice!
– Jess and Kuma
Hello Jess,
I went through a similar process with Shiba Sephy when he was young. I started with a harness, then I moved on to using collar corrections on a flat collar. Very quickly Sephy got habituated to the corrections and it would no longer have much of an effect, so I moved on to a martingale, and then to a prong collar. However, every time I increased the force of corrections, Sephy would just get used to it in a short time (maybe a few weeks) and it would no longer have an effect on him.
My trainer at the time suggested using the choke chain.
The problem with doing collar corrections on Shiba Sephy is that he is very stubborn and he is not afraid to fight back. The collar corrections were starting to frustrate him and he was starting to do really bad leash biting. Also, Sephy is very stubborn and he is willing to take the pain and do what he wants to do. The more physical I got, the more Sephy would dig in and fight back.
After some soul-searching, I switched to using non-aversive techniques on Sephy. It was difficult at first, but Sephy responded much better to non-aversive methods. Previously, Sephy was very sensitive to handling, and would frequently use his teeth on me. Nowadays, he almost never pulls, no longer does leash biting, usually allows me to brush his teeth, and tries to lick instead of bite. Sometimes I can see him controlling himself. 😀
Currently, I use the Premier no-slip martingale collar together with a 6 foot leather leash when we go on walks. If Sephy does pull because of a squirrel alert, I would use a combination of the red-light/green-light technique and the 180 turn around technique. Those work very well with Sephy.
Here is Shiba Sephy’s story in technicolor detail.
Hope this helps. Big hugs to Kuma!
Thanks for the advice! I’m googling away to find out more about the martingale collar. We’ll win over Kuma’s stubborn attitude yet! He does the exact same thing Sephy used to do… he will pull regardless of pain just because he WANTS to. 🙂 I never thought I would meet a dog as stubborn (if not MORE!) than I am!
Hi Jess,
I just wanted to clarify that I use the Premier martingale because of its no-slip properties. In the past, I used various flat snap-on collars and Sephy would sometimes manage to squirm his head out of those. I like the Premier collar because it prevents such Shiba escapes. 😀
I don’t do collar corrections with the martingale. Instead, I set its minimum size to exactly the same size as a regular flat collar.
Good luck with Kuma! It will get better once Kuma realizes that the quickest way to get to where he wants to go is by not pulling.