How I Taught My Dog to Walk on a Leash Without Pulling

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Before I did this, I thought walking a dog was just, you know, put a leash on them, clip it to their collar, and walk. That’s what all the movies show, right? The owner and the dog, strolling down the street, all calm and relaxed. But with Max? It was nothing like that. I was this close to just stop walking him entirely, because every walk was a nightmare. I tried everything, I watched all the YouTube videos, I read all the dog training blogs, nothing worked. Until I found this simple method, that actually worked, no yelling, no yanking, no weird tricks. And now, we can walk for an hour, and he doesn’t pull at all. It’s amazing, I wish I’d found this 10 years ago, when he was a puppy.

What My Walks Looked Like Before

Max is 10 years old now, the calmest dog you’ll ever meet, but 10 years ago, when he was a 6 month old puppy? Oh my god, he was the worst. Every time we went for a walk, he’d pull so hard, he’d choke himself, coughing and gagging, and I’d be running behind him, trying to keep up. Once, he saw a squirrel running across the street, and he pulled so hard, he pulled me right into a rose bush. I scraped my whole arm, I had scratches for a week, and I had to throw away my favorite hoodie, because it got torn on the thorns.

Another time, he saw a golden retriever puppy across the street, and he pulled so hard, the leash slipped out of my hand, and he ran across the road, right in front of a minivan. The driver slammed on their brakes, and I screamed so loud, the whole neighborhood turned to look. I almost had a heart attack, I thought I’d lost him. After that, I stopped taking him to the park, because I couldn’t control him. I’d just walk him around the block, and that was it, because I was scared he’d pull me into traffic, or run away, or something. And every walk, my arm would be sore for the whole next day, because he was pulling so hard, my shoulder would ache. I thought that was just how puppy walks were, you know, you just have to deal with it, until they grow out of it. But he was 35 lbs, and he was only getting bigger. I knew if I didn’t fix this, I’d never be able to walk him when he was full grown.

The Setup That Actually Worked

First, I had to get the right setup, right? I was using a regular 6 foot nylon leash, but that was too long, he had too much room to pull, too much space to run ahead. I switched to a 4 foot leash, that was short enough that I could keep him close to my side, but not too short that he felt cramped, like he couldn’t move at all. And I got a bunch of his favorite training treats, the tiny little chicken ones, the ones that are like the size of my pinky nail, so I could give him a lot of them, without making him full, or ruining his dinner.

And I also, I ended up trying the PetSafe Gentle Leader headcollar, which helped with the worst pulling while we worked on the training steps below. You can check it out here: Check Price on Amazon That helped a lot at the very beginning, when he was still pulling really hard, so I didn’t have to worry about him pulling me into traffic while we were learning the basics. It took the edge off, so we could actually practice, instead of just fighting the whole time.

Step by Step: How We Practiced

First, we started at home, right? Because there were no distractions there, no squirrels, no other dogs, no cars, no new smells. I didn’t try to go outside first, that was my mistake before, I tried to do it outside, and there were too many things going on, he couldn’t focus at all. He was too excited, too overwhelmed.

First, at home, I would just stand there, with the leash on him, and I would wait. As soon as he pulled on the leash, trying to go get his toy, or go sniff the couch, I would stop walking. I wouldn’t yell, I wouldn’t yank the leash, I wouldn’t do anything. I would just stop, right where I was, and wait. And I would wait, until he turned around, and looked at me, and came back to me, and the leash went loose. Then, I would give him a treat, and I would say “good loose leash!” in a happy voice, and then we would start walking again. That was it, at first. I did that, for 10 minutes a day, at home, for the first three days. It was so simple, I couldn’t believe it.

Then, after he got that, I started moving around the house. I would walk a little bit, and as long as the leash was loose, I would keep walking, and every 10 seconds, I would give him a treat, just for walking next to me, loose leash. I wanted him to learn, that walking next to me, with a loose leash, meant he got treats, all the time. As soon as he pulled, I stopped. I didn’t move, not an inch, until he turned around, and came back to me, and the leash was loose, then we started again. That was the first step, at home, no distractions.

Then, after a week of that, we started doing it in the backyard. There were a little more distractions there, the birds in the tree, the grass, the neighbor’s cat through the fence, the squirrel that lives in our oak tree. Same exact rules: walk, loose leash, treat every 10 seconds. If he pulls, stop, wait, until he comes back, then treat, then walk again. I did that for another week, 15 minutes a day, in the backyard. He pulled a little more there, because there were more things to see, but he got the hang of it, after a few days.

Then, after that, we started going outside, to the street, but only at 6 in the morning, when there was no one else out. No cars, no other dogs, no people, no bikes, nothing. Just us, and the quiet street. Same thing: walk, loose leash, treat. If he pulls, stop. At first, he pulled a lot, because there were new smells, new things to see, the fire hydrant, the trash can, all that stuff. But after a few days, he got it. Then, after a week of that, we started going at normal times, when there were other people, other dogs, cars, bikes, all the distractions. Same rules: if he pulls, stop, wait, until he comes back, then treat, then walk again.

What Was a Complete Waste of Time

Of course, I tried a ton of other stuff before this, that was a complete waste of time. Let me save you the trouble, so you don’t have to waste your time like I did.

First, yanking the leash, and yelling “NO!” when he pulls. Everyone says do that, right? All the old dog training books say that. I tried that, for a whole month. And you know what happened? He just got scared, and he’d pull harder, because he was scared of me yelling. And he’d still pull, he just did it when I wasn’t looking. It didn’t work at all, it just made him scared of walks, for a little while. He’d hesitate before we left the house, because he knew I was going to yell at him.

Then, those prong collars. Everyone says, oh, prong collars fix pulling! My friend swore by it, she said it worked for her lab. I tried that, for a week. And it hurt him, he yelped every time he pulled, and I felt so bad, like I was hurting him, just to make him walk nice. I stopped using it after a week, I couldn’t do it. It worked, but it was cruel, I didn’t want to hurt my dog, that’s not what I wanted.

Then, the “stop and turn around” thing that I saw on TikTok, where you turn around and walk the other way when he pulls. I tried that, and it worked for a little bit, but then he just got used to it. He’d pull, and then we’d turn around, and he’d pull the other way. It was just a game to him, he didn’t learn anything, he just thought we were playing this weird back and forth game.

And then, waiting for him to “grow out of it”. Everyone says that, right? Oh, puppies pull, they’ll grow out of it! No, that’s a lie. If you don’t train them, they don’t grow out of it. They just get bigger, and stronger, and they pull harder. I know people with 5 year old dogs that still pull, because they never trained them, they just waited for them to grow out of it, and it never happened.

How Long It Took

For me, it took 4 weeks, total. The first week, we did it at home, just the stop and wait thing, getting him used to the idea that pulling means we stop. The second week, we did it in the backyard, with the little distractions, the birds, the cat, all that. The third week, we did it on the street, early in the morning, when it was quiet, no one else around. The fourth week, we did it at normal times, with all the distractions, other dogs, cars, people, everything.

After 4 weeks, he was walking next to me, loose leash, no pulling, the whole walk. I couldn’t believe it. Before that, I couldn’t walk him for 5 minutes without him pulling me into a bush, and after 4 weeks, we could walk for an hour, and he didn’t pull at all. It was amazing. And now, 10 years later, he still does it. He never went back to pulling, because he learned, that walking next to me, loose leash, gets him treats, and gets to keep walking. If he pulls, we stop. That’s it, he learned that, and he never forgot.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, this method worked for me, way better than anything else I tried. It’s not about being mean, it’s not about yelling, it’s not about yanking the leash, it’s not about hurting your dog. It’s about teaching your dog, that walking next to you, loose leash, is the fun thing, that gets him treats, and that if he pulls, the fun stops. That’s all it is, simple as that.

I was so stressed out before this, I thought I’d never be able to take my dog for a normal walk, I thought I’d always be the guy running behind his dog, getting pulled into bushes, getting scraped by rose bushes, almost getting hit by cars. But now, we go for walks every day, for an hour, and it’s relaxing, it’s fun, we both enjoy it. It was the best thing I ever did, for both of us.

If you’re going through this right now, don’t give up. It takes time, it takes patience, you’re going to have bad days, where he pulls the whole time, and you’re going to get frustrated. But it works. You don’t have to deal with the pulling, you don’t have to hurt your dog, you don’t have to yell. You just have to be consistent, and do the steps, and it works.

If you’re interested in trying the headcollar I used, you can check it out here: Check Price on Amazon

A Quick Disclaimer

I’m not a vet or professional trainer. This is just my personal experience.

How I Taught My Dog to Walk on a Leash Without Pulling Me Down the Street