Is your puppy pulling? Teach the Leash Pressure GAME!
If there were one exercise I think every puppy and dog should learn if they have to abide by leash laws, it is this one. If you want to know why some people struggle with a dog who pulls on leash, besides the issue of over-arousal, it is because they haven’t yet trained and proofed this behavior.

The giving into leash pressure game teaches your puppy what to do when he hits the end of the leash, which is to turn around and come back to you. By training and conditioning leash pressure in small enough approximations it is possible to turn what is usually a frustrating and aversive experience into a cue that has a positive association to the dog that simply means “move with me”. A lot of people believe certain stimuli are “intrinsically” reinforcing or punishing. But this is simply untrue. It is possible through training and conditioning to change an animal’s emotional response to a certain stimuli. Instead of just relying on habituation, where dogs learn over repetition that being moved by you on leash isn’t terrible I suggest playing these training games to make it an experience where the dog doesn’t feel like it’s some sort of intimidation game. I also suggest doing the same with teaching a dog to be picked up as well as handled and groomed.

Video tutorials mentioned:

Attention Game- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiziN7mluz8
Recall- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjd99MlmqqI
Leash walking reinforcing for standing next to you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voW2Vkq0u6Q
Direction changes- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-L2qtD7MQ


Step 1
Add light pressure on the leash as you lure your puppy forward and then feed a treat.

Step 2
Put a distraction down on the ground that makes the puppy pull on leash. Use your attention noise or treat lure to get your puppy to turn around and come back to you.
2 Use a lower value treat as the distraction and a higher value treat as the reinforcer.

Step 3
Put a distraction down on the ground that makes the puppy pull on leash. When the puppy is on a tight leash, move in the opposite direction of the puppy without jerking him. Mark and reinforce when you see your puppy turn in your direction. If the puppy doesn't turn toward you within 2 seconds, use your attention noise or treat lure to get your puppy to turn around and come back to you.
Step 4
Practice with different distractions in different situations

What to do if your puppy doesn't turn around:
1 Practice from further away from the distraction (You can have a helper put down the distraction to make this easier.)


If you're doing the exercise correctly, you will find that your puppy will stop pulling all together. This is a good thing! If he keeps trying to go for the distraction it means the distraction is too difficult, too close or you need to spend more time marking and reinforcing him for staying with you after he comes back. In real life situations if your puppy starts pulling on leash you can simply back up until he is on a loose leash then wait a little bit until you have made a connection with him again before walking forward.

This video is dedicated to one of the #1 Kikopup Sponsors:

Lee Gordon


Thank you to Lee and all my Kikopup members for making these videos possible!




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