A dog trainer has been praised for sharing his simple way to stop your pet from pulling on the lead on walks.
The trainer, who is known as Southend Dog Training on social media, shares tips and tricks to improve your pet’s overall behaviour on TikTok. In one of his videos, he shares the one change owners need to make to stop their dogs from pulling on their lead – and it all comes down to your reaction to it.
He said: “Do this one thing and it will completely change how your dog walks. instead of pulling back, yanking, or restraining, pull up. Up slows the dog down. Back crates this desire to pull more.
“When a dog is being trained in bitework, it is often being pulled back, creating restraint to cause the dog to drive forward harder. We unintentionally apply this technique to dogs when we want them to stop pulling forward. We unintentionally frustrate the dog. Pull up on a short but relaxed lead and then relax up.”
Sharing another tip, he urges owners to avoid exciting their dogs before a walk by saying ‘walkies’, explaining how this can make them more difficult to manage when on the streets. He added: “Make sure your dog is calm before you leave the house.”
Commenting on the viral clip, one user said: “I’m going to have to try this. How do you calm the dog before the walk? My dog is a nutter.” Another chimed in with excitement: “Gonna try this now.” A third shared their experience: “I have tried this with my bouncy Poochon and struggling as he just walks on his hind legs instead!”
A grateful viewer commented: “You are a legend. I did this today. He stopped pulling within 10 min I felt in so much more control and we so enjoyed our work. Thank you.” Lastly, a dog owner highlighted their challenge: “I have a Great Dane it’s kinda hard pulling up when your dog is almost the size of you.”