1st May 2006

My nine-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier puppy pulls on the lead, which leaves me feeling unconfident about being able to control him. How can I gain more confidence in letting him off the lead?

Read more: Dogs Behaviour | Comments (0)

Question:

My nine-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier puppy is quite well-behaved and has not given me many problems. However, he does pull on the lead. When I then stop walking, he sits down. And when I call him, he comes to me. But as soon as we set off again, he slowly edges in front and starts to pull again. If he sees another dog, he lies down at first, and then he really pulls to catch up with the other dog. I am not confident when he is off the lead, although he does fetch his ball back to me and comes when I call him. I am scared that if he sees another dog, he'll run off after it and I won't be able to control him. How can I gain more confidence in letting him off the lead?

Answer:

There are two points to consider here. The first is your puppy's pulling on the lead. Have you thought of using a harness or a head collar to assist in your training? Also, think about why your dog starts pulling when you move off again. If he loves his ball, why not try playing with him with a ball on a rope while you are walking along. That way, he won't pull as he'll be playing, and a game is a great reward for not pulling! The second point is recall. Practice recalling your dog with distractions. Use a long line attached to a harness (so as to avoid injuring him should he run to the end of the line) to maintain ultimate control. Set up distractions, such as teaching him to ignore a ball rolling past him as he recalls to you. This is to enable you to practice under the best conditions, rather than trying to train in the actual situation itself. Finally, make your rewards greater as you increase the distraction.