Does this sound familiar? Your dog is fine at the park with other dogs, is an angel in the backyard, and is a fun ball of energy when off-leash without other dogs around. But when you put a leash on your dog, all that good behavior goes out the window and you’re left with a bounding ball of frustration and anxiety that yanks on the leash and constantly whines around other dogs.
Of course, your dog probably won’t follow through on nipping or biting another dog, but it still catches you off guard and can be very embarrassing.
Walking with your dog should be fun and enjoyable for both parties involved, not full of stress and embarrassing moments. It’s not fair to have to search for remote sections of the park or pull a 180 if you see another dog walking towards you.
But, there is help! Your dog can be trained to be calm and obedient while on a leash.
Read on to see our training tips for curbing leash aggression and get comfortable taking your dog out and about again!
What Triggers Leash Aggression in Dogs
There are many underlying causes for leash aggression in dogs, and it can often be a combination of issues. If your dog is very territorial or very anxious, it could happen to your dog more easily.
Additionally, if your dog wasn’t properly socialized as a pup, they can have trouble making new friends and might not know how to act. Your dog never really learned how to say hello to his friends!
Many times, the main reason behind leash aggression is the dog owner who unknowingly makes the matter worse (I know, I know, the problem always seems to circle back to the owner. But we can fix it!).
Barrier Frustration
When a dog is out on a walk, they are being stimulated and are excited to explore the world around them. Normal dog behavior involves your dog wanting to meet and sniff other dogs and the environment (plus every tree you pass!). There’s nothing wrong with being excited about everything around you, I say that is a positive trait!
But every time your dog lunges at something, you yank back on the leash, stopping them from getting what they want. This is what we called “barrier frustration”.
Barrier frustration is where a barrier, such as a leash, prevents your dog from socializing what they want. The impulsive “I want to see that, I want to sniff that” gets constantly pulled back. As you keep pulling them back, the frustration builds and builds, and your precious doggo now associates other dogs with frustration! This creates a negative feedback loop that can get even worse over time.
Improper Socialization
Many of the dogs that show these traits truly crave attention with other dogs, but haven’t been properly socialized.
Step One: Let’s Get Some Exercise
Now I’m sure you are trying to get your dog exercise, seeing as this problem usually occurs when walking your dog! But a common source of many negative canine behaviors is a lack of exercise.
Your dog may need to be walked more often, or best of all brought to a dog park where they can run off leash and socialize, two crucial ways to curb this behavior.
A good place to start with many behavioral issues with your canine buddy (like chewing, barking, anxious behavior) is to get your dog more exercise.
So make sure to cover this basic tip and we can move on to more focused training.
The Best Way To Correct Leash Aggression
Here’s how to defuse leash aggression before it ever starts, and it involves getting your dog to focus on YOU when he sees another dog.
To begin, your dog should be very hungry and you should have a bunch of super top tier treats with you (we’re talking chicken, steak, or premium dog treats. The good stuff!)
The treats you normally use at home will be less exciting when there are a bunch of other stimuli around, so you gotta bust out the best stuff
Here’s how it works, when you dog first notices another dog, quickly get your dogs attention and give them one of these great treats.
Once your dog starts to consistently look to you, you can give your dog a command like “Sit” or “Stay” to focus your dog and divert attention.
You will start to teach your dog to associate meeting a new friend with looking at you, helping them to calm down.
You can also try throwing a treat on the ground for your dog to scout out, giving them another
It’s going to take a couple of weeks to start to cement this into your dog’s brain, but try it out and see if it works for you!
Remove the Leash and Let Them Roam
It may sound counter intuitive, but one of the ways to fix leash aggression is to take your dog off leash and let them socialize with other friends in a safe environment like the dog park.
This helps them to learn how to properly interact with other dogs, building their social skills.
When a dog says hello to another dog normally, dogs approach each other from the side and proceed to give a sniff to each other’s behind. It is a very important part of meeting a new dog. It’s just like giving a smile, a nod and a handshake to someone you’ve just met!
The dogs are checking each other out and seeing if the other seems mean or rude, or to see if they would be a good friend.
When you’re walking your dog though, you often come face to face with another dog, walking towards them. This is more of an aggressive approach to a dog. Dogs feel frustrated, vulnerable, and nervous.
When dogs are off leash, they are allowed to approach each other normally and learn the correct method for meeting other dogs out in the “wild”. Give it a try!
Walk With A Friend
Another method that can be used in conjunction with focusing your dogs attention is walking with a friend and their dog, helping to calm your dog down and get some social interaction in as well. Walking side by side with another dog will help your dog to calm down and will give them someone else to concentrate their energies on.
It’s Time For A Dog Trainer
If your dog has a particularly bad case of leash aggression, you will likely need to consult a professional. In fact, I would advise consulting a professional dog trainer if your dog has this problem to find the best personal method for you. As we said, there can be a myriad of underlying issues that cause your dog to react negatively while on a leash, and sometimes only a dog trainer can figure out exactly what bothering your dog.
Doggy Dan provides training for leash aggression, understanding barrier frustration and many other behavioral issues with dogs. Doggy Dan is an online dog training course filled with hundreds of videos on just about every puppy and dog topic you can think of.
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