Stop Leash Pulling Without a Prong
Your dog isn’t walking you on purpose. Pulling just keeps paying off. Let’s fix the pay.
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Your shoulder hurts. Your dog is coughing into the collar. Every walk feels like water-skiing behind a very excited Labrador.
Here’s the good news: pulling is a learned behaviour, so it can be unlearned. No prongs, no chokes, no “tap.” Just a better deal for your dog.
Why Dogs Pull
Dogs pull because it works. Dogs Trust says one of the most common reasons is that dogs have learned pulling is how they get to move forward. Every time you take a step while the leash is tight, you’ve just paid your dog for pulling.
Humans are also slow. Your dog has four legs, a nose that runs the show, and a to-do list of 40 bushes. You’re strolling and checking your phone.
So the job isn’t to punish pulling. It’s to make a loose leash the thing that gets your dog where they want to go. The RSPCA frames it the same way: teach your dog that not pulling is the fastest way to get there.
What You Need
- Comfortable gear. Dogs Trust suggests a flat harness or collar and warns that some equipment sold to “cure” pulling works by causing pain or discomfort, which is unnecessary and can confuse your dog.
- A front-clip harness, if your dog is a serious puller. The BC SPCA’s AnimalKind program recommends a well-fitted harness with two attachment points, and says trainers suggest a good front-clip harness for dogs with significant pulling issues. Treat it as management: it makes walks easier while you train.
- A decent leash. AnimalKind suggests a long, lightweight leash.
- Small, tasty treats in a pouch. You’ll be using a lot of them at first.
- Patience. Walks will take longer for a while. Dogs Trust says so, and so will your neighbours.
Step-by-Step: Loose-Leash Walking
These steps pull together advice from Dogs Trust, the RSPCA, the BC SPCA’s AnimalKind, the Ontario SPCA and Karen Pryor Clicker Training. They all point the same way: reward the loose leash, and make pulling go nowhere.
- Start somewhere boring. Begin indoors or in your yard, where there’s little to compete with you. Dogs Trust suggests rewarding your dog just for sitting or standing beside you, so they learn that being near you pays off.
- Play “follow me.” Step backwards and reward your dog for coming with you, then turn and walk forward, rewarding at your side. That two-step start comes from AnimalKind. Dogs Trust suggests practising off-leash at first, using treats or toys to get your dog following you.
- Mark the slack. With the leash on, stand still. The moment the leash loosens or your dog checks in with you, mark it (“Yes!” or a click) and reward. Karen Pryor Clicker Training starts with exactly this: click when your dog releases tension on the leash. The RSPCA starts the same way: stand still and quiet, then praise and treat the second your dog pays attention.
- Pay in the right place. Deliver treats by your leg, on the side your dog walks on. Karen Pryor Clicker Training notes that dropping food next to your side or a little behind “helps the dog to stay close to you.” AnimalKind adds that rewarding from the same side your dog walks on stops them cutting in front of you. Trainers sometimes call this spot the reinforcement zone. It’s where good things happen.
- Walk, and reward often. Take a few steps. Reward while the leash is loose. At first, reward every few steps. Then, as Karen Pryor Clicker Training puts it, gradually “increase the number of steps” between rewards.
- Tight leash means we stop. Dogs Trust’s rule: “The second the lead starts to tighten, stop walking.” Stand still and quiet. Don’t jerk the leash or tell your dog off. The moment it goes slack, mark, reward and move on. The Ontario SPCA calls this “be a tree.”
- Turn around. If your dog keeps forging ahead, change direction. Dogs Trust says changing direction every so often teaches your dog to keep an eye on you, and suggests a couple of steps the other way to get their focus back. The Ontario SPCA recommends U-turns and “penalty yards” (backing up a few steps) if pulling continues.
- Use the world as your treat bag. That bush, that smell, that friend across the road? It’s the best reward you have. The RSPCA suggests putting a toy nearby: if your dog pulls towards it, stop and call them back; their reward for a loose leash is getting to the toy.
- Add distractions slowly. Once your dog gets it at home, try a quiet street, then a busier one, then the park. AnimalKind suggests working up gradually to places like parking lots and parks.
Troubleshooting
“It works in the kitchen and falls apart on the street.” Totally normal. The street is far more exciting than your kitchen. Go back a step: quieter location, better treats, more frequent rewards.
“My dog is too wound up to learn anything.” AnimalKind suggests letting your dog burn off some energy first, and practising at the end of the walk instead of the start.
“I stop, and my dog just stands there leaning into the collar.” Wait them out, or turn and walk the other way. Karen Pryor Clicker Training’s version: “You turn away from him and start walking. Your dog follows.” When the leash goes slack, mark and reward.
“I’m stopping every two steps.” Make it easier. You’re asking for too much, too soon. Reward more often, practise somewhere less busy, and keep sessions short.
“Sometimes I just need to get to work.” Fair. That’s where management comes in. Use the front-clip harness, pick a quiet route, or keep training walks separate from “just get there” walks. Karen Pryor Clicker Training’s rule is worth remembering: “if you never let the leash get tight, your dog won’t learn that he can pull you.”
“Everyone in the house does it differently.” Get on the same page. Dogs Trust says to be consistent every time you go out. If pulling sometimes works, your dog will keep trying it.
A loose leash isn’t obedience. It’s a deal your dog wants to keep.
Why Not a Prong?
Because the point of a prong collar is to make pulling hurt. That’s the whole mechanism.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s 2021 position statement says an appropriate trainer should avoid tools that involve pain, and names “choke chains, prong collars, or electronic shock collars.” It also lists leash jerking as a physical correction to avoid. AVSAB recommends that only reward-based methods be used for all dog training.
Dogs Trust, as noted above, warns that equipment which works by putting tension on a sensitive area causes pain or discomfort, and calls it unnecessary.
If you’re using a prong right now: you were sold a tool. Now you know better. Here’s the upgrade.
- Read the takedown: Prong Collars and the “Mother’s Bite” Myth
- Swap it out: Ditch the Prong: Front-Clip Harnesses You Can Buy in Canada
When to Get Help
If your dog pulls because they’re lunging at other dogs, people or traffic, that’s often more than a manners problem. See Reactive Dog? Punishment Makes It Worse. If pulling or reluctance to walk is new, or comes with other changes, get your vet to rule out pain first.
And if you want a trainer’s help, pick one who teaches this the way it’s described above. Here’s how to spot one who uses pain before you pay them.
Your dumb questions
My dog pulls like a sled dog. Should I just buy a sled?
Tempting, but no. Pulling is learned: it’s how your dog has been getting to the good stuff. Change what pulling earns and the behaviour changes with it.
How long does loose-leash walking take to teach?
There’s no fixed timeline. Dogs Trust says it takes a great deal of patience and time, and warns that walks will take longer while your dog is learning. Consistency matters more than session length.
Is a front-clip harness cheating?
No, it’s management. The BC SPCA’s AnimalKind program says trainers recommend a good front-clip harness for dogs with significant pulling. It helps while you train, but it doesn’t replace the training.
Can I just give one little leash pop?
AVSAB lists leash jerking among the physical corrections an appropriate trainer should avoid. Dogs Trust puts it plainly: don’t jerk the lead back or tell your dog off. Just stop and wait.
The receipts
- How to stop your dog pulling on the lead · Dogs Trust
- Train Your Dog to Stop Pulling On The Lead · RSPCA
- How to Teach Loose-Leash Walking · Karen Pryor Clicker Training, 2018
- All about loose leash walking · AnimalKind (BC SPCA)
- Teaching loose leash walking · Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, 2022
- Position Statement on Humane Dog Training · American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, 2021
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