Dog pulling on the lead: loose-lead training and the Dutch rules

Why does my dog pull on the lead?

Because it works. The British charity Dogs Trust calls it one of the most common reasons: your dog has learned that pulling gets him forward. Every step he gains on a tight lead earns him something: the tree, the smell, the other dog. It is not stubbornness, but behaviour rewarded again on every walk.

That is good news, because learned behaviour can be unlearned. It also explains why it goes beautifully in the living room and collapses on the street: a dog learns more easily in a quiet place, and outside there is far more distraction.

These things make it stick:

• You keep walking while the lead is tight. According to Dogs Trust, a single step forward is already a clear signal that pulling works.
• The walk can be the most exciting part of his day. No wonder he wants to get where he is going faster.
• The rules keep changing. LICG, the Dutch information centre for pets, writes about puppies: what is not allowed is never allowed, not even once.

Pulling is not the same as lunging. If your dog barks, yelps or throws himself into the lead the moment another dog or a cyclist appears, something else is going on. Our guide to walking a reactive dog covers that.

How do you teach a dog to walk on a loose lead?

With one rule you never bend: a tight lead never gets your dog anywhere. The second the lead tightens, you stand still. The second it goes slack, you move on and reward. Practise that in short sessions of a few minutes, first at home or in the garden, and only then on the street.

The steps come from Dogs Trust and from the RSPCA. The numbers of paces and days in this article are ours: a practical yardstick for measuring progress.

1. 1Start at home or in the garden, with no lead. Reward your dog every time he stands or walks beside you. A dog learns new things more easily in a quiet place.
2. 2Add the lead once he follows you reliably. Ten paces beside you, reward, done.
3. 3Outside, find the most boring stretch you can. A quiet street or an empty car park, early in the morning.
4. 4Work in chunks of ten paces. Ten paces on a slack lead, reward, carry on. Managed that three walks in a row? Make it twenty, then a corner, then a whole block.
5. 5Lead tightens? Stand still. Say nothing and do not pull back. Wait until the lead goes slack or your dog looks at you, reward him, and only then move on. You can also stop before the lead goes tight, the moment your dog gets too far ahead.
6. 6Does he just lean into the lead while you stand there? Walk a couple of paces in the opposite direction. If he comes along on a slack lead, reward that and turn back.
7. 7Build in distraction. Put something on the ground your dog would like to get to, such as a toy. If he pulls towards it, stop and call him to you. If he walks towards it on a loose lead, the toy is his reward.
8. 8Keep sessions short and regular. A few minutes at a time is enough.

Reward with your voice and with treats. You will need plenty of rewards at the start. As your dog improves, cut down to a treat or some praise every so often. Punishment is not needed: AVSAB, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, states that training works best when it teaches a dog what to do.

Does this still work on a dog that has pulled for years?

Yes, it just takes longer. The rule stays the same, but your dog has spent hundreds of walks rehearsing that pulling works, and that does not vanish in a week. So start small and somewhere quiet, and make sure that from today a tight lead gets him nowhere at all. A first week can look like this:

1. 1Day 1: the kit. A fixed lead of 1.8 to 3 metres, and a harness that leaves the shoulders free.
2. 2Days 1 to 3: at home or in the garden only. Two or three times a day, a few minutes each. Ten paces beside you, reward, done.
3. 3Days 4 to 7: the most boring stretch of street. The same ten paces, at a quiet hour. If the lead tightens, you stand still.
4. 4All week: the ordinary walks. Keep them short and calm, and for now skip the route where he pulls hardest. What to do when you have no time to stand still is covered further down.

After one week the pulling is not gone. The goal of week one is small: ten paces on a slack lead on a boring street. If it goes worse again later, go back to a situation that did work and build up from there.

Can you not hold your dog when he pulls? Then safety comes before training. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, an American group of veterinary clinics, a head collar gives added control, especially when a strong dog has a smaller handler. Introduce it slowly, and always add a second lead to a collar or harness.

Does a harness stop a dog pulling?

Not the pulling itself. In a 2021 test, shelter dogs pulled harder in a harness with the lead clipped at the back than on a plain flat collar, once a treat lay just beyond their reach. What a harness does do is keep that force off your dog's neck. That is why it remains a good choice.

The test is by Shih and colleagues, in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science. The dogs were not walking: they stood tethered with a treat just out of reach, ten seconds at a time, once on the collar and once on the harness. In the harness the lead was tight 67% of the time; on the collar, 35% (medians). With a toy instead of a treat, there was no difference.

In that test the lead was clipped to the back of the harness. A 'no-pull' harness with the lead clipped at the chest was not tested. With such a model, do check the shoulders: VCA warns about straps across the front of the shoulder joint, because they can cause injury.

So why a harness at all? A harness spreads the force over a larger area; a collar concentrates it on the neck. The researchers write that they do not dismiss the concern about damage from compression of the neck, especially in a highly aroused dog. VCA says a collar is not the right choice for a dog that pulls very hard, or pulls until he coughs.

Which training aids are banned in the Netherlands?

Prong collars and shock collars. Using a prong collar has been banned since 1 July 2018, and using a shock collar since 1 January 2022. Both appear in article 1.3 of the Besluit houders van dieren, which designates them as prohibited conduct under the Dutch Animals Act. Selling them is not banned, so you will still come across them.

Dierenbescherming, the Dutch animal protection society, puts it plainly: correcting a dog in such a painful way is unnecessary, it causes stress, and it can even reinforce the unwanted behaviour.

Even where no ban applies, some equipment is better left alone. According to VCA, slip, choke, prong and electronic collars all rely on pain. The risk is that your dog becomes fearful or aggressive towards strangers, other dogs or other triggers.

What do you do on the walks where you cannot train?

Ideally you keep the rule on every walk: if the lead tightens, you stand still. Expect walks to take longer because of it. If that is not always possible, because you are in a hurry for example, Dogs Trust has a solution using two harnesses. It comes at a price: your dog will take longer to learn.

It works like this. You use one harness when you have no time to train; in that one your dog is allowed to pull. You use a different harness, or the collar, for training and later for all walks. Your dog learns the difference between the two.

LICG advises walking an adult dog at least four times a day, including at least two longer walks. There is more on that rhythm in how often should a dog be walked.

Where must your dog be on a lead in Wassenaar?

Where your dog may go off the lead is set by each municipality. In Wassenaar he must be on a lead inside the built-up area. In the off-lead areas he may run loose, except on the cycle paths that run through them.

• Let your dog off the lead where it is allowed. Our guide to off-leash areas in Wassenaar lists the local ones.
• Let him move and sniff. Before a training session, VCA suggests checking whether your dog has had a chance to run, sniff and explore that day.
• If one person in the house is stricter than the other, agree on one rule together.

Does a dog walker take your dog out during the week? Tell them how you are training at home, so the rule is the same on every walk. We explain the difference between walking in a group and one-on-one in private walks or group walks. On our own private walks you can talk that lead rule through at the meet & greet.

How long before a dog stops pulling?

Expect months. According to VCA, it takes most dogs several months of regular practice to learn to walk on a loose lead. So measure progress by situation, not by week: first the hallway or the garden, then a quiet street, and only later a busy street or another dog close by.

Does it fall apart? Go back to a situation that did work, practise there for a few days, and build up again. Add distractions step by step, at your dog's pace.

When should you bring in help?

When your dog is not pulling but lunging: barking, yelping or throwing himself into the lead the moment he sees another dog or a cyclist. Fear or frustration may lie behind that. Ask your vet for a referral to a behaviourist who works with rewards. Coughing or retching after pulling? Then call your vet.

• Coughing, gagging, wheezing or neck pain after a jerk on the lead: have your vet look at it.
• A dog who suddenly pulls harder with nothing else changed, or who no longer wants to move forward: that is a question for your vet first too.
• Lunging at dogs, people or cyclists: a behaviourist who works with rewards, alongside your vet.

If you are looking for someone to train with, ask beforehand how mistakes are handled. Walk away from any answer that involves corrections or punishment. If the words 'dominance', 'leader of the pack' or 'alpha' come up, AVSAB says that is reason enough to hire someone else. There is more on reward-based training under behaviour and training.

Frequently asked questions about pulling on the lead