Short answer: they walk quicker than we do. But also: lack of early training, then continual walks with pulling have taught the dog that pulling gets them what they want.

We have to recondition them into thinking differently about walking.

But it’s a compromise, we need to learn what dogs want when they walk. They don’t walk like we do, they explore their environment differently.

Top tips.

Change the walk variables: time, length and purpose. Try going out for very short walks (2-3mins), don’t always go to a park, water, other dogs or anything exciting. Make some walks ‘boing’. Do some research, find a place with fewer dogs, people and green spaces: an industrial estate can be good.

We need to train your dog that not all walks are high energy or ‘fun’. But, we can try and get them to explore their immediate surroundings as well. Put them on a lager lead (or a flexi-lead is fine), encourage them to sniff, maybe place some food on the floor for them to find. If nothing else, when they’re sniffing they’re probably not pulling!

In the house, you need to get them focussing on you more. In general you need to play, move around a bit, and continue playing/training. The aim is to get them following you, but give them a ‘release’. Throw a toy or some food. There should not be a leash or harness at this point, they come later.

They're learning to engage with you, but it’s in short bursts. Adding small movements helps them focus on you whilst walking…not easy for some dogs!

Don’t worry about making things really simple for your dog, that’s the point. If you can start to grow these skills in the garden, then on the street outside the house…you’ll be making real progress. But it has to start very small.

Get ahead of the game

Be aware of ‘triggers’, does you dog start going mental when they hear your keys rattling? That’s a trigger, ideally we don’t want an excited dog before going for a ‘calm’ walk, it’s not realistic to expect that. Try rattling you keys, then give them a treat to find. Or just see if they’ll sit, then reward but do not the go for a walk. This helps desensitise them to the trigger and can help you have a calm dog before you leave the house.

There’s lots to cover with short leash walking but with proper guidance, you can get there! You can get in touch if you want to learn more.