Golden Retrievers are the quintessential family dog. While fairly easy to train, their friendliness with other people and dogs can make them big pullers when it comes to walking on the leash – they just want to greet everyone! As nice as it is to have a dog that is friendly, being overly friendly can make walking a giant chore. And it can even lead to injury if you’re not careful. Luckily, there are some things you can do to work on this with your Golden. Here are 5 tips to help prevent your Golden Retriever from pulling on the leash.
#1 – Start Young
Many people make the mistake of not starting leash training right away. But the sooner you instill those good leash manners in your Golden, the better. This includes just an eight-week old puppy. Why wait until his is over 60 pounds and a teenager to train him, when you can do it while he weighs just 20 pounds?
#2 – Teach Self-Control
Dogs with lots of energy also usually need to be taught self-control. Golden Retrievers are definitely no exception to this rule! Teaching self-control can help keep your Golden calm and cool while on a walk. Stay, Go To Bed (mat-stay behavior), sitting for a toy/food/petting, etc., are all good ways to work on self-control.
#3 – Practice Attention
Golden Retrievers can be butterflies – flitting from thing to thing without a lot of focus. This is one of the reasons they pull on their leash – they want to explore everything! Sniff bushes, say hi to other dogs, lick a passing kid, etc. On leash, this can lead to you being pulled in twenty different directions – not fun! A key to stopping these behaviors is to keep your Golden focused on you during a walk. Working on looking at you when you say her name, offering eye contact without a cue, Leave It and Drop are important to leash training.
#4 – Reward Correct Position
Whenever your Golden Retriever is calmly walking in heel position – by your side with a loose leash – be sure you to reward him. You can even turn this into a game – something Goldens love – by trying to move away from your dog and seeing if he stays with you off-leash in your house or in your backyard. Start off easy, switching directions and adding speed as your dog learns the game. Rewards can be anything he likes, including treats, praise, toys, etc. As long as your Golden likes it, it’s a reward. Dogs repeat behaviors that are reinforced, so the more you reinforce him for being in that spot, the more he will do it. It’s as simple as that!
#5 – Don’t Let Pulling Be Reinforced
As mentioned, dogs do what gets reinforced, so make sure your Golden is not being rewarded for pulling. If your Golden Retriever pulls on the leash and gets what he wants (to sniff that bush, to greet that person, to play with that dog) then he will continue to do it and it will only get worse. So, if you feel your Golden start to pull you in one direction, plant your feet and don’t move, waiting until he returns to you. If he is stronger than you, turn and walk the opposite direction. Once he is walking next to you nicely, you can turn back and go the way he wanted. This teaches your Golden that if he wants to go somewhere, he has to keep that leash loose. I find dogs get the rules very quickly and this method is proven to be most successful.
