How to Stop a Dog from Pulling on Leash, Even on Walks in Busy Chicago Neighborhoods: A Comprehensive Loose Leash Walking Training Guide
- Coralyn "Cori" Pedota
- 15 minutes ago
- 10 min read
Why does my dog pull on leash?
Some dogs yearn to exert themselves physically. Especially for our city dogs without backyards, pulling can become something of a recreational sport.
The biggest reason dogs pull on leash is because it works for them. They learn that if they want to go forward, they should pull forward, and the owner will walk. They learn to lunge towards bushes and fire hydrants to pee on them, or to lunge at dogs or people in order to say hi. This means that the behavior of pulling on leash has accidentally been positively reinforced!
Even if you only allow your dog to pull you 1 out of every 10 times – those are usually good enough odds for most dogs to try it. (You already know that a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule, such as those used in slot machines, is the most powerful reward schedule for reinforcement!)
For this reason, it is extremely important to be consistent if you want to train your dog to walk on a loose leash – especially if you live in a distracting, exciting urban environment like Chicago.
How to train loose leash walking, even for dogs in busy neighborhoods in Chicago
“Specific criteria” refers to what consistent rules are in place, what you are expecting of your dog, what behavior (if any) is rewarded, and what behavior (if any) is punished. If your rewards and consequences are delivered inconsistently – and your expectations for your dog on walks depends on your mood on any given day – your dog will likely pull on walks. For this reason, we need to define our specific criteria for each “mode of walking.”
To make expectations more clear, ask yourself which of these four modes of walking you are expecting your dog to perform.
Your dog doesn’t necessarily need to be practicing all four of these modes. But you better be aware of which mode you are asking for, so that you can be consistent and respond appropriately!
Mode 1: Free walk on a loose leash
This mode is “loose leash waking” in its purest form. You can teach loose leash walking as a skill without worrying about heel, or any of the other “modes” listed below.
Every dog needs some kind of “free walk” opportunity. No dog should have to do every walk in a strict heel 100% of the time – unless perhaps they are always thoroughly exercised and enriched in a yard etc. before every walk.
Clear criteria for free walk on a loose leash:
Dog can walk, sniff, potty etc. wherever they want within the range of the leash.
Leash is always loose or only momentarily tightens. In other words, pulling on the leash never lets the dog walk forward.
If handler applies leash pressure, dog should yield to/follow the leash pressure.
(General life manners/rules still apply: No eating garbage, no jumping on strangers, etc.)
Best training techniques for free walk on a loose leash:
Standing still in one spot, allowing your dog to explore within the range of their 6 ft leash, and letting them experience that they must find enjoyable sniffs within the existing leash range instead of pulling you forward.
Wandering casually, perhaps back and forth without a clear route, can help a dog learn to sniff the spot they are in, instead of charging forward.
Alternatively, for some dogs, walking very fast can circumvent their desire to pull.
If safe and if space allows, using a long line (10+ ft) can allow for more freedom of movement. This can make walks less frustrating for the dog and can make staying within the range of the leash easier.
Only walk forward if the leash is slack. In other words, do not walk forward if there is tension in the leash. Stopping firmly in place if your dog pulls prevents the reinforcement of moving forward and/or accessing a new sniffy spot.
For a dog who is not very nervous or anxious, “corrections” such as collar pops/”popping the leash” in response to the dog’s determined pulling/lunging can make expectations more obvious to the dog. I recommend working with a professional trainer when using “punishment” such as this in order to ensure that your dog is not confused or stressed, and to ensure that your technique is effective – so that you are not arbitrarily adding conflict to your relationship.
Rewarding with food fed from the handler’s hand or (and often better yet) dropped onto the ground can reinforce the dog for staying within the range of the leash.
Mode 2: Informal heel, aka casual heel
This is a super important skill for dogs living in the city, as we often pass by lots of distractions and need our dogs to stay close to us and not engage with dogs, other animals, crowds of people, baby strollers, bicycles, and more.
Clear criteria for informal heel:
Depending on the dog/handler, your criteria might look slightly different! Here are the two archetypal forms of informal heel that I see and train.
Example 1:
Dog walks within 6 inches of the handler’s left or right leg, depending on which side they were initially guided to.
(Dog does not switch sides/cross the handler’s body without being asked.)
Dog does not leave heel position until released.
Dog sits automatically when the handler stops.
Dog automatically “checks in” or gives eye contact around distractions such as other dogs.
Leash is always loose.
Example 2:
Dog walks directly behind handler’s left leg.
Dog does not leave heel position until released.
Dog stands and waits in same position automatically when the handler stops.
No eye contact at all is expected automatically.
Leash is always loose.
Best training techniques for informal heel:
Practicing lots of changing directions and “boring” heel patterns on a short leash like repeatedly walking figure 8’s, 10 ft straight lines with u-turns on either ends, large circles, etc.
Initially teaching this skill on a surface less appealing than grass can also help, such as sidewalk or pavement.
Using a clear start signal such as a verbal cue like “with me,” “right here,” “heel,” “walk,” etc.
Using a clear release signal when your dog is allowed to “free walk” again. If you don’t consistently release your dog (“free,” “break,” “all done,” etc.), your dog will most likely primarily pay attention to how short your leash is in order to understand if they are supposed to be heeling or not. That isn’t necessarily the end of the world, but it will prevent you from progressing to teaching an off-leash heel. Not releasing your dog can thus also create the pattern of them putting tension into the leash in order to check how short you’re holding it.
Rewarding your dog with food etc. delivered precisely at your side can help reinforce the desired position and behavior. That being said, food or toy rewards alone do not normally train a robust casual heel unless you continue to reward the dog pretty often.
Rewarding your dog by releasing them from heel (“free,” “break” etc.) to allow access to a “normal life reward” – such as sniffing, peeing on a bush, getting to say hi to someone, etc. – is normally a more powerful reward, since those activities are what the dog is really thinking about and seeking on a walk, typically. See dog park example below.
Walking backwards to guide or “reset” the dog back into heel position can be helpful if the dog pulls forward out of heel.
For a dog who is not very nervous or anxious, corrections such as collar pops for leaving heel position can make expectations more obvious to the dog. I recommend working with a professional trainer when using “punishment” such as this in order to ensure that your dog is not confused or stressed, and to ensure that your technique is effective – so that you are not arbitrarily adding conflict to your relationship.
Bonus tip (“What should I do if my dog keeps pulling as I walk up to something exciting like the dog park?”)
I typically default to asking for a casual heel or heel with attention in any scenario where a dog seems deadset on pulling, perhaps because they are very excited. Imagine, for example, your dog starts to pull because you are walking into the dog park. Instead of correcting them repeatedly and trying to communicate, “Don’t pull, don’t pull, don’t pull!” switching to the skill of heel gives the dog a specific task with more specific criteria to focus on.
In addition to helping the dog by giving them a more specific task, you are also using a very powerful reward here, if your dog performs the heel correctly – “heel correctly, and I’ll finally let you in the dog park!”
Mode 3: Heel with attention or competition heel
For various reasons, some dogs benefit from practicing a more precise heel position with a higher degree of attention expected. If the degree of attention/eye contact is close to 100%, and if your dog does a good job keeping their shoulder close to your pants seam (and their rear end parallel to your body), you are basically practicing a “competition heel” such as those performed in AKC/UKC/CKC Rally-Obedience, Competition Obedience, IGP/Schutzhund, ring sports, PSA, etc.
You do not have to teach this mode if you don’t want to!
Clear criteria for heel with attention:
Depends on your exact goals. (See link at the bottom of this section.)
Best training practices for heel with attention:
Using increased frequency and/or higher value rewards for attention.
Practicing shorter stretches of heeling and increasing the duration gradually.
Training rear end awareness drills (tight left turns, etc.)
You can learn more about training techniques for teaching a “fancy heel” here.
Mode 4: Pulling is allowed
"Why would I ever let my dog pull?"
You do not have to let your dog pull. But let’s be so for real right now. As we said earlier, teaching loose leash walking requires consistency. Not everyone has it in them to properly teach their dog to walk on a loose leash. This could be due to personal motivation – for example, perhaps the dog weighs but 20 lbs, and pulling doesn’t really bother the owner. This could also be due to logistical reasons. It comes up often in my lessons that 1 owner is very invested in teaching nice walking, and 1 owner doesn’t actually care. (This usually happens with women who want to stop being dragged by their dogs and their stronger male husbands who don’t notice the dog pulling.) We can establish a “pulling mode” so that the progress of our “training walks” is not being destroyed by our “non-training walks.”
Another reason you might allow your dog to pull is because you are running with them and practicing for a sport like “canicross.” I myself have taught my dogs to pull me while I roller-blade, and that can be great fun.
I recommend only ever consciously allowing a dog to pull while wearing a properly fitted back-clip harness that allows for free movement of the shoulder. For some dogs (bigger dogs who are maybe not pulling so hard), a very tall flat collar such as a 2” wide collar could be okay, too.
Having a special harness or collar also helps make the criteria clear to the dog by having an obvious cue (the feeling of the harness or collar) for when it is okay to pull.
Criteria for pulling mode:
Pulling is allowed when you are clipped to your special pulling gear.
(General life rules/manners such as no eating garbage/no jumping on people still apply.)
Troubleshooting Pulling on Walks
Sometimes just knowing your criteria and using the standard training techniques are not enough. Here are some things that may help you.
Proper exercise and enrichment
If you have a high-energy dog with a lifestyle in which leashed walks are by far the most exciting part of the day, you may be in trouble. Try exorcising their demons with toy play or even chasing cookies that you throw down the hallway before taking them on their walk. Click here for a full list of enrichment and exercise ideas (besides just walking!) for your dog.
Warm up routine
This is often critical for dogs with a history of pulling on walks. Spending even just three minutes practicing heeling up and down your hallway or directly in front of your house before going for a normal walk can change a dog’s mindset drastically.
Increasing attention on walks with basic obedience and tricks
In terms of formal skills or obedience skills, in this article, we only discuss “heel.” But all of your classic basic obedience skills, and even fun tricks, can help increase your dog’s attention to you when walking outside, which can help with loose leash walking. (See my article, Dog Sports, Cool Tricks - Will They Help My Puppy Behave Better?”)
Reducing arousal on walks
Does your dog find walks to be very, very, very exciting? That might be working against you. Practice reducing excitement by settling calmly in one spot outside or with training exercises like Leslie McDevitt's pattern games.
Overarousal can of course also be a symptom of lack of exercise.
If you are struggling with this because your dog is worked up by specific distractions, I highly recommend hiring a trainer or self-studying my leash reactivity guide.
Gear (collars, harnesses, head halters, etc.)
I utilize a variety of gear in my training and unfortunately cannot advise you in this article on what collar, harness etc. is right for your dog. Your dog’s body, personality, and past learning experiences all matter to me, in addition to your goals, your physical strength, and even your personality and learning style.
What I can tell you, however, is that it’s important that your dog does not slip out of their gear – or that if your gear unclips, they are still safely attached to the leash. I discuss safely fitting gear and back up gear in this article.
Leash handling mechanics
When I’m teaching private lesson clients to train their dog not to pull, it is amazing how often handlers do not notice when they are reinforcing bad habits. I think more so than any other training problem, it is super valuable for me to be able to point out these errors in real time.
Small details in leash handling mechanics such as how you engage your muscles when your dog tries to pull you, how you hold your leash, how you move your leash, how you gather your leash up, etc. can make a difference.
In conclusion
There are certainly more fun training projects out there than teaching a dog to walk on a loose leash. Most humans and dogs prefer to practice dog sports and tricks! But the joy of a nice walk and a happy rotator cuff makes the hard work pay off.
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Venus and Mars K9 provides in-home private dog training and group class for basic obedience, puppy socialization, trick training, dog sport foundations, leash reactivity training, and other canine behavior problems. We travel most frequently to neighborhoods such as Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Logan Square, Avondale, West Town, South Loop, Downtown Chicago, Ukrainian Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, East Garfield Park, Fulton Market, North Center, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Irving Park, Portage Park, Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Pilsen, and Bridgeport.
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