 Could the leash snap be too heavy?
I'm not a professional trainer but I've leash trained lots of dogs and I'm working with 2 right now. Both of them started out fighting, pawing and biting at the leash. I just let them lead me for a while then gradually started exerting control, first by just standing still when they wanted to go off in a different direction and letting them be surprised when they came to the end of the leash and couldn't go forward. I just stood there like I was completely uninterested. I think they thought the reason they couldn't go forward was a force of nature. They didn't seem to connect it to me at first; later I think they did.
More recently they've done a lot better, but yesterday my mom's dog was back to fighting it. At first I couldn't figure it out, but now I have a theory I want to try out. I think Little Bit's leash is too heavy and the snap hook that connects it to the collar turns the collar so that the buckle hangs down on her chest instead of coming up from the back of her neck. That forces the leash to not be in the right position and pull awkwardly and I think the snap bangs her chest and hurts. In fact, I think the whole thing is uncomfortable for her. Yesterday was the first day I used Little Bit's leash; I had been using Susan's which is lighter and thinner. So I'm going to go back to Susan's leash with Little Bit today and see if Little Bit does better.
So maybe you might look at your dog's leash too and see what you think about the weight of the shap.
Dog trainers, is there anything to this theory? |