pulling on leash when excited
 

We rescued a 2 year old Yorkie mix and he pulls hard when walking on his leash when he gets excited. Like when he sees rabbits, squirrels or other dogs. I have been pulling back on his harness and saying "good boy no pull". He seems to be picking it up, but wasn't sure if there was something else we should be trying. Been working hard on barking, and that has been helping alot. He has been learning lots in the 2 months we have had him.

Zak George has some awesome vids on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P53...MhGTxffpzgTJlQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-VY...MhGTxffpzgTJlQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mWw...MhGTxffpzgTJlQ

Thank you

If your Yorkie pulls hard on his leash, he should be put in a harness rather than a collar because of collapsed trachea, which is so common to the breed. You didn't mention which he wears now, so I just thought I'd mention it.

In a lot of dog trainers' opinions, pulling against the dog's pulling only challenges his to pull ever more. If this were my dog, I would teach him that pulling gets him the opposite of what he wants - moving forward fast. Say "uh oh" or "no" when he pulls, stop dead still, don't reward him with looking at him or giving him any attention as he reacts to the stop and do not start walking forward again until his leash goes slack. Once it does, instantly begin to walk forward again and stop again the moment it goes taut.

Or, , say "uh oh" or "No" as you turn around and walk in the opposite direction for a few steps whenever the leash goes taut. It will totally discombobulate him.

After several walks over a couple of weeks when this takes place, he will learn that the moment he pulls or walks with other than a loose leash, he's going no where fast. Once he does begin to learn how to keep the leash loose by not pulling forward, reward him with the occasional "Goooood boy walkies!" and hand him a quick treat. He'll get the message and learn that a loose leash is his answer to moving forward to get to that next fascinating smell and it gains him praise and rewards and a happy mommie.

I agree that a Yorkie needs to walk using a good, well-fitting harness as many of them can easily squirm out of a too-loose or cheap one that breaks or comes undone and too-tight ones rub and constrict motion.

We wear collar for our tags, but use a harness to walk. Tonight when we walked I stopped when he jerked and pulled and said no, bad walk. When he seemed calmer I started walking by saying good walk. Repeating as needed. When this failed to get his attention back on me we turned and walked back the way we just came. He did much bette, so less stressfull for both of us. I only rewarded with treats when he walked a nice distance correctly. Hopefully he continues to respond well. I know he is smart as a whip, he picked up sit, down and stay quickly. He has evenbeing doing great recently with his barking. Trying not to ovrrwhelm the guy with too many lessons to learn at once. Thank you again all for your advice it has been helpful.

Give him about two weeks to get it down - it usually takes many repetitions for dogs to understand they can't pull as they get so excited and amped by all the sights, gillions of scents and all of the energy of being outside on walks - kind of like we are when we step off the ship in a new country and start a vacation. Excitement is thrilling them with the whole of the outside and it does take a while to imprint their brains that that excitement and enjoyment is okay as long as they don't pull or go wild when other dogs appear on the same sidewalk, etc. You are doing great so keep it up and stay patient as he learns what you are teaching him. Yorkies are terrifically smart and eager to learn once they understand they can't get away with everything they keep trying over and over at first. Eventually, if you stay on course with patient, loving and gentle training with positive reinforcement, they get the message that you are bigger, just as determined as they are and that they are best served and get better results by not pulling ahead but walking alongside you and keeping you pleased and happy with them rather than displeased or unhappy.