A dog trainer on TikTok has shared how to train your dog if they are having issues with the leash.
In a viral video, which has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times, dog trainer Ethan Steinberg explained that many dogs who have issues being put on a leash see it as a fun game to play with their owner.
However, that “fun game” can sometimes mean getting bitten.
Stock image of a dog playing with a leash in their mouth.
Photo by alexei_tm / Getty Images
In the video, Steinberg spoke with a woman whose dog was jumping around and growling, biting at the leash.
“Does he ever get you in the hand and draw blood?” Steinberg asked, to which she replied, “I’ve got a couple good bites.”
The No. 1 Issue
According to the woman, her strategy for calming the dog is simply to step on the leash and let him tire himself out.
That process, however, could take up to 10 or 15 minutes, and sometimes, the dog never tired out and was brought back to the apartment without a good walk.
Steinberg said the “No. 1” issue is that she didn’t have control of the leash, which was partly because she had the dog—whose name is Breck—on a harness.
Four Paws on the Ground
While he brought out two items to help—prong collars and slip leads—it was more important to get Breck to “stop what he’s doing and pay attention”.
“It’s not to lay the hammer down and correct him,” Steinberg noted. “It’s to get him to stop what he’s doing and pay attention.
“You’ll see how I use pressure to get him to stop—just the second he jumps, pressure.”
When Breck stopped jumping for a moment, Steinberg praised him.
“When he jumps and I give him just a little bit of a correction, the second his four paws are on the ground, we immediately want to go back to saying hi,” Steinberg said.
“Timing is so important, where it’s a lot more clear to him what’s wrong and what’s right if the second his four paws are back on the ground, we go back to saying hi.
“All we’re trying to do is make the rules really clear: ‘What am I expected to do here?'”
Users React
Commenters admired how Steinberg interacted with the dog, with one noting, “He immediately calmed down with bro.”
Others agreed with Steinberg that prong collars are better than harnesses: “Heard once: when you’re communicating with your dog you can either whisper (harness) or speak clearly (prong) and expect them to listen,” another user wrote.
One TikTok user remarked, “Thank you for showing the right way to use a prong collar! They’re not meant to be forever, they’re a training tool for dogs who need it (aka working breeds)!”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
