Is your dog a strong puller?

One of the best parts of having a dog, besides being a great companion, is taking them for walks. It's great for the body and keeps our pooch happy.

According to a study from  BioMedCentral’s Public Health Journal, dog owners walk on average 22 minutes longer each day than non-dog owners, logging nearly 2,800 more steps. It is a free workout, isn’t it?

Undoubtedly, dogs love to go for a walk and just seeing that you get ready to go outside, excites them to the fullest. We love that joy as well. However, sometimes that enthusiasm is so much that it leads them to pull on the leash without realizing it and this could cause serious damage.

Learn about the dangers of your dog pulling on the leash during walks and how you can prevent it from doing so.

Your dog's neck is much more delicate than you think. Just like us, this area possesses nerves, arteries, the esophagus, the thyroid and the trachea. It is a very sensitive area that can be subjected to continuous pulls and pressures.

 When a pooch is a puller and pawrents try to "correct" him/her by pulling back stronger, the only result that the dog gets is that the impact of the collar on the neck, affects the nerves in the area and as these are distributed throughout the dog's spinal cord and the larynx, the dog receives a cramp that can reach the legs.  Besides, the leash tension generates stress in the animal and affects the dog's behaviour.

 Another serious consequence of a dog pulling on the leash is that the dog's posture is forced, producing an incorrect distribution of weight while walking that can cause pain in the joints after walking and even this pain becomes chronic if it repeats continuously.

Have you noticed that your dog is coughing/choking/suffocating? If this happens during the entire walk, there's not enough oxygen in their body, including the dog's brain. Therefore, at some point, the pressure of the collar/harness on the trachea can cause him to develop a chronic cough.

Other side effects can be quite serious and the most important ones include:

• Joint pain
• Increased intraocular pressure
• Hernias
• Chronic pain
• Strong cramps

How to prevent your dog from pulling on the leash?

The nature of dogs is to go wherever they like. It is our responsibility to educate and teach them that NOT pulling on their leash is more rewarding than pulling.

There are some tools you can use to stop leash pulling from occurring while you’re walking your dog.

The first tip is to try to go for a walk with your dog calmly by your side, begin taking a step forward, and when your dog reaches the end of his leash and begins to pull, stop walking. DO NOT allow him to move forward in the direction he’s pulling.

Then, when your dog stops pulling, offer a prize and treats, and then begin walking forward again.

Repeat as often as necessary until your dog understands that pulling will prevent him from going further.

 Another great tip if your dog constantly pulls...

Harnesses are a great choice for dog walks, they offer you more control and dogs are much safer.

While some harnesses will actually encourage your dog to pull, some are designed specifically to prevent it.

Puccissimé’s One-Click Norwegian style harness is designed with a horizontal chest strap going across the dog’s shoulders with another strap going around the girth behind the front legs. 

 There is a D-ring leash attachment in front and one on the back.

The biggest advantage of this harness design is that, since the harness sits on the chest as apposed to the neck, not only it prevents choking, also all the pressure is directed to the dog's chest and shoulders which have stronger muscles.

If the leash is attached to the front D-ring, when the dog reaches the end of the leash and pulls, it’ll be redirected and turned around, unable to move forward in the direction they’re pulling. Sensitive areas such as the larynx are not loaded at all as mentioned. Also, the dog's posture isn’t forced which means a correct distribution of weight, and humans' backs are safe too. 

 
While the harness itself will not correct the pulling behaviour on its own, by some training and persistence as we mentioned in the first tip above, the bad habit will fade away over time. 

No-pull dog harnesses are a true lifesaver. They help dogs with breathing problems, collapsing trachea and bad backs. 

Benefits One Click Harness

• Help with breathing problems such as: collapsing trachea
• Improve bad backaches
• No pressure on the neck
• No- choke
• No-pull
• No-mat
• Suitable for sensitive dogs
• D-rings on the back and front
• Easy to wear, ONE CLICK
• Comfortable and flexible
• Great for walks
• Stylish