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Convincing your dog that it’s time to go outside for a bathroom break is hard enough, but getting tugged throughout a stroll is another battle entirely. This behavior is common, but it’s understandably very frustrating to many dog owners. Leash biting and tugging is a phase that many puppies go through and usually grow out of, but it can also develop at any time in a dog’s life.
It may seem like just a bad behavior, but leash biting is often a symptom of a dog being frustrated or not fully understanding leash walking. It’s especially common amongst young, playful, and excitable dogs, but with training, it can be prevented or eliminated.
What to do when your dog bites the leash while walking
The following is my list of ideas on what to do if your dog bites and tugs at the leash.
I recommend you read over the post and then pick and choose what might work for your situation.
Also, get help from a professional trainer if you need it. It’s scary when your dog starts biting and jumping at you. What starts out as play or mild frustration can quickly escalate to real aggression. Even with a small dog, this can become a serious problem.
I divided this article into 3 sections:
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3 Ways to Stop a Dog From Biting the Leash for Attention
The solution for stopping a dog from biting on its leash for attention is fairly easy— simply provide oodles of attention when your dog is not biting on the leash. Heres how:
1) Reward Good Behavior: You can start by organically rewarding your dog for doing anything other than biting on the leash. Afterward, you can switch and start asking your dog to perform a certain behavior that is incompatible with the leash biting and provide attention for that.
2) Teach Alternate Behaviors: For example, teach your dog attention heeling (dog looking up at you) for several steps at a time. Make sure you generously reward your dog with high-value training treats for making good choices. You should expect a few “bumps” along the road. Your dog may revert to his old leash biting antics every now and then, but this is normal. If you persist in rewarding the alternate behaviors with high-value treats, you should see a gradual and steady increase in the desired behaviors.
3) Engage Them: As with dogs who bite the leash for play, make sure your dog receives a sufficient amount of exercise and mental stimulation during the day. To help blow some steam off, these dogs may benefit from some one-on-one games with their owners before going out for walks. A game of fetch or a fun clicker training session may be helpful. This helps burn off some excess energy, and the dog can get a good amount of positive attention by engaging in bonding activities with their owner.
Your dog may be bored and biting the leash out of frustration.