6 Stop Border Collie Leash Pulling Training Secrets

It can be a horrific experience for a Border Collie owner when he takes him outdoors and he constantly pulls on the leash while walking. It can be extremely discouraging and frustrating for an owner to have a dog that pulls on the leash all the time when you’re out for a walk with him, and makes you want to end the walk and take him back home as quickly as you can. However, doing that could worsen the problem, because it’s not just about one walk, you have to take your BC out for walk every single day and neglecting this behavior will not help.

You must train your border collie to stop pulling the leash while walking, and if you don’t teach him to stop doing that and end the walk in frustration, tomorrow will be a new day that will bring more trouble for you, and it could get worse.

A nice and easy walk could well be turned into a complete mess and it ruins your fun if your BC loves pulling on the leash and won’t stop doing it even if you yell at him. An untrained dog with leash pulling habit will make him drag you around during a walk from one block to another. Trust me; it can be a seriously embarrassing situation for the owner, when the dog is dragging him around, especially if you are in a park and people watching you manhandled by your dog.

There are many consequences of having a dog with leash pulling habit. One of the most important one is – Some BC owners end up in frustration and get fed up of taking their dog out for an embarrassing walk every day. In the end they give up on taking their dogs out for walks. Here is when the new trouble starts. Due to lack of physical activity because they are not going for walks, Border Collies becomes even more agitated and then their other bad behavior problems starts such as nipping, biting, and jumping all over you.

If you don’t take him out and all of a sudden one day you decide “Okay let’s go for a walk” your dog will get even more excited and the result will be more leash pulling. Therefore, your efforts should be to correct their problem, not to run away from it.

Why Do They Love Leash Pulling So Much?

Training him for fixing this behavior problem is the right approach, but before you do that, you must understand that why your dog wants to pull on the leash – Otherwise you will be wasting your time training him to stop doing that.

Some owners believe it’s because of their aggressive behavior and dominant instincts that’s why they pull it, however the more likely reason could be their over-excitement to go for a walk. It happens more with dogs that don’t get to go outdoors everyday and due to lack of time they get to spend outdoors makes them pull on the leash.

To understand this behavior, think of it this way – When your dog is at home all day long and doing pretty much the same daily routine things, and then out of nowhere you take him outside where he sees different things, it makes him feel excited. Your dog can’t wait to meet new people, other dogs, and explore the neighborhood, and when that doesn’t happen every day, leash pulling starts every time they go outside. What do you expect from a dog that knows that he is only going outdoors for 15-20 minutes? And to make the most of that limited time he wants to do everything he possibly can. Logic is simple; he gets excited to go out and hence the leash pulling.

Obviously for the owner that walk won’t be as fun and enjoyable specially when you’re dragged all over the place and continuously yelling at your dog to stop pulling it a million times. Therefore, you end up taking your dog for fewer walks. When that happens, it encourages your Border Collie to react in over-excitement and express his happiness about the walks and that result in even more leash pulling.

Fear Makes Your Dog Pull on The Leash

Dogs that don’t get to spend more time outdoors are generally scared of cars, other vehicles and people. Therefore, if you notice your BC reacting anxiously towards unfamiliar sound and constantly turning his head towards cars and other vehicles, that’s an indication of fear being a probable reason for leash pulling.

As an owner you have to be more responsible and sensitive with your dog if he/she is scared of unfamiliar situations. Don’t force him to adapt with unusual situations, but try to make him feel comfortable with new things he sees and experience while walking with you. You can start with taking him to places like park where he can meet new people and other dogs. That will ease up his social anxiousness and also helps him to learn that getting scared of new things isn’t necessary.

Dominant behavior of Border Collies can also lead to dominant leash pulling. If your dog thinks him as the “alpha dog” he will always try to take control of the walk and may drag you around him. If a dog shows signs of dominant behavior problems and also pulling on the leash, the owner must first train him for dominant behavior issues.

How Can You Train Your Border Collie To Stop Leash Pulling?

Now that you have the understanding of why does a border collie pulls on the leash while walking, it’s time to learn different ways to stop it. Given below are some tips and training steps that will make your BC a leash trained dog:

Does he get excited whenever you take out his leash? If he does, show him the leash but don’t put it on him until he settles down and sit quietly. If your dog is sprinting, running in circles, jumping on you, tell him “sit and stay” calmly, and then put it on him when he sits down and wait patiently.

After putting it on him, your dog most probably will again start jumping and whining because for him the excitement is back. Your job is to again make him sit quietly and let him settle down without getting over-excited. To correct this problem, let him sit calmly and don’t open the door. He may get over-anxious but don’t worry, because this training will make him understand that if he wants to go out he has to be patient.

When you’re out with your dog for a walk, as soon as he start pulling the leash, immediately stop walking and stand still where you are. Tell him to sit and stay there. Show him that you are leader of the pack and only you have the authority to decide when to walk and when to not. Make sure you don’t let him pull wherever he wants to go.

Consistency is important when you train him for leash pulling; therefore you have to do these steps every time you take him out. Try to train your dog while walking with him, that help you speed up the learning process.

For fast and effective results the most important part of the training is to give as much walk as possible to your dog. Daily 1-2 walks doesn’t make your dog feel rare and it also cuts down on his excitement as he get used to it.