If your dog is pulling out at the end of the lead, you have already lost the battle. Pulling them back and restraining them at this point will not help – it’ll only engage their opposition reflex and make them pull harder!
A dog at the end of the lead does not understand leash pressure and is not listening to the handler. To them, they are out on that walk on their own – you basically do not exist to them in that moment. And if they’re on their own, they’re making their own decisions. Your dog is like toddler – they do not often make good choices when left to their own devices. Imagine if you let a toddler choose the menu for the week… you would all be eating ice cream for breakfast and cereal for dinner!
If your dog is reactive, you simply will not get them back under control when they’re out at the end of the lead. Telling them to stop or be nice or sit is all useless. In fact, the added noise is likely only hyping the dog up more.
So how do you stop your dog from pulling on lead and make yourself relevant to them on the walk? The first step is going back to basics and teaching leash pressure and a solid heel command. You need your dog to understand leash pressure so you have a reliable form of communication with them to give them feedback about what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable in that scenario. And you need to teach the basics of a heel command because you need to clearly show your dog the wanted, desirable behaviour you would like them to do instead of the unwanted behaviour of pulling.
