Taking your dog for a walk allows you and your dog to get out and exercise. However, it might not always seem that your dog understands that going for a walk is a good thing; they might try to get away from you or bite the leash. The last thing you want is your pet darting out into traffic and being hit by a car, so you’ll want to take precautions to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Biting the leash can be dangerous; if the leash is damaged, your dog might get away and get lost and hurt. If your dog has this problem, keep reading. In the article below, we’ll tell you all you need to know about stopping your furry friend from biting their leash so that you can take your walks in peace.
Why Is Your Dog Biting Their Leash?
The first step to stopping your dog from biting its leash is to find out why. Understanding why your dog bites it is crucial to changing its behavior. It could be due to excitement, attention seeking, frustration, or simply not understanding why they have it on.
The 4 Tips to Stop Your Dog Biting the Leash
1. Bring a Toy with You
If you have a very excitable pup, it might view the leash as a toy. The way the leash moves might activate your dog’s prey drive, causing them to play with and chew on the leash. An easy way to avoid this is to distract them from the leash and give them something to occupy their time.
Providing your furry friend with a toy or a stick to keep them busy on the walk is a great way to keep them from biting the leash. Make sure you don’t give it to them right after they bite the leash, or they might start doing it to get a toy. This toy can also be substituted as a treat.
2. Give Them Attention When They Aren’t Biting the Leash
If your dog is biting their leash because they know it gets your attention, the key to getting them to stop is by giving them attention when they do something that isn’t biting its leash. On top of this, make sure to ignore them whenever they do bite their leash. If they bite their leash to get attention, they’ll stop if they don’t get attention.
3. Keep Them from Meeting Other Dogs While on Walks
If your dog is very social and enjoys meeting other dogs while walking, they may become agitated when they don’t get to meet other dogs. The solution is to keep your dog away from other dogs on walks so they don’t start to expect it.
4. Loosen the Collar
If your dog’s collar is too tight, it can be uncomfortable and restrict their breathing. They might bite their leash in an attempt to get the collar. When loosening your dog’s collar, you have to be very careful to make sure your dog can’t slip out of the collar.
Conclusion
A dog breaking the leash, darting off into traffic, and becoming lost is every pet parent’s nightmare. However, if you follow the tips above, you’ll be able to stop your dog from biting its leash and be safe and at ease on your walks together.
If the tips above don’t work for you, it’s best to take your dog to an expert in behavior and training. That way, you can find out if there’s an underlying cause for your dog’s behavior and what can be done about it. This is, of course, a last resort, as the methods above should work just fine.
Featured Image Credit: katamount, Shutterstock
