Leash Training - Train Your Dog to Stop Biting on the Leash

Leash training, in particular leash biting, is the most difficult problem I had to face with my Shiba Inu.

Things started innocently enough with my little Shiba Inu testing his boundaries. There are many reactive dogs in my old neighborhood so I would shorten my leash whenever dogs were passing by. This frustrated my Shiba, because he wanted to meet and smell the other dogs.

One day, he decided to redirect his frustration onto the leash.

For that, I gave him a leash correction. Rather than calming him down, the leash correction made my dog even more frustrated. He decided to fight back, bite the leash and jump on me.

I continued to do leash corrections, but my technique was poor, with insufficient force, and poor redirection. He continued to fight with much greater gusto and my neighbors came out to see the show.

I was also making things worse by getting stressed and nervous whenever my dog started his leash biting behavior. Once my dog noticed this weakness, he started practicing leash biting more and more, and our leash training sessions started going downhill quickly.

Sometimes my dog would get so wild that he would grab my jacket sleeve and start biting on that - yikes! This made me fearful of my dog which only made matters worse.

In fact, my Shiba Inu would leash bite as soon as I started to worry about leash biting.

Sometimes he would even hump my leg while doing his crazy leash biting dance.

There are a variety of reasons why dogs leash bite. Sometimes they may just be bored of leash training; more often, they are redirecting their excitement or frustration onto the leash.

My dog was ultimately leash biting because he was picking up on my weak, stressful, and fearful energy. This made him want to take over and dominate me. For shy dogs, unbalanced human energy may lead to fear aggression.

Which technique you use to prevent biting during the leash training process will depend on why you think your dog is doing it in the first place.

1. Let your dog carry a stick or toy during leash training.

A problem with this technique is that your dog may just want to lie down and play with the toy/stick.

2. Play the Find-it game.

A good game to play during leash training is the Find-it game. First get your dog's attention (e.g. by calling his name and then treating him), then say Find-it and throw him a dog treat a short distance away. When he finds it, praise him, treat him, then repeat.

Once your dog is good at finding it, you can throw in a recall before issuing the Find-it command, i.e. call your dog to you before throwing the treat. Keep sessions short and use good treats so that your dog is always motivated to play this game.

3. Make leash training more interesting.

To make leash training more interesting, try and change direction, change speed, and do some commands; especially foot-work commands (e.g. Jump, Up, Weave, Spin).

4. Walk your dog on a loose leash.

Walk your dog on a loose leash, stop often, and let him smell the roses. Only shorten your leash and move him into a heel position when there are dog aggression triggers around (e.g. squirrels, cats, other dogs, people).

5. Take your dog to interesting environments for leash training.

Visit nearby parks and empty school fields. These places have interesting smells and interesting objects that will keep your pooch happy while he exercises his olfactory muscles.

1. Redirect your dog onto a dog toy.

This worked initially, but after a time, the toy was no longer sufficient to contain my dog's frustration. He would just ignore the toy and continue with leash biting.

If you want to try this, make sure you catch the leash biting behavior early so that your dog is not too frenzied to notice the toy. The toy technique also started being less effective when my dog picked up on my fearful energy. To calm your dog down, it is crucial that you stay calm as well.

2. Issue an alternative command.

Once you notice your dog starting to lose control, quickly get him to refocus on you, and get him engaged in doing obedience commands. Only use simple commands that your dog knows so well that it is almost a reflex, e.g. Sit. Obedience training will only work if you catch your dog before he gets too excited or frustrated.

Once your dog loses control, he is no longer listening to you, so anything that you say will be ignored. A very high priority treat can sometimes snap him out of his frenzy, but I found that to be unreliable. When a dog is too excited or frustrated, he will be totally disinterested in food.

3. Touch your dog's body with your foot.

You can touch your dog to try and refocus him back onto you. Do not kick your dog or apply excessive force to your touch. This technique worked for me initially. However, after a few touches, my dog got habituated and just ignored the touch.

This technique may also be risky if you accidentally apply too much force, if your dog is easily spooked, or if your dog is really sensitive to handling. Any of these reasons may cause your dog to lose trust in you, run away, or become aggressive and fight back.

In this situation, it is very important that you stay calm and assertive, and not be fearful of your dog.

1. Step on the leash and ignore your dog.

This technique is similar to a time-out but not as effective. You take away your attention and your dog's freedom to explore, but there are still interesting things happening around him and interesting smells.

When I use this technique, my dog will settle down after a bit; but once I release the leash, he will start with his leash biting again. I have tried lengthening the duration for up to 15 minutes, and that still did not work.

2. Get your dog into a brisk walk home.

Forcing my dog to focus on an alternative physical activity (e.g. brisk dog walk) is the only thing that works for me. I combine ignoring him, while walking him briskly home. I hold the leash really close to his collar so I have good control of him and just go. I do not look at him, talk to him, or touch him for the entire trip.

There are several advantages with this leash biting technique:

• Getting him to do a physical activity allows him an outlet for his frustrated and excited energy;
• The brisk walk quickly removes him from the stimulus that caused him to lose control;
• The brisk walk does not allow him to do anything else and essentially ends his nice walk;
• You get home quickly, and can put him in a time-out if he resumes acting out.

3. Time-out.

If your dog leash bites in the house, then directly put him in a time-out area. This allows him to calm down, and shows him that extreme behavior will get his freedoms revoked.

Dogs are smart and will quickly stop behavior that gets them nowhere.

4. Spray water on your dog's muzzle.

This is an aversive method albeit a mild one. Nevertheless it still comes with some of the dangers of applying an aversive stimulus.

When I tried this, my dog just attacked the spray bottle. This also will not work if your dog is not bothered by water.

Some trainers suggest adding some vinegar or using mouthwash. But then, you must be careful with your aim so it does not hit your dog's eyes.

5. Leash correction.

Leash corrections did not work well on my dog. It only caused him to fight back and escalate his leash biting behavior.

Shiba Inu Home