19/03/2026
Prevention is always better (and easier) than the cure. ;)
One thing most people do not realise is that every time they take their dog out into the world, they are creating experiences, patterns, and expectations.
Every walk down the street, every trip to the park, every visit to the same places, every time the dog pulls towards something it wants, something is being reinforced.
And in many cases, what people are unintentionally ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ.
I see it all the time.
The dog is pulling, leaning into the lead, fixating, pushing forward, trying to get to something, and the owner is simply holding them back.
But hereโs the problem.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
In a lot of cases, all we are doing is creating more frustration, more desire, more effort, and more emotional investment in the very thing the dog wants.
Especially if the dog gets the occasional win.
Maybe they pull hard enough and eventually get to the dog.
Maybe they scream and carry on and eventually get to sniff the tree.
Maybe they drag the owner to the person, the park gate, the ball, or whatever else they are fixated on.
Now the dog starts learning something very powerful.
๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ณ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต.
That hope is enough to build more drive and more commitment to the behaviour.
This is something we understand very clearly in advanced training and play work.
There are times where we intentionally restrain a dog to build more effort, more intensity, and more desire for the goal. We do it on purpose, with understanding, timing, and direction.
But the average dog owner is often doing a version of this by accident every single day.
That is why so many unwanted behaviours grow over time.
Lead pulling.
Frustration.
Vocalising.
Reactivity.
Over-arousal around other dogs, people, toys, or environments.
Often it is not just the dog being difficult.
It is a pattern being built through repetition, restraint, frustration, and reinforcement.
That is why I say, ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐จ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐จ.
If your dog is pulling towards something, the answer is not simply to hold them back and hope they stop caring.
The answer is to teach.
Teach clarity.
Teach patterns.
Teach self-control.
Teach the dog how to move through the world with more understanding.
Because when you understand how drive is built intentionally, you start to recognise how often it is being built unintentionally.
And once you see that, you can start preventing a lot of issues before they become bigger ones.
A lot of the behavioural issues people struggle with are not random.
They are created slowly through repeated experiences, poor timing, accidental reinforcement, and a lack of education around what the dog is actually learning in those moments.
That is exactly why good dog training matters.
Not just to fix problems once they are established, but to help prevent unwanted issues from escalating in the first place.
So next time your dog is dragging you towards something it wants, ask yourself:
Am I training hereโฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?
