2 Hot Tips For Dealing With Leash Aggression

Like a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the leash-aggressive dog is calm, cool, and downright polite when walking among people or around dogs off-leash. But hook on a leash, and he lunges, barks, and snaps at the sight of another dog. Has this scenario reduced you to mapping out walks where you know you won’t run into other dogs?

Your dog is cool as a cucumber off his lead. But when you strap him in, he’s downright nasty. Don’t worry, it’s more common than you’d think.

Odd though it may seem, you really want to start with off-leash interaction. You’ll want the help of a professional dog trainer, though, to help interpret your dog’s body language. They’ll also help you find out whether yours is a typical case of leash aggression, or if something else is contributing to the behaviour. It’s also helpful to have a vet examine your dog, in case there’s an underlying medical condition.

The second approach is to slowly train your dog to pay more attention to you than to other dogs in their environment. If you can get this right, with some patience and professional help, you dog will remain focused on you and you’ll never see that nastiness again.